DM Salsa Presents - Chronicles of Kassen

Game Master AdamWarnock

Found here.

What is your character’s name?
How old is your character?
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Where was your character born?
Where were you raised?
By who?
Who are your parents?
Are they alive?
What do they do for a living?
Do you have any other family or friends?
What is your character’s marital status?
Kids?
What is your character’s alignment?
What is your character’s moral code?
Does your character have goals?
Is your character religious?
What are your character’s personal beliefs?
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Why does your character adventure?
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
How does your character get along with others?
Is there anything that your character hates?
Is there anything that your character fears?

Sadly, the page I found this on has since been zapped from the internet. Thankfully I had copied the questions.

Concept
These are the fundamentals, the broadest strokes. Every character should have answers to these five, including NPCs. It’s the quickest way to give the sense of a full individual instead of a cardboard stereotype.

1. What emotion best describes your character? Find one primary emotion your character expresses. Try to use a colorful, specific word to describe it. For instance, instead of “angry” you might say “vengeful” or “raging,” or instead of happy you might say “cheerful” or “exalting.”
2. What emotion does your character evoke in others? How do others react to you? Do you impress, scare, calm, excite, or perhaps annoy? Again try to find the most specific term you can. Is this reaction different between friends and enemies?
3. What does your character need most? If your character had everything he or she needed, why go on an adventure? Most people’s needs are fairly universal, although they can change over time. Common needs are survival, security, companionship, esteem, romance, family, or wisdom. Consider what your character’s starting needs are, and where you want them to be by the end of the adventure or campaign. It helps to establish this need with the GM, to ensure it fits with the themes of the game.
4. What is your character’s goal in life? This should be the principle, underlying motivation for everything your character thinks, says, and does. If your character were lying on the brink of death, what makes him or her cling to life? What could your character lose that he or she would consider worse than death? This goal is often broad, and sometimes unachievable. Whatever the nature of the goal, it should be something your character can strive for his or her entire life. The best goals are ones that can be threatened, as they will help create more compelling adventures. Ideas include justice, revenge, protecting loved ones, redeeming one’s self, or gaining some kind of power. When you think of something, ask yourself “why?” to make sure it isn’t because of some larger, more important goal.
5. How does your character believe this goal can be accomplished? Because the goal can often be ideological, the method to achieving it is sometimes equally insubstantial. Your character’s methods should be strongly tied to beliefs (or lack of beliefs), and primarily be a decision of lifestyle. A character bent on revenge might consider perfecting a fighting discipline, while a character devoted to a cause might consider a religious or philosophical doctrine.

Background
For any campaign, a character should have come from somewhere. Spend any length of time with someone and their history is bound to come up. These questions give your character history, and therefore dramatic and emotional weight.

6. Where did your character come from? Consider your character’s initial roots, before he or she was a teenager. These times are what shape your character the most. Who were your parents? Where did you live? What was your family’s economic and social status? How were you educated? What were the three most important lessons you learned?
7. When did you grow up? Everyone begins taking responsability for their own lives at different times and in different ways. Describe the events related to when your character started taking care of him- or herself.
8. What values does your character hold? Name three things your character considers sacred, and three things he or she is idealogically opposed to. These things will usually stem from a combination of your goals and your personal history. Consider especially where the values came from. Was your character taught these values? Did they develop as a reaction to something your character considered noble or diabolical? Establish lines that your character will not cross in pursuit of his or her goal to add challenge to playing your character.
9. How does your character dress? Start generally with an overall statement of the quality of your character’s appearance, such as projected social status, trade, common activities, or how groomed or slovenly your character is. Begin to hone in on telling details, especially those things that most people take for granted. How exactly does your character style his or her hair? What decorative articles does your character wear, such as jewelry, decorated buttons or buckles, a belt, gloves, etc.?One especially telling detail is footwear. Describe in detail what your character wears on his or her feet, including cut, tightness or looseness, heel height, sole hardness or softness, lacing/buckling/tying or lack thereof, toe shape (square, round, pointed…?), color, material, shininess, cleanliness, repair or disrepair, and any other details you can think of.
10. What are your character’s means? Consider all the resources your character has. This should include material resources such as money and property, social resources such as friends and allies, and personal resources such as skill, courage, strength, wits, etc. It might help to make a list of all your character’s resources that he or she might use to overcome adversity. Consider challenges like fights, puzzles, traveling, persuading (and being persuaded), and any others.

Details
Now we’re picking nits. These five are all about texture and color. These answers take your character beyond an adventure serial persona and into reality. Answers to these make your characters memorable for years.

11. What are your character’s personal tastes? Name at least three things your character enjoys for no reason other than personal preference. A good place to start is with each of the five senses. Consider a sound, smell, taste, feeling, or sight that is uniquely pleasing to your character. Also consider activities such as hobbies or habits. Name three things your character dislikes, as well.
12. What are your character’s opinions? Decide upon at least three major aspects of local society and your character’s opinion on them. This could be generalizations such as rich or poor people, more specific areas like a particular political or religious group, or very specific things like a prominent individual or an aspect of the character’s job. Check with your GM for relevant things in the campaign to have opinions about.
13. What is your character’s comfort zone? What environment, activity, or mindset puts your character at ease? This can add a lot of color to your character during stressful moments, as he or she will have a place to go or a thing to do at these times. It helps to have a comfort zone broken up into the above parts so at least some of it is portable.
14. Who has had the biggest impact on your character’s life? Name and briefly describe at least one person who had a significant impact on how your character perceives the world today. You can name more than one, but they should each reflect different aspects of your character’s beliefs. Use this as a reference point when your character has to make difficult decisions (i.e., “What would so-and-so do?”).
15. What are some of your character’s unexpected quirks? Name three things that are unexpected about the way your character behaves, such as things that go against his or her normal social status, age, or trade. How about three unexpected talents or abilities like being able to sing, or knowing some trivial knowledge, or being good at math? Three things your character can’t do that most other people can such as whistling, swimming, or reading well? How about three things your character fears, such as heights, dogs, or insects?

Player
These five questions direct your play experience itself rather than your character. What do you want out of your game? If a group answers these together, they can expect dramatically rewarding game sessions, and the GM will know clearly what’s expected to give everyone a good time.

16. What kind of story does your character belong in? Who are the characters your character interacts with? What settings does he or she inhabit? What themes are important? What conflicts does your character face? These things are important to understand so your GM can create adventures that will engage your character, and so you will have a better chance at getting along with your fellow players’ characters.
17. What role does your character fill? Roleplaying is all about the ensemble cast. Make sure you fill a unique role in the party, and you aren’t stepping on anyone else’s toes. Consider your role in the interpersonal relations of the party, your role in combat, what skills your character is best at, and what thematic note your character hits.
18. What should the other players know about your character? These should be major thematic points, your character’s general emotion (if it isn’t secret), potential surprises or areas that might be difficult, and any other pertinent information. Also start sketching out potential interactions, such as another character you might go to for help (or who might go to you for help), or someone you’ll probably butt heads with. Getting these things out in the open is important to ensure there aren’t unpleasant surprises.
19. What is your play style? Do you like heavy character immersion, or attention to detail in the rules, or perhaps you’re especially goal-oriented? Maybe you’re a bit competitive. Do you prefer lots of colorful descriptions, or a quicker framework understanding of situations? Do you speak in your character’s voice? You may not even be aware of your own play style. Keep this in mind as you play so you can better communicate with your fellow players about the direction of the party as a whole, and the course of the adventure. This also helps your GM understand your personal needs at the gaming table.
20. How do you want your character to die? Your character won’t live forever, although you might not play him or her to the end. If you had your choice of deaths for your character, what would it be? Death of old age, having survived through all his or her trials? Perhaps a bloody, violent death? A noble sacrifice? Happenstance? It can also provide an unusual layer of texture to your roleplaying, as you have a better understanding of your character’s fate. It will also tell you if your character is a tragic or heroic one. Finally, it can help your GM in resolving conflicts in-game if he or she has an idea of your comfort zone with threats to your character’s life.

Paizo Campaign Tools
Chrome and similar WebKit Broswers
Firefox (Possibly out of date. Last update was in 2018, it seems.)
This is a browser plugin that provides some neat features, such as the ability to rearrange your campaign tab, highlighting new posts in a different color, and the ability to set custom character avatars.

Guides on how to PbP
DoomedHero's Guide to Play-By-Post
Building a better DoomedHero: Painlord's Advanced Play-By-Post Guide

Languages
To help keep things consistent, we'll be using the following languages as stand-ins for the many languages of Golarion.

Golarion Language Stand-ins

Other Language Tools:
Upside Down Text Generator
Zalgo Text Generator
FSymbols Text generators/alterers Various tools for creating and altering text.

For the sake of everyone's sanity, be sure to put the original, english text in a spoiler and mark it as the language being used. In general, it's best to go in order and use a separate spoiler for each one. Especially if you're using the Zalgo generator.

"میں بیوقوفوں سے گھرا ہوا ہوں۔," The Dread Lord of the Crypts sighed in Abyssal. He picked up his staff and settled into his throne. "Iltqajt sew! X’nista ’nagħmel għalik," he says in the goblin tongue, his voice cheery.

Abyssal

Spoiler:

"I am surrounded by idiots."

Goblin

Spoiler:

"Well met! What may I do for you?"

Tokens and Character Art

If you'd like to make life on your GM a little easier, here are some tools and resources that you can use to create tokens for the battlemap or pick out art for your character. While AI artbots are an option, I'd ask that you not use them due to ethical concerns about how they were/are developed. If you grab something online, please link back to the original artist in your character's profile.

Token creators
Token Tool (Download)
VTT Token Maker (Web app)
Tokenstamp

Art Resources
My Fantasy Character Pinterest Board
DeviantArt
Artstation
Instagram

I owe you a big apology. I bailed on our last game together. I'm immensely sorry about that. It was a s+*~ move on my part and I have no excuse. Sorry. That said, I really like your DMing style and I'd like to play with you again. BUT, if you are gun-shy about playing with me... that's totally understandable. I can promise you I'm in it for the whole game and I won't ghost you this time around. But I've given you good reason to be skeptical. If you'd rather not take that chance, just say so and I'll vanish from this recruitment. Either way, I'm glad to see you on the boards where so many others have vanished in my absence.

No worries about that. As far as I'm concerned that's water under the bridge. Given the number of games I've flaked out on, I'm not going to judge someone, much less hold a grudge, who flaked out of one of mine.

And thanks for the kind words. It's been a bit since I've GMed a PBP game, so let's see how fast I can get the rust off. :P

Thanks! I appreciate (and share) the 'no grudges' approach. I feel you about that rust. I just returned from visiting my old stomping grounds and did a brief IRL DM run for my old group... Gads, I had to look so much stuff up I can't believe I forgot!

Related to 'kicking off some rust' - even if you are firm on no Unchained classes, you might want to consider a single exception to that rule - and make it mandatory for any Summoners to be the Unchained version. Unless you don't mind dealing with some of the over-amped bits of the APG class, like the regular Summoner getting Haste as a L2 spell so you'll see it rolled out when the party is 4th level. I thought about running a group of 6-8 4th level characters ALL hit with Haste and it made me shiver. Just my two cents... which you are totally free to ignore! :D

What's your name? "Grobradon Ventar. If you were from town you'd know about me."
How old are you? "Seventeen winters, but orc blood means I'm more mature than that. Why are you looking for a date?"
What would someone see at first glance of you? "Six and a half feet of slightly green tinged but tanned man with enlarged canine teeth, slightly pointed ears and green eyes that have red pupils in the right light. My hair is long. I wear traveler's gear not that I go far from the town. I keep a sickle and sling handy. I'm in good shape. Not too many village girls seem interested (openly), but they're not screaming in terror either."
Where were you born? "Kassen, but I was conceived near the border of the orc lands. Take a wild guess what happened to my mother. Better yet? Don't. She's suffered enough for being used."
Where were you raised and by whom? "My mother, but the town has SOME decent folks who helped her. More than my Uncle did actually. "
Is she still alive "She better be! What, did some one make a threat?"
What does she do for a living "Smooths wood. She's blind."
Any other family or friends? "Yes. There's my Uncle, Colbin. The one who tried to talk my mother into giving me up when I was an infant, to be fair, he tried to offer me a job as a lumberjack. That didn't last long. My Aunt isn't as bad but she still talks slow to me like I was a damn moron some days. My cousin? She's all right. And yes, I've made friends. Quality over quantity though"
What's your marital status? Any kids "Single. One girl and I went in a private cove to fool around because she wanted to feel 'dangerous'. But she also made me swear never to tell we'd done it. And I'm not telling you her name"
What is your alignment, your moral code? "I believe in the Balance of things on a larger scale, on the minor scale? I look after those who are close to me, I make sure nature is protected. The rest is less my concern, but I'm not a monster no matter what some might think"
Are you religious? "Yes. I'm a druid. I follow Gozreh chiefly.. Olmira lead me to the path when she found out I liked being among trees more than cutting them down."
Any other personal beliefs? Personality quirks? "I've been told I can be hostile when folks pry into my business, but I don't agree. You're prying, and you're not bleeding...yet, so I'm not hostile."
Why do you/would you adventure ? "The same reason any animal takes risks. To survive, or thrive, or aid those in my pack."
What's your role in that? "Adventuring? I'll probably get stuck healing at least a little. Sounds terribly boring. Quicker to take down whoever is trying to cause the injuries on myself or said pack. Best defense is a dead foe. Blame that on the orc blood if you want."
Do you have any other distinguishing features? "Yes, a birthmark shaped like an oakleaf on my left butt cheek. What the hell IS this??"
You get along well with others? "Well enough. I tend to prefer the wilds to large crowds."
Anything you hate? Anything you fear? "For hate, nosey questions are rising rapidly on the list. Fears? The woods destroyed, the folks I do care for taken from me."

The real story: As the above indicates, Grobradon is the result of an orc attacking his mother, Coldanna Ventar. It was violent, and the orc in question blinded her eyes when she fought back. Coldanna returned back to Kassen so she could be with the only family she had left. And so she could raise her child. She named him Grobradon after a beloved grandfather of hers, who has now passed away.

Her brother, Colbin, wanted her to give away 'the monster baby' up for adoption in some big city and never be spoken of again. As wealthy as the man is, he could have easily provided for his sister, but when she refused to do as he asked; he nearly cut her off entirely from any help or support. When towns folk started to shame him for this treatment of his own sister, he relented by giving her a job, though he still had her live in a shack far from his own dwelling.

Grobradon grew up hearing muttered whispers about what a burden he must be to his mother, and while the town had other half orcs, few of them were shining figures of virtue, and they figured Grobradon would grow up even worse. This was enough to make Grobradon guarded, and so distrustful it almost became a self fulfilling prophecy. Still, he was strong, so he was given a job hauling logs that others felled.

While the wood guild is necessary, Grobradon did not enjoy it. He didn't like how his Uncle just saw trees as profit, and didn't appreciate the beauty of them. Indeed, he discovered the trees gave him a kind of peace he normally couldn't reach.

Enter Olmira, the local druid. A somewhat daffy woman, but also a very wise one. She saw the lad's true heart, and coaxed some trust out of him. He was sure she'd hate him, but rather, she talked. And Grobradon listened. Soon he quit working for his uncle entirely ("The miserable orc blooded ingrate!" His uncle shouted) and became Olmira's apprentice, learning all he could from her.

Now, when he does show up at council, it's to protest expanding into the old wood too deeply. He encourages folks to take deadwood first when they can, and he plants new trees whenever he can. As guarded as he seems to some now, he's far more open than he was before thanks to Olmira and some of her friends.

Now, he's of age. And while he may act like he cares only for the woods, he does have hopes he dare not express. He wants to find a way to restore his mothers' eyes (And is saving up money for some big healing magics). He wants to find a girl who isn't ashamed to admit she's with him. He wants to wildshape, so he can , in a way, be a part of its beauty.

My mother, Clair Stone, is a Taldorian woman born in Oppara to her merchant parents. As she grew older she learned the trade from her parents as they prepared to become traveling merchants. By the time she hit her late teens her family and her self were fully fledged traveling merchants, caravan and all. They traveled all of Golarion bringing goods and services to everyone from small hamlets to capitals of entire nations.
During a stay in Trollheim in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, Clair’s eye caught the attention of one of the Trollheim citizens, a Ulfen man named Steinolf. Over the few weeks as they traded for gems, furs, and silver, Clair and Steinolf made many late night rendezvous.By the time it became obvious that my mother was pregnant both Trollheim and Steinolf were a forgotten past, but not to Clair. Fortunately enough, this is where my journey began.

The family tried to continue to travel but with a new born baby on the way it became difficult for Clair. The family eventually took part of their merchandise and coin and set up a small shop in Oppara to operate and care for her newborn son, Steinolf.

As I grew, my mother tried to acquire books and items that told of both her heritage and my fathers heritage. My most prized possessions that I was gifted from my mother are my Battleaxe, Heaven Pick, and Round Wooden Shield. All were similar to the ones my father used.

Having Ulfen blood in my veins made it to where I stood out in Oppara. My pale skin and red hair made it to where I was picked on in my younger years. This is where I learned my skills as a hunter, guide, and trapper. Once puberty came around I was no longer the target of bullies. I quickly grew into a man of 6’3” and got involved with the guard of the capital. This helped bring in a little coin for my mother and I, but I still had a passion for travel and adventure.

Late one evening someone broke into our shop and it woke my mother from our house above. The next morning when I awoke I came down to find my mother dead in a pool of blood along with our shop ransacked and robbed.

Instinctively, all of the training I had learned about tracking down a prey kicked in. This time the prey was a person, but I rationalized it that he was just a different kind of animal. I quickly took the gear I might need and left in pursuit.

It would have normally not been so easy, but this animal left a slight trail of blood in his wake, my mother put up a fight. It was just like following a deer in the woods that had been injured by an arrow. It made similar stumbles and falls on its way to freedom.

It took a week to find the animal, but weeks for him to heal up before I could challenge him. While I stalked my prey I began to learn things about him, he had no friends and family, he was skilled at snares and other traps, and quick with a short blade two of them.

What is that old phrase? Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? I remember my mother telling me about how my father would fight using both his weapon and shield. Maybe this man with two swords could show me how to do this kind of fighting.

I approached him at his camp sight off the road a bit and that is when I met my first mentor in life, Nintos. But, that is a story for a different day....

4713 AR on Oathday, 17th Earstus

Player Questionnaire - Fill out the questionnaire below. It’s mostly to help me know where redlines are, where you’d like the story to go, and what you are expecting from me, though I do like getting to know people.

1. What time zone are you in? CST

2. How long have you been playing TTRPGs? 35 years

3. What’s your favorite part about playing TTRPGs? Social interaction

4. What do you expect from this game? Regular posting and good dialogue

5. What do you expect out of your fellow players? A desire to cooperate

6. What do you expect out of me? An interesting story

1. What time zone are you in?
Eastern United States Time Zone

2. How long have you been playing TTRPGs?
Many decades in one form or another with a infrequent gaps. I remember when Gary Gygax made a chart for the type of prostitute you'd meet if that tells folks anything.

3. What’s your favorite part about playing TTRPGs?
A good story where everyone leaves their mark. I really like it if the PCs make a change (hopefully a positive one) on the setting by their actions.

4. What do you expect from this game?
I'm hoping it will be fun. I confess I've rarely played druids, and one time I did, it died on the vine fast so I'm also hoping this will be a very belated peek into the class as a player instead of a DM/GM. By no means does that mean I expect all scenes to be ones druids excel at. Sometimes the fun is a fish out of water situation, and every character should have a chance to strut their stuff. :)

5. What do you expect out of your fellow players?
Hopefully a lot of fun interactions, and some mutual courtesy. To be fair, these boards are pretty good for that. I have seen some bad blood arise from when one player tries to assign a role to another player's character without consulting the other player, but that's a rarity here too.

6. What do you expect out of me?
Actually, you've already provided a lot of what I hope for. You answer questions, you're patient with those moments I miss a clue. See above about getting a chance to make a difference in the setting if possible.

7. Redlines?
I think the rules of the forum already have any redlines I'd have covered mostly. I do think somethings don't need EXPLICIT detail (Torture, sexual violence, etc) but again I think that's already Paizo's rules.