DM Fang Dragon's: War for the Crown

Game Master FangDragon

Welcome! Please check in here and say hello :)

I'd like to do a little session zero stuff before we start, to make sure we're all on the same page and that we've got a good spread of skills and that I fully understand your characters. If based on party composition you want to make any changes to builds or backgrounds or to purchase equipment (maybe some of you know each other) now's the time!

I'm going to try and build each of your characters in hero lab, so I may ask some questions here or in PMs. You don't have to use the herolab format in your profile but I'm more than happy to provide it (and the save files) for you if you'd like.

Some of you have already made profiles which is great, could everyone please try to get that done soon. Also could you please put hp, ac, skills and saves in your status lines for quick reference. Here's an example.

In Llewellyn's profile he has this (without the spaces for the tags)

Race: Half Orc Chelish Diva Bard 7 | HP 50 / 52 AC 23 T13 FF21 | CMB +9 CMD 22 | F +8 R +10 W +8 | init +2 | [ url= ...]Resource Tracker[/url]

Classes/Levels: [ spoiler=Skills]Bluff +13 Diplo +13 Intimidate +14 Kn: Arc +8 Kn: Geog +8 Kn:Hist +8 Kn: Local +13 Kn: Nature +8 Kn: Nobl +8 Kn: Plan +8 Kn: Relig +8 Perc +10 Perf: Oratory +13 Perf: Wind +12 Sense motive +13 Spellcraft +12[/spoiler]

Some of you have already made profiles

In fact you all have made profiles, which is great!

Now onto some business, before we get started there are three items I'd like you to vote on. To vote please respond with a clear yes or no, you can do this here (if you're comfortable) or sent me a PM with your choices.

#1 Beards
Originally Taldor was described as having a law stipulating that only the ruling class are permitted to grow beards and the masses where referred to as the unbearded. Paizo later walked away from this. Do we want to keep this fairly odd bit of lore in the game?

If a minority want this gone, it will fade into the background but still be there. If a majority want it gone, it's gone. If you all want to keep it, it's there in full force.

#2 Garden of delight
The level 8 ability of the seducer witch archetype has flavour text that some people may object to. Do we want to reflavor this? E.g. perhaps as an elaborate tea ceremony (channeling the Geisha Bard)?

Given the nature of this, if anyone objects we'll reflavor.

#3 Spell casting emanations
Paizo's position is that all spellcasting is accompanied by noticeable emanations, sounds, flashing lights, etc... So if for example you tried to cast glibness in a noble's gala before giving a speech you'd get noticed and called out. To get away with casting spells in a social situation you have to take a feat tax, or be really inventive. In some quarters this is controversial.

Do we want to keep this rule? I'm going with the majority here. Please bear in mind that if you vote to remove this rule, NPCs will 100% use this too, sometimes to your disadvantage.

Hello everyone!

Just wanna start off by thanking DM Fang for inviting me along for this game. Been wanting to take a stab at War For The Crown for awhile now and really appreciate the opportunity to do so! As for your player questions...

#1. The whole beard thing was there to make Taldor seem more ridiculous and dominated by the ruling class than it already was and I gotta say it worked. To well in fact. I think the beard thing is funny but it does sort of go to far in wacky territory even with Grand Prince Stavian III being a major wacko himself. I say we ignore but it doesn't bother me immensely.

#2. I'm fine with some more adult themes surrounding sex and sexuality in our story though I also think stuff like the aforementioned Seducer ability should probably be kept in spoilers or only vaguely alluded to. Once again, not a dealbreaker for me at all, especially if rdknight really wants to use it for their character.

#3. I will admit it was kind of annoying trying to figure out how to somehow avoid flashy lights going off whenever I wanted to be subtle and sneaky while playing a Enchanter wizard lol. Getting rid of that would be welcome for my Bard and probably rdknight's character as well even if the NPCs can do it too.

Hi all, I am very much looking forward to this game. As far as builds go Valeria is meant to be a face character combined with a bad touch/support caster. I'll get cure spells automatically as we level so I will be a pocket healer (though if someone else is covering that I may swap that to gaining inflict spells for free).

1.) I was completely unaware of this until it came up during the recruitment so I have no real feelings either way plus, lady of the night here (not that kind perverts) so it doesn't really make a difference to me. I'm good with doing away with it or just fading it into the background.

2.) A Seducer Witch!? I have tried to play them before but the games always die on me early so I don't get to do much with them. The adult themes don't bother me at all ( I rather enjoy them) so I am fine with keeping it. Anything dealing with them can be kept in spoilers or in PM if needed.

3.) I am good with everyone being able to do this as it adds a lot of intereting challenge. Alternatively we could just say anyone who casts spells gets the Conceal Spells feat as a bonus feat. I would still follow the rules as laid out in the feat to successfully do it if handled this route.

Hi everyone!

Thank you for choosing me Fang Dragon! I'm thrilled to be playing with you all!

1. I don't have feelings about this one way or another. I suppose, as someone who's likely to be kissing some number of those faces, Pelligrina would say "yuck" to the beards. There is also a middle course we could take. Maybe the laws have been repealed, or maybe fashion has changed to such an extent that only older people might still keep up the tradition. It's a thing grandfathers or younger arch-traditionalists keep to, while everyone else has abandoned it. Maybe beards among the elite are now a political statement?

2. I'm actually the one who brought this question to Fang Dragon. I'm fine with either keeping the ability as is or modifying it to make it less explicitly sexual as the party members prefer. I didn't want to force anyone to leave buffs on the table if they weren't comfortable with the method for getting them. It's an 8th level ability so there's plenty of time yet to revisit the question if anyone wants to before it will matter in game.

3. I'd like secretive casting to be easier than Paizo makes it, but not necessarily so automatically easy we can just cast our way to success in social situations. The social aspects of the AP are what makes it special, and they should remain a challenge. But as the rules stand now, some spells are rendered almost useless because they're rarely good outside situations where it would be used to influence social situations, and can't be cast in social situations without automatically being known to have done so.

I'm very tempted to add Conceal Spell as a free feat, assuming you meet the skill prerequisite.

I'd like to hear everyone's opinion before making a ruling however.

How will Hexes be considered to work? Most of them are Su abilities so is it correct that unless there is a component in their use, like verbal for Cackle, they are not detectible?

I'm tempted to say there is an effect but it's subtle in-comparison to verbal spell casting. E.g. evil eye involves a hard stare plus a sort of aura that can be felt. The victim has a pretty good idea that something has happened but they or an observer would need some kind of check to figure out what happened and who did it. Observers woild need a perception check too to realise anything happened.

How about to identify: Kn: Arcarna (or Spellcraft) DC 15 for regular hexes, DC 20 for the next tier and 25 for the tier after that?

As for who did it, would perception (similar DCs?) plus an opposed sense motive check make sense?

Thank you again for the selection DM! I really know nothing about this AP and my exposure to Taldor is limited to the research I did while creating my character profile. Looking forward to an immersive pbp experience.

For my fellow adventurers: Triphylla is a social chameleon of sorts, although limited by her not-human-ness in Taldan society, she can be charming or aloof; she may attempt to assert herself at times and at others she may go with the flow or stealthily slip into the background. She can be triggered when disregarded or overlooked, but she isn't quite Napoleonic about it. If she is quick-tempered and rash she just needs a few minutes to calm down and then she will seek forgiveness. She inherited these two facets of personality and I will play them true but try to not be random or annoying about it.

She is the party rogue when necessary, and fights like one, and she will occasionally attempt to affect the disguise of a human child to better blend in.

To the questions at hand:
1) IRL I think (hope) we're at the 1974 tipping point with beard chic. While my personal opinion is that a beard can make the man, too often they are poorly-kept, and there are few things less attractive than a really bad beard. Applying that to the game, I appreciate the attempt to create a further distinction among classes, but imposing a thou-shalt-be-clean-shaven edict on the underclasses seems preposterous. Where do they perform these daily rituals? Are we to assume everyone has clean water to prevent infection and disease? And for that matter, there must be an expectation that each beard-capable person keeps a sharp, clean blade and soap on person or nearby, lest they capture the wrong kind of attention from the local constabulary. I would think that we can dismiss this by acknowledging the mistake of this law, revealed through the terrible plague of poor dead males who didn't boil their shaving water for the required eight full minutes and thus perished in shame from gangrene of the face. Who would otherwise care for all those widows and fatherless children?

2) Triphylla is a young, sexually active female. She will be bawdy at times as a young reformer in this story has a right to be. The Garden of Delight causes her no shame, and if our Seducer chooses to create it, Triphylla will certainly rest there assuming no one objects to her presence. No need from my perspective to tame this at all.

3) Who am I to say that spellcasting should not be a stealth action? Have at it. Although we may expect rival NPCs to have the same capability. The free Conceal Spell feat makes sense to me.

By-the-by, I've always felt a little uncomfortable with Alchemy, although I keep drinking from that well. It's more to do with the actual kit: lugging around this complex collection of glassware in a backpack... My experience has been that DM's do not unfairly burden alchemists with these details. That being said, an alchemist is more or less a spellcaster except that the fruits of her talents are not innate. Triphylla will need to carry her backpack everywhere, and leaving it behind while stepping into a gala is not the same as leaving behind a sword that can be easily replaced with another. Her mutagens and extracts are not the same as vials of oil or potions of healing. They are as critical to her character as any feat and perhaps more-so.

I'm not suggesting she be allowed to carry a sack on her person into such formal engagements - I very much prefer to adhere to realism - but it will be at the top of my list of concerns that she be able to recover it when needed. I don't foresee this being overly problematic; we are adventurers, afterall - we all need our gear.

I am interested in DM's (and other PCs) thoughts about this.

As for Pelligrina, she's the party's snake, or better complete chameleon. She's an ear-whispering shmoozer who can befriend people she detests given the right reasons. She's good at getting people to do what she wants them to by telling them what they want to hear.

While she always uses her charm and beauty to her advantage, Pelligrina knows there are many different routes to a person's desires. If she can figure out what they want most, she can offer them a path to getting it that just happens to benefit her or her causes first and most.

Being a witch just makes all this easier for her. But meat and potatoes, Pelligrina will be good at debuffing and using enchantments. She can use divinations for recon well due to the Mirror Witch archetype. She'll also help with battlefield control and utility spells when she can. If needed she can also act as a pocket healer, though more pocket than Valeria.

Re alchemy as far as I understand it, a full alchemist's lab is not easily portable due to lots of fragile glass wear and it weights 40lbs.

However there is a Portable alchemist's lab which I assume is inside a wooden box small enough to carry, presumably with a strap.

Generally I intend to handwave how bulky/fragile that is, but unless you get a portable hole or the like you'll need a base of operations to use the full lab. Still many towns have labs you can rent for a small fee.

I've opted for the Alchemy Crafting Kit so as not to be absurd given this a halfling lugging the thing across the world. Thanks!

Also, I did make one tweak so far, exchanging the hp for the skill point as fcb.

And since we're on the topic of bulkiness, I've often wondered why the Weight associated with items does not vary by size class. Leather armor alone weighs half as much as your stock halfling. For all the tiny details in pathfinder this seems like an oversight. Perhaps I've missed some errata. Conversely, I am taxed when wielding weapons larger than my size class, so my chances of finding useful treasure are significantly reduced.

A further note on Valeria is that while she is very good socially she is heavily tainted by the Abyss and this causes good and lawful characters always mistrust her even if they don't understand why because that taint. It's intrinsic and unavoidable but once everyone understands it could eventually prove as a useful indicator as to whether someone is a good person or not based on their initial reaction to her.

Hmmm, I wonder how this interacts with detect alignment spells? Or things like smite evil or alignment based damage. As written it is just a mechanical penalty to certain skills but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me in some ways..

1. I like Pelligrina's suggestion that its a fading thing amongst the aristocracy - although its probably still on the law books.

2. I'm not fussed by 'adult themes'. Cyrene is going to be rocking the full succubus look quite a lot of the time she'll be absolutely getting 'adult' as and when it suits her. That said, there's a pretty well established level of forum content and I don't think there's any need to go more detailed than that.

3. Not fussed by spellcasting. Unsurprisingly. As a non-caster I'd like there to be at least a chance to catch someone casting if they start but I think it makes sense that Taldanes would have come up with more 'civilised' methods of casting. ;)

Mechanically Cyrene is pretty much a rogue right now. Once she hits level 7 onwards she'll start being a one-hit wonder as long as she can draw the start of combat out for at least three rounds. Given the time she's also an insanely good scout - as long as she can be in one form and then switch to the other no-one would recognise her. I'll take the talents to support that when I get the chance.

Once we get to the right level I think she and Pellegrina could be a wonderful double-act. Pellegrina sets them up and Cyrene knocks them down. ;)

@Valeria My bet is the designers didn't fully think that one through (although it's not like detect alignment is super OP). Let's play it by ear and see how it goes.

Ah good our 6th player Cyrene has joined us, she has a fairly colourful past too! PS Valeria (Drogeny) and I have a history with tieflings ;)

So while we're doing session zero stuff, let's also talk about skills. I had a look at party skills over the weekend, I was tired when I did this so it's quite likely I made some mistakes!

Anyway it seems nobody has points in kn: dungeoneering, survival or appraise. All of these crop up a bit although no way near as much say diplomacy or perception.

Now's a good time to make any adjustments!

Also I noticed some of you have leather armour on your sheets, that's fine if you want it for RP reasons but I expect most of you can afford better since we're starting with max gold for your class.

I'm tempted to say there is an effect but it's subtle in-comparison to verbal spell casting. E.g. evil eye involves a hard stare plus a sort of aura that can be felt. The victim has a pretty good idea that something has happened but they or an observer would need some kind of check to figure out what happened and who did it. Observers woild need a perception check too to realise anything happened.

How about to identify: Kn: Arcarna (or Spellcraft) DC 15 for regular hexes, DC 20 for the next tier and 25 for the tier after that?

As for who did it, would perception (similar DCs?) plus an opposed sense motive check make sense?

Yeah, this was more what I was meaning. Not so much that Hexes would be completely undetectable, but that they don't produce visible and audible effects that make them obvious.

The witch would still have to focus on the intended target though, which means "tells", a stare (Evil Eye), a slightly unusual behavior, or change in demeanor might potentially be noticeable.

Oh hey I just realized I forgot to include Julia's combat and noncombat roles and capabilities. Might as well do that now and share with the rest of the class. Basically Julia's your typical Bard with the supporting buff abilities and Face skills that come along with that. She's good at keeping the party inspired and kicking ass and can be good at sweet talking people on our way as well. Speaking of kicking ass she's a decent melee front-liner or will be as she levels up. Might actually tweak her build a bit to make her more formidable at level 1 but either way you can expect her to be whirling her rapier in front instead of just singing in the back.

Question: for me this campaign shows up in my list, does it for you too? I was going to wait until we've got session zero sorted before making the gameplay thread, but I could make it now if needed.

re. Skills. Cyrene has linguistics because otherwise she couldn't speak languages that make sense to me. :) She'll pick up appraise later. Likewise I can accumulate some Knw Dun if people would like.

Long term my original plan was to take Master Spy prestige levels from 8 since they will stick stack onto my death attack and I've never played said prestige class. If we think that would lower my DPS too much I could stick vigilante though.

@Fang It won't show up until you make a gameplay and we all post in it. You can delete the post again immediately, but there has to be a thread and we have to post. Until then it won't show.

Very much looking forward to rp with all of you. This seems like a very interesting and dynamic group! Happy that Cyrene made the party!

Edit: forgive my question about Weapon finesse. Sometimes I read things too fast.

Julia one thing to mention at level five your archetype gets an arcane bond to your weapon, that's pretty neat and all but it means you have to be wielding it (i.e blade drawn) in order to cast spells.

Were you aware of that?

Could Pelligrina refluff a haramaki as a protective corset?

Yes weapon finesse is a free feat and if you're class/archetype grants it you get weapon focus instead.

@Pelligrina yes absolutely.

@DM as for better armor, maybe if it didn't weigh so damn much. Are you open to a house rule for small size class that reduces armor weight, say by half, rounded up?

Full disclosure, I would probably improve my outfit instead of my armor.

I'm good with playing the interactions of the curse with spell effects by ear as we go. Just thought I should bring it up to put a bug in your ear about it.

It likely shows up for you Fang since it is a game you are GMing, the rest of us need to post in gameplay first. Fortunately if you are in the root RP forum and set it to focus it will show the discussion/recruitment threads there if new posts are made.

@Triphylla as far as I can tell that's an official rule, small characters have half weight weapons and armour and for large size the weight doubles.

So yes you can have half weight armour.

Hello everyone! I am happy to be part of the cast and looking forward to have fun with all of you!!!

1) Beards Indiferent.
2) Garden of delight Reflavor. Lope is in favor of sexual relations, but I would rather prefer the ability is free of such conditions, I do not want anyone feel pushed to a behavior for a mechanical advantage. Perhaps flirting with the seducer should be enough.
3) Emanations Remove. If the spell has a material/somatic component though I would expect a Sleight of hand to conceal its use and avoid a Spellcraft/K. arcana to know what is going on. If it has a verbal component I expect some kind of Bluff or Linguistics to conceal the casting with other words. But if there are no components and no effect associated, it kind of ruins the fun of a social adventure if everyone knows who is casting.
Edit: Seems kind of what Conceal Spell proposes, I am fine with that.

And since we're on the topic of bulkiness, I've often wondered why the Weight associated with items does not vary by size class. Leather armor alone weighs half as much as your stock halfling. For all the tiny details in pathfinder this seems like an oversight. Perhaps I've missed some errata. Conversely, I am taxed when wielding weapons larger than my size class, so my chances of finding useful treasure are significantly reduced.

For the specific case of armor there is in fact table for armor size that cites reduced weight! So half weight for your leather :D

Changes
I plan to exchange human bonus feat and skilled for Dual Talent racial ability to get a +2 Int, as Lope receives freely Weapon Finesse.

Will do later.

Skills and more
Going for dinner, more on this later, but I did not want to miss the chance to greet everyone!

@Triphylla as far as I can tell that's an official rule, small characters have half weight weapons and armour and for large size the weight doubles.

So yes you can have half weight armour.

Color me red. In all my travels I have somehow missed that very germane piece of information!! I'm sure it says so in a very obvious place that I looked at a hundred times and did not see. Once again, I read things too fast, although this is quite a miss on my part.

Anyway, thank you!

As for Party Skills, please add Triphylla to Craft Alchemy, KNO Arcana, Perform Oratory, and Sleight of Hand, and although she is "untrained," her Acrobatics and Stealth skills are pretty good. Her Background skills are Craft Alchemy and KNO Nobility.

I'd be willing to move a skill point out of KNO Arcana, since it seems we have that covered, and into Appraise, which is also a class skill for me.

@All I've created the Gameplay thread please dot and delete. I'll make a proper gameplay thread post soon.

OK vote results:

1. Beards: Lets adopt Pelligrina's suggestion that its a fading thing amongst the aristocracy - although its still on the law books, it just isn't enforced.

2. Garden of delight: Reflavor, so that relations are not required. Got a long while before this becomes a thing anyway.

3. Emanations: Removed, Conceal Spell is a free spell if you have any of the skill pre-requistes. Hexes are hard to notice (requires a perception check), requires Kn: Arcarna to identify (DC 15 for first tier, DC 20 for second tier, DC 25 for the third tier of hexes). Requires an opposed sense motive check to work out who hexed somebody.

The switch to Charisma for casting means Pelligrina won't be quite so good at skills, especially knowledge skills, as a typical arcane prepared caster. Besides, Witches don't get all of the knowledge skills in class anyway. I'll also be putting points into UMD, there just aren't quite enough to go around just yet.

I can put some background points into Appraise starting the next level if nobody else is going to do it.

Not having K Nobility in-class is something I consider to be a flaw with Pelligrina's build. She should have it if she's who she's supposed to be. I just couldn't manage to work it in though. Oh Well. I did still put a point in.

I can put some background points into Appraise starting the next level if nobody else is going to do it.

No worries - I made a switch and now count Appraise among Triphylla's skills.

Let's discuss who knows each other at the start? E.g. Valeria might well know of Cyrene, and vice versa, maybe they met already?

Let's discuss who knows each other at the start? E.g. Valeria might well know of Cyrene, and vice versa, maybe they met already?

I'll look through tomorrow and see, but odds are that anyone who knows Cyrene would only know one of her faces - probably the social one. She advertised herself to Martella, but she isn't going to let just anyone know who/what she is.

DM Fang Dragon wrote:

Let's discuss who knows each other at the start? E.g. Valeria might well know of Cyrene, and vice versa, maybe they met already?

I'll look through tomorrow and see, but odds are that anyone who knows Cyrene would only know one of her faces - probably the social one. She advertised herself to Martella, but she isn't going to let just anyone know who/what she is.

Cyrene, might you have any connection to the Brotherhood of Silence? If so, Triphylla could have heard of you, although it's less likely we know one another.

After a quick scan through the other backgrounds I don't see any obvious personal connections for Pelligrina. On the other hand she's been making it her business to circulate and get her name out there. She might know any of the "Child of Oppara" set or other nobles by family name if not personally.

Skills
Disable Device <- Lope will leave a single rank there, as Triphylla covers this better
Fly <- No rank, just good Dex for now
knowledge (dungeoneering) <- Will allocate ranks there when possible
knowledge (planes) <- Will allocate some ranks there when possible

Who knows who
Lope just arrived to Oppara, so unless they know each other when they were kids, there is little chance there yet

It's possible you have all heard rumors of Martella's "curious little doll," but unlikely Triphylla knows any of you personally.

Julia one thing to mention at level five your archetype gets an arcane bond to your weapon, that's pretty neat and all but it means you have to be wielding it (i.e blade drawn) in order to cast spells.

Were you aware of that?

Oh I know but I figured wielding could also mean that Julia just needs to have it on her person instead of it being drawn. Also, in a pinch, I could always try to make the concentration roll if my rapier is unavailable.

As for who Julia knows or has at least heard about...

Lope de Vega: I would assume that through the grapevine Julia has at least heard about the tragedy of the Vega family and how they fell from grace. Highly likely she would not believe the claims about them being corrupt given that arch-conservative Maxillar Pythareus made them. Furthermore, even if Eduardo was corrupt she would hardly think it just to exile his whole family for the sins of one man. Since Lope has a talent for poetry maybe he knows Julia through Taldan art scene?

Pelligrina Revay: Given that they are both minor nobility its quite possible or even likely that they've been in the same circles even if Pelligrina is not a native of Oppara. Perhaps they even both went to Lady Breau’s Academy for Young Women together? I didn't really detail what arts institute Julia went to so maybe that's their connection.

Triphylla Achlys: Unlikely to know her personally but Julia may heard about her epic logic barroom throwdown lol. In turn Triphylla may have heard of Julia's feminist plays or the duel she won against her betrothed.

Valeria Turanor: Like Pelligrina they may have known each through the nobility, especially since Valeria is a native of Oppara. Perhaps they also meet each other at the Temple of the Upheld and Golden Rose, since Julia is a big time Shelynite. They likely lost touch once she left for the Worldwound though... and Julia probably would be terrified what she experienced there if they were friends or even acquaintances.

Cyrene: Almost certainly knows nothing about her but she may have heard of Julia and her antics.

DM Fang Dragon wrote:

Julia one thing to mention at level five your archetype gets an arcane bond to your weapon, that's pretty neat and all but it means you have to be wielding it (i.e blade drawn) in order to cast spells.

Were you aware of that?

Valeria Turanor: Like Pelligrina they may have known each through the nobility, especially since Valeria is a native of Oppara. Perhaps they also meet each other at the Temple of the Upheld and Golden Rose, since Julia is a big time Shelynite. They likely lost touch once she left for the Worldwound though... and Julia probably would be terrified what she experienced there if they were friends or even...

I like the idea of them having been friends before Valeria went to the World Wound. She was a Shelynite Paladin then and it makes a lot of sense they might have known each other.

I doubt they have seen each other since then, even after Valeria's recent return to the city. I imagine you would have heard that she had gone missing when things fell apart at the Wound (think the beginning of the AP) and maybe that she had recently turned up again and was no longer a paladin.

Triphylla Achlys: Unlikely to know her personally but Julia may heard about her epic logic barroom throwdown lol. In turn Triphylla may have heard of Julia's feminist plays or the duel she won against her betrothed.

Now that would make for some juicy gossip among the upper crust clientele of the pubs Triphylla likes to crash. Yes, she has most definitely heard of you, probably first among the jeering men who scoff at such a pathetic creature that would lose a duel to a song bird, and then among the women who cheer your name. Perhaps you were there that night the unlikely halfling engaged in a battle of wit with the nobleman. Perhaps we've enjoyed a conversation over pints.

Julia and Pelligrina could have both attended Lady Breau’s Academy for Young Women. It would be a nice connection. But... the idea I have of the place is it's very specifically a finishing school.

The curriculum is devoted to teaching social graces, complex manners, what to talk about in conversations, what to wear when, how to wear it, how to speak, how to manage household servants, etc. The goal is preparing the students to nab the best (rich, well-titled) husband possible. Of course music would be one of the things taught, but only to the extent that a quality wife would be able to entertain at social gatherings. Scholarship is not encouraged, very bad for one's prospects.

So that's what Julia would have been signed up for if she was there.

@DM, may I begin with pre-crafted alchemical items? Some small quantity of Sunrods, Acid, Alchmist's Fire, Antitoxin, Bloodblock, or Thunderstone, at your discretion. I have 86 gp remaining for raw materials.

Craft, Alchemy: 1d20 + 6 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 5 = 30 Using Crafter's Fortune extract

That roll feels like a good omen.

Edit: Including raw material costs:
Acid: 4 gp
Alchmist's Fire: 7 gp
Antitoxin: 17 gp
Bloodblock: 9 gp
Sunrod: 1 gp
Thunderstone: 10 gp

Given the prerequisite crafting time in advance of the events of gameplay, I propose having crafted the following:

1 Antitoxin
1 Thunderstone
1 Bloodblock
4 Alchemist's Fire
4 Acid
4 Sunrods

That leaves me with 2 gp to rub together. If it pre-crafting is not allowed I'll just include the raw materials in my equipment and work on them as time permits during the campaign.

Valeria Turanor: It would certainly be a shock for Julia if she saw one of her friends be gone for so long and suddenly show back up having gone through such a transformation of character and religion. Definitely would be doggedly curious about what went on in the Worldwound.

Triphylla Achlys: Ha! Yes that totally works for me. I could certainly see them having a good nice chat if she actually saw you win that debate. Maybe even becomes friends or at least acquaintances after that.

Pelligrina Revay: Ah that makes sense. Well with that being the case I suppose it better to simply leave as Julia and Pelligrina as people who meet at a few parties in Oppara if at all.

@Triphylla yes you can craft some items before we start.

@All, I'm going to update my hero lab versions of your character sheets tonight. There's a few archetypes / traits / feats from the villain codex I can't figure out how to get. They consolidated a lot of the packages and it's not obvious which one is needed now. This isn't a big deal but it does help me understand your characters. Level 1 characters are simple, but by level 10 that'll no longer be the case. I'm hoping that future me will be glad I did this.

Once that's done we can start.

Thank you, DM. I did also change three (of my four) extract formula selections to try to be more well-rounded and less situational. I'll put together the resource tracker later today.

@Julia: Do you want to go with that idea then? Both Julia and Pelligrina have seen each other around at meetings or events for Princess Eutropia supporters or other reformist causes and are familiar? It works for me.

Cyrene wrote:

I'll look through tomorrow and see, but odds are that anyone who knows Cyrene would only know one of her faces - probably the social one. She advertised herself to Martella, but she isn't going to let just anyone know who/what she is.

Cyrene, might you have any connection to the Brotherhood of Silence? If so, Triphylla could have heard of you, although it's less likely we know one another.

Cyrene knows about the Brotherhood but isn't involved with them - she works strictly for Nocticula and what she perceives as Nocticula's interests. So Triphylla will probably have heard grumbles etc around the Brotherhood about some sort of 'independent' who's been poaching on their turf, but wouldn't connect that to Cyrene - at least not yet.

Cyrene thinks that anyone who needs a team to kill someone isn't good enough at their job anyway. ;)

Ever since young Prince Carrius II died in a riding accident the question of who will succeed Grand Prince Stavian III has kept loyal Taldans awake at night. Attempts at resurrection failed and Stavian separated from his wife Etroffe and refused to remarry, leaving no direct male heir. After Stavian would the crown really pass to a distant and untested cousin? What of Princess Eutropia, his estranged daughter, could she beat the odds and change the law of succession?

You begin as undercover agents of Lady Martella Lotheed, the illegitimate daughter of the prestigious Lotheed noble family and burgeoning spymaster. She has hired you to perform various missions during a large ball to celebrate the Grand Day of Exaltation. This is the biggest date in the Taldan calendar, a culmination of a week-long holiday whereby by tradition The Grand Prince elevates a commoner to the ranks of nobility.

This year's Grand Day of Exaltation is poised to mark a historic shift in the governance of the empire. Stavian's only daughter and eldest child Princess Eutropia has forged a powerful coalition of senators, aiming to reform four thousand years of inconsistent and often sexist laws. The reform effort kicks off with a vote to repeal the ancient law of agnatic primogeniture. The law states that royal power can pass only to a male heir. Lotheed supports Eutropia and needs your help to ensure the vote goes off without a hitch.

I’m proposing to run an abridged War for the Crown, books 1-4 doubling down on the central conflict which is the battle for emancipation of female rights (plus sweeping reforms to four thousand years of archaic and contradictory laws) in the face of traditionalism bordering on fascism.

I aim for this to take three to four years in total.

I will select 5 players (possibly 6 if we have strong submissions) in two weeks from now at 9pm GMT on September 10th. Good luck!

Am I late?!

Hello good DM FangDragon! I would like to make a submission for your next game.

My initial thought is Devoted Muse.

I am still thinking about how I really want to get there though...lol.
Not Paly this time..hehe!

Thank you for running!

Seems like Swashbuckler is tailored made for it...lol.

Looks like this flavor fits, using a Nine-Ring Broad sword.
Okayo corsair ?

Interested! I've been wanting to make a social/intrigue-focused character for a while now. Will start scheming and re-reading the player's guide as it's been a while (applied a while back for a War of the Crown game but haven't played).

I'll provide a hero lab output and can share the file when I make my crunch. I'm a big fan of good ol' hero lab.

Also, that's my favorite posting rate.

Maps: That's essentially how I use google slides. Is sheets better than slides for that?

Ha I meant slides not sheets ><

I'm thinking a Human (Taldane) Order of the Lion Cavalier.

Sébastien of The City of a Hundred Fountains Halfling Swashbuckler (Okayo corsair) going into Devoted Muse.

I think I have a cool concept, but it requires GM approval.

There is a inquisitor archetype called
Sword of the Eldes which I would like for my character, an inquisitor of Magd, however, it requires being a Gathlain.

The issue with Gathlains is that they get a fly speed at level 1, which I would dislike a fair bit if I had to GM it. And could get rather hard to get into an urban campaign.

I would much prefer to be a Fey foundling/Fey Magic human/Elf/Half Elf, who will have some very reasonable reasons to be devoted to Magd.

So that's a charisma based inquisitor with extra spell slots instead of teamwork feats. In principle that doesn't sound like it would be problematic. OK I'll allow that although I'm curious why Magha an Eldest of the first world would send an agent to Taldor :)

My idea is to go battle spirit shaman with hampering hex at first level for debuff and combat reflexes and enlarge person for some combat effectiveness and a beefy combat familiar spirit animal with an idea of improved familiar to get to axe beak goodness.

Most likely going with aasimir and looking for GM blessing to go with a racial type because I need MAD help to get to wandering spirit of lore at 4th level and the feat at 7 retrained at 8 to allow life spirit 10 minutes a day which along with spells should help out with major healing buff and debuff build with young reformer as my trait since I will be having a 14 int for the build and going with know local

Hi Edelsmirge which racial type did you have in mind?

I'm not saying no to Aasimar but they generally turn heads unless they have pass for human alternate racial trait and may get unwanted attention. Also I'm going to need a compelling background story explaining how and why Lady Martella Lotheed chose them to work on her behalf. I want to understand their motivation for getting involved in Taldan politics.

I'm not aware of any rules that would allow an Axe Beak familiar (its a valid animal companion however), is there some splat book that allows this?

Also you wouldn't always have such an obviously ferocious pet at hand since it would be hardly welcome in polite society.

Here is a submission for you from drogeney.

The only change I had to make was the alignment from CN to CG but I think that will still work out and maybe make her even more interesting given her curse.

She is meant to be largely a "bad touch cleric" with lots of face skills as she tries to show that the Redeemer Queen has truly changed from her old ways.

Hi Drogeney how did Valaria end up working for Lady Martella Lotheed? Presumably she's sympathetic to Princess Eutropia's cause, what does her father think?

Mightypion wip submission, I am currently working on background, as well as on what simple weapon I can bring into polite society. I kind of doubt that a big Scythe would be all that wecome :).

Sent you a PM what Magds possible interest could be, also have her actual background as an idea, just need to write it up.

I came up with a pretty interesting backstory idea tying a rather minor noble house to Magd.

My character was found as a Fey foundling (as per the feat), by the childless Arithos Valaris. He adopted her and raised her as his own, when she, at the age of just 6, expressed her desire to worship Magd, making any possible succession by her even more implausible, her adoptive parents cried but accepted.

1 year later, they were blessed with 3 healthy female triplets , and 2 years later by 3 healthy male triplets. Given that Lady Eurythnia Valaris was 42 at that time, it was indeed quite unusual.

Eurythnia now publically worships Magd, which is viewed as rather eccentric by her noble peers. House Valaris, especially during the time where they had female triplets as possible heirs, was very very keen on the reform agency, and developed pretty warm ties with house Lotheed.

House Valaris, which is a fairly minor house, but one notable for its excellent library, great assortment of wine orchards and few foes.

Looking at this.

Considering Bard, of course, given the AP. Kitharodian Academy is in town, and there are feats on Nethys related to being a student there, but they are faction feats and have side requirements.

FIRST: I am a LONG way off from picking a direction or character type. I saw something interesting and am trying to understand if it is even an option, let alone how it would work.

NOW:

The side requirements are "TPA" or Total Prestige Award. As per THIS forum discussion one can estimate earning ~5 Prestige per character level.

So, would these feats be considered available? Or is this a "too complicated and not something I want to work through for a curiosity as opposed to an honest build attempt?"

Additional side note: Apparently (new info to me, honestly) the Lion's Blades are based out of the Kitharodian Academy, and such an association would go a long way towards taking that Prestige Class. Not that I'm really looking at that bit, either, just something I saw while I was exploring potential options.

The feats in the series I was spotting are:
Master Performer (15 TPA)
Grand Master Performer (20 TPA, Lvl 8 min)
Silent Performer (15 TPA, Lvl 12 Min)
Verbose Performer (15 TPA, Lvl 8 min)

Again, just looking at options. Not even sure this is where I'm going to want to go. ABSOLUTELY not thinking far enough ahead for Lion's Blades other than as "Oh, what's this?"

I like the idea that this is as much roleplay and intrigue as it is swords and sorcery.

I have a couple of ideas for characters but one is a little left-field so I wanted to check with you, Fang Dragon, before I go ahead and flesh it out.

It would be a Kelishite who has travelled from Kelesh to support Martella's mission. A big gregarious man who on the outside is a party animal who likes his drink, in Oppara as a traveller and trader. His real nature is very serious, he is here from a like minded cell in Kelesh to support Martella, in the hope that if she is successful it will support his cell's goals in Kelesh. As far as mechanics (class etc.) I'm not sure yet...

What are your initial thoughts? I know Taldan locals are recommended but there are references to Keleshites in the town in the player's guide. Essentially I want to make sure I'm not ruling myself a no go right out the gate.

Hi Drogeney how did Valaria end up working for Lady Martella Lotheed? Presumably she's sympathetic to Princess Eutropia's cause, what does her father think?

It's in the last part of her backstory but wasn't very clear.

"Valeria was unsure how to proceed with her task but then her father brought her a rather...unique opportunity that just might help her start to solve her problems, a job working for Lady Martella Lotheed. If they wouldn't listen to Valeria's words then she would show them with her deeds. "

I edited it a little to make it more clear. Her father is rather progressive minded for a noble and is likely know to Lady Lotheed. It makes a nice connection for Veleria to become involved.

So I have to make changes to Torin to fit the CC rules for this campaign, but he did partake in a partial campaign before the DM left us. His backstory is also complete. I will get started on getting him submission ready.

I imagine he'll choose the monk half of his gestalt to start. Unchained monk is the standard yes?

Excuse me no animal companion brain mix up. I would use the little pouncing dino with the mauler archetype. I would also keep the main aasimir for Wis and Cha. For reasons I would need to take the human trait for enlarge person to work on me, eh?

Hey DM Fang Dragon, I posted in your 'interest thread' with Kunala. He's a 'dandy' ranger, with a penchant for dancing and dueling. Who has a vested interest in how women are treated here in his beloved Taldor.

If you look at his campaign history, you'll see he's been in a couple of WftC's already, but he didn't get very far. I figure four books and a satisfying story is better than PBP limbo.

If I can answer any questions about him, please feel free to ask. Thanks for running the game, we players appreciate it.

RH

@Mightypion/Alithera Valaris thanks for the pm, I pretty much only know what's written about Magdh from the wiki. The prophecy angle seems the most likely aspect to pique her interest (of course there's a prophecy mixed up with things). Otherwise she strikes me as being very focused on the first world and is presumed to be single-handedly protecting the First World by her peers.

@Houstonj Sorry that link doesn't work for me. I'm a little wary of inspire courage optimisation since getting inspire courage +3 at a very low level is rather strong. On the flip side the Kitharodian Academy is very Taldor and a 100% thematic match for this AP. I'll tentatively allow this since gating prestige behind levels makes potential balance issues much less of a problem. Just to check if I understood correctly, Master Performer becomes available at level 4? The Lion's Blades are involved in the AP and I'll need to reread that section to check if an association would be problematic.

@Louxman A Kelishite is certinly possible although it would be good to understand how he found out about Lady Martella Lotheed (or perhaps she found out about him?) and what motivated him to undertake such a long journey. What makes a Kelishite invested in Taldan politics? One angle
that could work is from what I understand of Kelishites they'd likely view Taldans treatment of women as rather backward.

@Drogeney thanks for the background tweak.

@Torin Yes unchained monk is generally the standard. I'll be happy to review the build once you've removed the gestalt parts.

@Edelsmirge yes you're right an Aasimar wouldn't normally be able to use enlarge person.

@Kunala sounds like your character had quite a tragic upbringing, I can see why he'd support Eutroipia. How did he come to the attention of Lady Martella Lotheed?

@Hustonj Sorry that link doesn't work for me. I'm a little wary of inspire courage optimisation since getting inspire courage +3 at a very low level is rather strong. On the flip side the Kitharodian Academy is very Taldor and a 100% thematic match for this AP. I'll tentatively allow this since gating prestige behind levels makes potential balance issues much less of a problem. Just to check if I understood correctly, Master Performer becomes available at level 4? The Lion's Blades are involved in the AP and I'll need to reread that section to check if an association would be problematic.

it loops back to your recruitment post for me, now, too. Weird. Trying again? This time it works from the post preview, so . . .. (Going back and looking at the post, I think I forgot to Ctrl-V the link into the URL tag. :facepalm:)

Knowing if links to the Lion's Blades will be problematic would absolutely be important! Not necessarily a show-stopper if playing through divided loyalty questions is a relevant play point, but that's a corner case.

Like I said, I'm not sold on any of this, stumbled across it and went "Hey, that could be cool!" I'm having the same reaction to the Dandy Ranger archetype. Still looking for what feels like the most fun approach. Noble Fencer Swashbuckler, Straight social Rogue build, and Celebrity, Negotiator, and Wit Bard archetypes are all on the table right now as well. I'm just indecisive.

In the linked thread, they were saying you should be able to take the TPA 15 stuff at Level 3, but, I agree that not until Level 4 was EXACTLY how I thought that would work, too. You can't get the points for being a level until you ARE that level. Otherwise it is like trying to take a Prestige Class with a pre-requisite of 5 skill ranks at level 5, because you'll have the ranks once you finish leveling up. It just isn't how things were meant to work.

Edit:

Hunh. Dandy Ranger already applied.

Did some altered backgrounds, one or several Magds believe that what happens to Taldor could, in some way, effect their interests (regarding prophecy in particular), and they thus have placed Alithera there, to act as eyes on the ground.

I had fun writing the background :), also went for a more unusual version of physical description.

Wow you came up with the recruitment a lot faster than i expected!

I like your setup and expectations. Can even send you the herolab files :D

Likely it will take some time for me to come up with something and I'll thoroughly read the players guide in between.

Definitely interested in being part of a War For The Crown game. Got a Arcane Duelist who's a Julie d'Aubigny riff. Stats should be up soon with fluff coming a little later.

Hi, I'm expressing interest! I like the abridged mentality for this, and a lot of what you plan on doing (no XP, clear guidelines for post rate, an expectation of everyone's responsibility to an AP, etc.) is similar to how I've run games.

The one thing I'll call out is the two-week recruitment period. I predict that you are going to get a lot of applicants, which could make your selection process harder. But maybe you're expecting this and fine with it, in which case disregard what I've said.

I plan on leaning heavily into the theme of the campaign and creating a vigilante, which is a class that I've wanted to try for a while, but I haven't had a better opportunity to do so. The plan is to create a human noble, choosing why his family is no longer in favor based on an appropriate campaign trait and however his backstory evolves.

If the mechanics don't outright contradict, I'm planning on having him start without a vigilante identity, and he has to start creating one whenever his work for Lady Lotheed dictates.

This is Dorian Grey's work in progress....

I will be penning his backstory this week.

Any questions, concerns, jokes, please don't forget your towel!

Inspiration

@Kunala sounds like your character had quite a tragic upbringing, I can see why he'd support Eutroipia. How did he come to the attention of Lady Martella Lotheed?

Good question, when Martella was younger she would have taken private dancing lessons at Master Destrie's school, where Kunala would have been her partner. She would have also seen Kunala and Padmavati dance as entertainment at parties or in dance competitions. Recently, she probably would have seen or heard about Kunala dueling after a party. Also, her 'spy network' would have made her aware of Padmavati's 'situation' and that Kunala had worked his way out of the families 'good graces' by voicing his opinion about what should have been his sisters right to decide what to do with her own life.

I'm not sure of Martella's age, I have Kunala at 21, if he needs to be older to have been a 'partner' for Martella I can adjust his age to make it more reasonable.

Absolutely interested. Dotting til I can get the character written up, but I really want to take a shot at building a human wizard, a court advisor type, though I'm not sure exactly how I'll go about it...yet.

More on this, soon.

Hi Fang Dragon! I'm interested in joining. I have a character in mind that I will draw up: Henrika Karthis, a human Vexing Daredevil mesmerist. She is an aristocrat's daughter who has come of age, but her father died about ten years ago and when her uncle took over the estate, he refused to recognize her claim. Surly and disillusioned, she has taken to hanging out with a group of rogues and ne'er-do-wells at a public house called the Lion's Head, and though she doesn't countenance crimes, she does enjoy their company and certainly has an interest in the succession.

I'm working on a very infiltration skilled, human investigator (Student of Philosophy for face skills and Young Reformer for the cool flavor and help with certain skills like intimidate). Will start off as a weak melee striker and get pretty serious after a little while. I think she will be a young idealist, philosopher, and well-dressed woman who becomes angrier about the realities of power politics and lets out her rage monster (mutagen and rage through vmc barbarian at level 3, maybe a natural attacks build).

Investigators are such skill monkeys that they do have trouble keeping up in combat. I'm hoping to get the Inspired weapon enhancement later on and this puts constraints on what fighting styles are possible. Inspired can't be put on all weapons but can be put on simple weapons. Unarmed strikes are explicitly simple weapons. The amulet of mighty fists "can grant melee weapon special abilities, so long as they can be applied to unarmed attacks." I just want to confirm, do you agree that I could eventually get an Inspired Amulet of Mighty Fists? The logic seems sound to me but I want to make sure my planning will be ok.

I have a few different concepts I'm kickin around currently:

Phantom Thief Rogue
Questioner Investigator
An Intrigue or Streets Oracle.

*Something* else, lol.

Once I settle on one of these, I'll work on my background.

Any input from Fang or other prospective PCs is welcome!

I... actually have three profiles built for the RP already. Should I settle for bringing forward one profile?

I'm still working on the BAP sections, but here is the mechanical portion of the character I'm submitting.

Magdaluza is a Human Seducer/Mirror Witch.

She's from Tregan, in the North of Taldor, which is no place for the daughter of a mere Baronet to get ahead in the world. Her ambitions are set on a Senate seat, and sooner is better than later. Being an eldest child and daughter herself, Magdaluza can sympathize with Princess Eutropia and supports her claim as heir to Taldor's throne.

Magdaluza will do what she can to help the Princess, especially if doing so will move her up in the world as well. Taldor is a rough place, and she sees no reason why the two of them can't prosper together. Magdaluza like cats, and she's a blast at parties. She specializes in burning down people she doesn't like.

Interesting
I think either a cleric (maybe war priest) or an arcane duelist bard
More detail in a bit. Need to think

I'd like to submit Diana. I built her for another War for the Crown PbP but she unfortunately didn't get picked.

I'll try to update her sheet later today to be inline with the character creation rules for the game, but the general character idea will still be the same.

@hustonj I checked, the Lion Blades are fine. If we agree that TPA 15 is available at level 4 then it's approved.

@Mightypion/Alithera So you had a litter of introduction to Lady Martella, interesting. Not something I'd thought of, full marks for creativity.

@Andostre Sounds good

@Kunla Martella is in her thirties. Seems like a plausible way to come to her attention.

@eriktd Henrika sounds like one of Eutripoia's grass roots supporters. Could we expand a little on how and why she came to the notice of Lady Martella? Doesn't need to be anything overly complex, Lady Martella is likely on the look out for potential reformers from within the nobility.

@caster4life unfortunately RAW you can't have Inspired AOMF. However I'm pretty sure you can enchant Handwraps with Inspired since Handwraps are a simple weapon. Handwraps not quite as flexible as AOMF (no flying kicks) but maybe they work for you?

@Monkeygod all of those sound viable. Not sure if this helps I'm probably going to favour a sneaky party over brute force. Will be interesting to see how many divine casters we get.

@Patrickthekid This is tricky, I understand the desire to make multiple submissions but on the other hand I'd feel really bad if folks made multiple characters and I ended up with a lot of submissions and they didn't get chosen. For now please choose the one you're most keen to play.

@Magdaluza Seducer witch is a personal favourite archetype, looking forwards to reading the background.

@Diana, A Lotheed... Interesting. How closely related to Lady Martella are you thinking that Diana is?

A note on selections: I'm going to aim for a party that covers all the bases (arcane & divine magic, balance of skills and offensive capability). Ideally the party will have a good range of campaign traits. For those who have been around for a while I'll also be checking RP in other games. I'm willing to take on at least one new player if any are interested.

@Fang dragon
A letter of introduction that politely included information that was of considerable use to her. Martella would likely be "why in the 9 hells is a Fae eldest interested in Taldor? What's next, Nocticula sending a friendly assassin to support our side out of shared opposition to misogyny?", but figure, after some research, that having Magd, who is known to send her servants on weird but typically succesfull errands, and who tends to reward fairly those who assist them, inside the tent pissing out is likely a wild card in her favor.

I also added a plot hook policy, and since Magd doesnt have them edicts and anathemas, I added some as well. They are reasonably restrictive, but not overly so.

Dotting in it with Olnaris Valkavian!

He might need some updating build-wise, but he should be good to go otherwise.

@eriktd Henrika sounds like one of Eutripoia's grass roots supporters. Could we expand a little on how and why she came to the notice of Lady Martella? Doesn't need to be anything overly complex, Lady Martella is likely on the look out for potential reformers from within the nobility.

Sure thing! Lady Henrika is unusual among the aristocracy because while she comes from a very prestigious noble house-- well-respected in the Senate and among the military-- because of her uncle's machinations she has decided to throw her lot in with a group of rogues and dissidents. She cares about Taldor, but she has lost faith in anyone's ability to do things "the right way." She hasn't yet descended into actual criminal behavior, but she's teetering.

Perhaps these circumstances could have led Lady Martella to discover Lady Henrika in a "spot of bother"? A raid on the Lion's Head, possibly in the aftermath of one of the patrons' roguelike capers, could have landed Dame Ren in jail. If Lady Martella has the influence to see that Lady Henrika was released without having to notify her uncle, Lady Henrika would be extremely grateful. I could envision them having a lovely scene where Lady Martella explains that she has need of reformers in the nobility to help with her endeavors, but that they must be above reproach in their morals and conduct. Henrika's response would be haughty but ashamed, and she would quickly become one of Lady Martella's staunchest allies.

Something like that?

Dotting in.
Will be providing a Mesmerist for your consideration. (The class seems fun but not very viable for many AP's - it seems a decent fit for this one, though.)
She's a Half-Elf Calistrian with Disgraced Noble campaign trait.(which plays into that whole revenge thing Calistria encourages so.)
Her initial motivation would mostly be based on that but who knows where adventure will take her?
Mechanically she is done and planned, but I want to re-read the Players Guide before putting the Background into writing - as there is quite some time left until end of the recruitment I may ponder one or two angles before deciding.

@Fang dragon

A letter of introduction that politely included information that was of considerable use to her. Martella would likely be "why in the 9 hells is a Fae eldest interested in Taldor? What's next, Nocticula sending a friendly assassin to support our side out of shared opposition to misogyny?"

Well I wasn't going to apply, but that idea is so fabulous I might just have to...

Question for the GM. Are you running this in the canon timeline? I'd like to know if Nocticula is still a demon lord or if she's close enough to her ascension that she might feasibly have a CG person she could send to help out with this.

Hi, I'm expressing interest! I like the abridged mentality for this, and a lot of what you plan on doing (no XP, clear guidelines for post rate, an expectation of everyone's responsibility to an AP, etc.) is similar to how I've run games.

The one thing I'll call out is the two-week recruitment period. I predict that you are going to get a lot of applicants, which could make your selection process harder. But maybe you're expecting this and fine with it, in which case disregard what I've said.

I plan on leaning heavily into the theme of the campaign and creating a vigilante, which is a class that I've wanted to try for a while, but I haven't had a better opportunity to do so. The plan is to create a human noble, choosing why his family is no longer in favor based on an appropriate campaign trait and however his backstory evolves.

If the mechanics don't outright contradict, I'm planning on having him start without a vigilante identity, and he has to start creating one whenever his work for Lady Lotheed dictates.

Hi, I'm withdrawing interest. It sounds like a lot of fun, but in taking a look at what I've got on my plate, it's best I don't join another PbP unless one of my existing ones drop.

I'm a fan of the The Redeemer Queen, so let's hand wave the timeline a bit. Looking forward to reading the background of a friendly assassin sent by Nocticula!

@GM Fang Dragon: My knowledge of the AP and the inner workings of the Lotheed family is a bit limited, so I'll probably need your input answering the question - ideally, I'd like for her position within the family to be whatever leads to the most interesting character situations down the line (whatever leads to the most drama :p)

She can be closely related to Martella if you think that's the best option. Her motivation to join the cause is strong enough for whichever option you prefer, though - if they're not close, Martella could have found out about what Diana has been doing from her spy network or mutual contacts, and figure she'd be a good help for what she needs - or she might even have asked her allies for someone to help at the gala with no names being given, leading to an awkward family reunion at the start.

It might be best if she was a cousin, so close ish but not that close.

I'm working on Magdaluza's backstory, but a couple of busy days at work might push completion out to later on this week.

@hustonj I checked, the Lion Blades are fine. If we agree that TPA 15 is available at level 4 then it's approved.

Cool.

Gonna stop fooling around with the Noble Bard build and go for a commoner who got into the Kitharodian Academy, then. I'll actually have honest-to-goodness traditional Rogue skills, too. At least, that's what it looks like the plan will be . . ..

It might be best if she was a cousin, so close ish but not that close.

Cousin it is then. And I've finished updating my profile according to the build rules.

GM what do you think about an Ulfen, come down from the lands of the Linnorm Kings in hopes of joining the Ulfen Guard? Obviously he isn't experienced enough yet, and will have to work his way up the ranks of lower-ranking nobles, making his name as a bodyguard (presumably working for Martella or an associate of hers at the moment). Admittedly it's less of a social/secret agent type of character, but I feel like it fits into the Golarion lore. Probably a barbarian, though in theory such a character could be a ranger, slayer, fighter, any martial really.