Welcome to the Discussion thread for our adventure.
First of all, thank you again for applying to this adventure, I hope we will have a good time playing together!
Now, let's get down to business.
First of all, I would like to create a Telegram group to chat with all of you, both about the adventure itself and also about any other shenanigans that comes into your mind (memes, funny videos, and other weirdness connected to RPGs). That would create a stronger bond between the players, and also allows everyone to be more reachable than if using only the boards. If you all agree with this request please send me a PM with your Telegram user name and I will create the group.
Second, character creation. I've already told you that we will only use the Core Rulebook and the Character Traits Web Enhancement to build your PCs. What I would like to do also is limiting some minor options a bit further, applying to the character creation the rules of the Pathfinder Society Core Campaign. I don't want to make this adventure a PFS scenario, but I think that some core options wouldn't really fit in the adventure, and so I want to restrict them. Namely, the Item Creation feats and the Leadership feats won't be available for the adventure (this will make the Hedge Magician and the Natural-Born Leader traits useless). Now, let's see in the detail what you will be working with:
-Standard (20) Point-Buy system;
-Only core races;
-Only core classes*;
-Non-evil alignment only;
-Max hit points at first level, 50%+1 at subsequent levels (4 for d6, 5 for d8, 6 for d10, 7 for d12);
-0gp starting wealth**.
* Classes from the Core Rulebook have the following alterations.
Cleric: The abilities of clerics with certain domains or who worship Irori are as follows.
-Clerics with the Nobility domain get the Persuasive feat at 8th level instead of the Leadership feat;
-Clerics with the Rune domain receive Spell Focus at 1st level instead of Scribe Scroll;
-Clerics who worship Irori receive Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat so they can use their deity’s favored weapon (unarmed strike) without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Druid: Druids with the Nobility domain get the Persuasive feat at 8th level instead of the Leadership feat.
Wizard: Wizards receive Spell Focus at 1st level instead of Scribe Scroll. Only items listed as always available (see page 21 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide) can be selected as the free bonded object granted to a wizard at 1st level.
** You will start your journey with the barely minimum: a belt pouch, weapons (one or two melee and one ranged plus ammunition) costing no more than 50gp each, an armor costing no more than 50gp, and class items as fitting for your class (a common musical instrument for a bard, a wooden holy symbol for a cleric or paladin, holly and mistletoe for a druid, thieves' tools for a rogue, a spellbook for a wizard, and a spell component pouch for every spellcaster except sorcerers). This means that the trait Rich Parents is useless.
Third, a recommendation on party composition. I know you are all experienced players and probably already know what a successful party would look like, and I don't want to put any more restriction on what you want to create, but I just ask you please to avoid to select the same class more than once, if you can. This is because I think it will help us all to have a more heterogeneous party, and will also benefit me, having to learn more about more classes (even if I know the base classes pretty well), and you, letting you out of your comfort zone in case you will have to select something you don't usually play. But, if you find a really, really convincing motivation why two or more of you should play the same class, then I will allow that, but you must know that it's really hard to convince me.
If you all agree with this terms, then welcome to this new adventure! I will soon write down a post with more informations about your starting town and the NPCs you will find there (the adventure assumes you are all native of the town of Kassen in Nirmathas, so knowing a bit about your hometown would indeed prove useful for character creation).
PS: I will use Roll20 for maps and tokens, mostly because I know fairly well how it works and also because I have the maps already prepared there from a previous playthrough.
dotting
|
Hey, thanks for the selection!
I've already sent you my Telegram username (after creating an account.)
I guess, the first question, would be what does everyone want to play?
Second question is for GM. I know nothing about Crypt if the Everflame. Is there anything we should know going in? E.g. common enemies. I wouldn't ask for too much information but I was thinking something along the lines of what is provided in a standard Player's Guide.
First off I would like to say thank you for the invitation. After reviewing your post I see that you intend to set up a telegram group. This will become a problem with me for I don’t intend to use a cellphone for gaming what so ever. This is mostly due to work related limitations on the cellphone that I use. That being said, I do check the Paizo boards frequently, which includes PMs. If not being available to participate in the telegram process is an issue let me know and I will step aside and allow someone else to take my spot.
Yeah,
Any 3rd party applications should of been in the recruitment OP as some players WILL NOT touch certain ones or any at all, and can be a waste of one's time and energy to find out later.
Not all of us have smartphones, I happen to be one as I know a number of reasons not to have one.
Some also like keeping their digital footprint as small as possible.
Roll20 tends to be more accepted then Telegram, and more 3rd party applications leads to more points of failure for a game.
General PBP practice is everything on the boards, with only ONE 3rd party application/resource that is generally used for image/map resources.
It's a reason why I ONLY use the Paizo boards itself and dropbox for image resources and some notepad files both for myself and some for players, fewest number of points of failure and no requirements for the players themselves.
Also given that Roll20 has had a security breach(es), adds to privacy and security concerns for security and or privacy conscious players.
I'm OK with the roll 20 option. I haven't used it in a while, but I do have an account with roll 20 and have no problem with using that as a mode of mapping. In the past i have used google slides as a resource for images and maps, which seems to work OK on most things. If GM is more comfortable with roll 20 i'm OK with it. The phone thing tho is strictly monitored by work. The last thing i need is Trump knocking on my door wanting to know what roll 20 is LoL.....
I'd have to check, but I think the Roll20 breach wasn't them specifically, but their host, which is a whole other bag.
Re: Telegram
Honestly, I'm not going to use it. I've already got way too many things to keep tabs on as is and I already have a Discord account, and Discord tends to be more well known. If you need to talk to me, I check my PMs regularly, and I have my Email that I check on a regular basis listed in my profile. One of the beauties of PBP is that you can easily split things and have story threads running concurrently. There's really not a reason to have the separate chat.
Also, it helps if the RP is kept in the Game thread. If it's scattered across different platforms, it can be a chore to keep track of what happened and who knew. If this is your first time GMing a PBP game, then it's better to keep it simple. The less places you have to check for updates and questions, the less likely you are to wear yourself out and lose your motivation for the game.
So, yeah. Let's just keep things here on the forums. I'm fine with roll20, but don't discount things like Google Slides. It has a history tracker and you can revert back to an earlier state on the map if you need to reset things, which is not a feature that roll20 has.
I probably didn't make myself clear: Telegram wouldn't be used for RPing, just to keep in touch with all of you, to form some kind of bond outside the boards. As I've said (or should have said) [u]it's not mandatory[/u], if most of you don't feel like using Telegram, we will just bypass that step.
If you still want to use some app to keep in touch with each other outside the boards (WhatsApp, Discord, Facebook, etc.) just let me know and I will promptly create a group. Just remember that [u]this is not mandatory[/u], just something I thought would benefit the entire group.
I would have mentioned it in the OP if I thought we couldn't play without this step, but since it's completely optional I just avoided to mention it.
As for what kind of challenges you're going to face, I will write down a brief introduction to the adventure later today, to ease your task of creating the right character for this story.
Sorry, slipped into giving unsolicited advice (Seriously need to work on that) and getting ranty there.
I've been thinking about what I'd like to do and I'm leaning towards druid or cleric. I'd like to play as another PC's sibling (twins anyone?) but I'm cool if this doesn't pan out.
Just a couple of thoughts I had.
Druid and Ranger - both were trained in the ways of the forest, though one took a more martial path while the other focused on taming the wild magics at their command.
Cleric and Fighter - I've got two thoughts about this one. The first is to go shield wall and have them be the tank twins. The other is to go the other way and have the healer behind the fighter buffing them.
Druid and Sorcerer - Both got their magic after a jaunt to the First World.
These are just seeds. I'm trying to see what might work/seeing what sticks. If you've got other ideas, tell me. I"m all ears.
it's not mandatory.
Up to this point, that addressed my only concern. I just didn't want to be the one naysayer who threw a wrench into the proposition.
As fare as character creation goes, I’m game to run anything that needs to be filled. If no one steps up to run Adam’s twin, I'm willing to assume that roll if it makes the character creation a little more creative and interesting. That being said, if someone else feels inspired by the concept, I’m more than happy to step aside and develop something else.
Adam you ideas on twins made me think of other twin combos (more roleplay based for some),
since we have 6 players overlap is expected.
Barbarian (or Rogue) + Paladin (or Monk) (twins with opposing personalities and or views)
Cleric + Paladin (twins with similar paths, but also divergent)
Rogue + Bard (the local troublemakers)
--
Heck everyone could all be from one family potentially.
Thanks for the selection. I’m excited to play!
I’d like to see the DM’s introduction before settling on a character, but I’m tentatively thinking barbarian.
I can give a bit of a hand on that, since I'm working as Co/Shadow GM
Since the module assumes everyone is a local to the town of Kassen, here is info about Kassen.
Kassen is a small town ruled by Mayor Uptal, a fair, but mildly grim man.
While most of the “townsfolk” actually live in small homes or camps in the woods and fields surrounding Kassen proper, the town is quite tightknit.
As with most of the folk in Nirmathas, they stand up for one another and refuse to be pushed around.
The following lists some of the most interesting buildings and people residing in or around Kassen.
Kassen
Hamlet: conventional (mayor); AL CG
Base Value 500 gp
Demographics
Population: 750
Type: isolated (human 93%, halfling 3%, half-orc 2%, elf 1%, half-elf 1%)
People with authority
Jonark Uptal , elected mayor of Kassen;
Colbin Vetnar , woodcutter guildmaster;
Gregor Wisslo , fighter mentor and captain of the guard;
Holgast , town sage;
Rantal Prasst , priest.
Locations:
Seven Silvers: Inn and Tavern
Greathall: place used for meetings and gatherings
Woodcutter’s Guildhall: guild in control of the wood trade/export, and powerful
Temple of Erastil: Only temple in town.
Town Watch Headquarters: HQ of the town's police
Renet’s Steel: Metalworks
Arnama’s Home Home to one of the few rangers in the area
Sir Dramott’s Home: Home of a knight from Lastwall who watches over the town.
Braggar’s Shop: Workshop run by a dwarf
Vargidan Estate: Home of the eccentric Vargidan family
Holgast’s Tower: Holgast’s slightly crooked tower stands at the edge of town.
Mayor Uptal’s Home: Home of the current mayor
Ilimara’s Home: This is the home of Ilimara Oniri, the mysterious woman from Qadira.
Ok, let's give you a bit of information about your beginnings.
You have all grown up in the little hamlet of Kassen, in the nation of Nirmathas. Kassen sits on the shores of the Tourondel River and is almost completely surrounded by the Fangwood, a position which favored the flourishing of the lumber export and the rise of the Woodcutter's Guild. People in Kassen are quite tight-knit, they stand up for one another and refuse to be pushed around.
Life in Kassen is not really exciting, aside from the travelers that sometime pass through town or some festival celebrating the passing of the seasons, there are very few occasions to experience something new. But there is a major exception to this rather dull existence: once every few years a group of young men and women is chosen to travel to the Crypt of the Everflame, the resting place of the town's founder, to light up a lantern with the eternal flame which burns in the crypt's depths and bring it back to the village, to signal the end of harvest season.
Retrieving the Everflame is a great honor and is a task that must be taken seriously, since the trip to the crypt and the exploration of the tomb itself is not without dangers, and this year the task falls upon you. A couple of days before the start of the adventure Jonark Uptal, the mayor of Kassen, has come to your house and informed that you will be one of the six members of the expedition to the Crypt of the Everflame. He has made clear that you should take with you only the bare minimum, since you will be provided with traveling supplies the day of your departure (this is why you start with just a handful of items, and not with the usual starting gold).
You have taken these two days before the start of the adventure to confront with your families and mentors (there is a mentor NPC for every core class, I will present them to you depending on your class choice), asking them about the trip, what dangers lies ahead of you, this sort of things. You had plenty of time to make the preparations for the trip, maybe even talking about it between the six of you (I think it would be better if the six of you would start the adventure already knowing each other; maybe you're not long time friends, but in a little hamlet like Kassen it's hard to not know someone living there). You will leave town roughly around midday on the 4th of Neth 4709, after a brief ceremony in the town square where you will say goodbye to your relatives.
This is it, a bit of background of the adventure. If you have any question feel free to ask, I'm here to help you create a great concept for your PC!
I am going to hold out on making a character until I hear either from Adam about the twin concept or have a little more information about what everyone else is taking.
Cool! I'm leaning towards druid, but depending on what comes out of this, that may change. If you have any ideas, I'm more than happy to listen to them and go with them if we think that might be more fun.
Backstory-wise, I was thinking that our characters managed to get lost in the woods and it was only thanks to luck and divine grace that we lived. After that, we started learning under our mentors.
Mechanically, I think we could go Smash Brothers/Sisters or hang back and skirmish. Another idea might be to have us be the scouts. I'm not sure where to go with it exactly.
Also, do you think we should go fraternal or identical? I'm leaning identical because it could be fun to have our characters pretend they are the other twin to mess with people and get the other in trouble.
I love the bard/rogue twin idea, but I'm trying to play a class I don't normally go for.
Depending on what Nightfiend says, we may have a pair that could be very well known for their shenanigans.
I agree that identical twins sound a bit more fun. You previously mentioned two Druid options. One included a sorcerer and the other a ranger. I'm taking it by the back story "lost in the woods" that you are leaning more towards Druid / Ranger, which sounds OK on my end. I'm clarifying this so we can post what we intend to make so others can gauge what holes need to be filled. If someone decides they strongly would prefer to play a ranger, I'm OK with switching over to sorcerer if needed to avoid a duplicate role.
So now comes the background. Would you prefer to put together the background or would you like me to begin working on it?
Play style: I'm curious on which way you see your druid developing. More combat focused / pet and summoner focused / or more spell focused? I guess there would also be a diversified option where you dabble a bit in each area as well. Once a know a little bit more about how you see your druid, I will begin to build the ranger to what I believe will accommodate the play style.
I't looks like Myself and AdamWarnock are considering a Druid / Ranger combination. If someone is strongly set on playing a Ranger let me know and I will make a change to accommodate not having two of the same classes in the group...
Shouldn't be a problem if two players pick the same class, as then Roleplay wise the two could be rivals, friend competing with each other, etc
Now I might be looking at going into a CRB PrC for the last module....
since core PrCs haven't really been used in a long while....
So either Dragon Disciple, or Shadowdancer if I decide to go for a PrC,
Or I might choose to do a multi-class build...
If I can't pick an idea tomorrow, I'll just roll some dice to pick a idea from the many I have.
I guess I am leaning that way. It has some pretty nice flavor to it I think. I was imagining that the sorcerer could be a fey bloodline, but ranger works as well.
I was thinking we'd work on the background together. Buildwise, I've only ever played one other druid, and briefly at that. I think I'll go spellcasting with some combat in case we get into a pickle or I run out of spells and other tricks to use. I don't see them as a healer, but I am going to have CLW loaded up because I've been in a game with no healer and it was not fun on the frontline. I think buffs are going to be the order of the day. Things that aid helping the front line and their animal companion.
Hmm, really haven't thought much on the background to be honest. I figured they might be alone and prone to wandering the woods for solace, which is how they got lost in the first place. Maybe their parents are part of the Woodcutter's Guild and too busy to really raise them? Again I'm just tossing ideas out. We don't have to go with this.
I tend to like playing against type or at least subverting the stereotypes. I was thinking that they could be tricksters, which may be obvious when I asked about fraternal or identical now that I think about it. I guess they aren't the type to suffer in stoic silence when they could be cracking jokes or making someone smile.
So, what are your thoughts? Any preference on gender or should we just roll for it?
I was considering the birthmark trait and was wondering what you thought about us both having the same birth mark to the same faith? Might explain our luck on surviving in the wilds for so long. If you like the idea, let me know which god you are considering. I was looking at the green faith thinking it would be an interesting tie to the character's bond with nature, but I'm unsure if a ranger's spells would be supported with this faith seeing it doesn't specifically have an independent god.
As fare as gender goes, i'm OK with playing either male or female. I'll leave that up to you. Just let me know which one you decide.
So that's two down!
I had a thought regarding this: "once every few years a group of young men and women is chosen to travel to the Crypt of the Everflame".
This doesn't mean we are playing young characters, correct? I would imagine that it is just flavor text but I wanted to make sure.
No, you're not going to play young characters. With "young men and women" I mean that your characters have just entered the adulthood. In terms of mechanics, let's say that your characters are in the age range of the minimum and maximum results you can get with rolling the dice to get a random starting age.
|
|
While looking over the traits I had an idea that I'd like to run past everyone.
History of Heresy: You were raised with heretical views
that have made it not only difficult for you to accept most
religious beliefs, but you also have had to live with the fact
that you or those you love were often treated as pariahs. As
a result, you have turned your back on religious teachings,
and as long as you do not possess any levels in a class that
grants divine spellcasting power, you gain a +1 trait bonus
on all saving throws made against divine spells.
As Dwarves are not listed among the population of Kassen, I was considering the idea of a dwarven couple that turned away from the teachings of Torag. They coudl have left Janderhoff and ended up settling in Kassen. My character would be the child of this couple. More than likely a fighter.
A fighter would be good, if the fighter take feats like improved trip, a rogue could be brutal to foes.
I'm currently stuck between; Bard, Rogue and Monk....
was thinking of a Cleric and or barbarian earlier....
While still considering barbarian, I see that there’s not a lot of talk about arcane casters. So, I’m looking into that to see what might be interesting. It’s been a while since I’ve played an arcane caster.
Are we still expecting one more?
Yeah, GM Taban has not posted in the discussion thread yet.
And I'm likely to make a Bard, and cover a bit of everything.
I like that. I hadn't considered Birthmark, but it fits. The Green Faith works pretty well and is kinda the default for druids. Rangers can certainly take up the Green Faith as well. My take on the magic is that Rangers and Druids tap into something more primal and wild than clerics. Their magic is tied to nature itself and while they may follow one of the major gods if their philosophy fits with that god's doctrine, they need not follow one to get their spells.
As for our characters' gender I keep picturing them as sisters, so if you're cool with it, I say let's run with it. :)
Which brings us more to background. I really haven't thought much about race or anything like that. Human would be the obvious choice given the demographics, but it could be interesting to play half-elves or half-orcs. I know I stated or at least implied previously that I figured our characters would probably be outcasts, but I didn't see anything from you about the idea. What do you think would work? is there any kind of a dynamic that you'd like to play with? What about other family? Do you see us alone or with a mother and father or even with other siblings? What about the rest of town? Is there someone that we love to be around and hang out with or is there someone that hates our guts and is constantly trying to get us into trouble? Any thoughts on what our birthmarks are like and where they are?
Sorry for the barrage of questions. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving you out by accident and wanted to include stuff you find interesting.
So far, here's what we have:
- Characters are identical twin sisters.
- One sister is a ranger, the other is a druid.
- Both of them got lost in the Fangwood when they were younger. Luck and divine help allowed them to survive.
- Both of them have a birthmark that is like a highly detailed tattoo of a symbol sacred to the Green Faith.
- Both of them are a bit mischievous and sometimes swap places to confuse people.
So Yeah be submitting a Human Bard, so I cover a bit of everything.
Also since I tend do this for both games I run or play in,
If folks give a reasonable description* of their character I can make the character in a 3D rendered height reference (CC example),
as I find if helps each player getting a common image of each character and also a perspective of how tall/short they really are to each other.
Yeah, GM Taban has not posted in the discussion thread yet.
I wrote a PM to GM Taban to inform him that he has been selected to play in the adventure, and to ask him to report to this thread and start building his character. We'll see if he's going to answer, otherwise I may have to choose another player from the recruitment thread.
So far, here's what we have:
- Characters are identical twin sisters.
- One sister is a ranger, the other is a druid.
- Both of them got lost in the Fangwood when they were younger. Luck and divine help allowed them to survive.
- Both of them have a birthmark that is like a highly detailed tattoo of a symbol sacred to the Green Faith.
- Both of them are a bit mischievous and sometimes swap places to confuse people.
I believe so fare we are on the same page. All of the above looks grate.
Race: I was considering human. This race will fit in with the locals a little better. As it is, we are outside the local norms do to our professions. Being human should make it a little easier to deal with a tight-net mostly human community. Besides, who would suspect the two cute human girls as being responsible for any sort of mayhem.
Background: I was envisioning twins who were lost to the forest at a young age do to a logging accident that left them orphaned and lost to the land. Since birth both girls seemed unusually connected to nature and had matching birthmarks that looked very much like the icon used by those who follow the green faith. After being orphaned and lost to the Fangwood, both girls were taken in by a very old nomadic druid who stayed around long enough to help them to survive. During their upbringing, the tired old druid nurtured their already strong connection to nature and guided them on the ways of the forest. Because of their parental loss, the two girls have developed a resentment for those responsible for the local logging efforts and have been causing mayhem to distract from the logging process. Over time this process grew to the point that the girls decided to take up residence in Kassen in order to spy on the woodcutter’s guild. Both girls where more than a little surprised when they were selected to participate in the lighting of the lantern. The local community views the two girls as long lost children of the community who have found their way back home after enduring a dramatic hardship. The two girls view this as an opportunity to produce a larger wrench to toss into the community’s logging efforts. Who knows what happens from here.
Note: This is not a background. It is simply my thoughts on a possible concept. Let me know your thoughts on this.
P.S. you can select where the birthmarks are located. Just keep in mind that we will likely use them as a divine focus for spell casting.
So Yeah be submitting a Human Bard, so I cover a bit of everything.
Also since I tend do this for both games I run or play in,
If folks give a reasonable description* of their character I can make the character in a 3D rendered height reference (CC example),
as I find if helps each player getting a common image of each character and also a perspective of how tall/short they really are to each other.
The example looks amazing DM Azure_Zero. Hopefully it doesn't take to much of your time to put together. It looks detailed. I'm looking forward to seeing our group in 3-D.
It takes less time (and skill) then doing them from scratch with Daz Studio, which has a ton of options and the base software and content is free.
And since the Annual Premiere Artist Festival sale is on I might be able to get some things I'm looking for cheap.
Going to be brief because of time. I like it and I've already got some ideas on a more fleshed out version. Would you say our parents worked for the Woodcutters, or would they have just been victims of some accident caused by greed and/or negligence?
Regarding the birthmark. It doesn't say how big or intricate it is, really, and as far as I know the green faith doesn't have any one holy symbol, kinda like it has a multitude of names. I thought a mark like a world tree with branches and roots intertwining would be something cool and unusual. Another thought I had is having the birthmark cover their backs, arms, and legs, with an image of the symbol on the back of their hands. Maybe that's a little too over the top?
I've done a quick look through my Daz library of G8F characters for Materials that have nature like tattoos.
And these are your choices if you want the tattoo being in a visible spot, other wise you could say the mark is hidden under your hair.
If none of these work I'll see what non-tattoo character materials could be used that match the worded description better.
I'll use the word description of how they look to morph the mesh/wireframe and add the right parts with the right colors.
I even have heterochromatic eyes that could be used from other character materials.
Now something to Note when I do a character rendering I do look at the character's stats (STR,DEX,CON, and a bit of CHA), to help build them,
so if a stat differs too much it'll make a tell of who is who for your shenanigans.
Now my Bardess may join in using Disguise self (after she gains a level) to help add to the fun and confusion.
Background: Either option would work. That being said, at some point, I think we may need to reconcile somewhat with the woodcutters. Being unsure about the storyline, there is a possibility that a peaceful understanding with the community may be necessary for the story to progress.
In the beginning, I was envisioning a modest amount of resentment towards the woodcutters out of blame for their parents death / being abandoned / and a general distaste about the fact that they are destroying the forest. In time, depending on how things play out, they could come to understand that the fault wasn’t do to any misguided judgment by the woodcutters, but more an accident that couldn’t be avoided. The fact that their parents were part of the community, combined with the exoneration of the woodcutter’s negligence could open a door for the girls to become an active member of the community. In doing so they would be in a position to strive for a better symbiotic relationship between the community, the land, and any current protectors of the forest. Just my wayward thoughts anyway….
Birthmark: Completely up to you on design. I’m not completely sure how stringent the term “present a divine focus” is. It could simply be the divine focus needs to be present, or it could be as strict as you have to hold it up into the air and focus on it. If left to me, I would place the birthmark on the tip of our middle finger and then present that. (LoL) Then again that might make healing spells a bit awkward.
I think both Kellyn and Georgina’s tattoos are cool looking and come close to what Adam’s describing. I didn’t see a tattoo on Maebry. I must be missing it. Although the concept is a birthmark and not so much a tattoo, the idea of it enveloping most of their back like a sprouting tree and then churning around their shoulders and then down their arms sounds interesting and could be fun to describe. Depending on the details involved in the birthmark, I could see something like that being a bit alarming to both the parents and the community. Alarming enough with one child to cause concern; let alone twins with the same identical birthmark. No doubt that would lead people to believe that the gods or some strange magic were involved with their birth.
As far as joining in goes, I welcome it. Just keep in mind that it sounds like the girls will be a bit apprehensive of anybody from the community in the beginning. That situation will likely change over time. By your next level, I’m assuming that a solid rapport with the group will have developed making it a lot easier to blend in with them.
I look forward to seeing what everyone brings to the table. )
Look at/Click on Maebry's 3rd image on the right plane, the one with the light Blue undergarments, not the teal ones, to see the 3 tattoo options for her.
Eva's Butterfly one (5th and 6th image on the right plane) could be another good one.
but for now I'll put down Kellyn and Georgina as material targets.
As for the confusion fun, I get it, we'll also have to see how it starts out.
That's a good point about the plot. I think having it be a tragic accident could work as well. Maybe it was just one person trying to make money by skimping on supplies, and when some substandard stuff broke, our characters' parents were unlucky and killed. Young kids wouldn't understand that and probably would be distrustful and withdrawn afterwards. That would probably make it easier for them to accept and move on, I think.
Another possibility for the birthmark is that it was/is really faint unless magic is being used, or one of the twins is really feeling stressed out or emotional or just strong emotions in general. I like that imagery to be honest, but if you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them.
I was thinking that the holy symbol part of the mark would be on the backs of their hands. Showing the symbol while it glows and clenching a fist to bring the spell together and complete it strikes me as a pretty visual.
been a long day and I'm starting to crash, so that's all I have for now.
I was kinda picturing something like this as either the image on the back or the symbols on the backs of their hands. The marks on their legs and arms would be celtic knots coming off the main image on the back. I'll try to sketch it out tomorrow.
As for stats, I was going to see what kind of ranger Nightfiend was doing. I was planning on having my character's stats be close to those of Nightfiend's character if not identical. I also thought about establishing an array that we'd both use based on the point-buy. It'd be suboptimal, but it'd still be pretty good for what we want to do. Again, I'm not sure what kind of ranger is in the works.
All that said, I would like to point out that Charisma isn't really tied to appearance. men. While it can be a factor, it can also be a non-factor. An ugly charismatic character could be fun to play. They have a more forceful personality and skills that an attractive character with the same charisma score would not have.
All that said, do whatever you want. I just thought I'd put my two cents in about Charisma and appearance since I was thinking about tanking Charisma, but still having her be cute and huggable in appearance.
Anyway, I'm done with the ranting for now. Sorry for going off topic. I agree with what Nightfiend has said for the most part. They'll be wary at first, but they will warm up to yall.
Anyway, I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep.
As I posted earlier, those links are the only Daz characters I own that have textures with tattoos that are nature like.
And I can't do texture work for a model, so the closest one to having a celtic tattoo is Kellyn.
For Cha and appearance, I did say Cha influenced it a some.
As to quote the CRB
Charisma measures a character's personality, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance.
Now I do know back in the 1st/2nd ed days of Gary Gygax, Personality and Appearance were split in Unearthed Arcana, with the creation of a 7th stat that just did appearance, and charisma now being pure personality. But the final total for that 7th stat was influenced by race and starting Charisma.
And if you want to disguise as each other for pranks, that does mean bluff and disguise checks, which needs Charisma.....
So I can recommend these 3 as a good starting arrays;
14,14,13,13,12,12
14,14,14,13,12,10
14,14,14,14,10,10
All these arrays give a Mod total of +8, without a weakness to bite you later
and allow for modifiers good enough should the exact array be used for both druid and ranger, as ranger can be a bit more MAD then a Druid.
As for getting into fun and pranks, I agree it'll be something that time sets up.
I'm happy to see that some of your characters are coming along nicely. I like the idea of the twins, it could bring interesting play options to the table.
Now, I admit I didn't follow your discussion closely and maybe I've missed something, but have you already chosen which deity to follow? Remember that the birthmark you guys want to have on your PCs body have to resemble roughly your deity's holy symbol, like a spiral for Pharasma or a butterfly for Desna.
That said, I want to inform you that I wrote to GM Taban, telling him that if he fails to report to this thread before Tuesday he will be replaced with another player. I hope he will come here in time and starts working on his character, but we can't wait for him forever.
Now please go on with your character creation, I really appreciate the efforts you are putting into creating this party.
Stats: I am considering the following.
Str 14
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 14
Cha 10
This includes a +2 assigned to Dex from racial. This is taking into consideration that my highest possible spell is going to be 4th level, whereas the druid will have a much higher option. If you intend to cast 9th level spells then wisdom will need to be a higher priority than dexterity. Slight differences in stats should be OK. Large differences in charisma or strength will likely make their physical appearance slightly different or create a noticeable difference in their personality. I would say to arrange stats as you would like to have them and any notable differences would be explained by their carrier choices.
Build concept: I was looking at more of an archer with the off ability to melee if needed. This might very depending on what the rest of the group decides to do. Obviously if we are soft on the front line I will need to adapt the concept into more melee and less ranged. As of now, I'm considering undead as my favored enemy as they are in direct contrast to life and nature. That and the GM stated CRYPT of the Everflame, which leads me to believe that there will be undead in our future. Aside from that I intend to begin play with scale mail, greatsword, and a short bow with arrows. For the most part I have the crunch completed on hero labs less the character’s name and image.
Birthmark: I love the tree concept and would enjoy the idea of the tree’s branches extending over the girls shoulders and down their arms, ending into a divine focus. I'm a little concerned about being overly detailed about the birthmark as it isn’t a tattoo and would more than likely only resemble the concept / symbol. I truly like the concept of it being tied to nature. It being a tree, ties it into our background and connects it directly to nature. The Celtic knot work might be a little over the top, as would it glowing or fading during spell casting or during emotional distress. That being said, identical twins are known to have a certain amount of empathy for one another. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to suspect that something like that might exist between them. Ultimately it’s is up to the GM on how detailed the birthmark can be and what it is capable of doing.
Name/ Description / Image: I intend to wait for you to select an image and then select the same image for my character. As annoying as I’m sure this will be, I kind of like it. I was wondering if you had any ideas on names or sir names for the characters. I suppose we could select names independently, but I think it would be better to have a couple names that sound good together. Obviously the last name would need to be the same and would likely be known by the community do to our parent’s involvement in the community. Finally, I'm OK with you putting together a description on how you envision the girls to look. I will roll with whatever you place on the table. )
1. The characters are going to be female and identical twins.
2. They will be a Druid and a Ranger who are both tightly tied to nature.
3. Both girls have a birthmark (Trait) which will hopefully be tied to the Green Faith. (Your discretion on this of course). This brings up the question about the Green faith and it being acceptable for both druid and ranger spells?
Because the faith isn’t directly linked to a specific god and seems to revolve more around nature Adam was hoping to have the birthmark resemble a world tree on the character’s back. Presumably the tree would be the divine focus or possibly have some part of it be the focus. This brings to question about the process of using the focus. Would the presence of the focus be enough for spell casting or does it have to be presented? (I.E. held up into the air and focused on.)
Some feedback on how detailed the birthmark can be would be great. So far we have tossed around a tree whose branches encrust the girls shoulders and extend down their arms and ends in a divine focus. It was also suggested that instead of the branches extending around their shoulders and down their arms that it could be Celtic Knots? Anyway, there has been a bit of discussion on what it can and cannot do. Adam mentioned he would like to have it be somewhat faded and then have it darken during spell casting or when the sisters are distressed in some way. He also suggested that it might be possibly to have it glow somewhat during spell casting. All this seems to be a bit of a stretch to me, but I feel compelled to place it all on the table and see what you think.
Your concept is very interesting. The druid and ranger twins with the same birthmark is quite peculiar and I like it. There are only two things that I'm not really sure about:
1. The birthmark is described clearly as "a strange birthmark that looks very similar to the holy symbol of the [u]god[/u] you chose to worship later in life". I don't think that the symbol of the Green Faith would fit, because it's a sign of a god, not of a group of beliefs. I think your best choice would be Gozreh in this situation, but is your choice.
2. How large can a birthmark be? The idea of a tree starting from the back and protruding itself to the arms and hands of the two sisters is intriguing, but looks more like a tattoo than a birthmark. From what I know, birthmarks are usually big as the palm of an hand, I think that something big as a tree embracing the whole back of an individual would be called differently, although my knowledge of the english language is not so vast to know how it is called.
Anyway, I really like how your characters are coming along. I can't wait to see what kind of party you guys will form to go and retrieve the Everflame!
Done most of my crunch, working on the Fluff, including the character model, to help get ideas for backstory.
Ok guys, I've made a little sheet on Google Sheets to keep track of your PCs. If you would open this link and add your informations, that would be great. Please keep the "Description" brief, just a few words to describe your character, you don't need to put your whole background on the sheet.
I've Added what I could to the Google Sheet.
As I'll be out camping for this Long weekend without any internet, but I'll have a laptop to finish off any fluff or crunch I missed.
I'll be back on Monday, with hopefully everything complete.
Now I might be able to get another post in today before I leave for the Weekend.
Alright. I’ve decided to stick with barbarian. Most likely human. A brief background: He grew up in Kassen. His father is a woodcutter turned hunter/militia man who’s been mostly absent the past several years. He has a younger brother and two younger sisters, and he watches after them with his mother. He’s known for his temper when defending them. He is loyal to those close to him. He’s passionate about the nation and seeing its freedom protected from its neighbors.
I need to come up with a name. It’s hard writing with just pronouns.
I’m interested in making ties with some of the other characters.
Chapel Ty’El If you’re still going with fighter, I though we could be sparring partners.
Your concept is very interesting. The druid and ranger twins with the same birthmark is quite peculiar and I like it. There are only two things that I'm not really sure about:
1. The birthmark is described clearly as "a strange birthmark that looks very similar to the holy symbol of the [u]god[/u] you chose to worship later in life". I don't think that the symbol of the Green Faith would fit, because it's a sign of a god, not of a group of beliefs. I think your best choice would be Gozreh in this situation, but is your choice.
2. How large can a birthmark be? The idea of a tree starting from the back and protruding itself to the arms and hands of the two sisters is intriguing, but looks more like a tattoo than a birthmark. From what I know, birthmarks are usually big as the palm of an hand, I think that something big as a tree embracing the whole back of an individual would be called differently, although my knowledge of the english language is not so vast to know how it is called.
Anyway, I really like how your characters are coming along. I can't wait to see what kind of party you guys will form to go and retrieve the Everflame!
I agree with virtually all of your post. So, based on what I am reading, we need to select a specific god in addition to the Green Faith in order to take advantage of the Divine focus portion of the Birthmark trait. The birthmark itself can only be the size of your hand.
This makes sense to me as well. I had my doubts about the Green Faith being an option for Ranger spells. It does specifically mention Druid spells, so I thought that a ranger might be able to pull it off, but I am still unsure.
In order to maintain the vision that I and Adam had for the characters, I propose the following. Both girls gave each other tribal black ink tattoos of a world tree, which included a Celtic knot work boarder that encircled their shoulders and descended down their arms. The tribal knot work blended with a naturally formed birthmark that both girls where born with on their wrist. Both birthmarks suspiciously resembled the holy symbol of __________. (To be chosen.)
This should allow our vision of the characters to flourish, allow more detail with the world tree image, and still maintain a level reasonableness in the description of the birthmark. It also eliminates any question about the Green Faith’s ability to provide spells for the ranger. What do you think about this idea?
I agree with virtually all of your post. So, based on what I am reading, we need to select a specific god in addition to the Green Faith in order to take advantage of the Divine focus portion of the Birthmark trait. The birthmark itself can only be the size of your hand.
This makes sense to me as well. I had my doubts about the Green Faith being an option for Ranger spells. It does specifically mention Druid spells, so I thought that a ranger might be able to pull it off, but I am still unsure.
In order to maintain the vision that I and Adam had for the characters, I propose the following. Both girls gave each other tribal black ink tattoos of a world tree, which included a Celtic knot work boarder that encircled their shoulders and descended down their arms. The tribal knot work blended with a naturally formed birthmark that both girls where born with on their wrist. Both birthmarks suspiciously resembled the holy symbol of __________. (To be chosen.)
This should allow our vision of the characters to flourish, allow more detail with the world tree image, and still maintain a level reasonableness in the description of the birthmark. It also eliminates any question about the Green Faith’s ability to provide spells for the ranger. What do you think about this idea?
This seems reasonable. As I've already said this idea intrigues me, I really want to see what kind of PCs you guys can come up with.