Into the Borderlands: Tales of Swords and Wizardry! (Inactive)

Game Master Flanderdash

Heya.

Have a seat, put your feet up, and grab a tankard of your favorite brew!
Here's where we sit, chat, laugh, and maybe argue, about pretty much anything that needs to be chatted about, laughed about, or fought over.

All are welcome. Just play nice, and let's have a good game.

Yoes! glad to be starting! I've dotted the gameplay thread, and I'm ready to rock.

Same - looking forward to this one also. Have a few profile tweaks to make when I get back from work - but all looks good.

Should be fun. Wee Jas works in mysterious ways...

So digging into some deity lore I found the following god in Book of Exalted Deeds:

Phieran - called the Tortured God, is a deity of suffering, endurance, and perseverance. He is usually depicted as a strong man whose body has been broken and twisted on the rack, leaving him with a limp and covered with scars.

Clerics of Phieran are martyrs in the best possible sense: completely giving, willing to aid virtually anyone in any situation, and happy to take on another's burdens. They are often found ministering among the poor or in prisons. Phieran's temples are usually humble shrines found in the poor quarters of large cities.

Latterly he is attributed to Greyhawk pantheon but not in the traditional/old school sense I was hoping for. I've scored out the references that aren't applicable in our version of the game. Think he's a good fit for the Penitent-Sister's faith...

Essentially she's a converted/reformed prisoner who has become an itinerant cleric of Phieran (still mulling adding Saint to his title and aligning with Saint Cuthbert somehow, but not sure...).

Aw, was excited to see an Ilmater cleric PC in action. That sounds cool too though.

So, what's Baazil's story? There's gotta be one for him to be called "the crotchety."

*Pokes repeatedly like a little kid wanting to hear a bedtime story.*

Aw, was excited to see an Ilmater cleric PC in action. That sounds cool too though.

Could still make her a cleric of Ilmater, would need to delve into Realms lore more :)

Nice! 10ft pole ready and loaded.

Baazil had never been popular. He was considered a country bumpkin, and his mom dressed him funny and gave him a weird haircut. The other kids made fun of him and threw mud clods at him at every chance... so needless to say his social skills were severely underdeveloped.

His chances for a happy marriage and love interest were not looking good so when Widow Selma and her 20-acre goat farm expressed interest he entered the no love, mutually beneficial marriage. Selma was barren so the lack of passion was no big deal particularly since Baazil had learned to never open himself up to additional emotional toil.

The neighbors learned to never invite them to social events and the couple responded by never allowing visitors to the farm... still Baazil was tormented by the neighboring children who considered it a fun game to sneak onto the property and pull pranks. Without doubt his reaction to these shenanigans was the talk of the town. Baazil worked the farm and Selma practiced being mean and they were both content in these roles... till Baazil decided to become a Rhubarb farmer as well. How was he to know that Rhubarb leaves were poisonous to Goats. So to make a long story short... Selma died from some strange wasting sickness, all the goats died, and to top things off they ate all the Rhubarb before passing.

Baazil had no reason to go on, so he sold the farm, and bought a ruined tower in the swamp outside of town. He liked it because he could go to the top and throw things at anybody who got too close. He was content to live here on his own till he passed away, but once again fate intervened.

Baazil had bought a cart full of turnips and went into the basement storeroom to store them when a soft place in the wooden floor gave way and he tumbled into a hidden chamber beneath the floor. He hit his head and went unconscious. When he awoke with a splitting headache, he was in some type of lab with broken crockery, glass and empty containers everywhere. Sorting through the ruined apparatus he found unidentifiable dried materials, small animal skeletons, and all types of strange runes and script written everywhere. Then behind a small panel he found the book.

One thing being a recluse did was that he taught himself to read in the long hours of solitude in his parents' home, and until he sold his book collection to buy Rhubarb seeds, he had a small collection... but none like this. He brought the book upstairs and for the better part of a year tried to understand what was written here... then he did. A spellbook... could he train himself to be a wizard this late in his life? Could this give him a direction to pursue and a reason to live?

Maybe not. He was still inclined to meanness but realized that if he could do magic it might open doors to fulfillment and wealth... if he could learn to get along with others perusing the same thing.

Ironically @ CHA 12 - the old goat Baazil is our party face :)

Ironically @ CHA 12 - the old goat Baazil is our party face :)

Andrew "Dice" Clay Charisma :-)

@Baazil: Thanks for indulging my nosi-er, I mean- curiosity. He's going to be fun to interact with.

Ironically @ CHA 12 - the old goat Baazil is our party face :)

Now that is terrifying. Gwyn certainly isn't face material, though she is a pretty elf. I can see some poor sap walking up to her and Baazil stepping in.

So, would it be possible to have 'finalized' versions of your characters by Sunday 1/8? I'm thinking of getting started Monday or Tuesday of next week. Possibly Sunday if that happens to work for everyone, but I'm not mandating it.

BTW - Loving the depth of some of the backgrounds I'm seeing, but nothing beyond a paragraph or so is necessary. Just an idea of who they are and what their humble beginings are. Remember, old school... :)

Yes, my crunch is certainly finished but I did want to write a background (I tend to do bullet point backgrounds). I have not had a chance this week to really get into it, but that will change tonight with the weekend.

I'm ready to go whenever.

Fair warning, Gwyn's background is probably to get expanded a lot during gameplay. It always happens with me. Just let me know if I go too overboard.

Crunch is done for the good Sister, just need to pull together her basic background, like Salsa I'll likely develop her more during gameplay.

I think the crunch is done, but background is.. lacking. But hey, I got a name - that' s more than grognards would do for a 3hp character :D

Have the crunch and an answer ready for the other chars if they ask who you are. I'm good with that, tbh

...a 3hp character :D

Yes! I'm not the squishiest character! :D

3hp?

First level ONLY is full hp...did I not say that above?? My bad.
With this system, it's already easy enough to die without being able to die by stubbing your toe.

I'm all set, been fumbling with ideas all day but sorta blocked creatively. Will just develop her in game.

Might be a bit of a delay, maybe til the weekend. I'm sick, and so are a few members of the family. Kids back in school and yay, we catch a bug.

oof. Get well soon! Being sick ain't fun. :(

Well, if it wasn't for the full hit points, Sandikar could've died during character creation due that -1 from CON :)

And get well soon, GM. I hope it's nothing serious. There seems to be many bugs around here at least (covid, flu, influenza, stomach bugs, pick your choice)

Given that this is old school D&D, what's everyone's backup character?

If we are tracking XP and depending on the nature of the game I'll stay thief forever. If milestone XP I might get the urge to Magic-User or multiclass.

That "habitual arsonist" in your stats line has me worried.

Hey, gang. Thanks for being patient...it's been a long week, but I'm feeling a lot better. I should have an opening post up later today or tomorrow.

Here's what YOU each need for us to get going.

The crunch of your character ready and a good enough idea of your character's background that you'll have an answer IN-GAME when asked to introduce yourself.

Works for everyone? :D

Yep. I think I'm ready to go. Crunch is done and background is in place.

Don't tell anyone, but begging can get you in at the last minute.

I will be trying to be a paladin if the rolls work out. Plan is to put the +5 on charisma out of respect to the legacy importance of Charisma in AD&D and rolling in the order I did as a kid for luck. I forgot how fun rolling characters is after so much point buy!!

STR: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 6) + 6 = 13
INT: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2) + 3 = 9
WIS: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1) + 3 = 6
DEX: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 1) + 3 = 9
CON: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 5) + 4 = 14
CHA: 2d6 + 5 ⇒ (3, 2) + 5 = 10

Not the best of stats, but I am just glad to be on the team!! At least I qualify for an experience bonus.

gold: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 5) = 14

So have been mulling the "good" Sister - and while I dearly love the concept, am thinking she'd be better suited to a grimmer game when I can go full zealot.

As such thinking of shelving her for this game and replacing her with a Cleric of Olidammara from the Greyhawk pantheon (so a cleaner fit from a deity point of view).

He'd be a vagabond fool and former beggar who now follows The Laughing God. Might rejig my stats a little but wanted to see if there's any dissent or comment (particularly from our illustrious GM) before I spent Sunday creating him.

Black Dow so good to see you again. I miss DM Grimmy!!

Studley is too slow to parry, but could afford to get plate and shield, so that is a plus!!

Anyone remember when attrition was high enough a character who rolled badly but got a good gold roll could look forward to his buddies getting good equipment after his death. A common tactic in our group was rolling up a brother and guilting others to let you have the last characters stuff. Fond memories!!

Got my start back in 2011, so sadly no.

@Black Dow: You know me, I'm probably going to like whatever character you wind up playing. Sounds like this one will be a fun one.

My ADnD 2e DM was a meat grinder. 5th level was the highest character in our group after 10 years or so (we played about once a week with 24 hour sessions). A ranger/mage dual class, which was actually not legal RAW I think. So yeah, steady flow of fresh equipment... ;)

Chipluck is ready for the game to begin.

So are we starting a betting pool on how long before Chipluck burns down the first tavern? ;)

Cant happen unless DM begins the game, which I wish would happen.

Yeah, he said he'd get the game started this past weekend. I'm hoping he didn't get sick again.

And not again, but "...was still." Slight relapse, but in a better place now.

Thank you for your patience. Game is open.

Feck it - just going with the Penitent-Sister

And not again, but "...was still." Slight relapse, but in a better place now.

Sounds like one persistent bug. Glad you're feeling better now.

Feck it - just going with the Penitent-Sister

Oh this will be fun! I don't think I've seen you play a "burn the heretics" type. (Unless I've totally missed on her personality. It just seemed that way to me from what you said.)

Apologies all I've come down with something horrible, I need a day...will get a post up tomorrow.

No rush. No worries. Having just been through it, you definitely have my sympathies.

Oops I am late!! I am missing some kickass RP!!

Jump on in!

Yes. My latest post is a lot of exposition and a bit railroady.
Much like games used to start, back in the day. Technically this module starts AT the opening, so I added the rest for context and worldbuilding.

Just so ya know. ;)

Sometimes you had to read the text in the big boxes. Totally fine

Studley will be enthusiastic and personable with an incredible work ethic — think Sponge Bob SquarePants in a fantasy world. His 6 wisdom may be similar to Spongebob’s and as our mage pointed out naive.

If Studley's Spongebob, then who's Squidward and who's Patrick?