Hi everyone. I'll probably get started on our story tomorrow sometime. In the meantime, I know there was a question from Audria about magically-growing hair. Let me think about that one. I can't imagine an mechanical advantage to it outside of selling it for a profit, but I may just handwave that by saying it's not worth anything in-game.
In the meantime, it's good to have you on board. I'll be trying to post every day, but I expect we'll miss a weekend day here and there. I'll also let you know if I won't be around for a bit so you're not sitting here wondering where I am. I hope you all have fun here!
Go ahead and dot the gameplay thread. You can delete if after, if you want.
I'm fine with that. I was going for flavor, not anything mechanics wise. To be honest, it could be more of a hinderance than any help depending on what you set as the trigger. Spontaneously growing magic hair is quite the tell.
Thank you for picking Audria. I'm looking forward to this and seeing where the story goes.
By the way, do you want a list of NPCs connected to our characters that you can draw from? I was thinking of doing that anyway to help me keep the names I've got going straight.
I'd love a list of NPCS! I have like 200 for Kingmaker (which is a bit overkill, to be honest), but I'm just starting my lists for Curse of the Crimson Throne, so any NPCs you all have to offer would be great. I'm going to poach all your NPCs from your backgrounds anyways, haha.
@Lina: How long ago did you break off association with Gaedren Lamm? Audria was there for about nine years from when she was not quite five until she was just shy of fourteen, a little over two years ago. I'm trying to see if there may have been a connection there at some point.
Thank you, GM Elfriede for picking up Nicolai. I had envisioned Nicolai's missing sister as having been one of Laam's lambs before escaping his clutches and she is now running with the Catsdew Lofties in Old Korvosa
@Nicolai: How long ago did Katarina run with Lamm's Lambs? Just wondering if Audria would have met her at some point. Audria had been with him from about 11 years ago to a little over 2 years ago.
Just as an FYI about myself. I really, really like putting images in my posts, so I'll often include links when describing something. If there's essential information on them, I'll include that in the description for them, because I know that can be annoying on mobile sometimes. I'll be using Slides for maps, and will be using either Google Drawings or straight links for my images.
Don't feel like you need to create a bunch of NPCs. If you have a couple in your backstory that are still alive, that's plenty. I'll be generating a couple dozen names soon to give me a pool to work with, plus pulling from the AP.
You're talking to the guy that accidentally made a list of almost two dozen NPCs when he was only asked for three or four. Don't worry, if I make a list, it'll be because I want to, and because I'm going to need it for my own reference anyway.
Speaking of the AP, is it okay if Audria has a pre-existing relationship to one of the NPCs? I am pretty sure you can guess which one.
She and her late sister are identical twins, but their wildly different personalities and lifestyles have left them diverging quite a bit. This is a perfect comparison (Abella is naturally the thin colorless one).
CG F Half-Elf Vigilante (Double Scion) 6 | HP 47/47 | AC 18 (T 14 FF 14) | CMD 19 | Fort +5 (+10 v. disease) Ref +9 Will +8 (+10 v. enchantment, +9 v. compulsions) | Init +10 | Perc. +9/+11 (dim light or darkness) | Conditions: - | Daredevil Boots 7/10 rounds | Harrow Points: 8
Hi all! Thanks for the opportunity to play with you, GM Elfriede and friends. Looking forward to coming up with ways Shrike could have a preexisting connection with other PCs - or just forging them over the course of the adventure.
I'll think about a few more NPCs Shrike would have strong connections to in the city, besides the obvious two: her mother and brother. There are a couple mentioned in her backstory (as enemies) that were pulled straight from the Guide to Korvosa, and logically speaking she would have a few more that are theater contacts, underworld informants, or perhaps even distant elf relations. I'll try to keep it to no more than six NPCs for now, though.
Glad I'm not the only one who likes having picture references for things. I tend to collect fantasy art whenever I see it and stash it away in folders and subfolders for later use.
@Audria
My thoughts have been that she disappeared when she around eight years old and ran with the Lambs until she was 14 when she was getting "too old and disrespectful" for Lamm's taste and she escaped one step ahead of Gobblegut. She met up with the Lofties shortly thereafter and has been with them for about three years now. She would be 17 now, so she was definitely there during Audria's time.
@Lina: How long ago did you break off association with Gaedren Lamm? Audria was there for about nine years from when she was not quite five until she was just shy of fourteen, a little over two years ago. I'm trying to see if there may have been a connection there at some point.
Lina would have been with the Lambs until about 16, so 7 years ago. I'm sure they were both Lambs at the same time. Question is would they have formed a relationship. I think it would make sense and be a good tie-in.
Lina would have been an older sister type to most of the girls. She would have kept a distant eye on things even after leaving, the guilt that she couldn't save the rest probably still eats at her. She would have been the type egging the children on do what Lamm asks to avoid punishment, holding the new additions until they stopped crying, etc. Some may have seen her as another one of Lamm's overseers, or seen her as a comforting presence.
When the were kids out on the streets working, Lina would be following from a distance, making sure they didn't get into serious trouble, causing distractions, slipping extra food or coin to them, and hoping not to be seen while doing it.
@Audria: I keep track of them all in a giant Google Doc (really, only 12 pages, 9 point font), where I have a brief blurb about them, where I intend to use them, maybe an RP sample for them so I can keep attitudes and "accents" clear, and a portrait for as many as possible.
Sounds like a lot of you could have been dealing with Lamm at the same time as Lambs or siblings of Lamm's Lambs. Do you want a little more time to work out the details, or should we get started in Gameplay?
I just updated Abella’s profile with some NPCs. I’ll get some art and voice samples for you in the coming days.
As for connections with other characters, Abella is not the kind of person who has a lot of friends. However, her identical twin sister would have been very beloved and popular. She was a member of the Korvosan Guard who went out of her way to always let the Lambs off as easily as possible, seeing shades of herself and Abella in them, and she often gave them gifts and told them outrageous stories. They both came to Korvosa about five years ago.
@GM Elfriede: That makes sense. Probably better than the way I tend to do things.
I'm guessing there's no issues with the NPCs I picked and laid out how Audria knows/feels about them.
@Lina and @Nicolai: Yep that works. It looks like Katarina is only a year older than Audria, so they would have likely gotten to know each other well over the five or six years that they were in Lamm's gang together.
As for Lina, I could see Audria remembering her as an adopted big sister who helped protect her and Eliana from Lamm's wrath. Lina would probably know Yargin, Lamm's right hand man during Audria's time with him, given the timeline. Lina would probably know Katarina, though it looks like the overlap isn't as much as it is with Audria and Eliana.
@Abella: How long ago was Cainabeth killed? A month? Just trying to see if Audria would have been a witness, though it seems unlikely.
Re: Starting: I'm good to go! I didn't really see anything else that would suggest Audria knows them or someone related to them.
@Audria: Nope, no issues with the NPCs. In fact, after combing backstories loosely for NPCs and scouring Book One for anyone with a speaking role, I have 36 NPCs.
Gameplay is up and running! I got impatient to be started.
@Audria: Yeah a month was my thinking. Abella is very impatient for revenge and really only waited as long as that because she knew she needed to get clean first
CG F Half-Elf Vigilante (Double Scion) 6 | HP 47/47 | AC 18 (T 14 FF 14) | CMD 19 | Fort +5 (+10 v. disease) Ref +9 Will +8 (+10 v. enchantment, +9 v. compulsions) | Init +10 | Perc. +9/+11 (dim light or darkness) | Conditions: - | Daredevil Boots 7/10 rounds | Harrow Points: 8
Sorry GM, I posted as Verene by accident before realizing and changing it. I'm really going to have to watch that; I haven't had multiple characters on the boards before, to worry about posting as a wrong but default one. Will you be able to remove her easily?
I've read everyone's backstory closely now, and I'm not sure there are good reasons for Lania/Shrike to have interacted with Audria, Lina or Nicolai before. Audria and Lina also probably don't know anything about Lania's brother, Isi, as he was kidnapped only six months ago. Though if Lina keeps tabs on the 'Lambs' even now that she is out, she might have seen him without knowing who he is. Of course, it's up to the GM whether he even is or ever was one of the Lambs, or whether he was killed outright. If Audria makes a living as a singer, she and 'Merula' might know each other very peripherally, but not if she spends most of her time in the temple of Shelyn.
However, because Abella and Garrett have also been out in the city actively investigating Lamm, Lania might have run across them as Shrike before, in the course of realizing how varied his crimes are and how many people he has hurt. What do you guys think?
@Shrike: Sorry for the delay in replying. Audria has spent most of her time at the Sanctuary of Shelyn, but she and Eliana are occasionally asked to play and sing at other venues. There might have been a time or two Audria and Merula have run across each other.
That said, Talanaliel is going to have something to say about your alias. She's small and probably tasty looking to a shrike. I hope I can at least make it funny.
@Audria and Lina: If you'd like to have stolen the deck originally, it's totally cool if you did, but it was a year ago, so it may be too late for you to have been a Lamb. Zellara's look is more because you both used to be, not because she necessarily knows it's you.
CG F Half-Elf Vigilante (Double Scion) 6 | HP 47/47 | AC 18 (T 14 FF 14) | CMD 19 | Fort +5 (+10 v. disease) Ref +9 Will +8 (+10 v. enchantment, +9 v. compulsions) | Init +10 | Perc. +9/+11 (dim light or darkness) | Conditions: - | Daredevil Boots 7/10 rounds | Harrow Points: 8
I liked the Harrow post a lot too, GM.
Audria, Shrike does support an immediate resort to violence when a child's life seems to be in danger, but I think we can see that the windows aren't easily breakable glass, but "roughly placed planks that cover the empty frames behind them." Up to you if that and/or Shrike verbally trying to stop her would change Audria's actions or not.
A) I apparently missed that detail. I thought they were still glass. She is young and impulsive, so I don't think it'd change her actions much.
B) This entire set of encounters is going to be setting her on edge. There is a loooooot of unprocessed emotions here. She's going be waspish at least until this is resolved. That said, she isn't a complete idiot and I did say that was her actions if no one stopped her.
Also, kinda still getting a handle on Audria. I should have a better handle on things as we play.
Just as an out of game FYI, no children are currently in immediate danger, outside of violating child labor laws. I probably should have mentioned in recruitment that there's less than stellar treatment of children early in the AP, though.
CG F Half-Elf Vigilante (Double Scion) 6 | HP 47/47 | AC 18 (T 14 FF 14) | CMD 19 | Fort +5 (+10 v. disease) Ref +9 Will +8 (+10 v. enchantment, +9 v. compulsions) | Init +10 | Perc. +9/+11 (dim light or darkness) | Conditions: - | Daredevil Boots 7/10 rounds | Harrow Points: 8
That's good to know OOC, but IC Lania heard "angry gnome is shoving a child into a chute" and assumed the worst, like that it goes down to the river to drown the child or to a pit with hungry rats or something.
I'll hold off on responding to Lina until we have a better idea of what the possibilities are. But if a cursory glance does not tell her that the kid is not in imminent danger, she'll shoot to kill (she is perhaps unjustifiably confident she can do so in one hit) and pull the whole place if that's what happens. I'm not sure we're going to find a better situation than this, anyway. One gang member alone, and we might be able to shoot from essentially behind an arrow slit.
Also, the first three NPC descriptions are done and in the character profile. This is her family/household. Still working on a few others.
Just wanted to mention that Abella is a bit of a caustic personality, but I assure you that my plan is for her to focus 99% of that at our enemies. I'm a more mild-mannered lady and am happy to try to wrangle her into being more placid as needed to not ruin anyone else's fun!
I'm just a firm believer in pushing and momentum in pbp, and I'm especially excited for this game and want us to go the distance! As long as we are pushing forward, I'm happy :D
CG F Half-Elf Vigilante (Double Scion) 6 | HP 47/47 | AC 18 (T 14 FF 14) | CMD 19 | Fort +5 (+10 v. disease) Ref +9 Will +8 (+10 v. enchantment, +9 v. compulsions) | Init +10 | Perc. +9/+11 (dim light or darkness) | Conditions: - | Daredevil Boots 7/10 rounds | Harrow Points: 8
There's definitely a balance to be struck between planning/preparation and pushing the game forward. I think it's good to err slightly on the side of pushing the game forward. Lania will also be more accommodating in the future when the stakes are less personal. As a player, I didn't realize the walk from Zellara's house to here would be over an hour so Nicolai's mage armor would be gone. Why wouldn't he bring his familiar with him, though?
Acrobatics +8, Appraise +6, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +10 (11), Escape Artist +8, Knowledge: Dungeon +6, Knowledge: Local +6, Linguistics +6, Perception +5 (6), Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +14, Use Magic Device +5
Halfling Rogue 1; Init +4; HP: 10/10; AC 18, Touch 15, FF 14 (+2 vs Giants); Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +1; Perception +5 (6);
We were told he was there and would bolt if he found out we knew. I think waiting to go after him would go against what we were told in case word that the lady knew his location got out.
Looking at a map of Korvosa, the Fishery is within a mile of Nicolai's apartment in Midland so he still benefits from Nipper's Initiative bonus, just not the Alertness feat.
I'm a little confused, I thought Nicolai and Audria were looking at the double doors on the side of the building and going in that way. Did the plan change or am I just being an idiot?
”The king is dying!” “What will become of Korvosa now?” “Who is this Chelaxian trollop who’s going to be our queen?” “It’s the curse, I tell you! The curse! For weeks, the rumors have been flying. Speculation runs rampant through the streets, and unease fills the air. From the East Shore to Old Korvosa, it seems like it’s all that anyone’s talked about. You've hardly noticed. All that’s on your mind is a message from an unknown writer.
I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset on the eighth. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.
It’s the eighth of Desnus, and it’s time you learned just what this mysterious writer knows about the man who ruined your life.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Hi there. I’m GM Elfriede, and I’m looking to run my second favorite AP (behind Kingmaker). I’ve liked the urban adventure vibes of Curse of the Crimson Throne for a long time, and I’m aiming to take 5-6 PCs on this classic AP. I’m aiming for a pace of 1 post/day on weekdays, 1/weekend, though I may do more if I have time (I can't post during work, as I am an elementary school teacher).
Recruitment will be open until November 17 at 7:00 Mountain Standard Time. If submissions slow down before then, I’ll give 72 hours notice, then shut things down.
About Me:
I used to be very active on the boards as GM Aest, but lost access to the account. It was on an email address I can’t get on to anymore, so I’m back after a long hiatus. I’ve been a fan of Pathfinder and D&D since I was 14/15, when my friend DM’d a homebrew campaign for a couple of us. I like to use pictures to add to my description, and I generally have a few Pinterest boards hidden away for reference material.
Character Creation:
Race: Core races. I may be open to Tiefling as well.
Class: Core, Base (Unchained Summoner only, no Gunslinger), and Hybrid
Point Buy: 20 Point Buy
Gold: Average By Class
Traits: 1 Campaign, 1 Other. Up to one drawback for another trait.
3PP: Elephant in the Room Feat Tax Rules
Other Stuff: Background Skills are in play, any alignment is allowed, and HP is max at 1st level, roll or 1/2+1 after, your choice.
Background, Personality, and Appearance: I don't need a novel, but I am looking for something that's tied to your campaign trait.
Hi, Robert. Hags of Heibarr got benched for the time being due to work/life balance issues on my part. I was overcommitting to work and not setting boundaries, and it was killing my free time. I've figured out how to separate a bit better, so I'm going to run a few games. I think pad300 was part of Hags, so small world, haha.
Submitting Sylvia, a Half-Orc Jinx/Spellspy Witch with a Rat named Cheese.
Background, Personality, and Appearance:
Sylvia is capricious when not undercover, her boisterous attitude serves to further distance herself from the serene disguises she wears while hunting down drug dealers. She used to be an addict, and after a brush with death thanks to shiver she's dedicated herself to tracking down it's source and ending it, permanently.
Her long black hair can be seen in one of two styles, sleek and down when disguised, or messy and up when not. Her tusks are so small that most could assume they're simply crooked teeth. Her skin tone is a pink-grey, though with enough powder it's a pale-grey.
She practices the arts of her mother before her, though the whims of her patron are a mystery to her still.
I actually had this character built for a different campaign but didn't get selected, it happened to use the same build rules and i just swapped one campaign trait for another. -1 Reflex, +1 Fortitude
@GM Elfriede, I woke up with a good idea about a background story for this campaign. It does not neatly align with any of the listed campaign traits. Would you please give this a read and let me know where this fits best? I'm thinking Orphaned or Tortured...
My Story So Far...:
"Look at him, he's so weak!" The shove that came next put Gregor on his backside, his school-grays fouled on the muddy cobblestone.
Another bully kicked him in the side. "Go home and cry. Mother will take care of her little boy!" The pack of older boys laughed and took turns kicking the smaller child, finally leaving him to sob face-down in the dirt outside the school gate.
"Well now, aren't you a pathetic soul," announced a gravelly voice.
Gregor turned his head to see a gaunt older man staring down on him from around a post on the opposite side of the thoroughfare.
"Why do they torment you, boy?"
Forcing himself up, Gregor sat on his feet. "They hate my father."
"Hmm? And who is your father?" asked the strange man.
Gregor considered him before answering. There was a sinister tone to his concern, and he looked disheveled, out of place. How long had he been standing there? Was he waiting for someone at the school? But he seemed interested in Gregor, which was enough to loosen the boy's tongue.
"Davos Falconbridge. He's a mer--"
"I know who he is!" the man snapped. He paused to regard Gregor, then straightened, his body elongating with the fluidity of a snake. Then he smiled. "Well, the best revenge is revenge, I always say. Toughen up, boy. Here, take this." He produced from a pocket a small knife.
Gregor took to his feet and stepped closer, struck by the notion that he could do anything about the bullies, and that it should involve greater violence. But how he hated them. And then he was standing next to the older man, and the knife was pressed into the palm of his small hand. It felt warm, almost familiar.
"There now. It's not hard to figure out what to do with it. Good luck, boy." And with that, the old fellow drew a hood low, covering the exaggerated features of his face. A moment later Gregor stood alone, wondering what to do next.
*****
It wasn't difficult for Gregor to convince his father he needed to learn how to defend himself. A new conviction stirred in the young boy and Davos, who abhorred the weakness in his son, was all too pleased to pay for private martial training with a member of the Korvosan Guard. Each day after school Gregor was given a gold piece to pay for the lessons. Although he benefited from rigorous exercise, he was unable to shake a natural clumsiness with a weapon in his hand. When he asked to be trained with the little knife, the guardsman laughed at him and boxed his ears.
Not long after that, Gregor took his gold piece elsewhere. Afraid to tell his parents, he looked to The Shingles. There a gang of boys beat him and stole his gold, but another older figure took pity on him and carried him to a ramshackle rooftop abode.
"You are not from here?" The man cleaned Gregor's scrapes and gave him hot tea. The boy shook his head. "Then why are you here?"
"I'm weak," Gregor explained. "I'm a disappointment. Wherever I go I get kicked in the mud. I was hoping..." His voice trailed off.
"To be treated with dignity, is that it? Korvosa punishes you, for no reason? Your family, Same?" The man sighed and took pity on Gregor. "Tired, you are. Tired of sadness, of anger. But channel those feelings, and you can learn to defend yourself. Is that what you want? Is that why you are here?"
Gregor sat up. "Yes."
The man stood and bowed. "I am Ip-Xi Han, and I will teach you."
*****
For the next year Gregor would take his gold piece to The Shingles. His father never asked about his martial training; it was enough that the boy seemed more confident and there were fewer incidents at school. Davos assumed the guardsman's training was taking root in his son. But instead, Gregor learned from Master Ip-Xi. His body slowly transformed and as he grew taller he became stronger as well. He learned forms and striking techniques, sparring with a wooden dummy. They raced across the rooftops of the old city and in this way Gregor learned balance and speed. For his part, Master Ip-Xi never accepted payment, insisting Gregor use the daily gold piece to improve te lot of someone in The Shingles, and this became the first ritual before any training would commence.
One early afternoon Gregor spied a street urchin skulking in the shadows, eyeing an older woman carrying a small loaf of dark bread. The dirty child leapt at her with a little knife and she gave up her evening meal. The attacker fled quickly and Gregor rushed to help the woman, giving her his gold piece. The next day it was Gregor who faced the knife.
"You've got a piece of gold in your pocket. Give it to me," said the other boy, his voice a mix of desperation and fear. The knife was dirty and it reminded Gregor of the one given to him more than a year ago.
Seizing on his assailant's hesitation, Gregor grabbed the boy's arm and pulled, tripping him and landing atop his back. He disarmed him of the knife and then let him go. "Here, take it," he said to the defeated child. The gold piece changed hands and the child picked up his knife and ran off. It was the first time Gregor had tested his new skills. He would not have to wait long to test them again.
Two days later the same boy was back and two others were with him. This was the moment. If Gregor showed weakness he would never be able to return. He had to fight. He had to win.
The boys were aggressive but not coordinated. Gregor slipped the first knife attack and threw his attacker down. Then as the next boy came at him he kicked him in the chest. When the last boy tried to get around him, Gregor caught him by the arm and struck him in the face. The fight was over almost as quickly as it had begun.
"You've done well, boy," said an old familiar voice. The gaunt man emerged from the shadows. "Took my advice, I see. Good for you. Now I need something in return. You see, those were my boys. They're just like you were, only they don't have rich families to run back to. I show them how to survive, and there are many more of them."
"Who are you?" Gregor asked.
The old man smiled but his eyes betrayed cold malice. "Gaedren Lamm. I look after those who got no one else. You were that child not long ago. You know how I mean. But you ain't from here and my Little Lamms are hungry. You can start paying me back by giving me that gold in your pocket."
Gregor was afraid of Lamm, but he also felt a pull of sympathy, and possibly some measure of gratitude. The gold piece found it's way to Lamm's hand as easily as the knife had come to Gregor one year earlier.
Lamm knelt down and looked Gregor in the eyes. "Now, let's talk about your father."
*****
Everything happened too fast. Gregor didn't tell Master Ip-Xi about Gaedren Lamm for the same reason he didn't tell his father about Master Ip-Xi. He just didn't want things to be complicated. That happened anyway.
Within a month Lamm was plotting to break into the Falconbridge estate. "No one would get hurt," he promised. Besides, Gregor hated his old man as much as everyone else did, and his reasons were personal, so why not give the rich bastard a taste of his own medicine?
For a creepy old guy, Lamm was surprisingly nimble in the shadows. He and his small band of Little Lamms evaded the Guard and Gregor met them near his home. He showed them how to get into the house so that the watchman wouldn't know until it was too late. He told Lamm where the most lavish valuables were kept. He explained where his parents would be at this hour and that they would almost certainly be willing to be locked in the cellar when confronted. And of course, they wouldn't be overly concerned with their son's welfare, because when had that ever been the case?
Gregor remained out front on lookout. It was his job to deflect the Night Watch from suspicion. Lamm led his crew inside from the back alley but things almost immediately went sideways. Gregor heard a scream, then the sound of children howling like wolves. He rushed back inside too late. His mother's throat was cut and his father lay face-down on the floor, bleeding out from a rough castration. Lamm held a bloody dagger and a fistful of gems and was reaching for more.
The old villain sneered as Gregor stood mortified in the hall. "You are your own man now, kid," taunted Lamm. "How's it feel to be free?"
Gregor coiled up against his mother's lifeless body until the Korvosan Guard arrived early the next morning. Little of the Falconbridge fortune remained and his father's creditors demanded the estate. Left with nothing, his spirit crushed, he returned to the only person who had shown him true compassion in his young life: Master Ip-Xi Han.
He still carries the little knife. One day he'll use it to cut Gaedren Lamm's throat.
I KNOW I had a character I liked for this. Let me see if I can find it . . ..
Edit:
Ah, found him! Pretty much as I remembered, but he seems to have been advanced for a later stage game application. I'll need to adjust the build to your specs and drop him back to 1st level . . ..
https://paizo.com/people/Tawni
I post something off that alias after finishing the rebuild.
@Ms Bloodrive: You know what? Why not? Occult classes are cool, and I enjoy a good mesmerist every now and then. Occult Classes are okay too.
@Therenger: I feel good about orphaned, to be honest. It's a pretty intense backstory, but it works for sure.
@Everyone: Thanks for the interest! I'm excited to see what people create. I know there's one or two mostly-finished submissions, and I'll check them out in more detail later.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
I'd like to dot in, I was Caolaidhe in the Hags campaign. I will need a few days to consider but I'm currently leaning towards an alchemist, brawler, or kineticist.
@Therenger: I feel good about orphaned, to be honest. It's a pretty intense backstory, but it works for sure.
Yeah, it's easily the darkest backstory I've ever written. The character will be LN, so he turns out okay. I like Orphaned too, although it gives me something else to think about how any of those skills works for the character. This will probably be a straight-up human Monk, no archetype. (but no promises yet)
Working on Drobin, a man in the search for his kidnapped daughter!
Urban Bloodrager X/Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 5 focused build, that is hoping to follow the rumors that his daughter is in the city. Should have a backstory in a few days at most!
Here's my submission. Ersica will start off with one level as a Swashbuckler. From second level onward she will go straight through as an Empiricist Investigator.
She's completed mechanically except for editing. I have a quick background in place that I'll add to as I have time. I also need to finalize equipment and money.
One thing, I took the campaign trait Dockside Avenger. It's listed in Archives of Nethys for CotCT but isn't in the Players Guide. I'm not sure what's up with that. If it's not a legit CotCT trait I'll find another.
Here's my submission. Ersica will start off with one level as a Swashbuckler. From second level onward she will go straight through as an Empiricist Investigator.
She's completed mechanically except for editing. I have a quick background in place that I'll add to as I have time. I also need to finalize equipment and money.
One thing, I took the campaign trait Dockside Avenger. It's listed in Archives of Nethys for CotCT but isn't in the Players Guide. I'm not sure what's up with that. If it's not a legit CotCT trait I'll find another.
That campaign trait is from Varisia, Birthplace of Legends (PFRPG), and supposedly can be used in many different campaigns that are in Varisia, so it would be up to the GM to allow it as a AP Campaign trait. Thematically, I think it works, but that's just me.
I dearly want to play this AP! I've been playin PF since the Alpha, and have sadly yet to complete one adventure path. Curse is on my top priority of APs to hopefully play in and complete.
Unsure about what my character might be, but I'll read over the PG and see if I get any good ideas.
Pendleton here was in a short-lived CotCT game about 4 years ago, apparently we made it to level 2, but I can't remember what happened and I'd like to give him another chance.
He is a witch by class, but is/was a lawyer by trade.
Rolewise, he'll be buff/debuff with some healing.
I need to level down and check that he aligns with the other build reqs, but crunchwise he won't be changing much.
Backstory:
As a student, Pendleton would have been content to go through life as a trade lawyer - one who organises trade agreements and works out the appropriate legal documentation. He was personable enough to be able to negotiate agreements between two disagreeable parties, and though the minutia of his work would generally be considered uninteresting by most, he both enjoyed and excelled at it. However, fate, or someone else had him marked for more. One night, when he had been studying late into the night, he was roused from his writing by a sharp tapping at his window. Opening the shutters, he discovered a thrush, who fluttered in and took up position upon his desk. Staring at it, there was... communication of a sort between them. A small gift of power, and the knowledge that this gift could be nurtured and trained into something greater. Intrigued, Pendleton accepted, and since that night the thrush (named Perkins) has been his companion, although for a time he was content to focus more on his legal training.
Later, in his final year, he finally had a chance to use his skills on a job. He was working for Kistol, a small fisherman who was just getting big enough to start exporting. Everything seemed to be going well, when one night when Pendleton went to meet him, he found the fisherman murdered - and before he could do anything the guards arrived and he was arrested. Later, he found that Kistol had made an enemy of a man named Gaedren Lamm, but the source of this information - a fellow fisherman who had been badgered into providing false witness - had also been killed before revealing the truth to the authorities. Pendleton was released, but was forced to leave his training. In the months after this - when he had little else to do - that he began working to develop his own magical ability.
I'd love to be considered for this campaign. Curse of the Crimson Throne seems like the perfect urban adventure for a vigilante — someone inspired by the stories of Blackjack and also by a more personal and immediate need for revenge on Gaedren Lamm. The basic backstory would be a well-trained and well-educated upper-class young person, whose family experienced a drastic reversal of fortune, putting him/her in the position of suddenly needing to provide for younger siblings and leading him/her to accept dangerous work from Lamm out of desperation, with predictably tragic results.
Either the Betrayed or Missing Child campaign trait would work for the concept. None of the vigilante archetypes seem right except perhaps Dual Scion: if Lamm knew a half-elf he now believes dead, a social identity as a human and vigilante identity as an elf would offer some protection. Elven curve blade user with a Vital Strike-based avenger vigilante build could be a very decent primary melee damage dealer, as well as fill the role of face or shore up any given set of skills the party was lacking with the vigilante's excellent class skill list. But a trip-focused stalker vigilante using twin sickles and Acrobatics (maybe with an herbalist social identity?) could also work. I'll think it over and have a profile and more details done by mid-next-week.
I've got a cleric I can re-write a little for this campaign.
Here's the fluff: (sorry, it's a bit long)
Confessions of a shiver eater:
Spoiler:
No one knows the virtue of law better than the one who has stared crime and misery in the face. Such is the important lesson that Ernhild Jaggvir has learned in prison.
Born in Janderhoff, Ernhild lived the first decade of her life in blissful happiness, until a dumb work accident cost her father his right hand. No prosthesis would have granted him the perfect accuracy he needed to craft jewels, and the loss of his job turned him bitter and increasingly abusive, leading his wife to leave with another man. When none of Ernhild’s attempts to get away from him managed to grant her a moment of joy or peace, she left behind her job as a guard and a vague project of engagement, and embarked on a boat for Korvosa, hoping to start a new life.
What little money she had could only offer her a dilapidated flat on the Old Dock, and a small job as a bouncer in a shady inn where criminals, sailors, prostitutes and beggars alike came to drink their sorrow away. Ernhild came to regret that she couldn’t do the same.
It was there that she first heard of shiver, that a network of dealers provided generously. For a few, it was a necessary evil. For others, it was a distraction. An elf artist claimed that it enabled him to see masterpieces that no one had ever painted before. For Ernhild and so many other unhappy wrecks, it was simply relief, the kind that made the stars dance, your head spin, and almost knocked you out with ecstasy. The only thing strong enough to make them feel pleasure again -and how the spasms, the shaking hands and latent longing seemed like a small price to pay!
Without a homeland, friends or anything to hope for except a quiet, shameful death, Ernhild let herself sink deeper and deeper into an artificial paradise, until a particularly strong cocktail of alcohol and drug caused her to collapse on the street. The night patrol picked her up a couple of hours after.
She was in such poor a state that it was deemed better to let her in the care of the clerics of Abadar before talking trial and punishment. Miraculously, after a few weeks of constant screaming and pleading, she survived and recovered enough to stand before the judges without external help. She pleaded guilty. She was sent in jail.
While she served her sentence, she was noticed by one of the prison chaplains worshipping Abadar for both her resignation and the unusual, sincere comfort she seemed to find in their talks. Her mind and body were getting better and better, and she even got some of her determination back when the priest encouraged her to plan for a future as an active citizen. He was positive that she would make the most out of her second chance.
But a prisoner asking if there was any chance she could join the faith of Abadar as a priest was relatively unheard of.
Even as the prison chaplain tried to argue that she could perfectly be a devout follower of the divine Judge without becoming a cleric, Ernhild insisted that she wanted to make up for her past mistakes by helping other people in need. That part of Korvosa was only ruled by chaos and fear instead of the laws bringing peace and order. That she saw no greater honour than to dedicate her life to the God who had saved her. That she was ready to work hard and prove herself if she was only given a chance.
Ernhild repeated the same arguments for the last months of her sentence, and she looked so earnest that the priest, exceptionally, had a word with Archbanker Darb Tuttle about the strange prisoner. Fairly intrigued, he accepted to meet her personally when she got out and listened to her plea.
He gave her a chance.
She started to work as a cleaning lady. Then, after a year or so, she became an occasional assistant. Renowned for her efficiency and exemplarity, Ernhild was eventually promoted as an apprentice, with extra work on the patrols.
When it was discovered that she could channel divine energy, to kick her out became out of question, and after an additional five years of hard work, she officially became a cleric. Her « past » and special dedication to the poor, the sick, and the lonely even made her fairly well-liked by the lowest classes.
Yet the drug addicts that Ernhild frequently nurses prove that shiver is still a lucrative market in the poorest districts of Korvosa. It’s been more than ten years since she last bought a dose, and yet, when talking about their dealer, people always whisper the same name: Gaedren Lamm and his thugs. Gaedren Lamm, whom the guards are sometimes afraid to confront. Gaedren Lamm, who ruined hundreds of lives, and nearly ruined hers.
Dwarves live a long time, locked behind walls of stone. Threats usually come from the inside, and they have learned to identify and eradicate them quickly to protect the group.
@Drobin Tharcrash: Thinking on it some, I could see Drobin and Ersica having linked backstories through his missing daughter.
What if Drobin has hired Ersica to help him find her? It would be the kind of case she'd readily take. It wouldn't even cost Drobin much. Business isn't booming for Ersica. The detective for hire thing is a pretty weird concept for most people and it isn't exactly catching on. Come to think of it, Drobin could probably get her help for free or near to it.
Does this sound interesting to you? Ersica would switch to share your trait.
1 Handed Melee
Battleaxe +3 (1d8+3) Crit x3 Slashing
Dwarven Maulaxe +3 (1d6+3) Crit x 3 Bludgeoning or Slashing
Cold Iron Boarding Axe +3 (1d6+3) Crit x 3 Slashing or Piercing
Dagger +3 (1d4+3) Crit 19-20 x2 Piercing/Slashing
Ranged
Sling +0 (1d4+3) Crit x2 Bludgeoning
Thrown
Dwarven Maulaxe +0 (1d6+3) Crit x3 Bludgeoning or Slashing
Cold Iron Boarding Axe +0 (1d6+3) Crit x3 Slashing or Piercing
Dagger +0 (1d4+3) Crit 19-20 x2 Piercing/Slashing
Defence:
AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15 (+4 vs Giant)
hp 10
Fort 4, Reflex 1, Will 5 (+4 vs Spell/Spell Like Ability +3 vs Poison)
CMD 13
+4 vs Trip/Reposition
Skills:
Without / With Shield
Acrobatics -4
Appraise 1
Bluff -1
Climb -1
Craft (Arms and Armour) 5
Diplomacy -1
Disguise -1
Escape Artist -4
Fly -4
Handle Animal -1
Heal 3
Intimidate -1
Knowledge (engineering) 5
Knowledge (religion) 5
Perception 4
Ride -4
Sense Motive 3
Spellcraft 5
Stealth -4
Survival 3
Swim -1
Use Magic Device 0
Languages:
Dwarven
Common
Gear and Equipment:
Armour:
Scale Mail
Shield:
None at this time
Weapons:
Sling
Battleaxe
Cold Iron Boarding Axe
Dwarven Maulaxe
Dagger
Ammo
10 Sling Bullets
Adventuring Gear:
Warpriests Kit
Fishing Kit – Contains
Fishing Pole (Missing from Core)
Fishing Tackle (Hooks, Sinkers, Floats, and Lures)
Grappling Hook
Grooming Kit
String or twine (50 ft.)
Gear Maintenance Kit
Cooking Kit (AA)
Blanket
Flint and Steel
Consumables:
Sling Bullets x 10
Trail Rations x 5
Valuables:
PP=0
GP=30
SP=1
CP=9
Gems / Jewels
None
Traits:
Type (CRB 21): You are a humanoid with the dwarf subtype.
Slow and Steady (CRB 21): You have a base speed of 20 feet, but your speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Darkvision (CRB 21): You have darkvision with a range of 60ft.
Defensive Training (CRB 21): You gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype.
Greed (CRB 21): You receive a +2 racial bonus on Appraise skill checks made to determine the price of nonmagical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
Hatred (CRB 21): You receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the orc and goblinoid subtypes due to special training against these hated foes.
Hardy (CRB 21): You receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
Stability (CRB 21): You receive a +4 racial bonus to their Combat Maneuver Defense when resisting a bull rush or trip attempt while standing on the ground.
Stonecunning (CRB 21): You receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to potentially notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. You receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not you are actively looking.
Weapon Familiarity (CRB 21): You are proficient with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhammers, and treat any weapon with the word “dwarven” in its name as a martial weapon.
Glory of Old (DoG 11): You receive a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against spells, spell-like abilities, and poison.
Tortured (APCT 16): You gain a +1 trait bonus to Reflex Saves
Class Features:
Armor and Shield Proficiency: You are proficient in Light, Medium, and Heavy Armours. You are proficient with shields (excluding tower shields.)
Weapon Proficiency: You are proficient with all Simple and Martial weapons. Additionally you are proficient with the following weapons: Battleaxe; Heavy Pick; Warhammer, and treat any weapon with Dwarven in its name as a martial weapon.
Aura (Core 39): A Warpriest of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity’s alignment.
Blessings (Su) (ACG60) 3 Times per day, you can call upon one of the following blessings to aid yourself or your allies. (DC 13)
Increased Defence (ACG 67) You can gain a +1 Sacred Bonus on saving throws and AC for 1 minute.
Crafters Wrath (ACG 64) You can touch one melee weapon and grant it the power to bypass hardness and damage reduction for 1 minute.
Focus Weapon (Ex) (ACG 60) You gain Weapon Focus as a bonus Feat
Sacred Weapon (Ex) (ACG 60) Weapons you wield are charged with the power of your faith. When you wield a medium version of a Sacred Weapon, or one that you have weapon focus in, you can choose to do the base damage, or 1d6
Spontaneous Casting (Core 41): You can lose any prepared spell that is not a orison or domain spell in order to cast a cure spell of the same spell level or lower.
Feats:
Steel Soul (APG 170) You receive a +4 Racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell like abilities. This replaces the normal bonus from the dwarfs hardy trait.
Weapon Focus (Longbow) (Core 136) You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make with this weapon.
Background:
Dolgrin was a born of a poorer family at Highhelm in the 5 kings mountains. During his very early years, he was brought up on the stories of his ancestors and their brave stands to bring the dwarves to the surface world. Shortly after his 10th birthday, his immediate family was killed in a mine collapse.
The only uncle of his family in Highhelm did not want him around, so paid for a trip to one of his cousins in Jangerhoff.
When the small caravan was passing near Korvosa, it was set upon by bandits who were routed by a patrol of hellnights which brought the few survivors to the city.
Not knowing where to turn, and out of money, He fell in with a bad crowd and soon was running errands, and cutting purses for Gaedren.
After a few years of that, he was not doing as well as he could due to him filling out in both bulk and height (For a dwarf).
Not wanting to continue to take risks, Gaedren and a couple of other Lamms cornered him where he spent the night in agony as he was tortured for sport.
In the morning, after they left, he made a vow to an entity that he had heard the other dwarves in the city use, that if he were to survive the torture, he would join the ranks of his supporters, and hunt him down.
A blue glow enveloped Dolgrin healing him of the open injuries, but leaving the scars as a reminder of the night.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Oh I'm SO interested in this! I played in a CotCT game a few years back that kind of died right at the start of book 3.
I'll get started when I'm not at work, but I think my character's base concept will be a Varisian warpriest of Desna with a sword in one hand and a starknife in the other. A Des-knight, if you will! :D
There's a lot of Clerics and Warpriests getting submitted, but I have no other ready characters, so here goes! Ernhild's crunch has been tweaked and can reviewed.
It seems like by the 17th, I'll have a bunch of great applications. I'll get a spreadsheet going or something, and I'll start doing lists of characters soon as well.
@Ersica: I think that trait could be okay, if your backstory gets tweaked so that the Gaedren Lamm conflict is personal, not just business. Alternatively, if your shared backstory with Drobin switches your trait, then that works as well.
I've landed on Monk (Ki Mystic). Gaining the ki pool a level earlier is just too good to pass on. Still working on the crunch but the profile is started here: Merrick Talbar (Gregor's assumed name)
@GM Elfriede, I'm planning to take the Axe to Grind and Reactionary traits in exchange for the Betrayed drawback. I think those work well with the backstory previously posted and the Orphaned campaign trait. Would it feel like I'm over-optimizing to also take Improved Initiative?
Seems a lot of people want to dip into Swashbuckler (either starting there or later in their build), but my plan for Tawni has him STAYING Swashbuckler until he's done.
He was originally built with Unhappy Childhood: Tortured, but the write-up fits Betrayed: Reformed Criminal just as easily, really. Some minor modifications could make it fit Betrayed: Hungry for Revenge, which is a mechanically superior choice for the character. Probably not going to do that, though. I think I will swap his trait out for Betrayed, though. I like how it feels around the character better at this point.
I've got to do some Elephant in the Room checks, purchase equipment, and calculate everything in the combat section. I think that's all I have left.
Question: Swashbuckler/Inspired Finesse - Assume the same swap as EitR provides for Unchained Rogue and give Deft Maneuvers instead, or do you have another preference or plan?
With the reply that I should stick with Deft Maneuvers in trade for Weapon Finesse, I believe Tawni has been both downgraded and updated to match the recruitment standards.
He's older for a 1st level character, but he's traveled quite the road (sometimes literally) to get back to Korvosa today. I kept his age below middle-aged, so there are no games to play about his attributes and aging.
The write-up includes my current thoughts for his Feat advancement. Some of the order choices are HARD. <grin> Most likely early alteration is swapping Dodge and Combat Reflexes, since Opportune Parry and Riposte lives and dies by AoO count . . .. Gotta make choices and stick with them, though, right?
Swashbucklers are meant to be front-line fighters. Tawni's skills are mostly Face skills and Movement skills (plus Perform (dance) and Sleight of Hand).
Hope you're not reconsidering your character concept because of my post! Maybe everyone who wanted to submit a Cleric did it at the same time ¯\_ (ツ)_/ Everyone has the right to play what they want to play
@Ersica: I think that trait could be okay, if your backstory gets tweaked so that the Gaedren Lamm conflict is personal, not just business. Alternatively, if your shared backstory with Drobin switches your trait, then that works as well.
Thanks for the feedback Elfriede. With Drobin no longer a submission it would be hard to make the Missing Child trait work without reworking Ersica's background quite a bit.
I wasn't really thinking about Lamm as someone who Ersica has a highly personal grudge against in using Dockside Avenger. I'll think on this and if I can find a good way to make it more personal I may stick with that trait. I have some days yet to come up with something.
The trait that seems to harmonize with Ersica the most as she currently exists is probably Love Lost (All Alone) so I'll consider it my default choice unless I think of a good idea for Dockside Avenger.
I'm mostly looking at character story fit over benefit. Most of the campaign traits aren't giving an Investigator anything more than +1 to a skill since practically every skill will be a class skill by level 2. Drug Addict (Personal Addiction) gives +1 to FORT, which is nice. But it just doesn't seem to match Ersica's vibe.
Hope you're not reconsidering your character concept because of my post! Maybe everyone who wanted to submit a Cleric did it at the same time ¯\_ (ツ)_/ Everyone has the right to play what they want to play
nope. just agreeing with your observation, and if i went magus, it would also work for me.
Don't forget the Inspired Finesse also grants you Deft Maneuvers as per the answer to my previous question. (Same swap the EitR rules explicitly provide for Unchained Rogue. Weapon Finesse becomes Deft maneuvers.)
Merrick Talbar (Gregor Falconbridge) - Therenger - LN M human Monk (Ki Mystic) - Love Lost: Orphaned? Reads like Betrayed: Hungry for Revenge to me
I might agree but the free OGL Player's Guide from Paizo lists no such trait unless I'm completely blind. Would or anyone you please provide the correct resource for players?
Well, obviously the Player's Guide is the CORE SOURCE.
We haven't really heard from the GM about the acceptability of the other options.
So, where are those options from? From a website (The Archives of Nethys) commonly referred to simply as Nethys. It is the formal website for Paizo's online SRD. Or was last I knew.
Hi there. I'd prefer you use the proper campaign traits, simply because this AP does a good job of tying the party together early with them. They're a little weird, because the Varisia: Birthplace of Legends traits seem to be lumped in with them on Archives of Nethys. Here's the list of ones that are from the Player's Guide, if you don't want to download it.
Betrayed either Hungry for Revenge or Reformed Criminal Drug Addict either Addicted Friend or Personal Addiction Framed either Dropout or Family Honor Love Lost either All Alone or Orphaned Missing Child either Missing Sibling or Missing Son or Daughter Unhappy Childhood either Religious or Tortured
I have finished my submission under this alias. I have played a version of this character in a second edition game, and you can read some of the posts under her profile to get a sense of who she is.
Thanks for the link, hustonj! I could go either way, but Merrick is not and never was a criminal - quite the opposite. Orphaned still feels like an okay fit.
I'll work on finishing my submission this evening. The next post from me will be under the alias Merrick Talbar.
1: Bounty hunter slayer. Background trait: Missing child. He was charged with protecting his Employers daughter. He failed. LN, extremely exact about contracts. Prefers non lethal options since he is generally speaking not being paid to kill, however, he is extremely protective of children and does not tolerate those who willingly harm them.
2: Urban Skald, Background trait Orphan. Seeks to rise into the Korvosan Opera, from extremely humble beginnings. CN, very upbeat and friendly.
Also aware that avenging her mother would be a great operatic story.
3: Steelblood Bloodrager or Brawler. Once had a solid reputation and personality, as both an arena fighter and a Bodyguard. Got addicted to drugs when a certain crimelord spiked his drink with them. His not mixed martial arts club got him unaddicted, and now he is up for some payback.
