THE TRIAL OF THE COIN (Instructions written on the cloth)
1. Buy as many of the cheapest rations you can find with the coin.
2. Trade those rations for a sum greater than their worth.
3. Buy this coin back for exactly what you made selling the rations.Do these three things, and you will have met the king.
So, it sounds like these three things are supposed to part of a PC's backstory, and will have already happened by the time the campaign begins. Is this correct?
Also, is this game to be on Discord? It sounds like you're saying you expect the game to reach around level 20 in a year's time of play, so I'm assuming Discord since that's pretty unlikely for PbP play, but I thought I'd ask.
All right, thanks! I'll think it over.
Hmm, sounds interesting. I’ll think on an idea that sounds intriguing.
I will be submitting a human fighter (cad)/Unchained rogue.
I've been mulling over a concept of a NE Alchemist. A reanimator/inspired chemist.
He would've hit rock bottom after unfortunate circumstances surrounding his work and forced to flee town.
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Part the First
Let it never be said that I do not deserve my curse. I am a thief and a glutton, and this is my punishment. Still, I am an industrious man, and I will not be driven to despair. As of 3rd Desnus, I have been discharged from my duties in the service of the temple of Abadar, by which I have repaid my debt of one year and a day's labor for my crime of blasphemous robbery. Despite my work in service to the pious, my greed has only consumed me further. I look upon the baubles and trinkets of lords and ladies and feel compelled to have them, to have everything. When I am not adorned in the most luxurious of silk and pearls, I feel sick and naked. I know that this feeling is the punishment for my crime. Where once I coveted the wealth of the church, now I covet all I see, and it has made me a wretch. My family have disowned me, and I can find no honest work. I can see no path but this.
Part the Second
The trial was a trivial matter. In my service to the temple, I learned a small number of spells in the tradition of the clergy, though it baffles me that a wretch like myself could be seen as pious enough to cast them. Still, using this magic, I am able to transform old and rotten victuals into a more suitable state. I thus traded a few barrels' worth of transfigured pig's slop to a disreputable company of chefs who had been hired at some unfortunate gala or another, in exchange for a smattering of coins and a silver ring one of them claimed to be a family heirloom; though of whose family, neither he nor I could say. At the market, I listened closely to the desires in the hearts of the masses, and found a young man, desperate to find a ring in his price range with which to propose to his beloved. I took him for all he had, and between the boy's savings and the coin I had taken from the chefs, I returned to the farmer from whom I had purchased the barrels of slop and bought back the coin for many times its worth.
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Here is a backstory for an Intrigue Oracle with the Covetous curse! I don't have a name for him yet, but I'm working on a character sheet.
I will be rolling up a character over the weekend.
Concernign the deefic obedience can we change:
If you can think of any deties that would fit amoral arms merchants better, I am all ears. There was a Sakhil tormentor for that I think, but I dont really have an idea how to roleplay that.
So all in all TL;DR for the player: What all is your goal for working with Besmara? Mechanically and RP focused here. Feel free to respond here, or PM me <3
I wanted to make sure I gave this careful thought before responding, as when it comes to the amazing things you can do with Besmara's Deific Obedience (I mean come on, summon a kraken??? HELLL yes!!!) I want to make sure that while PCs can go well beyond what "PFS" or other games do, we still have a basic layout.
Here's my problem with war-profiteering as a term- war-profiteering to me could be interpreted as simply anything involving a trade of war, like your example given.
While it's amazing RP.... Do I think Besmara would be satisfied with just that?
Not initially.
Could you do things Besmara's way, first, and then ask with your accrued faith and fame for her to allow you more faith and power by altering how things are done?
Considering Level 12s and 15s rule nations, and level 20s are practically unheard of, I'd say at a certain point no matter your Class, Skill Ranks, or Abilities, the answer to this HAS to be yes.
Finally, considering the benefit- a +2 Sacred Bonus to AC against AoOs. Stacking with Mobility, this could be a pretty sweet thing. I'm sure there's some fun stuff with come and get me you could do too.
Now, you asked for deity suggestions. Allow a broad and short exemplary panel that, hopefully, can get your creative juices flowing!
ROVAGUG I'll say it. I'm biased. I love this guy. Weather and War as a domain? Is the very environment of war your bread and butter? Are you devout to the chaos of watching the numbers fly in your favor no matter what side you trade to? You are, after all, only in business if the blood keeps soiling the earth and the steel keeps getting pounded at the smithy.
Abadar A more reasonable and merchant based approach. Abadar isn't just some LG Vault Builder. He's got true neutral (more than capable of being an arms dealer) along with all 3 lawful alignments! LN and LE allow a lot of leniency here. For example, of course you'd profit from the Cheliax-Shackles struggle and war- where there's a market, there's profit, and where there's potential profit, there's need!
Interesting... I love the concept so I will think a little and see if I can come up with anything.
Hmmm, interesting concept. I'll see if I have the brain-space for another character over the next couple of weeks. :D
The Sorting Hat would you allow the purchasing of spells/formulae for books and/or crafting as part of character creation?
The Sorting Hat would you allow the purchasing of spells/formulae for books and/or crafting as part of character creation?
Big Answer: Case by case basis here!
The Fine PrintThe overall answer here is depends. If you're looking to sneak in a mirror of guarding reflections, no, I'd rather not! LOL
If you just want to use your character wealth to add some spells to a spell book etc. or buy extras or make a sleeves of many garments affordable, sure. Go for it!
For the other two dotters- Welcome!
Let me know if you need anything looked at or answered.
@The Sorting Hat yeah, my main concern was adding to a formula book and crafting alchemical weapons and some potions.
Otherwise, I have a concept just mechanics needed still.
Shush!
Hmm, it would appear that our neighbors have contacted the local constabulary. Why would they do such a thing? Be honest with me, Ulose, do I give off a threatening aura? ...Yes, I am aware that I am holding a cleaver at the moment…...yes, I realize my clothes are stained with blood and gore...yes, some bits of intestines are in my hair...yes, I kno-WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH OUR CURRENT SITUATION, ULOSE?!
Blast! Your constant chattering has alerted the constable to our current concealment! Alright then. I will exit through this window. You stay here and do your best to delay them. Now, I’m going to undo your restraints. Let us not have a repeat of the last time I released you, hmm? That poor girl… AH! You bit me, you bastard!
Crimes include: Grave robbing, desecration of corpses, necromancy.
Believed to be responsible for the disappearance of at least one child.
Last seen fleeing Ardagh heading South.
If seen, please contact your local temple of Pharasma or law enforcement
What do you mean “You don’t follow”? Fine, fine. Let me see if I can adjust my vocabulary...hmm. Right! I traded my shiny metal thing to an innkeeper for stale bread and moldy cheese. I took that sack of food to a nearby tribe of goblins. They then showed me where the wealthiest people in the nearby city buried their dead. I dug up the graves and sold the jewels back to the families.
I took that money and put it toward material components necessary to create some potions and, again, sold them to the people of Elidir. It wasn’t long before I felt that I had accumulated enough wealth to accommodate this “trial” and I returned to the innkeeper. Naturally, he was suspicious of my reasoning for wanting a single coin back in my possession and swindled me out of every copper I had made. But such is the nature of money.
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This campaign is morally ambiguous and questionable. You may start saving a kitten from a tree only to find that kitten was a polymorphed serial killer. Maybe you have to burn a building down, just so the company down the road can rebuild it. I can promise your PC will, be it CN, CE, or LG, not like everything that is presented to be done all of the time. I do not require morally ambiguous or flexible PCs, though. You will almost always have a way out. To you Paladins and Monks with vows and codes- should you ever “have” to lose your powers from breaking it, you will always be granted access to means to redeem yourself.
So the PC's are errand boys for the Golarian mob?!?!
I just watched the Irishman...
I actually was thinking over things and realizing that I have a concept I've never gotten to play to my satisfaction that might work with this: Ktinos, the Beast Vessel. The basic concept with him is that he's a catfolk Bloodrager with a twisted version of the prowler at world's end archetype--instead of four animal spirits that help defend good, he's somehow managed to get himself semi-possessed by the spirits of four archetypical monsters--the Chimera, the (Nemean) Lion, the Griffon, and the Sphinx, who are as much at odds with each other as they are with Ktinos himself, they being bloodthirsty monsters while he's a fairly decent person himself. Every day they struggle for dominance, meaning it's random which of the four spirits he's channeling each day.
I have a couple concerns before deciding on this as what I want to submit, though:
1) Ktinos is *complicated*. He's more or less coming pre-packaged with four NPC's that are constantly with him, and his own personality changes a bit depending on which of the four are dominant that day. It's a real challenge both for me, and for whatever GM I play him with, since the Beast Spirits are supposed to know things that Ktinos (and hence I as his player) don't know, so they have to be at least partially NPC's.
2) While I built him at first strictly according to the rules (and I think he could work that way), I think the concept would work better with a couple tweaks to the archetype to reflect the different spirits he's unwillingly channeling, but I'm not sure you want to get into homebrewing something like that.
Would you be interested in seeing the full build for Ktinos before deciding if he'd have a chance, or should I go with a less complex idea?
Sounds like a challenge to RP with. GO FOR IT!
@The Sorting Hat yeah, my main concern was adding to a formula book and crafting alchemical weapons and some potions.
Otherwise, I have a concept just mechanics needed still.
Formula Book and alchemical weapons / potions etc. are not a problem! These are things that assumedly you held onto, even when you hit flat broke.
Love the concepts written up so far!!! Very comical lol.
@Crisischild Oh sweet summer child. If only, if only.
@Almonihah So I always want players to be able to play the PC they want, but, of course, being in a constrained and defined world of rules, I want to make sure the things we bend and stretch are fair to others who don't have to so much.
Besmara ruling earlier today is a good example. Instead of war-profiteering, I agreed I'd be comfortable with the verbage piracy reflecting other domains of Besmara, that being strife, smuggling, and piracy.
If it won't take you too much, a little RP sample from Kitnos with the beasts interacting + the build, if made already, would help me look into this a bit more.
Jenkins I love it. Formula Books and simple things like that I will *never* have a problem with, and once we get up and running and you get some cash in your pocket and real people privileges, you'll have full on magic shop land. Don't worry, I've got an NPC for that too :D
Waskally Boba Fett nod to notice you're sticking around.
WBL for a level 2 character. 1,000 GP.
Sorting Hat, here's my submission to your Have You Met The King homebrew campaign, Braddock 'The Bastard' Borbassa; a dirty fighter, thief, cheater, liar, and well..bastard.
Quote: "I'm scum. But I'm reliable scum."
I do have a previous build of Ktinos here--it's a gestalt build, though, so not very applicable to this recruitment. If you ignore the second class and mentally dial down the level it's close, though. The background information and particularly the information on the spirits in the bottom of this alias's profile is still mostly accurate, though I'll probably change where he washed up to Riddleport, as part of how he ended up in such dire straits (A half-mad amnesiac? The perfect mark!).
As for him interacting with the spirits... let's do a few little scenes.
"You are too weak, cub," the Lion growls in his mind. "Your hide is like wet leaves, even with your pathetic armor."
Ktinos, too busy with the bear to formulate a proper reply, simply sends the Beast Spirit a mental growl back.
"Pathetic. Let me take over. I will rend this beast to shreds while its claws scrabble uselessly against my hide."
"No." Ktinos's mental reply is firm in spite of his struggle with the bear. "I am in control."
"Only if you don't die, cub."
Ktinos accidentally lets his growl go from mental to vocal. The men in front of him back up a step before recovering their haughty demeanor. "Oh, you think because you're so big you can growl at us?" Their spokesman shouts.
The catfolk shakes his head. "It was not you, it was..." he trails off, not wanting to explain the presence of the Beast Spirits.
"Insolent! Humans! Kill them!" the Chimera snarls in her rage and hunger within his mind.
"I am not going to go about slaughtering every human who looks at us," he thinks back to the spirit.
"And you let them just walk by when they should be bowing to us, offering us tribute for the gift of leaving them with their lives." The Griffon is dominant today, and as usual is going on about how other people than him still have wealth.
"Perhaps if you were to offer useful advice rather than insisting I enslave them all through intimidation, we might not be broke and sitting in an alleyway," Ktinos mentally snarls.
He can practically feel the Griffon bristle. "Perhaps if you were not so small and weak we wouldn't have to do something else," the Beast Spirit replies haughtily. "I can scarcely be blamed for your disobedience and weakness failing to get results."
Ktinos sighs. The Sphinx was not as taxing as the other Beast Spirits, for she at least did not want him to kill or enslave people, but it was difficult to keep up with her constant riddles, philosophy, and other topics. "Mice, perhaps?"
"Ah, not so slow this time," the Sphinx purrs in his mind. "Though are your eyes as quick?"
He had only enough time to wonder what she meant before a dire rat that had been lurking in the shadows charged him.
So that's about what I'm thinking about for him interacting with the Beast Spirits.
@Mightypion Keep in mind that almost any "gun" related class or archetype will give you a gun for "free" at first level. It's no 5000 GP full clip pistol, but definitely still a gun. :)
@Ktinos So for the RP, I love it. I realize you doing this could be taxing, however, you can also directly control just how much the spirits occupy your PCs mind, so I think that should be a fine variable.
Now, for the other bit, the "GM" knowledge / half NPC factor. The best I could do is give you a feat called "Sorting Hat's Beasts" that would allow any skill you have trained to be rolled by a random beast, in an applicable situation, and them do what they do to relay the information. Keep in mind, I suck at riddles. So I'd probably never pick the Sphinx. LOL
@Jenkins The assist is much appreciated here, thank you
@DjinnBob Great idea. Feel free to roll it all up! Honestly never read the Lion Blade class before today- pretty dang cool.
@Waskally Great idea! Loved the "SES" bit xD Everything looks good.
Just so it's known, first round pick is a glance over. Please make sure everything is correct on your sheets with a casual check now and again. There will be a more formal scan of info on sheets as I narrow the selections in a few weeks. o7
Hp rolled each level?
Nope. Maxed HP every level!
Hp rolled each level?Nope. Maxed HP every level!
Correct! Max HP every level. Personally, I understand it, but in a setting like this I'm not a huge fan of rolled HP.
By this Saturday or Sunday I'll end up turning this into a full campaign thread so I can put little things like that on the "Campaign" thread too!
Color me very interested in this. Morally ambiguous is nice, especially challenging for a world when you're trying to play a hero...which is something I haven't done in a while.
Oh, I've played more than my share of protagonists, but for a great deal of time they were antiheroes, antivillains, or in my early RP days, personality-less murder-hobos.
Given the challenging nature of doing so, I want to try to throw my hand into playing a lawful good character.
I have a light oracle I built for a game that never really took off. I'd have to tweak up the story, because it was for a vastly different setting, but I would like the challenge of this person keeping his code.
@SortingHatGM Hey GM, could I play a lashunta? I'm looking at a Profiler Investigator and I like the idea of a detective with a just a touch of telepathic magic which helps make them excellent at what they do - profiling.
However this would naturally make them prone to obsession, particularly if they get a good 'read' of a person/crime scene and would cause them to pursue leads they shouldn't, cultivate unreputable sources and generally act less than by-the-book. Probably got thrown out of whatever organisation they worked for (maybe the order of the palatine eye) and this set them on the path to the Financier.
If a reskinned lashunta is no good then another option could be a tiefling with variant ability 36 (You can communicate telepathically with any sentient creature with which you are in contact) if you'd allow that instead?
@SortingHatGM
I'm glad you liked my idea! I've never played a play-by-post on this site before, so I hope this might be my first!
On that note, as a noob, I don't know if I've made my sheet correctly but this Alias should have something to show you. Let me know what to add/fix :)
Been having trouble, currently thinking on doing a warpriest of Mammon. LN and who is basically a mercenary who loves the coin that comes with it.
Not sure if I like the idea a ton but figured I’ll post and if I like it I’ll iron the rest of it out.
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@Vagrant- Nice! Feel free to ask any questions as you get to creating
From the Gunsmithing feat, you can create firearms without having to roll for 1/2 cost- this should provide enough of a cushion for you to start inquisitor.
I haven't fully read the archetype yet, but I know it is rare to get DEX to Damage with guns from anything other than gunslinger.
Considering how powerful guns are (and that I don't make them "not hit touch ac"), and of course that you're poor, this should give you enough wiggle room to get started no matter the "gun" class you choose
@Nikolaus- Lashunta is absolutely fine. +2/-2, not too powerful racial traits, even the magic is balanced. No problems there. If you wanted the Tiefling, depending on the variant someone wants, I will absolutely let you pick one instead of rolling.
@Irem- Excellent. As we come closer to selections, I will make sure to check your sheet and tell you if there is anything needed!!!
1 - A Character you'd REALLY like to play. Maybe it's a Mighty Animal Lord. Maybe it's a Graveknight. Maybe you just want Mystic Theurge to not be so wonky. Who knows. Start here, though! This will make the next two steps easy.
2 - Imagine your character, instead of succeeding on every mission they'd take, or quest they'd go on, failing. As if cursed. You save a puppy, and that puppy carries a disease that bedriddens you for months. You go out on your own in the Shackles, and are suddenly captured by the Chelish and enslaved to an abusive House. It goes on and on :P
3 - Trial of the Coin. This is it. Your one chance to get out. Buy rations. Find a way to sell them for more they are worth. Use that new worth to buy back the coin.
Hopefully this helps!!!
Sorry for taking so long to actually put a character sheet together! Here he is, my covetous intrigue oracle, as per the backstory I posted a few days ago.
Sorry for taking so long to actually put a character sheet together! Here he is, my covetous intrigue oracle, as per the backstory I posted a few days ago.
Nah no worries. I made sure to leave enough space for people to take two weeks or more to do what they wanted, and a week for me to make my selection and iron out some personalized stuff for the chosen. ^_^
I find, GMing with the crazy things and resources I propose to players, they need more time to make sure they ironed out what they wanted, and I do to make sure they can get it at some point ;)
That’s a fair enough point, after thinking on it I came up with an idea I really like. Not sure how I wanna go about it mechanically but I’ll see. Currently looking at the green knight archetype for the cavalier. I just am not a fan of the order. Maybe there is room for taking a similar order with a bit of reflavoring to make it fit?
Though I did see an archetype for an inquisitor that looked interesting.
Luck, some are born with it while others, not so much. Leon’s luck wasn’t with him when he was born, marked by ill omens things went poorly from the start. Born sickly he barely manages to survive to adulthood, it helped him grow tougher though which came to be a theme of his life. Without many prospects he started to push toward possibly fighting his way into prosperity. Learning to wield weapons and to work with armor from his father and a local guardsman in the hopes he’d take up an honest profession. They were sadly mistaken when after some time he began taking on mercenary contracts that he and several other took up as a group. But misfortune struck again, several members ended up dying and he was left severely wounded, which soon became its own problem. Again he joined another group of mercenaries and a similar situation happened, hurt bad he alone survived. He began to be seen as a bad luck charm, money grew tight with only himself to offer and a negative reputation filling him. That and money owed for healing that he couldn’t pay, he had no one to turn to, his family having long since washed their hands of him, all he had was the gear on his back. Without that he couldn’t even do the trade he had spent his life working toward.
Then one day as he perused the tavern looking for some kind of work he heard about several local hunters discussing fey, and their knack for bestowing luck and other boons. He started to wonder if maybe his luck could change around if he could strike a bargain or find a way to make a deal. When he returned home he found waiting for him the Trial of Coin. With a hope and a prayer he ventured off into the wilds to make a deal. Hoping that somehow he could get some blessing. After a time wandering about the woods, and treading deeper he found a secluded lake far from any known spot, and it was there he saw a strange figure sitting beside it. She had an otherworldly air about her and a unnerving gaze. After speaking with her for a time she offered him not only luck, but power. It only he would swear himself to her. Doing so she sent him on his way with only a smile and a wink that things would look up. Upon arriving back in town he promptly did exactly as the trial asked. He walked amongst the town until eventually he found inexplicably a rather morose merchant. His trail foods unable to be sold due to a dust up with a local constable over a previous sale he wouldn’t refund, he wasn’t allowed in town. Without any business things seemed doomed, but feeling a strange hand guide him. He offered to buy it all wholesale, with the rations he now wasn’t sure just what to do until inspiration struck. He ventured back to the tavern, where he had been turned away from working with other mercenaries and instead offered them up as a way to eat at a cheaper price than the tavern food.
Within the week he had sold it all for double what he paid, and buying back the strange coin he hoped that finally luck had turned for him.
Definitely like the concept. I'm thinking U-Monk 1/Vanilla Battle Shaman 2.
Character History/Reason for the lack of wealth/Trial of the coin:
I started my adult life as a professional chef. Well, actually, a short-order cook at a dive eatery. See, I was schooled by the school of hard knocks for most of my life. Cooking was a way for me to earn a bit of coin while also ensuring that I was properly fed. Growing up like I did taught me to hit, hard and fast, which also made me the honorary bouncer for the place.... It wasn't a hard life, but it was quite boring. Once I got a chance to join a traveling group of treasure seekers I left. I couldn't hold my own with the warrior that led the group, but I did what I could.
After a few hard adventures I had an enlightening experience. A little bird landed on my shoulder and started talking to me. I hadn't really cared much about Gods or Spirits before then, but it seems that a Spirit was interested in me. That started my life as a Battle Shaman. It took a while to understand the spells and such, and then I learned a hex. It was an interesting path.
My time with that group ended with a sneak attack from a group of goblins backed by a couple of ogres. Our leader fell immediately the thrown spears of the ogres. Two of the goblins circled behind us and took out the wizard before anyone knew they were there! He had just taken out one of the ogres.... We rallied, but the numbers were just against us. I was the last to fall, killing what I thought was the last goblin before I felt the spear thrust into my back.
I got lucky.... Well, I somehow stabilized and survived. I woke to find all of my companions dead and all of our equipment taken. Worse, my spirit animal had been killed. The surviving goblin(s) had bit the head off of my little bird and spit it on me. I searched the area and did get lucky, finding our wizards spell component pouch. It had been ripped off of him by the ogres spears and was in the weeds about 10 feet from his body. I was thrilled when I found it because I knew what he had in it, a pearl of power and several gems and other things that I was able to sell for coin to recover my little bird.
I didn't have coin for any equipment, or really even living expenses. But, I still knew how to cook! I got another job as a cook in another dive. I was looking for any opportunity to earn coin a bit faster so I could get on the road again. Then I found the strange coin with the message. Meet the king? Sounded pretty easy though!
I made a deal with the manager. I would bring in a cart load of ingredients. I would cook them up, all new recipes.... The restaurant would serve them. The operating costs would be taken out and I would get half of the profits to cover my cost. And, I would turn over the recipes I used to the manager, in case I decided to leave.
I only say it was easy though because I knew a thief in town that sold cartloads of rancid food that shouldn't be served to animals! I could use my magic to purify it of any taint, then bring it to the restaurant and cook with it.
Well, I almost blew the challenge though. I made more than expected and almost didn't buy the coin back. I mean, I could do this again, and again until I had the coin to buy whatever equipment I wanted, right? But, meeting the king intrigued me. And doing so didn't actually stop me from doing this again, right?
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Submissions
Newbonomicon's Covetous Oracle Edwyn
Waskally's Braddock "The Bastard" Cad Fighter / Unchained Rogue
Djinnbob's Irem Uzan Deadly Courtesan
Works in Progress
Almonihah's Prowler Ktinos
Mythicman
Mightypion's Inquisitor
JenkinsMyMan's Filip Vladimiriscu Alchemist
Nikolaus de'shade's Lashunta Investigator
Vagrant's LG Challenge
Dotters
Androste
BlackoCotto
Daniel Stewart
Memers
Crisischild