** spoiler omitted **
Then considered making him sexually deviant, but did not want to go there.
As in, I actually wholeheartedly agree with your feedback, but kind of failed to add a proper character flaw I felt fit naturally without touching on tropes. And as such submitted to see how you felt about it. Plus I wanted to verify that the mechanics are fine by you before investing more in the backstory - if I had to switch to VMC Paladin or something, I would have had fewer options to work with.
Thank you a lot for the feedback. I'll take a day or two to let my mind work, then come take another pass at his background. I may have him entangled in a crime syndicate that he got suckered into after protecting some small-time criminals. A mafia-kinda deal where the criminals actually "support" the local populace and provide a measure of control where the guards won't. It's still a conflict of interest because they are criminals, and cause him to do criminal things, but he's justifying it by working with the tools he has available when the city officials wouldn't listen. Would that concept seem agreeable? If he's e.g. involved in smuggling or similar, that could also play into the campaign later - he might know a storage location or two with things we could use.
Shawn: Sounds interesting. Another monster tactician applicant. XD I'll make a roundup of concepts and complete applications some time soon.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
It's fine with me if you want to involve him with some crime. My goal would be to make him feel more like a real human with quirks and flaws.
Character sheet should be done. He is currently about 222 Lbs. away from a medium load, so if someone needs carried let him know.
Aye, will do. I do want to add, though, that I feel quirks and mannerisms come to most characters naturally as part of the "personality" they develop when being played.
I'll try and plan ahead, but I've always struggled with pre-defining those parts(or found myself altering them), also because some of that seems to evolve from group dynamics.
But flaws, I am fully with you. I'll post again after I revisited things sometime later this weekend(today will be the hottest day of the year in my city according to forecasts - my mind has entered sleep mode to prevent heat damage) . Thank you for your time.
Stats done. Now for outfitting
I'd be interested to know if Dirk has any friends, acquaintances, or others he cares about in Absalom aside from the missing Clarissa. Does he talk to his neighbors? Shun them but occasionally lend them a hand?
To be honest, being a rogue who doesn't sneak attack but is amazing at healing is a big, specific choice. I don't have any mechanical problems with it but I think it could be justified in the backstory a little more. Currently, it feels slightly thrown in. My read of most of Dirk's backstory leads me to think he'd be more of a sneak attacker and less of a healer.
Completed characters:
Orion, aasimar cleric (MordredofFairy)
Liam: human unmonk (SqueezeMeNow)
Dirk: human rogue phantom thief and mundane healer (Kazmanaught)
Maerlun: human wizard focused on crafting (HiddenEclipse)
Urkalm: human barbarian with spheres (Corbee)
Zaria: human wizard focused on sneaking/deceit (Ember)
Partial characters:
Jediah, half-orc ranger and woodsman (Andrea1, doesn't look quite done with equipment)
Vera, human monster tactician inquisitor (Wulfila/Motoraza, finalize statblock+equipment and backstory)
Ward, dwarf sacred fist warpriest (bww!, has backstory and needs character sheet)
Concepts:
CucumberTree: Archer paladin
MarbleMari: Zen archer
Phillip Gastone: Lumberjack?
SoB: Alchemist
denise martinez: Protection sphere user
Mordred: Sarenrae cleric that annoys undead
Lapyd: Synthesist
TheLastGhost: Halfling Rogue
Andrea1: Jediah the halforc ranger
Simeon: Improvised weapons something
Kazmanaught: Rogue or sorcerer
Shawn Ashler: Inquisitor
Smooshiebanana: Healer
TotallyNotEvil: Forgemaster cleric
Running tally for hosting options on a scale from A-Paizo only to E-Discord only (not everyone has answered this yet):
A. 2 (wanderer82, SmooshieBanana)
B. 7 (CucumberTree, KeeperofRunes, Phillip Gastone, Mordred, Lapyd, TheLastGhost, SqueezeMeNow)
C. 2 (Motoraza/Wulfila, Kazmanaught)
D. 6 (MarbleMari, Simeon, Corbee, HiddenEclipse, Ember, Shawn)
E. 5 (ViolentSh4de, denise martinez, XenoMorphine, TotallyNotEvil, bww!)
Total: +6+7-6-15=-8
Caster: how many tables are you planning to run, mate? Asking because it’s a lot of applications, especially from Discord. With so many people you could run more than a table, even one in each environment. Which one do YOU prefer?
I'm going to stick to one table. Multiple tables/huge parties/etc. certainly can be fun but they increase the speed/probability of GM burnout a lot. I did play in a SIXTEEN-player, PBP, zombie survival, town-building game a while back that was quite fun. I'm certainly drawing on that experience somewhat in running this game.
As to platform preference, I prefer Discord a bit but am totally fluent and present on both platforms.
This is a female half-elf [Aristocrat 2/ Paladin (Divine Hunter) 1] who worships Erastil. We'll need to figure out a way to retrain her. Tell me you're summation.
@Hidden Eclipse I'd love to. You'll be the friend of a friend... but you'll live in the penthouse of our friend. (This will close the scene in an easier way) Please choose Tylon's sex for your narrative.
Class: Aristocrat 2/ Paladin (Divine Hunter) 1
Race: Half-elf
Hit points: 19
Stats:
Str: 13
Dex: 17 (+2 Racial)
Con: 10
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Cha: 16
Alignment: NG
Saves:
Fort: +3
Ref: +4
Will: +5
Init: +3
Speed 30'
AC 17 Touch 13, Flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +4 Armor)
CMD 16
CMB +3
Base Attack Bonus +2
Masterwork Longbow, composite 500 gp: +8 1d8+2 x3
Mithril Chainshirt 1100 gp
Boots, Daredevil Softpaws 1,400 gp; Weight 1 lb.
As a free action, the wearer can click her heels together to grant herself a +5 competence bonus on Acrobatics checks made to move through threatened squares or to move through an enemy’s space without provoking attacks of opportunity for up to 10 rounds per day. The rounds need not be consecutive. Furthermore, anytime the wearer of the boots successfully moves though the space of an enemy without provoking an attack of opportunity, she gains a +21 bonus on attack rolls against that enemy until the end of her turn.
Race: Half-elf
Racial Traits:
Ability Score Modifiers: Half-elf characters gain a +2 bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.
Type: Half-elves are humanoid creatures with both the human and the elf subtypes.
Size: Half-elves are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Half-elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Half-elves begin play speaking Common and Elven. Half-elves with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Shadowhunter (2 RP): Characters with this trait deal 50% weapon damage to incorporeal creatures when using non-magical weapons (including natural and unarmed attacks), as if using magic weapons. They also gain a +2 bonus on saving throws to remove negative levels, and recover physical ability damage from attacks by undead creatures at a rate of 2 points per ability score per day (rather than the normal 1 point per ability score per day). Half-elves can take this trait in place of elven immunities.
Adaptability: Half-elves receive Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st level.
Keen Senses: Half-elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Low-Light Vision: Half-elves can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Fey Thoughts (1 RP): Select two of the following skills: *Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Knowledge (nature), *Perception, Perform, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Swim, or Use Magic Device. The selected skills are always class skills for the character. This trait replaces multitalented.
Feats:
Skill Focus (Racial) (Acrobatics)
Benefit: You get a +3 bonus on all checks involving the chosen skill. If you have 10 or more ranks in that skill, this bonus increases to +6.
Precise Shot (Combat) (Hunter)
Benefit: You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on your attack roll.
Point-Blank Shot (Combat)
Benefit: You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
Weapon Focus (Combat) (Longbow)
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make using the selected weapon.
Traits:
Resilient (Fort)(Ref): Whether in body or mind you are more resilient than most. Select a saving throw, you gain a +1 trait bonus to the selected saving throw. You may select this trait multiple times, selecting a different saving throw each time.
Class Skills: (12 Ranks)
Acrobatics: 12 = +3 rank, +3 Class, +3 Stat, +3 Skill Focus
Perception: 8 = +3 rank, +3 Class, +0 Stat, +2 Racial
Diplomacy: 9 = +3 rank, +3 Class, +3 Stat
Sense Motive: 6 = +3 rank, +3 Class, +0 Stat
Background Skills (6 Ranks)
Perform (Dance): 9 =3 Rank, +3 Class, +3 Stat
Perform (Sing): 9 =3 Rank, +3 Class, +3 Stat
Class Features (Paladin) (Divine Hunter):
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Paladins are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (medium and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
Precise Shot
A divine hunter gains Precise Shot as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if she doesn’t meet the prerequisites.
This ability replaces her heavy armor proficiency.
Aura of Good (Ex)
The power of a paladin’s aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to her paladin level.
Detect Evil (Sp)
At will, a paladin can use detect evil, as the spell. A paladin can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is evil, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the paladin does not detect evil in any other object or individual within range.
Smite Evil (Su)
Once per day, a paladin can call out to the powers of good to aid her in her struggle against evil. As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Cha bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.
In addition, while smite evil is in effect, the paladin gains a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma modifier (if any) to her AC against attacks made by the target of the smite. If the paladin targets a creature that is not evil, the smite is wasted with no effect.
The smite evil effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or the next time the paladin rests and regains her uses of this ability. At 4th level, and at every three levels thereafter, the paladin may smite evil one additional time per day, as indicated on Table: Paladin, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level.
Lexxan walked through the city street swiftly. The smell of feces and urine assaults her. An old man races towards her while opening his cloak. His naked body parts wiggle and jiggle as they bounce in rhythm with each of his steps. Lexxan gags and moves quickly away. "May You..." she started to yell, but then quietly muttered to herself, "die horribly."
The theater was huge. Clothed in black velvet, the walls prevented light and also prevented noise from outside coming inside. It was owned by a sorcerer. Tylonius the Magnificent. Tylon had created the Cirque du Magickal.
Tylon was the best illusionist anywhere, Tylon would often remind anyone around. The rest of us filled the illusions with music, acrobatics and dance. Lex was with the Flying Cadra. The Flying Cadra of young women, who seem to defy gravity with dance while secretly using velvet cloth as rope.
The orchestra starts it's tune. A large smile crosses Lex's mouth because she landed the new solo. The other Cadra were not very happy, but they pretended to be.
Not long. Start of the third act. She thinks to herself. Her smile widens.
Deep into the second act, discordant sounds, that were masked by heavy wooden doors, begins to startle the audience. The doors snap easily due to their light fortification. Waves of ravenous bodies burst through the openings. The gnashing teeth of the wave take down the closest to the door. A new undead wave races over the feeding undead. And then a new wave. It was impossible to wrap your mind around. Tylon's spells lit up the undead like a beacon of destruction. The waves didn't end.
Tylon kept fighting, but eventually Lex watched Tylon's face slide to resignation and then death.
The relentless undead make to the ropes of the Cadra. "Cut Cadra! Cut!" Lex screams. The undead slip up the ropes like fire. "Cut Cadra!" Lex can hear Lorna being torn apart. "Cut Cadra!" The ropes break free and death tumbles with them. Lex looks over to see Lorna's sister falling down an emotional hole. "Lina. I'm sorry, but we've got to get out of here."
"No...I'll stay with my sister." Lina lets go and falls into the writhingly repulsive orgy of death.
-----------------------------------------
The Cadra make it to the roof. On the roof, a small altar of Erastil exposes itself to the night sky. Lex is pulled towards the altar.
Lex prays. I'll not give up. Help me lord Erastil. Help me to help others.
A bow, a mithril chain-shirt, and slippers appear on the altar. The Cadra see a nimbus of light form above her head as Lex collects the items from the altar. The altar and her halo disappear into the night sky. Lex says to the Cadra. "We must save people."
Trina looks at Lex like she's crazy and stupid. "What are we to do? Dance them to safety? You are too dumb for words."
Lisa responds, "At least one god marks her. I'll follow."
Lois adds, "Yes. You saw. It's enough for her to lead."
The other Cadra murmur in agreement.
Trina shrugs. "Fair enough, but she's not very bright."
Joyce puts her hand on Lexxan's shoulder. "It's true dear. You're not the brightest."
"What about Tylon's lover. Malcum? Maeron? Where'd he be?" Nance says.
Lex had been at Tylon's penthouse for a party after she won the Solo competition. "Maerlun. Not sure they're lovers, but they live over there." She says while pointing unenthusiastically to the penthouse direction.
Lexxan could hear the screams of attackers and prey from the street below.
She was chosen by Erastil, but still would need to earn respect on her own.
Lexxan reminds me of something I should mention is that I'm generally pretty ok about retraining, even for free, if the reason is good enough. For example, I would allow a sub-optimal, RP-focused initial build (say with aristocrat levels), which could then be RPed as learning and retrained for free over the first adventuring day or two.
I've added this to the FAQ.
I was excited about the game, but there are way too many people, across different platforms, and I have no way to actually feel the party dynamics and applicants to get my head around my idea. I'm having difficulties connecting with the character and I don't want to waste my time or anyone else's, so I'll just bow out. Have fun, GM and players!
Andrea/Philip here, I have Jediah equipped. Got spare cash in case of emergency purchases.
Ok see you around, Lapyd! My 2-year old calls you "baby Yoda" whenever she peeks over my shoulder.
Ok given that we are now a hair away from the applicant pool deciding on the Discord platform for us and it's my preference anyway, I'm going to simplify things going forward.
To those who said Paizo-only, you technically can still remain in the recruitment and play with us on Discord. But I don't want someone to drag their feet into a play-by-post game on a platform they hate. So don't make that decision without talking to me about what is involved on playing on Discord so I can make sure you're ACTUALLY ok with playing there. Those who preferred Paizo but were flexible are also welcome to ask such questions.
I'm going to start building the server with the alias-bot, rolling bot, etc that I like best.
Ok see you around, Lapyd! My 2-year old calls you "baby Yoda" whenever she peeks over my shoulder.
I love this avatar too! Not sure what material it’s from, but it looks like a goblin doll to me :)
As a (B), I've used discord for some video chat games, but never for PBP, so my knowledge of it's functionality is limited. I am sure there will be some things I would need to learn scriptwise, such as dice rolls, or how best to do spoken word vs action vs thought. Here are a few questions.
1 - is there any way to do a spoiler or something similar?
2 - is there a way to have an alternate name show up in place of your username?
3 - how do you prefer to handle character sheets?
1 - As Corbee said. The lack of collapsibility is a minor drawback but when is worried about taking up a lot of space with something, there will be alternate channels. For example, there's a #rolls channel and an #extra-roleplay channel. I'll provide a guide to all the syntax and how I want things formatted. It's easier than Paizo, just different.
2 - Yep. Again, easier than Paizo but different. You can use any image for an alias, it's fast to add aliases, etc.
3 - I'm fine with any, reasonably readable format for the submission stage. A well-formatted page of text in a Discord channel, a Paizo profile, a myth-weavers sheet, etc. After acceptance to the game, I'll have text-based character sheets moved into Discord for ease of frequent access while myth-weavers sheets and the like can just be permanently linked to in Discord.
You don't have to use Myth-Weaver. Once you have the details for your character sheet in a document you can just cut and paste them into Discord. Just need a thread for your character.
You are limited to a number of characters per post, but can paste it in separate posts.
Yes there's no need for anyone to learn myth-weavers. I only meant that people can use it if they want. Formatting your sheet as a nice, organized block of text on Paizo is perfectly fine.
Presenting Dymitri, drunken brawler and master of improvised weapons!
Dymitri
Male Human Striker (Barfighter) 3
Chaotic Good Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 21, touch 20, flat-footed 17 (+4 armor, +2 dex, +3 con, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 30 (3d10+12)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +6 (1d6+3, 1d8+3 when drunk), Improvised Melee Weapon +7 (1d6+3 or higher)
Ranged Improvised Ranged Weapon +7 (1d6+3 or higher)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +5 (+6 to trip and grapple); CMD 18
Feats Dodge, Makeshift Maneuvers, Improvisational Focus
Skills Diplomacy +8 (4 ranks, +3 class, +1 trait), Perception +7 (4 ranks, +3 class), Climb +8 (2 ranks, +3 class, +3 str), Swim +8 (2 ranks, +3 class, +3 str), Survival +7 (4 ranks, +3 class)
Background Skills
Sleight of Hand +10 (4 ranks, +3 class, +3 dex), Profession (pit fighter) +7 (4 ranks, +3 class)
Traits Resilient (Will), Storied Past (Diplomacy)
Languages Common
Other Gear Amulet of Natural Armor, 1000 GP
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Tension (4 max), gain tension point by A, dealing damage to creature B, taking damage C, moving 10 or more feet (cannot be forced movement)D, start the turn with the drunk status. Lose tension points 1 minute after combat ends
Tension Techniques
1 Tension
-Expert Guard: For each tension a striker spends on this tension technique, she gains a +1 circumstance bonus on all saves until the beginning of her next turn.
-Fiery Offense: For each tension a striker spends on this tension technique, she gains a +1 circumstance bonus to attack and damage rolls made with unarmed strikes until the beginning of her next turn.
-Staggering Step: The barfighter may spend a swift action to increase all movement speeds she possesses by 10, ignores difficult terrain, and may take 5-foot steps in difficult terrain until the beginning of her next turn.
-Stalwart Form: For each tension a striker spends on this tension technique, she gains DR 1/- until the beginning of her next turn; this damage reduction stacks with similar damage reduction.
-Timely Dodge: For each tension a striker spends on this tension technique, she gains a +1 dodge bonus to her armor class until the beginning of her next turn.
2 Tension
-Critical Knuckle: The striker increases the critical threat range of her unarmed strikes by 1 until the beginning of her next turn; this bonus stacks with other increases to the striker’s unarmed strikes critical threat range, but is applied last.
-Perfect Offensive: The striker automatically confirms a critical threat made with an unarmed strike.
-Swift Focus: The striker spends a swift action to regain martial focus.
3 Tension
-Inebriated Maneuver: The barfighter may spend a swift action to make a combat maneuver check of her choice, rolling twice and taking the higher result. The barfighter does not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a combat maneuver this way.
-Second Chance: The striker can reroll a saving throw after the result has been revealed, although she must accept the result of the reroll, even if it is worse.
-Speed Step: The striker can spend a swift action to move up to her speed with whatever methods of movement she possesses.
AC Bonus Add Con to AC
Blood Alcohol Content, gain immunity to sickened condition and cannot become addicted to alcohol
Uncanny Dodge, Can’t be caught flat-footed unless immobilized or feinted
Striker Arts:
Barfighter’s Favored Weapon, may use unarmed strike damage for attacks w/ improvised weapons and count as unarmed strike for striker class features
--------------------
Martial
--------------------
Tradition Drunken Brawler; PAM Con (+3)
Barroom
Brutal Breaker, no penalties to use improvised weapons
Hard Drinker (3 rounds), standard action to drink alcohol, gain drunk status effect for round equal to Con mod
Barroom Expert, Give improvised weapon one of the following abilities, blocking, brace, deadly, disarm, distracting, double (this may not be applied to improvised light weapons), grapple, nonlethal, performance, reach (this may only be applied to two handed improvised weapons), sunder, or trip, additionally improve damage die by one step and increase threat range to 19-20
Drunken Boxer, when drunk treat self as being 1 size category larger for unarmed strike dmg
Miracle Drink (3 rounds), expend drunk status to get +2 to str, dex, or con for rounds equal to con mod, +1 per 4 BAB
Open Hand
Sweep: Move action, trip attempt at -2
Greater Trip (+1), +1 to trip, increase by 1 every 4 points of BAB
Wrestling
Snag, swift action melee touch attempt to make a foe battered, grappled foes are treated as battered too
Iron Grip (+1), +1 to grapple, increase by 1 every 4 points of BAB
Equipment
Unarmed Training
Unarmored Training (+4)
The cheering of the crowds, the fire of strong whiskey, the crack of fists or chairs or bottles to faces. That was what Dymitri lived for. He had grown up poor in the Puddles district. It was a wet, hungry, dangerous childhood. His parents were barely in the picture, so he had to grow up fast to keep his younger siblings (twins, Mykras, a boy and Eskra, a girl) safe from anyone who would try to take advantage of a few stray kids. His talent for brawling was clear, able to fight off would-be robbers or kidnappers with a shockingly effective combination of unarmed combat and whatever items he had on hand. A particular scrap with a fellow who had tried to peddle some bad Pesh to his younger sister impressed the proprietor of the Soggy Piper, a bar known for its terrible reputation and the no-holds-barred prize fights that took place there. He got an offer to fight there along with a cut of the profits if he was to win. He was nervous going into the fight, but found his skills firmly up to the task. With a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a sturdy wooden chair in the other he triumphed, earning more money in that one night than he and his siblings had ever had.
A few years passed, and Dymitri honed his fighting skills. Weaving in and out of range, he struck hard and fast, his fighting spirit bolstered by the liquor in his veins. The money started to flow more, slowly, and even when he stumbled home with bruises and black eyes, he knew his path was the right one if it meant providing for his brother and sister. He had plans to save some money, get them to a slightly better part of the city, maybe even get a real job.
His plans didn’t last. He heard screams one night. That didn’t unnerve him. The rotten hand that smashed the window of his house did. Now that the dead are rising, his goal is to make it out of Absalom and make sure that his brother and sister are safe.
Dymitri is a male human, not especially tall but built wide and sturdy. His face is scarred, with a crooked nose from the many times it’s been broken. His blond hair is short, cut often to make sure that his opponents in the ring have little to grab onto if they need to. He wears simple and rather shabby clothes, carrying nothing by way of armor or weapons save for an enchanted amulet he won in a particularly high-stakes prize fight.
Many would think of Dymitri as a hard man. That can be true, at times. A childhood of fighting and scrounging and stealing to survive didn’t exactly do him favors as far as tenderness was concerned. If all the hardships of his childhood hardened him though, Mykras and Eskra softened him. It was for them that all his struggles have taken place, and if it meant helping them to live an easier life then as far as Dymitri is concerned, he would do it all twice over. He is not without his vices though. His fondness for the drink is nearly-unparalleled, and his belief in Cayden Cailean has instilled an almost mystical sense of its power in him. When he has to fight, he fights, showing less mercy to his enemies than even he would like. More than anything, he wants freedom from the desperate circumstances he’s been stuck in for himself and his siblings. His passion for the wellbeing of his family is what he draws his strength from, but he will set aside any other goal if it means helping them, and if they are in danger his anger overpowers anything else he might be able to do. He will get his brother and sister out of Absalom, off the Isle of Kortos, to the ends of Golarion if it means keeping them safe, himself and anyone else be damned.
History added at the bottom of my CS. Still need to do equipment.
Please let me know if there are any obvious errors. Thanks!
Good questions, Mordred. The immediate reason will be that you will have people you care about still in the city (everyone can note that for their backgrounds). Additional reasons that may or may not arise may or may not be secrets. :) But I am aware of needing a good IC motivation to stay in the city.
Maybe the undead can butcher your character's friends and family early (pregame). That horror might drive you into finding and destroying the cause and make you less worried about orphans you might meet.
Don't give the GM such nasty ideas.
(That said, yeah, I would search for the cause either way and try to undo it if such is feasable. Point was, I would still not make camp INSIDE the city unless forced by some means.)Also, not trying to derail the recruitment - just figured this may be of interest to others, as well - or hear their thoughts on why their characters might feel ok with staying inside the city.
I'm headed to the hottest penthouse in the city. Full of opulence and integrated illusions. So...my city place is awful cool.
I just figured that the undead apocalypse was all over but concentrated in Absalom. (Population density?)
At least in the city there will be places with walls/doors/locks that might provide a little bit of shelter to the non-combatants. Next best option? Possibly find something out in the Cairnlands? Or the Spire of Nex?
Hello! Just throwing a bare bones concept into the thread: very likely a charisma-based caster of some sort who is drawn to/burdened by the spirits of the dead of Absalom. This person will most likely (but not guaranteed) be more Charisma-based (like a Bard, Mesmerist, or Bloodrager), but might instead by a Psychic or a Spiritualist. There is a not-unreasonable chance that they could be multi-classed. I need to read your wiki to get a better sense of character creation rules before I know what questions to ask.
There are a number of reasons we would have to stay in the city.
The first being that it's a huge city and getting all the way out of it in it's current state might take longer than a day. With roads blocked or getting waylaid by hordes of undead we would have a hell of a time progressing and would likely have to try and hole up somewhere for the night.
The second being there may be elite zombies or scarier threats preventing us leaving. There are a lot of very scary undead types and if they are spreading through the city there might be a very powerful lich or something that has engineered this all.
The third is that the guards might be trying to contain the spread and have closed the gates. Trying to escape might just get use shot. If the wall defenses have been turned on the city it would further complicate the first point by having collapsed houses all about the wall.
The fourth is that if so many people are fleeing the city the exterior would likely be miles and miles of even more zombies with every resource picked clean as if by locusts.
edit: There are lots of very nasty and scary undead, as another campaign is teaching me right now. With lots of potential for custom made monsters as well. Why did I volunteer for this again?!
@Liam, You volunteered because it sounds like a fun, challenging game! And it's going to be on Discord! Bonus!!!
@Liam, You volunteered because it sounds like a fun, challenging game! And it's going to be on Discord! Bonus!!!
Hopefully I don't give the DM too many ideas. Me or anyone else in my other campaign. We're having enough struggles with undead in that!
Lots of fun pre-processing of the problems you may face. XD It will be fun.
An urban garden sounds nice, if a bit lacking in protein. There is eventually higher tier magic to bring access to better food. At the very least salted pork can last a rather long time and is processed in barrels of the stuff! I suppose how much food is around also depends on how many people actually survive. If it's a case of 1% of the population being immune and everyone else more or less zombified I think we could eat cured meat and salted pork until we burst.
Water might not be as safe as you imagine. When I mentioned undead before I wasn't just talking about intelligent casters. There are lots of flavors of mindless undead as well. Burning men and animals, for example. I imagine something like an undead alchemist could manage some particularly scary feats with their ability to grow limbs, tumor familiars, wings, etc.
NGL if there is eventually a dracolich involved I can (will) die happy.
Knowledge-Local/History might help. The leaders of Absalom had some magic to help feed the city if/when they were under siege. Also, the harbor is VERY unsafe for ships that aren't being assisted by the gillmen that help navigate around the deliberately placed city defenses. It kept the city safe from other nation's naval forces.
Not sure any of that might play into this game.... But I just thought I'd mention it.
Try to escape city on boat. Undead gillmen push side of boat en masse to force you onto the aquatic defenses. Yeesh.
If you want to know just how bad undead can be just look at literally any template that gives similar abilities and immunities and apply it to the entire population. It's horrifying.
This could end up as Left 4 Dead, gather 4 fire pots to fuel the boat's engines(or get 4 oars) so you can escape.
I have no problem with a kineticist.
Alrighty, here is the kineticist that I plan on bringing in. I'll have a backstory later today. Hopefully I can be of service as a scout/lockpicker!
Human Kineticist that has traveled the inner sea and wants to fully establish an inn, at least before this undead nonsense happened.