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Good morning, evening, or afternoon. I'm looking to recruit five players for a PbP campaign of Return to the Runelords. Recruitment will start today and run for two weeks until the 13th of November..
Here are the character creation rules.
Allowed sources-
Paizo-All published sources.
3rd party-Grimoire of Lost Souls by Radiance House-aka binders from 3.5's Tome of Magic. Tome of Magic spirits are also allowed, since they use most of the same rules set.
In the Company of Series plus the Secrets of the Iron Titan by Rite Publishing-This is a set of books that allows one to play as a monster class. They're balanced, and range from giants to vampires to dragons.
Dreamscarred Press Psionics-What's been officialy published. No cross stuff with Path of War or their other akashic magic system.
That's it for 3rd party. No other 3.5 stuff either.
Character creation rules
30 pt buy. It's double then the normal AP point buy, but Return is fairly deadly.
Alignment: Good or non chaotic neutral characters only. I've seen evil characters played well, but in a PbP, they don't always mesh especially if murderhoboing comes to the fore. I'm also locking out chaotic neutral because I've seen too many people try to use it as a get of morality jail free card.
Starting traits: Two. One of them has to be from the Return of the Runelords Players' Guide. The other can be picked as usual.
HP and gold as normal for class
Starting level is 1
Deities: Any you want based on alignment restrictions. Pantheism and philosophies are allowed as per the normal rules for those ideals.
Moral magic (aka the three strikes and you're good or evil rule from Ultimate Horror) Ignore this rule. It's silly, unbalanced, and punishes players for casting any type of aligned magic. Necromancy is not inherently evil or good in my games. Phasrama will hunt you down if you create undead that didn't agree in their past life to be raised and commanded for a specific purpose, but she's not going to send out her inquisitors to murder you because you reanimated a group of people that were needed to help rebuild or guard their loved ones because they can't do it themselves.
Return of the Runelords is a more classic AP then some of the one released later or previously. It combines exploration, investigation, combat, travel and so on.
I look forward to your creations and questions. Have fun, a safe Halloween or November 1st, and I'll acccept submissions until the 13th of November.
Good to see some limited 3pp support for this Grande Finale of the Runelords Adventure Path Trilogy. ;)
For the Dreamscarred Press stuff, some of the mixing of their Psionics system plus Paizo's Occult System would be fine? It was some of their more later published stuff that didn't get to D20Pfsrd but some of it did get to the Library of Metzofitz wiki though. ;)
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Sure that would be fine. All that really changes is what resources you use, psychic spell slots or power points. And there's plenty of room for both in Golarion.
Dotting this to be sure.
Since In the Company of.. Series are by Rite Publishing are allowed, I'm thinking about playing a grigori angelic paragon. I'd like to work with stormcrow27 on where and how the grigori will fit in Golarion.
I'm currently thinking of taking the Time Lost campaign trait, but if any other character submissions wish to work together on forging a backstory so we can both take the Close Allies campaign trait, I'm willing to work with you.
Hard dot! Was in a campaign that got to the final chapter of rise of the runelords. Would love to do return. That and I’ve been eying a soul knife for awhile. I’ll get a character up soon
Can I use my last PC as the basis for Scion of Legend? Or in this campaign do you have a campaign specific canon party for Rise of the Runelord?
The idea here would be to play a Deurgar. For the basic story…
My PC in Rise was Drazh Anviltamer. He was a smith who survived a giant attack that killed his wife. He went from being bitter and full of rage to being at peace, and quite jovial, as the campaign progressed. A large part of it was him getting vengeance, and from religiosity that came from crafting his equipment. He was a blast to play.
For this character: the idea would be this. Word of Drazh’s exploits reached the Underdark when a dwarf was captured and enslaved. As the years went by, Thurin began to speak with this captive to learn more about the surface, and became intrigued by the tales of Drazh. These slowly wormed their way into his head, and as time went on he became shocked to find that he was experiencing something new: enjoyment of his craft. This in turn led to a slide of heresy, with the Deurgar becoming a convert of Torag. Knowing that he could not resist the call within him, and that he could not survive in his homeland as such, he became a voluntary exile, fleeing with the Dwarven slave to the surface. If this is alright I’d flesh this out with a full backstory.
The character crunch would reflect this: Drazh’s signature weapon was a Greathammer, and this Scion would summon a psychic copy of it. He’d take crafting feats, with the goal of following in the footsteps of the legend to create his own armor, worthy of the legend.
As for personality, he’d of course be dour and hard of heart, as a deurgar, but I’d invest in face skills and he’d have a LN alignment. The lawful part being baked into him by culture and experience, with him following the tenants of Torag religiously. And neutral being that he leans towards trying to be good, but not quite being there yet.
How does this sound?
Dot! I've got a character concept that I'd like to give a try.
Oh my goodness Return of the Runelords? Dotting! I have so many questions but they're gonna have to wait.
I’m definitely interested.
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Dotting with great interest!
Especially because 30 point buy allows for pretty interesting things MAD wise.
Questions:
-What is the settings Firearm availability?
-How much background do you want? I would at minimum post why my character is in Roderics Cove, his/her motivation and PM you which adventure hooks he/she will always jump after, if these are offered.
-Cant we take a drawback for an additional trait?
-Elephant in the room?
-Background skills?
1. Standard for Golarion with one exception Emerging. The Duchy of Alkenstar can make revolvers, shotguns, single shot and lever action rifles at great expense to the outside world, as well as flintlocks.
2. Adventure hooks are nice, as is why your PC is in Roderics's Cove, how they arrived and what their goals are.
3. One drawback at maximum.
4. No background skills for this run.
I have the crunch for my grigori angelic paragon character submission, Koshon. Now I need to figure out why he's in Roderics's Cove and his early life on Golarion.
Just to be clear, I’d a Duergar ok?
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Dotting this to be sure.
Since In the Company of.. Series are by Rite Publishing are allowed, I'm thinking about playing a grigori angelic paragon. I'd like to work with stormcrow27 on where and how the grigori will fit in Golarion.
I'm currently thinking of taking the Time Lost campaign trait, but if any other character submissions wish to work together on forging a backstory so we can both take the Close Allies campaign trait, I'm willing to work with you.
Hello, TheWaskally. I'd be more then happy to discuss how the grigori can fit into Golarion's lore. Given all of the patron celestials in Golariom and the celestial paragons, grigori could easily appear anywhere in the world and be drawn to dark places in need of the light.
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Is it okay to join even if I haven't played Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star?
Without an issue, Muzouka. Rise and Shattered Star were designed to establish a backdrop for Return, but they're not needed to play in Return. I simply have to establish the heros of the first two adventures since they can play into the developments of Return due to their presence and reputation. I haven't established any of those heroes, since I love those options to remain fluid.
I have a question, will we be making stories for the heroes for those past adventure paths?
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Just to be clear, I’d a Duergar ok?
A duergar is fine. As for Thurin and Drazh, I like the psychic link via a legend. I think, for dwarves especially, ancestral legend makes a great inspiration. Some duergar and dwarven clans in my games use rock and metal formations or objects to store memories to be read or practiced by bards or other psychic practitioners in shared mindscapes as both reminders of the past and to inspire the youth of the present and the future.
I have a question, will we be making stories for the heroes for those past adventure paths?
If you wish, you're more then welcome to.
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A question, does this included the Pact Magic Unbound, vol 1 and vol 2 stuff, published by Radiance House (authors Agunas and Nardi) as pact magic in PF 1? I have those 2 books, but not the Grimoire of Lost Souls...
3rd party-Grimoire of Lost Souls by Radiance House-aka binders from 3.5's Tome of Magic. Tome of Magic spirits are also allowed, since they use most of the same rules set.
Yes pad300. The Grimoire of Lost Souls is the updated version of those two books combined and expanded into one source. I can provide it if needed.
I might think about this. I like the runelord series, and have not played this one. I've run Rise of the Runelords and am playing Shattered Star.
I'll just make something from the Paizo stuff. The fact that I can actually have a lever action rifle is a bit intriguing.
Argh. Too many good ideas. Gotta pick one thing.
How about a bugbear as a PC? How would that fit in your game, stormcrow27.
Konghruul, a bugbear Brawler mutagenic mauler venomfist who would cross-class as a blood rager blood conduit primalist. He was an elven assassin fighting in the holds of Belkezen, and when he was killed (and level drained) he was reincarnated as a bugbear. He is slowly regaining his skills and is furious at his current predicament, and at what he considers his betrayal and abandonment.
Egrias the blind, a male changeling oracle seer who will cross-class into a witch Dreamweaver synergist. He is a kind of detective in Magnimar. He was blinded as the end of the events of the Shattered Star campaign happened. He hates the world and whatever cruel God did this to him; the fact that they seem to have chosen him to be some sort of "vessel" disgusts him. He'd like to meet whoever tried to make him carry the water of life for the world in this dented and "holy" cup he calls a body, and punch them right in the nose.
Cawr Gydion Càraid, a male Half-giant Psychic warrior thunderjarl who would cross-class as a twinned Summoner, a manifestation of his dead twin sister who still fights at his side, Cawr Gwyndon Càraid. He has wandered out of the mind spin mountains, seeking to understand...or even reverse his sister's death.
Khatín Kurón Xinivane, a female Mwangi human monk (flowing monk, master of many styles, wildcat), will cross-class into a magus bladebound kensai. She seeks to become renowned, to test her mettle in these northern lands against the best her country can offer. Her uncle destroyed her mother and her line before she killed him. He was an aristocrat, so she fled north.
Ceilidh, a female human from Cheliax arcanist occultist looking to understand her magic before it destroys everyone around her. She studied in Magnimar, where she unintentionally destroyed an inn. Her mother was rumored to have joined a coven, or slept with a demon, or married a fey princess...or all three. She is still alive on some plane.
Taryk, a female tiefling ninja/unchained barbarian invulnerable rager drunken brute, a refugee who fled the worldwound. She is still traumatized and has some self-destructive tendencies. She kind of wants to end it, and so she drives herself more and more into danger, acting as if this nobility will make her ledger clean.
If you'd like to know more of any of these (if they catch your interest), please request it. I have all of them written down and have been playing here for over a decade, I just don't have three hours to get them all written out here. Hopefully, you are interested in seeing one or more at your table and request more information on them. :) When I am chosen, I'll work within your rules to build the character itself, so that I don't need to change up any of my pages if I'm not chosen.
Good luck!
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How about a bugbear as a PC? How would that fit in your game, stormcrow27.
Easily enough mittean. Roderic's Cove is in Varisia, which is an amazingly varied country filled with five large to small cities, unclaimed tracts of wilderness, ancient ruins, and plenty of room. Two of the cities are run by non humans, one in the mountains called Kaer Maga where anything can be traded, and the other Uglin, a brutal hold in the middle of the hot stony desert called the Cinderlands run by orcs and other humanoids. The closet city to Roderic's Cove, where you start out, is the pirate city of Riddleport. The other two main human settlements are Magnimar, where money and secrets rule, and Korvosa, a city that tries to emulate the rule of law similar to Cheliax. Roderic's Cove is accepting of everyone, since it's a town that serves Riddleport as a second waypoint for more legitimate cargo.
Great! Thank you. Crunch is done (bar some rechecking) and I’ll get proper fluff up soon. Also, I really like the use of recorded memories. I’ll be making use of that idea. :)
@mittean: I’ve never seen rules for bugbear PCs before. Where can I find that? Also Egrias the blind sounds like a great character. I really dig a PC who is a chosen one and who is truly unhappy about it. Works especially well with the blessings/curse being tied to the campaign
Oh, I can't seem to find any particular rules for lever action rifles.
Though I suppose with the reloading rules in the game (how easy it is to get to free action reloading) there's little advantage to a lever action gun with a magazine over a single shot cartridge rifle. This would be at higher level of course, at low level a lever rifle would be great, but I doubt we could get one.
Also, the range increment for a rifle is really rather silly. 80 feet for a rifle when bows are appreciably higher (100) is simply stupid.
Just want to clarify what is available if I make someone from Alkenstar.
I'm seriously considering a dwarven Bloodrager who just stacks on every defense there is, especially anti-magic defenses. Untouchable Rager for SR, Hardy+Steel Soul+Glory of Old for huge save bonuses vs Spells and SLAs, Uses the Primalist Archetype to take Superstitious, etc etc. "Spells? Bah! Your fancy magics don't do nothin' to me lad. I'm not some elf princess!"
Also think a Sorcerer-Dragon Disciple possibly. I've never played one in a game I was going to take all the way to 20. That character would be more of a gish that a true full caster, since DD means a sorcerer never actually gets 9th level spells, but does get huge natural armor, strength and con bonuses, etc etc.
Decisions, decisions.
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In the Company of Series plus the Secrets of the Iron Titan by Rite Publishing
I've never heard of these, so I looked 'em up.
There's a book for playing a Gelatinous Cube.
That's, uh... something, alright. I hope he leaves a nice tip for housekeeping when he checks out of the inn.
Thank you for your answer stormcrow27. I figured, just wanted to make sure it was okay at your table.
Thurin, thank you! I love them as well. Many of my characters have a twist like that. Konghruul the bugbear is in a body of a race he is actively racist against. Ceilidh has magic seeping out of her (her original build was much more flavorful, not an arcanist, but has 3.5 prestige classes, so...sigh), yet she believes her magic is a curse keeping her from a life lacking conflict and keeping her from accidentally killing innocents. Her twin sister Korihor, who has similar markings that are aberrantly focused, embraces the magic but is unable to do what her sister can and is furious about it. She feels her powers were unfairly given to her sister (who wants nothing to do with them). Taryk is a survivor out of one of the worst conflicts on the planet, and doesn't want the skills she had to acquire to survive...she wants her emotional pain ended. Cawr Gydion Càraid has his dead sister attached to him, driving him to grief and madness every day, as he has never been able to grieve properly.
I love those tragic stories and conflicts. :)
Greetings fellow Pathfinders! I would like to submit the chef with a kind heart, the Andoran protector of the wilds, the Order of the Paw Cavalier, Ander Warmfeet.
All of the good stuff is within the Alias. I do need to change his point buy from 15 to 30, but the character is all still there. He has a 10-Minute background within, but why not also share that here. If you want PBP experience, I have currently running two games. The first is a homebrew adventure within the Duchy of Ashlar from Raging Swan Press. The second has been a different take of a game for myself in Strange Aeons.
Leaning towards Intrigued by Thassilon as the campaign trait, something that my character would have come across in his time adventuring.
5-Things
1) He was inspired by the Eagle Knights of the [url=https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Golden_Legion] Golden Legion as a child due to their Common Rule and their stance against slavery.
2) He is outgoing, fun and playful.
3) He is honest and trusting, even if there have been times where others have taken advantage of this “weakness.”
4) He loves to cook and host parties where he can show off his cooking skills with his friends and fellow adventurers, even if it is at a campsite deep within the darkest reaches of the Whisperwood. Along with this, he seeks out recipes across the land and fills them within his cookbook.
5) Though he loves other “humanoids” he will put the safety and protection of his best friend, Barzu, before anyone else.
2-Goals
1) Work on and publish his cook book “Ander’s Campfire Cuisine”
2) Continue his training and gain enough renown as an Order of the Paw Cavalier to catch the attention of the Eagle Knights and join the ranks of the Golden Legion to guard the far our reaches of Andoran’s borders and the trade routes. Keeping an ever-watchful eye on the nation’s wilder regions.
3-People (Blood, Romance, Honor | 2 Friends and a Foe)
1) Kentalla Fen – Female Half-Elf Ranger – Romance Foe: Early in Ander’s training he fell under the tutelage of Kentalla (a Ranger Beastmaster). He learned important wilderness skills from her; how to survive on the food your forage, seeing tracks and following them, how to handle wild animals and subdue them. She betrayed him on a mission leaving behind this once intimate bedfellow with nothing but a blade and one of her wolfdog pups, Barzu.
2) Lem Warmfeet – Male Warrior – Blood/Honor Friend: Lem is Ander’s uncle. Though if you were to look at the two, they could pass for father and son. Lem is a port guard off of the Andoshen River. Though they share the same heart to protect, Ander is not overly keen of water that him and Barzu cannot wade through.
3) Penax Blum – Gnomish Trickster – Honor Friend: Penax is Ander’s closest childhood friend. On the rare times they reunite, it is as if no time has passed. Though they can be best of friends, they fall on opposite spectrums of the law. Penax has fallen in line with smugglers and thieves that poach the inner sea’s coast. Ander tries time and time again to pull Penax away from could be his inevitable doom but is always unsuccessful. And Ander lets Penax run free.
3-Memories
1) Using the skills that he learned from Kentalla, Ander tried to train and raise Barzu. After many months of caring and training the dog, Ander seemed defeated. It would not listen or obey. That was until his campsite was attacked by a small goblin patrol. Caught off guard, Barzu quickly fled leaving Ander captive. Once bound and beaten during the patrol’s “questioning” Barzu struck back, killing one goblin and leading the others away to become lost in the hillside. Barzu returned and saved Ander. Their bond was iron clad from that moment on. The halfling and the wolfdog have mutual respect.
2) The first interaction with a solo Order of the Paw Cavalier, Jun Turneep. Though this was only a single night around a fire, Jun captured Ander’s heart for being a guardian of freedom. He joined the Order of the Paw and received his banner from Jun. He has never seen Jun since that night.
3) There was a camp of bandits that Ander came across. They had taken a woman captive and Ander had to stop them before their evil hands spoiled her any further. In the battle the woman was slain and Ander, along with Barzu, had to flee to fight another day. That woman’s face still haunts him at night. Was she a mother, a wife? Who was searching for their daughter? Will they ever find her in a shallow grave?
2-Secrets
Known Secret: Using his skills in nature, Ander offers his services as a guide and tracker to gain bits of information of what I going on in the surrounding region and where the Golden Legion are currently stationed. It might be childish, but he leaves messages for them with his deeds in the hopes that they will find and recruit him to be a Golden Legionnaire.
Unknown Secret: Kentalla betrayed Ander not because she wanted to hurt him, but because she was being hunted. She knew to save her lover’s life, that she had to make him believe otherwise. Kentalla knew that Ander would fight to the death for her if needed.
Thanks for the look!
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I've uh... been gone from the pbp forums for like, a few years now. How's things going? Are you still recruiting for this game? I'd like to give it a shot if I can. It's been a long time so I kinda forgot how to format things at the moment... :/
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Recruitment opened just yesterday and the GM said they'll keep things open until November 13th.
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Thurin worked the forge. It was a joyless task. It was an emotionless task. He made axes. He made swords. He made helmets. He made shields. Every day he made these things without a thought as towards why. He didn't know who would use them. He didn't even know if they would be used. It was his task to make them, so make them he did. The slaves brought in the raw materials and he worked. The slaves took the weapons away and he worked. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. The duergar toiled away. The only ones who might have worked harder than him were the slaves, though in a sense, he was as much as slave as they.
This changed when he was called for patrol duty. It was another thankless which he performed because it was his clan's duty, and as such it was his. He and his kinsmen would walk the Deep Roads and be on a look out for any trouble. It was duty, and it also refreshed the mind, so that they might return to their craft with efficiency. He had walked those roads dozens of times and he was certain that he would do so dozens of times again. Though this time was different. It was different because he found...a dwarf. Or more specifically the corpse of a dwarf. Well, the remains of the corpse of a dwarf. It had fallen prey to one of the many giant spiders which defended their home. Thurin walked forward to see what was left, and turned his nose up in disgust. The dwarf's armor, which had not been eaten, was ostentatious. What use were the small horns on the helm? They served no purpose. He would never have added something so superfluous. And the axe? It had runes on it, when it wasn't even magical. Runes...that were for show. No wonder the dwarf had died, when it had been so impractical. It was only too bad that the dwarf had died when it could have been a slave. Wasted resources. He almost turned away when he noticed something. There was a piece of metal clutched in the dwarf's skeletal hand. He bent down and pried it open. The duergar's eyes went wide. He had heard of these artifacts before. Used by bards and other psychic practitioners, they held shared mindscapes as reminders of the past and to inspire the youth for the future. The duergar pulled it loose and held it up.
"What's happening here?" He heard a gruff voice from behind. Without thinking he put the metal in his pocket and turned around to see an elder approaching. "Dead surfacer. Eaten by a spider." He responded. The elder walked over and looked down at the dead dwarf. "Gather the arms and armor. They can be remade." The duergar nodded.
--------
Once home he stared at the piece of metal. He knew that he should be working. He wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping, he wasn't defecating...so that meant that he should be working. But something about the metal called to him. Using his latent psychic power he clutched the metal and opened up his mind.
Back in Sandpoint, Drazh stared at the helmet. It had been a team effort to haul it back. Ferocia had claimed an amulet that hardened her skin. Marten had claimed a Spellbook, Azalia had an enchanted blade, Miron had a magical breastplate. And he...had this.
The familiar on his shoulder hopped down and paced around it. He could feel it’s excitement. He was sure that the others thought him crazy when he claimed the massive helmet. He was certain that the townspeople thought him mad when he had spent nearly every last gold crown he had renting this forge and the supplies he needed.
But he was not crazy. That he knew. The helm...within it, under the gold and bronze, was Mithril. He could smell it. He could feel it calling to him in his soul. With a grin he went to work.
For days Drazh worked. He didn’t eat. He barely slept. He had a vision! The core of the helm was made of Mithril. And he knew that he could make it into a suit of armor. Something worthy of Torag’s name. His familiar, a gift from the gods, worked furiously beside him. It kept the billows going, it cooled heated metal, and it brought him the tools he needed.
By the third day, the proprietor was getting worried. The sound of hammer on anvil did not cease. It was as if though there was an entire team of craftsmen in the small forge. On the fourth day she peeked inside. What she saw was a dwarf, with giant bags under his eyes, cursing as he worked.
On the fifth day she snuck in food and water. The two were wolfed down without a word.
On the seventh day the ranting started. It was all in dwarven, but a few words crept in that were common. Vengeance. Giants.
On the ninth day the dwarf cried as he worked, calling out for his wife. The name Brunhilda was roared to the heavens. He was shaking, seeing things. At times he thought he was at Grung Varn. His clothing had been soaked through with sweat several times over.
On the tenth day she had come back with a physician. The dwarf had finally passed out. Before him was a suit of fullplate armor, made from Mithril. It was covered with gold filgree, the names of the dead written upon it.
A miracle had occurred. Something which should have take years had been made in a week and a half. It had nearly driven him to madness. It had nearly claimed his life. But the hand of the divine was evident in the marvelous construction.
Thurin opened his eyes, and with some confusion raised a hand to his face. Why was his face wet? The duergar pulled his hand down and saw tears upon his fingers. He was...crying? Emotions touched his heart of coal, emotions that he had never felt before. Filled with confusion he got up and put the piece of metal down. He had work to do, and to his shame he had not gotten to it.
Minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days. But time did not creep on without stop. It was felt. Thurin knew something was wrong because when he worked he *thought* which was not right. He was supposed to be lost in his work, but instead he was present. The slaves brought in materials and he noticed them. They looked scared when he looked at them, for he had never done so before. For the very first time he actually acknowledged their presence. It scared him as much as it did them. He lay down to sleep, and for the first time he could not do so. All he could think about was the vision. The duergar crawled out of bed and retrieved the stone. He held it in his fist and opened his mind...
...the next day he was tired. He had never been tired as such before. He was making a helmet, and as he did so he added little horns to it. They did not need horns. They were impractical. But he had done so. The helmet was soon broken and melted down, with fear gripping his heart. He could not let any other see it. It would be the death of him. With a scowl he went to the shard of metal and threw it away into a pile of slag. He did not see the metal grow four legs and skitter off of the pile.
Days went by and he forced himself to work, but it wore at him. He was mentally tired. Thurin cursed himself for his weakness. He cursed the dead dwarf that he had found. He cursed the shard of metal! And as he cursed the shard he looked up and saw it on his table. Only now it was not just a shard of metal. Not it looked like a small iron hammer. With a trembling hand he reached out and picked it up. As he did he felt a *flash* and a name came to him. Drazh Anviltamer. It was a burly dwarf who wore the mithril and gold armor from his vision. He carried a hammer with a silver head that had a haft covered in dragonskin. The dwarf laughed, a bellowing sound which was completely absent from Thurin's life. With a gasp he stood up, looking around at his spartan home. Trembling he stared at the shard of metal. He knew then that his life was over. He could not live like this. Sooner or later he would be found out and he would be killed for being a heretic. His actions would shame the clan and there would be no forgiveness. The very best that he could hope for was that he would be made a slave.
The next day Thurin went to the gates and told the guards that his clan had called him to patrol. They did not question him, for why would he lie? They knew him. Everyone knew each other. He was a duergar of excellent reputation. He never lied, he only worked and did what he was told. The gates opened and with forced calm he walked through. He walked down the Deep Roads as he had done dozens of times before. Only this time he did not look back.
---
Thurin walked through the Darklands alone. He did not have enough food, nor did he have enough water. He did not even know where he was going. All he knew was that he had to run, because his Clan would come for him. That he knew, for his actions would dishonor them. He had to escape. So he marched ever onward, driven by a burning desire. Who was this Drazh Anviltamer? Why did that laughing visage haunt him so? He had to know this before he died.
The duergar came to the surface in the mountains of Kaer Maga in an ancient ruin. The duergar blinked and squinted at the tyranny of the sun. Half starved and dangerously dehydrated he had completed his own personal Quest for Sky. With the shard of metal clutched in his hand he fled into the alien world, confident that here his people could not pursue him. When he came upon a stream of water he nearly dove into it. Once his thirst was satiated he took stock of where he was and what he had to do.
Thurin knows little about the surface world, and has never heard the name of Roderic's Cove before. But he knows a few things. First he can speak common, for that is the language that the slaves speak. He can speak dwarven, for it is his own tongue, even if the dialect is different. And he has come to terms with the name of the God that has cursed him: Torag. For the metal shard that he cannot throw away has taken upon the shape of that deity. And he knows that this Drazh Anviltamer was a dwarf that was blessed by the God of Smiths. No longer does Thurin feel the pull of Dorskar, now it is only the song of Torag's anvil that beats in his heart, along with the desire to create.
Alone in a foreign land, filled with 'lesser races' that he had only ever thought of as slave stock, the duergar must now find himself, and discover what it is that Torag has called him to do.
And there we go! Thurin's backstory. A CG duergar who has been blessed/cursed by Torag. As an augmented blade soulknife he has a psicrystal, which is the shard of metal in the story above. It is central to his class and it is central to his story. He is also a Gifted Blade, to represent his psychic abilities, which will grow as he does.
Personality wise, he is certainly Cha6. He is a duergar, afterall. Things such as laughter and fun are foreign to him and he has the 'paranoid' drawback, which represents his upbringing and background. When interacting with other she is polite to a fault, being very formal in his speech (hence diplomacy as a trained skill). But at the same time he is not evil. The horrible institution of slavery was never done by him out of a desire to dominate others: it was never even thought of, for he was a slave to Droskar and to his Clan in body and soul. This is the first time in his life that he is making decisions for himself, and I look forward to him learning how to be a functioning member of society.
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As for his role in the party: He is a tank (but probably not as good as a specialized one), he does close combat DPS (similar to a fighter), and he has an informant psicrystal that has all knowledge skills in it that it can telepathically convey to Thurin. So while he isn't the best skill monkey, he can help out with any of those. And finally, he'll get some spellcasting in the form of psychic powers, which will focus on healing and buffing.
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Also, the range increment for a rifle is really rather silly. 80 feet for a rifle when bows are appreciably higher (100) is simply stupid.Welsh Longbows were reasonably accurate for direct fire up to around 350 yards (1050 feet), but only by the best. They weren't even composite bows, but simple stick bows, but they WERE Strength bows as far as how the game engine handles these things. Archers pressed the bow away instead of drawing the string, because the draw weight of the bows were so high. They had draw weights up to 150 pounds, and some think higher!
Muskets had about 1/3 that range. "Muskets of the 16th–19th centuries were accurate enough to hit a target of 50 centimetres in diameter at a distance of 100 metres."
Musketmen didn't beat archers with range or accuracy. They beat them with sheer numbers. Proper use of a Welsh longbow took years of training. Muskets were only slightly more complicated to use than crossbows, and anybody can use a crossbow!
There's a reason Archers dominated in warfare since the Egyptian chariot archers (well, until the newer tech made expertise less important). And the Welsh longbowman was the king of foot archery units.
Sorry, archery history is a minor interest. I always hate it when people think early firearms were more accurate or had better range than a good bow. They simply did not. It wasn't even close. Firearms are just so much easier to use. Still true today, when the firearm technology has made them more accurate and with better range than even the best archery equipment can be. But that's with modern technology.
No, I don't think I'll apply to this play opportunity. Thank you for the offering regardless, stormcrow27.
Anytime, hustonj.
Presenting Eric de St. Cyr for consideration.
Eric de St. Cyr is ready to leave his past and his doubts behind and is willing to explore the secrets of ancient Thassilon.
Is it ok if starting inventory and starting spells are finalized upon actually being recruited? In my experience, this gets readjusted upon getting actually selected anyway. Only thing I am set on mechanically is being mostly a reach weapon fighter in medium armor (these go with nearly any party anyway).
That's fine, Mightypion. I don't want to have anyone make a choice they regret before they start.
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In the Company of Series plus the Secrets of the Iron Titan by Rite PublishingI've never heard of these, so I looked 'em up.
There's a book for playing a Gelatinous Cube.
That's, uh... something, alright. I hope he leaves a nice tip for housekeeping when he checks out of the inn.
The Gelatinous Cube was designed as an April Fool's joke. They gain intelligence by absorbing an intelligent humanoid and then mixing its brain matter to allow the Gelatinous Cube to become sentient. Various class features allow the cube to gain access to ooze attacks, different shapes (the Gelatinous d20 is a common favorite) and so on. It ends up being a mobile brick with access to special ooze and mold attacks, along with the ability to fit through tight spaces and so on.
The other books are more serious and are full up updates for the old Savage Species 3.0 book to play monster classes, without all of the ECL and imbalance SS stuff could bring. The Secrets of the Iron Titan allows you to become a magic cyborg/living construct as you transplant yourself into a construct body that evolves over time.
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Bravo, Thurin! Bravo! Thurin's story was a fantastic read. The only bad thing about it is that the character I was planning on applying with is pretty much the same fluff-wise, except being a tiefling hellknight armiger runaway from a secret branch of the House of Thrune instead of a renegade duergar.
But I do have other ideas, and I think I'll be applying with a reprise of the character that I played in a sadly dead Shattered Star game.
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Oh, I can't seem to find any particular rules for lever action rifles.
Though I suppose with the reloading rules in the game (how easy it is to get to free action reloading) there's little advantage to a lever action gun with a magazine over a single shot cartridge rifle. This would be at higher level of course, at low level a lever rifle would be great, but I doubt we could get one.
Also, the range increment for a rifle is really rather silly. 80 feet for a rifle when bows are appreciably higher (100) is simply stupid.
Just want to clarify what is available if I make someone from Alkenstar.
The main advantages of a lever action rifle over a single shot rifle is the eight round magazine and better range increment (110).
Bravo, Thurin! Bravo! Thurin's story was a fantastic read. The only bad thing about it is that the character I was planning on applying with is pretty much the same fluff-wise, except being a tiefling hellknight armiger runaway from a secret branch of the House of Thrune instead of a renegade duergar.
But I do have other ideas, and I think I'll be applying with a reprise of the character that I played in a sadly dead Shattered Star game.
Thank you! I really appreciate it. And knowing that the background was read at least once and was enjoyed makes it worth it, even if not selected. :)
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Also, the range increment for a rifle is really rather silly. 80 feet for a rifle when bows are appreciably higher (100) is simply stupid.Welsh Longbows were reasonably accurate for direct fire up to around 350 yards (1050 feet), but only by the best. They weren't even composite bows, but simple stick bows, but they WERE Strength bows as far as how the game engine handles these things. Archers pressed the bow away instead of drawing the string, because the draw weight of the bows were so high. They had draw weights up to 150 pounds, and some think higher!
Muskets had about 1/3 that range. "Muskets of the 16th–19th centuries were accurate enough to hit a target of 50 centimetres in diameter at a distance of 100 metres."
Musketmen didn't beat archers with range or accuracy. They beat them with sheer numbers. Proper use of a Welsh longbow took years of training. Muskets were only slightly more complicated to use than crossbows, and anybody can use a crossbow!
There's a reason Archers dominated in warfare since the Egyptian chariot archers (well, until the newer tech made expertise less important). And the Welsh longbowman was the king of foot archery units.
Sorry, archery history is a minor interest. I always hate it when people think early firearms were more accurate or had better range than a good bow. They simply did not. It wasn't even close. Firearms are just so much easier to use. Still true today, when the firearm technology has made them more accurate and with better range than even the best archery equipment can be. But that's with modern technology.
I am well aware that muskets are not at all accurate. You can't expect much from a smoothbore and a round ball. I said rifle since he mentioned lever action weapons (while there are lever action shotguns, we aren't talking shotguns).
You might learn some firearm history to match the archery history. Once rifled weapons became standard on the battlefield (the American Civil War was the first big event where the Minie ball saw use) a great slaughter ensued since muzzle loaders which were only really accurate to 50 yards suddenly became accurate to 250 (as much as 500 by the best) because of rifling and the tactics did not change.
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The main advantages of a lever action rifle over a single shot rifle is the eight round magazine and better range increment (110).
OK, thanks. I guess the key question is availability of a rifle and ammunition to start. Not much point in having a rifle (lever or not) if I can't feed it. I'd be better off with the muzzle loading smoothbores if that's all I could get ammo for.
I was thinking a gun tank. I'll need to read the player handout for that AP so I can figure out how a lad from Alkenstar would get involved. A long time ago I offered Rise of the Runelords where the premise was a team of Alkenstar agents trying to keep a lid on a major eruption of ancient magic so everyone was gun oriented, and no magic classes (alchemist was allowed).