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This is an adaptation of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist to Pathfinder rules and the Eberron setting, set in the largely un-detailed city of Throneport, site of Thronehold. I've expanded it significantly to support this game, which is a city-wide treasure hunt in an urban backdrop.
A few things to know about the setting:
* Throneport is separated by treaty into 6 wards, each controlled by a different kingdom or power group. Some of these borders are porous, some are like the Berlin wall.
* It is a civilized city. Wise heroes will respect the city's rules. Those who get on the city's bad side are in for a rough time, and jail is a possibility if you get caught breaking the law and don't have a well connected backer.
* I like to play Eberron with a cyberpunk inspiration, with the Dragonmarked Houses as ersatz megacorps and adventurers as deniable assets.
* The original adventure isn't actually much of a heist, in spite of the name, so I've incorporated some changes to fix that.
I'd be surprised if you clicked on this and aren't familiar with Eberron, but if not there are some differences from stock D&D, with different common races and new magic. Being a member of or working for a Dragonmarked House isn't required, especially at the beginning, but the Dragonmarked Houses and other organizations loom extremely large in my version of Eberron, particularly since the PCs will be looking for backing from different factions in the game.
If you've gotten through this and are still interested, let's talk about concept first and crunch later. I'd like to have the PCs be a team going into the first scene, so we'll do a Session 0 before writing up sheets to make sure we're all on the same page.
Hi GM,
Is this supposed to be a PbP or something else? Asking because of the whole "session 0" thing you mentioned.
Also, is it open to all Eberron races? For classes, are you adapting the PF1 ones or can we go freely on the existing ones (assuming they "match" the scenario)?
Thanks!
I enjoy Eberron. Do you have a conversion for Eberron material that you're planning on using? I'm one of those wierd people who like to try and incorporate mechanics into my storytelling (I don't always succeed, but I do make an effort).
Hi GM,
Is this supposed to be a PbP or something else? Asking because of the whole "session 0" thing you mentioned.
Also, is it open to all Eberron races? For classes, are you adapting the PF1 ones or can we go freely on the existing ones (assuming they "match" the scenario)?
Thanks!
Archlich, this will hosted here on the boards. I was using Session 0 to mean we will coordinate how the team met up leading into the first scene.
All Eberron and standard PF races are available.
I enjoy Eberron. Do you have a conversion for Eberron material that you're planning on using? I'm one of those wierd people who like to try and incorporate mechanics into my storytelling (I don't always succeed, but I do make an effort).
Vrog and Archlich, we will use the Eberron Pathfinder conversion website for crunch.
* Races are here.* The artificer class, as the only setting-specific class, is here.
Okay, I'm currently leaning towards a Changeling Phantom Thief Unchained Rogue. She's a highly skilled Cat Burgler (given the heist theme, and this is my favorite archetype of Rogue, it's a natural fit imo).
My interest is piqued. I have always liked the Shifter race. The 'Child of the Streets' alternative racial trait would seem to fit this adventure.
Any restrictions on classes? I'm thinking a Shifter Magus would be fun, but I could do rogue, ranger, fighter, depending on party needs.
Do the PC's know what the 'heist' entails? Could be helpful in developing a character concept.
I'll check back.
Cheers!
Definitely considering my options - at the moment mostly thinking on thematic stuff like Vrog’s. I’ll get back soon.
What are the sources we can draw from?
1st level, I assume?
Do you use Traitrs, Flaws or Drawbacks?
How long are submissions staying open? (Hopefully not weeks like some recruitments)
Any House rules we should know of?
Here are several submissions. Just the basic ideas, all can be expanded easily.
- Bexellock, a warforged arcanist (possibly occultist). He worked with House Cannith in Cyre before the Day of Mourning. May take levels in Artificer, but there aren't a lot of synergies there, unfortunately. He has knowledge that House Cannith may not want out into the world. He worked with Ceilidh.
- Meiric Mthunzi Ken Umthakathi, a slave-warrior from Xen'drik, he fought under the banner of Karrnath for much of the war, or under the directions of groups lead by proxy by Karrnath to undermine other governments. He has seen and committed war crimes. He is 6'3" with coal-dark skin and white dreadlocks and beard, with pale eyes. He is a Vanguard slayer, who may take Inquisitor Hexenhammer levels or ninja Scout levels.
- Demon, a jet black warforged, he walked out of the southern ocean just three months ago. He had been on board a ship that sunk just before the war started, and it took him this long to walk to shore. He is a monk master of many styles. Demon has a mission he wants to fulfill (designed in conjunction with the DM to fit the adventure.) He was designed by Ceilidh's grandmother.
- Ceilidh, a dragonmarked sorcerer (mentioned in Dragon magazine) of House Cannith. She has a Dragonmark and an arcane tattoo that is growing on her back, and magic that is pulsing out of her, that she does not fully know how to control. She will take levels of wizard to "study" how. (Original build was a prestige class called ultimate magus, that combined sorcerer and wizard in a neat way if approved.)
- Konghruul, an addict and friend of Ceilidh. He is a shifter brawler mutagenic mauler. He fought with Meiric in the Twilight defense and the Shadow Crags.
- Korihor, Ceilidh's twin sister. She bears an aberrant dragonmark, as well as the aberrant bloodline, or the blood of khyber bloodline. I've wanted to take her into psionic classes, and merge the blood and the mind with aberration themes, but the only prestige class I can find is of the Mindmage.
What if I don't know anything about Eberron, but I think a high-fantasy magic and magiscience would be a cool world to explore? I'm thinking fighter
Heya. Haven't seen anyone mention playing an Artificer, which a game with a quasi-cyberpunk, Eberron-feel to it would just be begging to have. I was thinking of a sort of Dwarven Artificer "hacker" type...not sure how I'd make that work, exactly, but that would be the concept.
Any restrictions on classes? I'm thinking a Shifter Magus would be fun, but I could do rogue, ranger, fighter, depending on party needs.
Do the PC's know what the 'heist' entails? Could be helpful in developing a character concept.
Shifters are cool. I'm fine with any PF class, though Gunslinger doesn't really fit the setting.
The first scene is going to be the PCs going to meet a contact for a job at a tavern. They don't know it's going to be a 'heist,' per se.
What are the sources we can draw from?
1st level, I assume?
Do you use Traitrs, Flaws or Drawbacks?
How long are submissions staying open? (Hopefully not weeks like some recruitments)
Any House rules we should know of?
Standard PF races and converted Eberron races, any PF class or the Artificer, standard 2 traits.
No Flaws or Drawbacks.Background skills.
We'll be using Cost of Living rules, streamlined feats (taken from the Elephant in the Room Feat Tax blog post), automatically scaling feats, and PCs will get skill unlocks on class skills for free at the gateway levels 5/10/15.
That shifter brawler sounds cool; I can totally see them getting implants or symbiotes to go along with their mutagenic powers.
What if I don't know anything about Eberron, but I think a high-fantasy magic and magiscience would be a cool world to explore? I'm thinking fighter
Eberron is my favorite D&D setting. In a nutshell:
* It's a world where magic is technology and they're at the level of railroads and telegraph. Everbright lanterns light the streets, there are public cleaning stones and fountains of endless water the public can use, and many NPCs use magic in their day to day jobs and lives.* The continent of the main setting was at war for a century over a disputed succession and the war just ended 2 years ago in a precarious treaty that didn't really address who should succeed to the throne and instead recognized a dozen sovereign nations where there used to just be one. (Note that there were also other stops and starts during that century of war- nobody's really sure the war is over for real.)
* The main countries of the continent are Aundair (very magical, sort of Harry Potter-ish), Breland (land of farms and fantasy-NYC), Karrnath (the most militarized country, they have embraced necromancy but they're not evil), and Thrane (sort of a fantasy Catholic Church).
* There are international companies with virtual monopolies over various industries. In the city the game is set in, they even have cyberpunk-style extraterritoriality.
There's a lot of setting material on the game's Obsidian Portal page I set up.
Heya. Haven't seen anyone mention playing an Artificer, which a game with a quasi-cyberpunk, Eberron-feel to it would just be begging to have. I was thinking of a sort of Dwarven Artificer "hacker" type...not sure how I'd make that work, exactly, but that would be the concept.
Artificer's cool, but you're right that they don't quite get the hacker/rigger type abilities to take over constructs or steal information. I've played an Impossible Sorcerer before (in Iron Gods) just to have the ability to use mind control magic on constructs- that could be a possibility.
Neat, sounds interesting, I'm thinking about a neophyte half-elf (or full elf) fighter, who is associated with the elven family entertainment house (Phiarlan), but is overlooked as a bodyguard, not getting the full respect of the house.
His fur stands on end, as his dark eyes glint in the light of the inns' fire. "Yeah. I'm a bloody shifter." His voice is deep and soft. Gravelly. "For 5 years I fought for Aundair, for the crown. I was there when Karmos...'defeated' the titan. Not like the stories you've heard, believe me." Konghruul finishes the brandy in front of him, then eying yours barely touched in front of you squints, reaching across the table to take your drink. "You need the rest of this, you think? You ever even seen the Mournland, Mourner?" He drains the shot before continuing. "I served in the Shadow crags. Fighting over the Demon Wastes." He belches softly. "The 'wisdom' of men."
"No one suspected I was a spy for Queen Aurala. It was good. I was rich and powerful. I was a terror, given missions of stealth, espionage, assassination..." He chuckles. "Yeah, greatest diplomat queen my furry backside."
"But all that was taken from me. I lost my money, my connections, my friends...I lost my life. I was betrayed. By the very people I put in power. I was discarded."
"Look, this is pretty simple...I was sent here - by the person who brought me back. I have a certain set of skills." His teeth glint wickedly. "You should use them".
Okay, I'm currently leaning towards a Changeling Phantom Thief Unchained Rogue. She's a highly skilled Cat Burgler (given the heist theme, and this is my favorite archetype of Rogue, it's a natural fit imo).
A Phantom Thief changeling would be really cool and very useful for this game. Since Skill Unlocks are being given for free to all class skills, Unchained Rogues will get a free feat at levels when they would otherwise get Skill Unlocks.
** spoiler omitted **...
I'm fine with hobgoblin, if that's what you want to do. That backstory is great. Lots of hooks, I like it. So he's reincarnated? What was he originally?
Hey karl,
Can we use the Eberron minotaurs (from the site you linked)? Not necessarily evil, maybe Chaotic Neutral, you tell me. I thought about building a "brute" "bouncer" of sorts. Maybe an enforcer or bodyguard of sorts... Thinking on bloodrager, or maybe vigilante. What are your thoughts? I don't know about build specifics yet (focusing mostly on the concept).
Cheers
Hey karl,
Can we use the Eberron minotaurs (from the site you linked)? Not necessarily evil, maybe Chaotic Neutral, you tell me. I thought about building a "brute" "bouncer" of sorts. Maybe an enforcer or bodyguard of sorts... Thinking on bloodrager, or maybe vigilante. What are your thoughts? I don't know about build specifics yet (focusing mostly on the concept).
Cheers
I'm good with the minotaur. I hate the idea that any race always has to be a certain alignment. I actually played a LG minotaur crusader cleric of the Silver Flame in an old game- make him whatever alignment you want.
A minotaur vigilante sounds really interesting, though I'm not sure how well their racial stats line up with the class's abilities. Bloodrager is cool, but doesn't the Bloodrager want Cha? The -2 to Cha would hurt.
It's mostly for the flavor - not really optimizing here. I went bloodrager instead of barbarian because of the bloodlines... In arcane terms, I can keep his charisma around 12 most of the time, and raise to 14 at higher levels with an ioun stone or something of the sorts. There are also some archetypes that "get rid" of the arcane powers but I didn't really started looking at mechanics yet.
Vigilante was another cool possibility. I think it would go very well with the "heist" theme of the game. Still thinking! Hehe.
Originally he was a bugbear.
But in a "different concept" of him, he was an elf, who had been reincarnated as a bugbear.
Hobgoblin happens to work extremely well in Eberron. So does shifter.
So those are my "options" for him.
If I did hobgoblin, where would the stats for that be found?
Originally he was a bugbear.
But in a "different concept" of him, he was an elf, who had been reincarnated as a bugbear.
Hobgoblin happens to work extremely well in Eberron. So does shifter.
So those are my "options" for him.
If I did hobgoblin, where would the stats for that be found?
This is a cool concept. We can use the hobgoblin here on the PFSRD.
OK, so far I think we're tentatively looking at:
* Archlich's Minotaur Bloodrager or Vigilante (bouncer)
* Mioki's Shifter Magus
* mittean's Hobgoblin Brawler (Mutagenic Mauler), future Bloodrager multiclass (government spook)
* Plastic Dragon's Artificer
* Torilgrey's Half-elf Fighter (Phiarlan guard looking for recognition)
* Vrog's Changeling Unchained Rogue (independent? cat burglar)
Concepts are still under discussion, of course.
Ceilidh is a hard woman to love. She's brilliant and believes she is on a mission to civilize the world, one person at a time. She believes that society is doomed because of the way people treat each other, and the way the species treat each other. She believes that there is a problem with the rich crushing the poor, even though she doesn't believe that there is something inherently wrong with being rich.
She distrusts magic, feeling it is only abused, and dislikes religion, feeling it is a big con. The conundrum of her life lies in the fact that she seems to seep magic from every pore. She would prefer to just read a book, cook an extravagant meal, enjoy an expensive scotch and cigar, and live out her life in a warm place overlooking the sea.
Calculating and thoughtful in her planning, she often doesn't think about what she is going to say before she says it in conversation. She believes in the best of mankind, but also believes that most people are idiots; sheep, with no willpower, to make an informed choice for themselves, bent on treating each other poorly simply for a lack of understanding, or because they want a cookie.
She was born to the south of Metrol in Cyre, in the small village of Little Mingin, a dirty fishing village on Lake Cyre. Her family sent her away to school in Metrol because "weird things always happened around her", the final straw is when she gave the mayor's daughter's a purple beard.
At fifteen her tattoo appeared, growing slowly down her back. She was afraid it was a disease or infection of some sort. Her fears, it seems to her, were confirmed. She is infected with magical energy. It took the form of a slowly growing upside-down tree, made of thousands of tiny arcane symbols, one by one appearing on her skin, bleeding down her back, slowly over the years. Every time something strange happened around her, the tattoo grew a little more.
At the age of 21, she awoke in the ‘Crown of Galifar’ in the city of Thronehold, a diplomats Inn located in the former capital, while working as a freelance researcher for Captain Obo d’Cannith...or what remained of the inn. Her bed alone stood unharmed, on an untouched rise in a crater where the 'Crown of Galifar' once stood. She believes she destroyed it with her magic. That was when her Mark changed from a tiny shoot to a tiny sapling on her back.
That was the Day of Mourning.
She wants nothing more than to control this magic, so it can't hurt anyone else. She can't let this thing inside her destroy everything around her.
[Unbeknownst to her, her family's home was NOT destroyed at that same moment, back in Little Mingin. It exists as a possible pocket inside the Mournland that is undiscovered.]
Fleeing, she jumped a ship heading up the Brey river, across Lake Brey, and up the headwaters of the Brey to Cragwar. Over the next year, driven by fear of hurting anyone, she made her way around the Blackcap Mountains through the Dragonwood, around the north side of Silver Lake through Xandrar, and eventually down to Graywall where the amount of alcohol they served seemed to match her thirst well. Fleeing a misunderstanding and a debt owed to someone associated with House Orien, she fled in the night south towards Sharn.
On the road south, a fog rolled in, and she ended up caught in a battle between two opposing armies. [Chaos ensued. It may have been a battle from the PAST. When she finally used magic, it knocked her unconscious.]
She awoke on a lightning rail pulling into Throneport. She had lost almost a year of time.
She is a human, and rumor had it her grandmother was a tiefling, but she honestly considers herself human (no matter what those kids said). She cannot stand racism, and will quickly lose her cool if she sees it in practice.
She is not a hero and has done nothing she considers special.
Ceilidh is very against inequality. She has been an outcast, and homeless, for good portions of her life, so she feels for the underdog, the marginalized. But she feels she's been "accused" of attacks against people and places, with her magic. She worries she's a bit of an unintended terrorist. So she has latched onto a few incidences she's read about that involved real terrorists...elves. The Valenar betrayed Cyre and took huge portions of her country. Because of her frustration over her own situation, she tends to read the worst in elves and comes across as mildly racist.
She's brilliant, but a bit of an alcoholic. She can't sleep without a drink. She loves a good cigar but will complain about someone tracking in dirt, or not washing their face. Calculating and thoughtful in her planning, she often doesn't think about what she is going to say before she says it in conversation.
Ceilidh wants to figure out why her tree tattoo began to develop...an what it means.
Aside from that, she is really wanting to learn how to cook rice the way they did in Talenta, or prepare ribs the way they do up in Korth. That, and the perfect scotch, preferably from Mror. She hears rumors that there is a scotch from the Demon Wastes that has stopped the battle there, simply so demons and druids could partake of it together.
Independent fo sho. Character is WIP but should have it up by this weekend by the latest.
Will this idea work with the overall campaign?
Concept in Progress:
After the attack, he hid his daughter with a friend while he faked his own death. For now, who ever tried to kill him thinks he is dead, while he tries to uncover the identities of whom did this to him. Meanwhile, he discovered that his daughter’s condition is difficult to treat and needs special herbs and magic, these are very expensive and hard to obtain.
He hears about a job that might pay well. While masking his identity, he seeks out this job. His main motivation is curing his daughter.
This character, probably chaotic good, will pretty much do anything to cure his daughter. I see intense moral dilemma in his future. Also, constantly looking over his shoulder and hoping he does not get recognized or have his daughter found for leverage.
A few things I need to consider and work on.
- Need to work on background skill, what was his job; some kind of general labor, but uses magic to make his work easier / better.
- What did he see along the docks. (doesn’t have to be docks. Alley, church, lots of options)
- Who is his friend. Will the friend be an NPC
- How did he fake his death
- name
So, 15 point buy? 20 point buy? Dice? for character generation
Hmmm. Based on your comments Karlprosek, maybe we might not need an Artificer like I was thinking. I DO see a huge gap in the whole healer/medic department, though. I just might look into something in that area instead...
(Also awaiting the decision on stat generation. :) )
** spoiler omitted **...
Heh. Ceilidh's personality and backstory would be a great fit for the game- the PCs will be interacting with the rich and powerful, which would give her a lot to react to.
Is her tree tattoo an aberrant dragonmark?
That said, I'm going to rule out unconverted 3.5 classes so the Ultimate Magus PrC possibility is out.
Will this idea work with the overall campaign?
Concept in Progress:
** spoiler omitted **
That's great! The motivation to slip into the adventurer/criminal underworld is a classic and 'he saw something he shouldn't have' is an excellent hook for me.
Does the person he left his daughter with have to be a friend? There's a noble family in the city that has a role in the campaign that runs a children's charity shelter/hospice/hospital. He could have had a friend take her there or maybe got hooked up with the charity through a friend of a friend.
Dock worker is good. He'd be a member of the Longshoremen's Guild and I'd have a hook with another faction about the thing he saw.
So, 15 point buy? 20 point buy? Dice? for character generation
I usually do 25 point buy. I like the PCs to be Big Damn Heroes. I'm also a big believer in the Rule of Cool- I like PCs to be able to pull off stunts and do crazy stuff. I've even tried alternate rules grated onto PF to facilitate that, but they usually fall by the wayside. I have a couple of ideas I'd like to try here to make the 'heist' thing go more smoothly, but they're nothing you need to worry about to make your sheet.
That said, you don't need to start on a sheet yet unless that's part of your process for working out concept and background. At this point I'd really like to focus on how the PCs fit into the world.
Thanks, I'm wondering if there is a traditionally elven weapon specification in Eberron, or if I can just use my imagination on it?
He chose to study the blade rather than the mystical arts because his human half gives him a stockier build than the others in the house, and his build gives him an advantage against the other elves who pick on him for being so much younger, less experienced, a disgrace, etc.
I think Illendur wants to get recognition from his father, a knowledgeable and powerful man, but doesn't know how. So he feels indebted to the house and does what they ask of him. He winds up being used as a bodyguard and protector, since he doesn't have the mind or charisma to be trusted with intrigue or performance. He observes and learns, waiting to be of use at some point.
He's a great pawn for the house to have, and plays the stoic guard well when being tasked with something important. Among others his guard is down unless he's specifically working on an assignment. He values companionship, which is something he lacks in his day-to-day life; and values perfecting his craft as a blademaster. He is fascinated by the interplay between people; having grown in a cold, unforgiving childhood.
That's the basic background I was thinking, again I don't know a lot about the setting, so the character purposefully was raised on the outside of things. That gives both the character and the player opportunity to explore and uncover things in the world which are happening.
Hi GM! Archlich here. Starting to get the concept all round.
Imagining him as a bouncer for a club of House Tarkanan. I thought about having him belong to the it, actually - but not sure if we will have actually access to be from the Dragonmark houses, or access to the "aberrant mark" feat to make him part of it (minotaurs usually don't, so I imagine he's more of a hireling).
I added on this profile some flavor text for him - please feel free to read if you so desire. It's just to start getting a taste of what I'm imagining for him.
Mechanically, as I mention, I do realize the drop in Charisma might harm the bloodrager thing, but I truly like the thematic of the bloodline thing (from Khyber, abyssal/demonic roots, etc.). Like I said before, not that Goggh is evil (despite his race), but he might be a good natured guy that is twisted to a neutral alignment to balance all the evil on his lineage.
I did find a conversion of the Ultimate Magus here. It's pretty solid, all things considered.
Without that prestige class, the build doesn't work near as well, at least for what I want to do with her. Ah well.
Will this idea work with the overall campaign?
Concept in Progress:
That's great! The motivation to slip into the adventurer/criminal underworld is a classic and 'he saw something he shouldn't have' is an excellent hook for me.
Does the person he left his daughter with have to be a friend? There's a noble family in the city that has a role in the campaign that runs a children's charity shelter/hospice/hospital. He could have had a friend take her there or maybe got hooked up with the charity through a friend of a friend.
Dock worker is good. He'd be a member of the Longshoremen's Guild and I'd have a hook with another faction about the thing he saw.
Could surely do dock worker, but I was thinking of something a bit more elaborate that would work against him trying to hide his identity.
What do yo think of this:
He is a skilled artisan. Mostly glass work from actual glassware to works of art. On low tide, he goes near the docks to gather special sands that cover the beaches and tide plain. With his Magus powers, he uses a alternative form of 'Shocking Grasp' to meld the sand into works of glass art. He has a shop and an art studio and his works are long sought after by the rich and nobility.
He was down near the docks when he saw something. This could have led to the attack on him and his daughter or could have been a coincidence. Maybe instead, it was a rival artisan attempting to take him out. Hence, the investigation of who is trying to have him killed.
Just some thoughts. Let me know what you think.
I am interested as well. I would submit a Warforged Inquisitor (Heretic). A Warforged intended to be sent into the Last War but it ended before he was shipped to the front line.
Also considering a Warforged Invesstigator but I would have to come up with a backstory for that one.
How long after the Last War would this take place or is it not relevant for purposes of the adventure?
Ok, keeping with my healing/medic idea, I'm thinking of playing a 1/2 elven Oracle with Lore as a Mystery, and a Powerless Prophesy curse, something that he's been plagued with all his life, visions of events that are likely to occur, but which he oftentimes has no ability to stop from happening.
The concept will be that (in modern terminology) of a paranormal psychic who only has moderate control over his abilities. Someone who's sought out a life of adventure because a normal life is pretty much out of the question. Luckily for him, his ability to heal and his almost supernatural intuition is usually helpful on most heists.
How's that sound?
Thanks, I'm wondering if there is a traditionally elven weapon specification in Eberron, or if I can just use my imagination on it?
** spoiler omitted **
There are a couple kinds of elves in Eberron, Torilgrey. The one that matters to you, the elves of House Phiarlan/Thuranni, doesn't have a traditional weapon. That said, we can just assume any of the 'elven' Pathfinder weapons are still associated with elves (branched spear, curveblade, leafblade, thornblade), plus the normal longsword/bow, rapier, shortbow deal.
I like the background. It gives him a lot of reason to go looking for extracurricular work outside of the House- companionship, a chance to prove himself, and the opportunity to do something impressive to get dad's attention.
I didn't post about the standard races on the Obsidian Portal site, so if you want to read about elves in the setting you can check out the Eberron wiki page on elves and you might want to look at the page on half-elves. There's a lot there, so don't feel like I'm giving you homework, though. I can put up material on the Obsidian Portal page on the standard races when I get a chance.
Imagining him as a bouncer for a club of House Tarkanan. I thought about having him belong to the it, actually - but not sure if we will have actually access to be from the Dragonmark houses, or access to the "aberrant mark" feat to make him part of it (minotaurs usually don't, so I imagine he's more of a hireling).
Any other Dragonmark, I'd say no, but aberrant dragonmarks are aberrant for a reason. If you want to have one I say feel free. Being a member of House Tarkanan would also be fine with me.
I liked the flavor scene! I'll be happy to steal his half-elf friend to use as an NPC.
Fair enough about the Charisma penalty. It's your PC, build him the way you want.
I did find a conversion of the Ultimate Magus here. It's pretty solid, all things considered.
Without that prestige class, the build doesn't work near as well, at least for what I want to do with her. Ah well.
I'll take a look at it, mittean.
Very interesting...
I'm envisioning a House Deneith Exoteric monk, out in the world to gain contacts and experience, while earning coin and mastering his combat style.
Unchained Monk focused on Bodyguard/Protection role, high AC and good Sense Motive/Perception.
An unarmed Deneith bodyguard sounds cool. Looking forward to seeing a little more.
He is a skilled artisan. Mostly glass work from actual glassware to works of art. On low tide, he goes near the docks to gather special sands that cover the beaches and tide plain. With his Magus powers, he uses a alternative form of 'Shocking Grasp' to meld the sand into works of glass art. He has a shop and an art studio and his works are long sought after by the rich and nobility.
I like it! Non-traditional adventurer background is cool. I like the concept. So he's probably in over his head with these adventurer/mercenary/criminal types. That's always fun.
I am interested as well. I would submit a Warforged Inquisitor (Heretic). A Warforged intended to be sent into the Last War but it ended before he was shipped to the front line.
Also considering a Warforged Invesstigator but I would have to come up with a backstory for that one.
How long after the Last War would this take place or is it not relevant for purposes of the adventure?
Shadow, we're the standard 2 years after the Treaty of Thronehold/4 years after the Day of Mourning. So a warforged that was designed and built but never delivered to the battlefield would fit.
Ok, keeping with my healing/medic idea, I'm thinking of playing a 1/2 elven Oracle with Lore as a Mystery, and a Powerless Prophesy curse, something that he's been plagued with all his life, visions of events that are likely to occur, but which he oftentimes has no ability to stop from happening.
The concept will be that (in modern terminology) of a paranormal psychic who only has moderate control over his abilities. Someone who's sought out a life of adventure because a normal life is pretty much out of the question. Luckily for him, his ability to heal and his almost supernatural intuition is usually helpful on most heists.
How's that sound?
That sounds cool! Having 2 half-elves, one with the traditional khoravar attitudes and the other having grown up around elves, will be really interesting.
As a psychic with prophetic visions, even if he can't act on them, he would be an asset to House Medani's bodyguard and inquisitive business. Any thought to working for Medani or do you want him to be independent?
Shadow, we're the standard 2 years after the Treaty of Thronehold/4 years after the Day of Mourning. So a warforged that was designed and built but never delivered to the battlefield would fit.
Any preference for an Inquisitor versus and Investigator? The Inquisitor I have played in other campaigns whereas the Investigator would have a shiny new background.
House Madani, absolutely. ;)
(To be honest, I hadn't thought of that but it does sound like a great fit!)
Just want to confirm that we do not need to be working on anything else yet. Just having a rough concept is the only thing you are looking for, for now. Thanks for the clarification.
Arma's first memory is of waking on a battlefield, near the outskirts of what she learned later was the nation of Cyre. She saw mist, and things moving among the mist, and instinctively fled as fast as she could.
Once she collected herself, she realized she didn't know anything about herself. She had no memory before the moment in which she stood in the mist.
She was dressed in leather armor, with a shortsword at her hip and a bow on her back. She also realized she was mentally referring to herself as a she. Her armor bore a badge with a crest she didn't recognize.
Eventually, unsure of what to do, she just picked a direction and started walking. As she walked, she discovered her truth: she was not the short-haired blonde girl she appeared to be. She was, in fact, a black-eyed, gray-skinned being. She learned she could change her appearance at a whim, but she always only seemed to be able to assume a male form.
Regardless of the form, however, she had a tattoo that wrapped around her right bicep. She could see the letters Arma, and part of a G on one side and a N on the other. From this, she picked the name Arma.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arma, now wearing the skin of a dark-skinned elf with odd tattoos on her neck, sat at a cafe table, drinking and laughing with other outcasts. They were a bit too loud, but none dared to reprimand them, as they wore the colors of the Crimson Death, one of the more powerful gangs in Sharn.
They drank coffee and beer and made jokes and catcalls at the people passing by, but Arma was not one of the rank-and-file members she sat with. She was one of the elites: someone who specialized in climbing towers to steal from places no one else could get to.
Another of her men approached her and handed her a note. When she read it, she stood, said her farewells, and made her way into the crowd.
Soon she stood before her boss, the Half-Elf Argon Greenleaf (although if the rumors were true, he was really a member of House Medani).
Argon explained that they had received a request for a second story man, and he had picked Arma because she was the best at her job.
Hey GM,
I think I'll bow out of this game. Over the weekend, I got involved with two hopefully long-running games and need to manage time and quality.
It is my hope you did not invest too much (any) time yet involving my intended character in the game.
I wish you and the players an excellent game.
Cheers!
Any preference for an Inquisitor versus and Investigator? The Inquisitor I have played in other campaigns whereas the Investigator would have a shiny new background.
Totally up to you, Shadow. I don't have a preference, though it's looking like most people are talking arcane or martial.
House Madani, absolutely. ;)
(To be honest, I hadn't thought of that but it does sound like a great fit!)
Cool. House Medani is pretty low profile and doesn't have a big footprint in Throneport like some of the other Houses do, so they probably wouldn't have a lot of demands for your PC, especially at the beginning of the game.
** spoiler omitted **...
I like it, Vrog! I can definitely use a changeling in the game.
I think I'll bow out of this game.
No problem, Mioki. See you around.
OK, right now these are the concepts being discussed:
* Archlich's Minotaur Bloodrager or Vigilante (Tarkanan bouncer)
* mittean's Hobgoblin Brawler (government spook) or cross-blooded arcane wild-blooded sage sorcerer (independent?)
* Plastic Dragon's Half-Elf Lore Oracle (Medani psychic)
* psychichamster's Monk (Deneith bodyguard)
* Storyteller Shadow's Warforged Inquisitor or Investigator
* Torilgrey's Half-elf Fighter (Phiarlan guard looking for recognition)
* Vrog's Changeling Unchained Rogue (independent cat burglar)
This is a solid group of ideas. If you have already written up sheets, please send them to me. If not, let's start getting numbers together and shoot for selection by the end of this weekend.
Thanks karl. Would you mind giving us a summary of the build rules? I know there are rules across the topic (25-point-buy, etc.) but it would be helpful to have it all in a single post. Are we using the Feat Taxes rules? What about variant multiclassing, background skills, etc.?
Build rules:
Level 1 Max HP, max starting gold
25 point buy
Use the Eberron Pathfinder conversion website for Eberron specific races, gear, and the Artificer class
Background skills
Cost of Living, but start with 1 month of Average lifestyle pre-paid
Feat Scaling (feats that give a static number bonus increase with level)
Free Skill Unlocks (all PCs get skill unlocks on class skills at skill ranks 5/10/15, Unchained Rogues get free feats when they would otherwise get skill unlocks)
Streamlined Combat Options- this is Michael Iantorno's Elephant in the Room blog post plus a later addition to incorporate Improved Grapple and IUS
I hadn't thought about it for this game before now, but I'm okay with variant multiclassing and fractional BAB.
I'm also going to be tracking some things like contacts and influence in the background.
@mittean, I'm gonna say no on that Ultimate Magus conversion. I'd prefer to stick with better-supported and playtested material.
I updated Goggh's with a tentative sheet but I still have to review all the rules and whatnot.
Perception and Spellcraft are class skills and I put one point in each (so, 1+3 = 4) - Bloodragers get 4+INT skills per level (in Goggh's case, Acrobatics, Intimidate, Perception and Spellcraft; Linguistics and Profession Bouncer are background skills, 2 per level).
** spoiler omitted **
Here's my character:
TN Changeling Unchained Rogue 1
str 10
dex 18
con 14
int 14
wis 10
cha 14
HP 10
AC: 16; T: 14; FF: 12 (10 base +2 armor +4 dex)
BAB 0
Init +4
Fort +2
Ref +6
Will +0
Speed 30'
Weapons:
1) Rapier: +4 to hit; 1d6p damage; 18-20/x2 crit
Adventuring Skills:
Acrobatics r1 +8
Bluff r1 +6
Climb r1 +7
Disable Device r1 +8
Disguise r1 +6
Escape Artist r1 +8
Perception r1 +7
Sense Motive r1 +4
Stealth r1 +8
Swim r1 +4
UMD r1 +6
Background Skills:
Linguistics r1 +6
Sleight of Hand r1 +8
Languages:
Common
Dwarven
Elven
Giant
Racial Features:
+2 racial bonus to save vs. mind-effecting effects and poisons
+2 racial bonus to bluff, intimidate, and sense motive
Disguise and Linguistics are always class skills
Minor Shape Change
Class Features:
Archetype (Phantom Thief)
Finesse Training
Refined Education (Climb +1)
Traits:
Indomitable Faith (+1 to will saves; faith)
Balanced Education (use int instead of str for climb checks; regional)
Feats:
Deft Manuevers
Skill Focus (Perception)
Equipment:
Rapier
Leather Armor
Shortbow
20 arrows
Thieve's Tools
Konghruul Lesh'vock
Male hobgoblin (Darguun) brawler (mutagenic mauler, steel-breaker) 1
LE Medium humanoid (goblinoid)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 13 (1d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +0
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +4 (1d4+3/19-20) or
. . unarmed strike +4 (1d6+3)
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 17, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +1; CMB +4 (+6 grapple); CMD 17 (19 vs. grapple)
Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deadly Aim, Power Attack, Unarmed Combatant
Traits bullied, nonchalant thuggery
Skills Escape Artist +6, Handle Animal +5, Intimidate +5, Perception +4, Profession (Spy) +4, Stealth +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth
Languages Common, Goblin
SQ brawler's cunning, finesse weapon attack attribute, martial training, mutagen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 10 minutes)
Combat Gear mutagen, simple invisible ink (3); Other Gear studded leather, dagger, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, book of letters, disguise kit, hemp rope (50 ft.), hollow-heeled boot, identification papers, with portrait, ink, inkpen, paper (10), poison pill ring, sealing wax, soap, traveling papers, waterskin, winter blanket, wrist sheath, 2 gp, 1 sp, 9 cp
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Special Abilities
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Brawler's Cunning (Ex) Count as Int 13 for the purpose of combat feat pre-requisites.
Combat Expertise +/-1 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Combat Reflexes (4 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Deadly Aim -1/+2 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute Finesse weapons use Dexterity on attack rolls.
Martial Training (Ex) Brawler levels count as fighter/monk levels for feat/item pre-reqs and effects.
Mutagen (DC 10) (Su) Mutagen adds +4/-2 to physical/mental attributes, and +2 nat. armor for 10 minutes.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Unarmed Combatant Always considered armed, no attack of opportunity on grapple attempts.