
Litejedi |

Rufius, is, of course, watching the protest as a member of the holy church. He’s monitoring the developments along with some members of a guard. It’s not clear who/how the church would be involved, but it seemed reasonable. If anyone breaks the law, to be sure, someone would be there to “legally” arrest them. He’s acting like an “evil legal observer”, or is supposed to.

GM Trifty |

Thanks for the feedback.
My first reaction to reading your feedback is that elf might not be the best race for my character. Thinking more about his background, there are some pieces that don't quite fit with my image of what elves are supposed to be on Golarion. I am also not super familiar with Golarion lore, since most of the games I ran were homebrew and I've never placed a huge emphasis on setting. Not sure if you agree, but I am considering changing my race. I think half elf, human, tiefling, or even half orc could all be reasonable choices. Let me know if you think such a change might be warranted.
Anyway, assuming I don't change my character's race, here is my reaction to your feedback.
It took me a moment to recall he was a full elf.
Sorry, I definitely should have made that more apparent.
Anyways, are he and his family Forlorn? If so, it'd be nice to mention how many childhood friends have had grandchildren since he first met them, etc. Alternately, if his family insulated him from that sort of thing, noting something about how he doesn't really know much about Kintargo because of it, or how isolated he felt as a child (or not!) would be neat.
Yes, he and his family are forlorn. I imagined that his mother's side of the family was not, or had more recently left Elven society. I think his family might try to isolate themselves from the short lived races, and also that watching his childhood friends grow old and die while he was still a youth wouldn't really upset Maeglome very much, since it would make sense to him and isn't a process that's driven by a malicious actor. Definitely something to think more about and include in a revision.
If his family/he himself is not Forlorn, where did they come from and when did they arrive in Kintargo? The Mierani Forest is in Varisia, while Kyonin isn't too far from Cheliax. I mean, it is, but they move around a fair bit, and there's a fair number of expatriates/ambassadors to other countries. Mind you, the Empire of Devils isn't really high on Kyonin's list for ambassadors.
While I imagine his father's side of the family has been living in human society for a while, perhaps even multiple generations, I imagine his mother's side of the family as being more recent immigrants. Again, I don't know a ton about Golarion's history, so it's difficult for me to describe the journey they took. But since elves live a long time, it could be a fairly circuitous route. Maybe they left Kyonin when she was a thirty year old child, stayed somewhere for ten or twenty years, then decided it wasn't for them and moved again, ultimately ending up in Kintargo. My background mentioned Maeglome's great great aunt Mordren, from his mother's side, but I don't think too many other relatives from that side of the family made it all the way to Kintargo.
Also, three children in a family of elves! Neat. Anyways, otherwise it looks fair to me.
Is that unusual? I could change it. It seems like some families would have to have more than two children or else the population could only shrink, but then, that's a classic trope for elves.
Let me know if you have more thoughts, and thanks again for the feedback.

Kintargo GM |

In answer to your last question: I think it's probably unusual for elves to have three children in close enough age that they all stick with their parents - but that's for non-Forlorn families, who tend to raise their children more communally, and allow them a bit more leeway in whatever they like to do, especially when they become adults.
The rest of it looks fine to me.
On an unrelated note:
If your mechanics and/or backstories are not yet on your submissions or otherwise available to me, please make sure they are when I am judging in two days' time.
dammit, this is gonna be hard.

theasl |

Took me a while, but here we go:
Luciana, fetchling gloomblade fighter.
Eventually, Luciana stumbled upon some mysterious documents written in an arcane script, which she devoted herself to deciphering. What she discovered was astonishing: an ancient field of magic devoted to the manipulation of shadows, creating everything from common household tools to powerful weapons of war. Luciana eagerly began to teach herself this magic, quickly becoming proficient in forming simple objects from shadow. However, before she was able to master her new skills, her transgressions were discovered by her elders, putting a stop to her snooping in the family archives. Disappointed and unable to contain her newfound knowledge, Luciana set off on a self-imposed exile, fleeing to the North Plains between Nidal and Cheliax and living among the refugee communities there for several years. There, she was introduced to even more forbidden knowledge, becoming drawn to the faith of Desna.
After a while, Luciana decided to move to the city of Kintargo, wanting to see more of the world and tiring of rural life - but also because of her curiosity about one thing she'd seen during her research into her family archive. In many files on the relationship between Nidal and Cheliax, she encountered one particular phrase many times, but with little explanation: "Silver Ravens". She knew that this had to be a group of some kind, that they were located in Cheliax, and that the family historians - and the Chelish and Nidalese authorities - didn't seem to like them very much, but with her newfound knowledge and outlook, she thought that perhaps there was something more to this group. Arriving in Kintargo to stay with the family of a friend she'd made in the North Plains, Luciana couldn't help but notice the tension around the city. Soon after, her hosts arranged a meeting with someone they said may help with her investigation, and so she set off, nervous but excited, to Aria Park...
At first Luciana looks like a fairly ordinary and plain Nidalese human, but on closer inspection, her features hint at her different origins. When she is emotional, wisps of smoky shadow occasionally escape from her pale skin. She prefers to wear dark-colored dresses that don't tend to draw attention, even if that may actually make her stick out a bit in a more colorful society.
Growing up in an oppressive, fun-hating society, Luciana learned quickly to hide and suppress her emotions, appearing blandly neutral most of the time by habit, but her time away from Nidal has allowed her to open up a little. She is driven to obtain new knowledge and experiences, tempered by an equally strong desire to keep to the shadows.
I usually fill out a profile with my own stats format if I'm picked, you can see some examples from my other aliases. Please let me know if there's anything I missed. Thanks!

Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal |

On an unrelated note:
If your mechanics and/or backstories are not yet on your submissions or otherwise available to me, please make sure they are when I am judging in two days' time.
Should I go ahead & giveupdate Iacobus his own Alias to make it easier?

Aisling Talbot |

Hello, I’ve been reading this thread with interest but haven’t managed to put a character together until now (yes, sorry, one more for you to consider, and a late arrival at that!).
All the details of my submission (LG Cleric of Iomedae) are in this alias, which is hopefully clear. One of the things I’d be interested in exploring if I’m selected is the tension of being an Iomedae worshipper in Cheliax. Her worship isn’t outlawed, although it probably helps to be well-connected enough to avoid too much official scrutiny (Aisling has the Child of Kintargo trait so is part of the nobility). On top of that, a lot of the things Iomedaeans are supposed to do (like confronting injustice) are almost certainly illegal, so I’m imagining most of her followers do what they can by “working in the system” to try and limit the harm it does: passive acts of goodness (feed the poor, heal the sick, defend the unjustly-accused) rather than active resistance that just gets you and those around you killed. The Player’s Guide seems to make the point that the Glorious Reclamation is not well-regarded in Kintargo even by Iomedae’s followers, since it’s made life harder for most people. Of course, once things really start to fall apart then working from within becomes useless.
My thinking at the moment is that Aisling would probably make a gradual journey from Lawful Good to Neutral Good, eventually coming to a view that an unjust law is no law at all. Even then, as part of the Rebel Alliance, she’d be focussed on avoiding pointless gestures (bricks through windows, graffiti) in favour of actions that are actually effective in bringing about a change of power with minimum collateral damage.
tl;dr – my hope would be for her to provide an intersting roleplay foil for the more chaotic aligned PCs, as well as some comic “fish out of water” moments. I do NOT intend to play her as an obnoxious Lawful Stupid paladin :)
Reasons for being at the protest Aisling has enough self-awareness to know that her reasons don’t withstand much scrutiny. A large part of why she’s there is that her parents told her not to go. On top of that, she’s aware things might get out of hand and wants to be there to help if anyone gets hurt. But most of all, she’s fed up. As far as she can see, the only thing that “working within the system” seems to accomplish is perpetuating the injustices of the system and she’s seen one too many injustices for her to remain on the sidelines for much longer.

Tuk Nimbleguts |

Realized I didn't specifically address Tuk's 'Reason to Protest', in case it wasn't obvious from his background :)
Being in Kintargo is a dream for Tuk, being a amateur Silver Raven historian. Having the chance to actually participate in some rebellious shenanigans would just be the bee's knees ! Just the chance to walk around Kintargo , cheerfully acknowledging the frowns and mutterings his presence as a free slip would create, would be enough for him.

Farmerbink |

In classic fashion, I wrote this stuff down several days ago, but never managed to make it to the forum.
You mentioned some time ago not being familiar with the myth_weavers format. Is there a simple answer to what format you would prefer?
Through the vagaries of fate or some fouler force, she gained the count's ire. She was taken by the count and sacrificed, her bastard son forgotten and left to rot in his cot in the servant's quarters. When one of his late mothers' friends noticed, she rescued the young man, and took him to the only place she knew he'd have a chance: a secret coven of Calistrians- hiding from the authorities as well as the count.
These Calistrians were fond of little Janneh. He was big for his age, and quickly getting bigger, and was such a ripe field for their ideals to be sown. Revenge and trickery sprung up like weeds in the fertile mind of a teenager functionally orphaned by a selfish and unyielding father. With hardship already a part of his life, anger towards those responsible- as well as those simply benefiting from the system flourished.
When he came of age, the time came to find his own way, or at least give back to the people who fed him for so many years. He found work, though never of the "Good" sort. He helped bring in a few criminals, when the guard didn't want to risk their own. The coin from bounties was good, but inconsistent.
As proclamations began to flow, it became more difficult in some ways to do business in Kintargo. For Janneh, one of the happy consequences was a relatively newfound need for muscle in the local establishments. Willing to get his hands dirty, able to reliably win the fights, and lacking any sort of compunction in finishing them, he quickly found work as a bouncer.
Now the night of ashes has come, and talk of protests has flittered over drinks in shadowey corners of the bar. Oddly, fights are less common, but the tension is on the rise. Something is coming, and Janneh has his suspicions that it's going to be big. It might even be big enough to bring down "The Count" and this whole crooked city around him. The thought makes Janneh smile.
It isn't a pretty smile.

Sha'ir |

Here is Prysta Sapio and her secret celestial The Nadir of Ruin. Background is in each profile.

GM Trifty |

Here is my submission for Maeglome, an Elf Wizard from Kintargo. As some people say, "it's not done, it's due."
Maeglome’s parents lived in the southeast corner of Villegre, Kintargo’s scholastic centre, and that’s where Maeglome was raised. His father was a silversmith, born and raised in Ravounel. ‘I am Randrel,’ he would introduce himself, ‘of Kintargo.’ His mother always scoffed at that. She was a spirited elf, a long, sad, winding way from her birthplace in the Mierani Forest. Hecile, his father’s father would call her. Outcast. He said she had drow blood, and that her own mother had been as impulsive and reckless as she had been skilled with magic. Maeglome never learned the full truth, but he learned quickly not to trust his grandfather about such things.
When he was first born, Maeglome kept his eyes shut for a month. When he was older, and when his mother had been drinking, as she often did, she would tell him stories about how this upset his father. He had taken it as a sure sign that Maeglome had drow blood, and stopped speaking to her. She told him how she had brought him out under the moonlight, past the city walls and down the Night Road to visit her great aunt Mordren, who had opened his eyes with a whisper of magic and a brush of fairy wings. She also told him how things were never the same after that.
While his older sister had always been good with silver, and his younger brother was a tall and broad shouldered youth who started working early, Maeglome was a sickly and awkward child. A burden, his grandfather never failed to remind him, though his father was kinder. He grew up thinking of himself that way. When other children played in the street, he only ever watched. His sister said it was better that way, because you didn’t have to watch the kids get old and die. But Maeglome had always liked when her childhood friends, then old and grey, had come to visit. He had always thought they were nice people, even if they were going to die soon.
He showed some talent for magic, but his father couldn’t afford consistent lessons. His mother had lost her job at Villegre park, and though the years rolled by she never got another one. She didn’t quit drinking, though, she said she couldn’t. Maybe she was right. Maybe no one cared about her enough to help her quit. Eventually, Maeglome’s grandfather asked her to leave, and Maeglome’s father, her husband, couldn’t convince her not to. So off she went to Old Kintargo, leaving everyone in tears. Except Maeglome’s grandfather. Ehtelë lende, he would say. Good riddance. So Maeglome grew as a waifish youth with no mother and only a little magic.
One of his most formative memories occurred around this time. He had been brought along to the Whitegate one day, and had slipped his father’s notice to meander through the parks. There was a tall building by the Greengate with an unattended ladder leaning against it, and he had scaled the ladder, clambered over a wall, and found himself in the back of the Jhaltero estate. Through a cellar window he saw a man tied to a chair, the floor slick with blood. A dark hooded woman with a knife was at work, laughing grimly. Maeglome watched in rapt horror as the man was tortured, struggling at his bonds with fading strength. The worst part was the sound the man made, a high, straining, feeble noise that grew more and more urgent. It was a long time before Maeglome would sleep, and he would never stop feeling guilty. He could have snuck inside, could have stuck a dagger in the torturer from behind and saved that man. Why had he done nothing?
After that incident, his father decided Maeglome needed something, anything, to keep him occupied. He had brought the adolescent elf to the Alabaster Academy, where a historian agreed to take him on as a student. Maeglome was a quick study, and got on well with the snowy haired old man. The lessons he learned opened his eyes to the ways of the world. His teacher was no friend of Thrunes, and speculated openly about what might be missing from the historical record. Maeglome began to see things he might have missed before, the way a halfling flinched when someone turned quickly, and the difference between a true believer in the Asmodean faith and someone who merely mouthed the sacred words. He knew the man he had witnessed being tortured was not the only one. This hardened his heart, but what could he do, alone and unaided? The old man passed away, leaving Maeglome to ponder the last few lessons he had learned, about an erstwhile rebel group called the White Ravens.
Strangely enough, Maeglome and his younger brother started working around the same time. Maeglome got an archival job at the Alabaster Academy, working to sort, copy, and preserve old documents deemed safe enough for the public eye. There were other scribes there who would sometimes whisper secret things to one another. Maeglome always thought they were discussing heretical secrets, but for all he knew they might have just been making fun of the way he blinked when out in the sun. His younger brother joined the city guard. He wasn’t truly mean at heart, but the guard can corrupt even the purest soul. Once, Maeglome had seen him in the city, swinging his cudgel at an old woman who was bleeding on the ground. He had stayed his brother’s hand, and they had had a difficult conversation which left both of them dissatisfied. Why couldn’t he see the error of his ways?
From time to time his grandfather would invite his brother’s coworkers to come and drink with him. They were a brutal lot, tall and vulgar. His grandfather would ask about their work, about how it felt to be feared by everyone they met. After they left he would always tell Maeglome’s sister that she should marry one of the men, a tall red haired human with a strange glint in his eyes and a silver brooch on his cloak. Maeglome could never look at them. He had long since learned that the city guard was not to be trusted, and he would hide in his room whenever they were around, putting his hands over his ears so he didn’t have to listen to their singing. Malwa úlaire, his father started calling him, not totally uncaringly. Pale ghost.
He talked often with his sister. They would visit the gardens of the Greens as often as they could, or share a drink at the Long Roads Coffeehouse. She was growing into a beautiful lady, with nimble fingers and quick wits. She understood some of the things Maeglome told her about the lessons he learned at the Academy. She agreed that things in the city were bad, and growing worse, but she always told him that there was nothing they could do. And he listened to her. He also listened to her when she said to him, one hand on his shoulder, the other on her heart, that he needed to move out of the house. It was for his own sake, she told him, and she meant it. He was living an empty, cold life, and she knew he didn’t deserve that. But he heard only his grandfather’s words on her lips, and they stung.
Maeglome left home and moved to Old Kintargo, searching for his estranged mother. He found her in the cemetery, dead more than fifty years. It was a cold revelation, one he had long suspected, but which hurt nevertheless. His sister wept when she heard the news, and visited her grave with him. His father came later, alone, with flowers and a tear in his eye. The rest of his family never bothered.
Maeglome got a translating job at the Old Harbor, making just enough coin to get by. He knew he had to do something, and he wasn’t a helpless child anymore. He had become certain of himself, his purpose and position in the world. Even if he still didn’t understand other people, he could do something to change history. When martial law was declared, Maeglome readied himself. When he heard of the protest in Aria Park, he knew he needed to attend. His sister told him not too, that he might be beaten, that he might even come to blows with his brother. But Maeglome could not sit idly by while Barzillai Thrune was in power. On the day of the protest, he readied his spells and sat quietly on his bed, waiting until it was time to take to the streets.
Reason for being at the protest: To protest the government, for obvious reasons that he is intimately familiar with
Note, I was interested in working on the "Meeting a contact" reason with you, GM, since that seems like it would make sense and fits naturally into my background. But...I didn't do that. If I were to be selected I might run that by you.
Maeglome of Kintargo
Male Elf Wizard (Favored School Conjuration, Opposed Schools Necromancy and Enchantment) 1
NG Medium Humanoid (Elf)
Init +12; Senses Perception +2; darkvision 60 ft.
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DEFENSE
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AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+1 armor, +3 dex)
hp 8 (1 HD; 1d6+2)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3
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OFFENSE
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee Dagger -1 (1d4-1)
Ranged
Light crossbow +3 (1d8/x3)
Wizard Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +6 (+8 to cast defensively))
. . 0th (at will, DC 15 (+1 Conjuration)) - detect magic, prestidigitation, ghost sound
. . 1st DC 15 (+1 Conjuration) - Grease (Conjuration Bonus), Obscuring Mists, Mage Armor, Color Spray
------------------------------
STATISTICS
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Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 12
Feats Spell Focus (Conjuration, Racial Bonus), Scribe Scroll (Wizard Bonus), Improved Initiaitve
Skills Kn. Arcana +9, Kn. History +9 (Background), Kn. Local +9, Kn. Nobility +9 (Background), Linguistics +9, Perception +2, Sense Motive +6, Spellcraft +9, Stealth +9
Traits Historian of the Rebellion, Survivor
Languages Common, Elven, Celestial, Draconic, Gnome, Orc, Sylvan, Infernal
Other Class Features
Summoner’s Charm (Su)
Whenever you cast a conjuration (summoning) spell, increase the duration by a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum 1). This increase is not doubled by Extend Spell. At 20th level, you can change the duration of all summon monster spells to permanent. You can have no more than one summon monster spell made permanent in this way at one time. If you designate another summon monster spell as permanent, the previous spell immediately ends.
Shift (Su): At 1st level, you can teleport to a nearby space as a swift action as if using dimension door. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You must be able to see the space that you are moving into. You cannot take other creatures with you when you use this ability (except for familiars). You can move 5 feet for every two wizard levels you possess (minimum 5 feet). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Familiar: There is one, I’ll type up stats if I’m selected.
I am a history teacher who hasn’t played a TTRPG in person in a couple years. I have significant experience with 3.5e as a player and PF1 as a GM. I decided I wanted to get into PBP early in 2020, but I wasn’t sure exactly what the best way to go about doing so was. I spent a lot of time trawling through old posts, looking for advice on the best ways to start and manage a PBP and reading successful games to figure out why they went well. My ultimate conclusion from this research is that games succeed or fail based on the reliability of the players and the energy and time commitment of the GM. I created a game in August of 2020 that has been going well, so far that hypothesis has not been challenged.
I am a frequent poster with a strong background in academic writing. In the game I GM, I am almost always able to post at least twice per day, often more. When asked, my players have said they enjoy my game a lot and that my writing quality is quite high. I don’t know how well that would transfer from being a GM to being a player, but I can guarantee that I will be engaged and put effort into enjoying all facets of your game. I will also put effort into engaging with the other players and trying to create an interesting and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Thank you for reading.
Best of luck to everyone!

Janneh Murrey |

Well, I'm showing off my noob tag on the forums, I guess.
I managed to make an alias for Janneh, 'cuz I needed to figure out how it works. Even as I type this, I'm realizing that I've typo-ed my name in the alias, and I wonder/assume it's just easier to change his name to Jannah. XD ((it's apparently easy to change the alias tag))
I wanted to edit my last post, but that doesn't appear to be a thing, perhaps this late after submitting it.
ANYWAY, I wanted to add one other notable tidbit about Jannah/Janneh's background: Assuming we're both selected (I know, I know- high bar), Janneh knows Aaron Tanessen, and resents him deeply for having the silver spoon he never got and spitting it out. Aaron's player is my brother IRL, and we've discussed the potential for how this conflict can develop and be flavorful and be fun and not derail the game.
I'm hopeful that we'll get to explore that relationship and find a way to build (half) brothers that start antagonistic to each other and wind up, well, like brothers.
Sorry for the extra posts. I really did mean to edit the last one... D:

theasl |

Well, I'm showing off my noob tag on the forums, I guess.
I managed to make an alias for Janneh, 'cuz I needed to figure out how it works. Even as I type this, I'm realizing that I've typo-ed my name in the alias, and I wonder/assume it's just easier to change his name to Jannah. XD ((it's apparently easy to change the alias tag))
I wanted to edit my last post, but that doesn't appear to be a thing, perhaps this late after submitting it.
ANYWAY, I wanted to add one other notable tidbit about Jannah/Janneh's background: Assuming we're both selected (I know, I know- high bar), Janneh knows Aaron Tanessen, and resents him deeply for having the silver spoon he never got and spitting it out. Aaron's player is my brother IRL, and we've discussed the potential for how this conflict can develop and be flavorful and be fun and not derail the game.
I'm hopeful that we'll get to explore that relationship and find a way to build (half) brothers that start antagonistic to each other and wind up, well, like brothers.
Sorry for the extra posts. I really did mean to edit the last one... D:
I believe you can edit up to one hour after the original post was made, after that it locks you out.

Aisling Talbot |

I've added a bit more to Aisling's background and description. I've also added some more equipment, although not the usual adventurer's arsenal of rope, backpacks and so on because I'm assuming this isn't a dungeon crawl and we'll be able to buy things as we need them.
Good luck to everyone. Whoever gets picked is in for a great game, by the looks of things!

Kintargo GM |

Hello! It’s that time, I’m afraid. After spending a while reading, rereading, calculating, stressing, etc., I have settled on the following players & their characters to go through with the liberation of Kintargo with me.
Aisling Talbot, by Sarah ‘queen’ B.
Jessibel Aulamaxa, by Profession Smith 6 ranks
Vantine Roubanis, by rdknight
Nyxra Ilphukiir by Dragoncat
Alexius Vashnarstill, the Raven, by CrisisChild
Please report to the discussion thread at your earliest convenience for further discussion as to your PCs relationships, and other such minor housekeeping.
For the rest of you, thank you so much for your submissions. I had a great time reading them, and really appreciate all the interest.