Blaydsong's Reign of Winter (PF1)

Game Master Blaydsong

Well I've been chewing over the idea more and more, and trying to figure out how to make things thematically fit, and overall I'm unhappy with the Onos cleric idea as well.

Not sure if I'm a perfectionist or just have ADHD, but here we go!

I realized how much we were lacking in survival skills, so I'm going to shore that up. Half-Elf Arctic Druid, casting focused, taking the fire domain and the Vigilante Witch Hunter campaign trait. Acting as a guide in the frosty north and someone with a bone to pick against the evil arcane casters of the north, for a reason that is yet to be determined.

Edit: Maybe human actually.

Hehe... I know the feeling. Sometimes a character just doesn't sit well.

I don't want to add to the complications, so hopefully you've already considered this, but what would an arctic druid being doing in Taldor?

Edit: If you don't already have something in mind, I may have an idea on that one.

I'm still early concept, definitely open to ideas. I just know that mechanically an arctic druid would fit well and it shores up the gaps in the party quite nicely, and that the Player's Guide even recommended it as an archetype to take. All I have so far is that he is some kind of "Arctic Witch Hunter", traversing their terrain and firing fire magic at them.

Not sure why he would be in Taldor at this time, open to suggestions!

I'm still early concept, definitely open to ideas. I just know that mechanically an arctic druid would fit well and it shores up the gaps in the party quite nicely, and that the Player's Guide even recommended it as an archetype to take. All I have so far is that he is some kind of "Arctic Witch Hunter", traversing their terrain and firing fire magic at them.

Not sure why he would be in Taldor at this time, open to suggestions!

Since none of the Arctic Druid abilities start at level 1, you can actually NOT start as an arctic druid at all. He could be a "regular" druid that then discovers he has a great connection with the snow regions, perhaps loving winter or something like that! A young druid, still looking for the "bond" the older ones keep telling him about.

I think this is the final version of my character, now with added fluff.

I do like the idea of a young druid, one who has a serious bone to pick against witches and is impatient in his pursuit to hunt them down. I'm thinking he would start as a CN druid and would learn to mature over the course of the campaign.

Here is my character thus far, Nutar Sanguyak. Druids are definitely out of my comfort zone...in fact I think I've basically never played one. Probably going to be far from an optimized build, but hey it should be interesting. Any thoughts and ideas are much appreciated, be it for the fluff or crunch. I haven't written down any fluff yet.

I think a good place to pull inspiration from for this character and his seemingly conflicting class abilities is the firebenders in Avatar. The particular scene I'm thinking about is when Zuko uses the firebreath technique Iroh taught him in order to keep himself warm in the north pole.

Meant to post this earlier, but got side-tracked when people came over for my home game.

My thought, is that he/she left the north in shame/fear from what happened with the witches.

The details of how they got to Taldor don't matter so much, but they still make something of a living in the winter, and sort of go into a social hibernation when the warmer weather hits.

I've decided that the date we are starting on is the 12th day of Pharast (effectively March 12th, so very early spring). You spent the winter in Heldren helping the locals, and were getting ready to either seclude yourself during the warmer weather or move on.

That's my thought on it, anyways.

CampinCarl9127 wrote:

I'm still early concept, definitely open to ideas. I just know that mechanically an arctic druid would fit well and it shores up the gaps in the party quite nicely, and that the Player's Guide even recommended it as an archetype to take. All I have so far is that he is some kind of "Arctic Witch Hunter", traversing their terrain and firing fire magic at them.

Not sure why he would be in Taldor at this time, open to suggestions!

Since none of the Arctic Druid abilities start at level 1, you can actually NOT start as an arctic druid at all. He could be a "regular" druid that then discovers he has a great connection with the snow regions, perhaps loving winter or something like that! A young druid, still looking for the "bond" the older ones keep telling him about.

That's a pretty good idea, as well. :)

Here is my character thus far, Nutar Sanguyak. Druids are definitely out of my comfort zone...in fact I think I've basically never played one. Probably going to be far from an optimized build, but hey it should be interesting. Any thoughts and ideas are much appreciated, be it for the fluff or crunch. I haven't written down any fluff yet.

Most just a couple of questions/concerns:

1)When you listed 'Wild Empathy' in your skills, I'm assuming that you meant Diplomacy. Shows at -1, which would mean that you put a rank into it. If you are taking the 'Heart of the Snows' human racial trait, then you lose your bonus skill points for being human (which I just assumed would be this one, being at the bottom of the list).

2)The 'Wisom in the Flesh' trait is only available to followers of Irori. I don't see an issue, if that's what you're doing. It just seems like a strange mix. Generally you don't have to worry about following a deity as a druid (though, of course, you can). But a druid following what amounts to the Monk god is a little odd.

3)The Ash domain, while fine, also seems just a bit odd. Any particular fluff reasons?

I believe he just put Wild Empathy close to skills because it works and looks like a skill, even if it isn't. Wild Empathy is level+Cha and works like diplomacy, but isn't diplomacy.

Good point.

I think my brain is getting too used to 2e. :p

1) Sir Longears has the right of it. The number in parenthesis represents the number of ranks in a skill, so I put a dash for wild empathy.

2) I plan on my character being highly spiritual and to pay homage to most deities, with more of a respect for neutral deities, and recognizing that the more extreme aligned deities help to balance each other out and do serve important purposes (although there are exceptions, such as Rovagug).

3) Uhh, nope. I just got comfortable with it from the cleric I was making, and it looks like there were no subdomain restrictions for druids so I grabbed it. I'll see if I can work it into the character.

LN druid of Irori could work very nicely IMO: achieving perfection is in fact achieving harmony with nature, not striving to conquer nature and its elements.

Yeah, that certainly works.

Though, from a personal point of view, if I were doing something like that, I would probably focus on a Domain that reflected the perfection of self, or something that had a bit more of an Irori vibe.

That could just be me, though. I'm a big fan of character synergy.

Though, I guess Druids are a little harder to see those kinds of options.

I definitely want this character to have some internal conflict going on. A hot-tempered druid, young but wise despite his years, acts emotionally but is self-aware about it, knows what kind of decisions he should be making but struggles to actually follow through.

Bah, I could rant for paragraphs about philosophical points but I think I'd mostly only be making sense to myself. I think I have a very VERY strong idea for the personality, I just need to make a background to fit. Should have it done tomorrow or the next day.

Sounds good. Looking forward to it. :)

I think this is the final version of my character, now with added fluff.

Almost forgot to have a look.

Looks good. A bit of a headcase, but nothing wrong with that. ;)

The only thing I'd want to know is why Ethyl is in Heldren.

Another idea regarding Carl's Irori druid is for him to be a former worshiper of Irori, perhaps even a monk. Like, if his parents were monks, it is quite possible that he'd have been raised as monk himself, learning all the teachings of Irori and gaining access to the trait... then, as he grows older, he starts to question the teachings and discover he is much more connected to the nature.

Another idea regarding the Ash subdomain would be to place Nutar's original home closer to a volcano (a monastery on close to a volcano would be cool, t incorporate both my suggestions).

Well Sir Longears you have once again struck the nail right on the head! While driving this morning I was giving Nutar more thought and I have a first pass at my finalized character concept. I present, now finalized with background and personality, Nutar Sanguyak.

The one thing I could not incorporate was the Ash subdomain. Not sure how concerned I am for a couple of reasons: 1) It doesn't even do anything until level eight, 2) A huge percentage of the fire domain deities grant ash as a subdomain anyways, and 3) The rules for druid domains only restricts taking metal as a subdomain, otherwise you're free to pick from the given list.

That being said there is no shortage of volcanoes in Taldor, so it wouldn't be too hard to work into the background, although I think it would effectively just exist to justify the subdomain and wouldn't impact the character much.

Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde wrote:

I think this is the final version of my character, now with added fluff.

Almost forgot to have a look.

Looks good. A bit of a headcase, but nothing wrong with that. ;)

The only thing I'd want to know is why Ethyl is in Heldren.

A lot of my characters are. I imagine she gets around a lot, probably a rare mineral or plant near Heldren.

Looks pretty good.

I'll ask the same thing that I asked Ethyl. Why is he in Heldren?

It's where his mother grew up, so he went there looking for answers. He doesn't have any kind of lead on the witch that killed her, but figured her birthplace would be a good start.

Since the witch was never named it should allow you to pick a suitable antagonist to fill the role :)

A lot of my characters are. I imagine she gets around a lot, probably a rare mineral or plant near Heldren.

So effectively there for work purposes, then. :)

So far, looks like this is where we stand:

Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde - F Half-Elf Alchemist (Vivisectionist) - Done!
Nutar Sanguyak - M Human Druid (Arctic Druid) - Done!
Uthred son of Uthred - M Human (Ulfen) Skald - Waiting on Fluff.
Oriol Argerich - M Human (Kellid) Fighter (Aldori Defender) - Waiting on Fluff.
Junan Grajer - M Suli Bloodrager (Crossblooded) - Waiting on Fluff.

Worst case scenario, I'd like to get this started by Friday, but if we have everything submitted before then, I'll see what I can do to get the ball rolling faster.

Although I don't see Uthred's fluff, I know it's an old character so he probably has it lying around somewhere.

And it looks like Oriol does have fluff on his character sheet now.

And it looks like Oriol does have fluff on his character sheet now.

You, sir, are correct. I missed that somehow when I last looked.

Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde - F Half-Elf Alchemist (Vivisectionist) - Done!
Nutar Sanguyak - M Human Druid (Arctic Druid) - Done!
Uthred son of Uthred - M Human (Ulfen) Skald - Waiting on Fluff.
Oriol Argerich - M Human (Kellid) Fighter (Aldori Defender) - Done!
Junan Grajer - M Suli Bloodrager (Crossblooded) - Waiting on Fluff.

@Oriol - I'll pose the same question I've been asking the others. What brought you to Heldren? Just passing through? Or something a bit more specific?

@Oriol - I'll pose the same question I've been asking the others. What brought you to Heldren? Just passing through? Or something a bit more specific?

Oriol is on Heldren simply by chance. He likes to travel and talk to people, which gives him good opportunities for him to develop this thoughts.

While we wait for Uthred and Junan, what about some good RP in a tavern in Heldren? Would it be possible?

Yeah, I think I can set that up. :)

I was humming and hawing about whether I'd start in the tavern or not, but it's as good a place to start as any. I'll work on a post and get it up for this afternoon.

Alright. I've got a primary post up and ready to go.

You guys can hold off on the rolls right away if you want, or dive into it. Either way, I won't go any further until everyone is ready to go.

Just a small detail that I changed. I was originally going to start this in early spring, but decided that the context makes more sense in mid-summer, so I changed the starting date (which is above, if you haven't seen it yet).

If you guys have any questions, or are unsure about anything, let me know.

Also, if you'd rather that your character started in another part of the town, let me know where. I've included a link to the village map and a legend at the top as well.

@Junan/Natloz: Do you have a description of Junan?

Im putting it together in one note before I paste it into the website.

For now though. Im picturing him as just below 6ft. He looks like he would be very handsome if it weren't for the dirt that seems layers deep. His deep brown hair hangs loosely to his shoulders most of the time unless he is expecting trouble, where he ties it up. He wears plain travelling clothes that have seen better days. His life as a mercenary hasn't been very fruitful lately.

Oriol's name is definitely Oriol, but so far he had not revealed it yet... because of reasons. He has introduced himself first as Esdras and now as Marcus, though I believe Ethyl only caught him saying the last name (Marcus). This is not me using an old alias, but by design.

Once the adventure "really" starts, I'll make sure that you know to call him Oriol, thus making it easier.

This is what we call player interaction f***ery.

Gotcha, no worries. Just wanted to make sure the alias was intentional.

Well please don't get upset when I don't call you by the name you introduced yourself as. I've done that whole song and dance before. I have enough trouble keeping the names of the real people I interact with straight let alone the fake ones.

Fluff added and also under alias.

Looks like we are just about ready to get underway, other than Junan adding some fluff to the character. Do you guys want me to officially get the ball rolling, or wait until Friday, as I originally stated?

Push the button Frank!

I'm ready to go!

Im getting there. Trying to not be too cheesy. This is what I have so far.

The next part is how he ended up in Heldren by doing mercenary work. He's ultimately going to be in town by chance.

Good start. Doesn't have to be anything too complicated, but I like the tie-in with your campaign trait. :)

I'll start working on a post to start moving us forward and have it up tomorrow, if not later tonight.

Just a thought. Would people find it more convenient if I got a room setup in DL's discord, and we can reserve this forum for stuff like loot and other game-related topics?

I figure that most of us get notified by Discord updates more/faster than the forum, so that way I can announce when GM posts are up, and just general chatting amongst ourselves.

Discord for coordination is great, unless some of us don't use Discord on the regular, in which case it suddenly becomes awful as those players become completely clueless.

Hence why I'm asking. ;)

Technically, I know that we all use it... just whether one is better than the other.

I have no preference. Either is fine with me.

I don't check discord as much as the boards. I'd also rather we fully use one or the other.

Let's stick to the boards than.