'O children with souls a'gleaming,
Awaken from life to Dreaming,
O Dreamwalkers, O mirrored kings,
Dance, dance amid the fairy rings,
Spurn the world of man and day,
And walk, in Twilight, the Twisting Way,
Under Midsummer skies painted and airy,
Become lost within the lands of Faerie.'
- Ancient Waldenshire folksong
Welcome, one and all, to a titillating tale of twilight worlds and the mysterious fey that inhabit them.
I was perusing the recruitment threads the other week and saw a request that had been bumped. There were several games mentioned, some new and fresh, others old and in need of revival. One such game out of those mentioned, Faerie Dreams Amidst the Twilight, caught my attention. Fey are a subject of much fascination and interest to me, from the whimsical mischief of pixies and sprites in European folklore to the wicked mien and sinister figure of the Erlkönig in Franz Schubert's Lied of the same name. After thinking things over, I decided to put time and work into a reboot of sorts. The details of the lore and mechanics did not seem to be fully fleshed out and so I put my own spin on them. It was my intention to keep most of these as close to the original idea as possible and many artifacts from that thread were faithfully reproduced, insomuch as I was able to, here.
The old recruitment's setting was that of Victorian Era Earth fused with The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way mini-setting. I am intimately familiar with the former due to heavily researching the time period for an old Changeling the Lost: Victorian Lost game and the latter occupies a treasured spot within my library, so it was relatively simple to reconstruct the setting. For those who are interested, The Faerie Ring mini-setting has a free preview document on Paizo. The PDF is only a small part of the larger book and neither are required to enjoy this game, but it's there for you to enjoy nonetheless should you choose to engage with it.
Now for the premise of the game: The year is 1886 and each of the PCs are acquaintances of one of the Ainsworths, a married scholarly couple who travel the world in pursuit of obscure folklore and forgotten cultures. The characters have been invited to a gala at the Ainsworth estate within the English village of Waldenshire. What begins as a reunion with old friends and the promise of making new ones will soon lead to the PCs awakening as fey-touched Dreamwalkers within the Twilight Worlds of the fey. These Dreamwalkers will journey along the faerie roads of the Twisting Way to many worlds in search of answers and become entangled in the destinies of faeries, mortals, and witches long woven into the Dreaming and it is by their hand that the looms of this vespertine skein will become untangled and the ultimate fate of two realities will be determined.
Third-party content will be more limited in this game. Spheres of Power, Spheres of Might, Spheres of Champions, Path of War, Akasha, and the Legendary Classes are generally okay in my book and require no special clearance. Psionics and Spheres of Guile are banned, as are the Sage class from Spheres of Champions, Deific Talents, Oaths, Aristeia feats, and the following Spheres: Alchemy, Equipment, Leadership, Tech, Technomancy, and Trap. All other third-party content must be requested separately by listing the content's name, the name of the book it can be found in, and the exact page number it is located- or a simple link to the requested content in a legal SRD source like d20PFSRD or the Spheres of Power Wiki- in order to be considered. A single appeal can be made in the event that I do not rule in favor of a request.
No homebrew is allowed save for that produced by Paizo Fans United and this must still be cleared as if they were third-party content using the method listed above.
Whether first or third-party, no effect that brings the dead back to life will be allowed. Other creatures can be raised as undead, but no resurrection magic is possible in this game. Dead is dead and not even the otherworldly power of Dreamwalkers can change that.
Level: Players will awaken as 7th-level gestalt characters.
Ability Scores: Point buy (25 points). Following the point buy, choose one ability score as your primary stat and two others as your secondary stats; primary stats gain a +4 untyped bonus and secondary stats gain a +2 untyped bonus. No score may be above 24 or below 10.
Races: Because the PCs are from Earth, everyone must select Human as their race. Upon Awakening as a Dreamwalker, however, they become something both more and less than human as a result of their connection to the Dreaming. This translates into 13 RP worth of extra racial abilities. Racial abilities that fundamentally alter their physical form in ways that would make them appear inhuman, such as wings or horns, are not allowed.
Classes: Reference the first section in this spoiler for more details.
Hit Points: Maximum plus one per HD; PCs apply either their CON or CHA modifier to their HP, whichever is higher.
Traits:Three; a fourth may be taken in exchange for a Drawback.
Alignment: Alignments have been done away with completely, as I don't feel like they have a place on either Earth, where ethics and values can be grey and muddled, or the Twilight Worlds beyond the Dreaming, where things like morality are little more than personal affections or elaborate stageplay. Words and deeds alone shall speak for one's morals and ethics in this game.
Abilities that rely on alignment to work will be determined thusly: allies and bystanders are affected favorably by these abilities, while enemies or otherwise hostile targets are affected unfavorably.
Players who choose classes which have an alignment requirement will not be forced to abide by those; instead, they will need to work with me on a code of conduct, which features both moral tenets and strange fey compulsions in equal measure.
Gear/Wealth:This is one of the more complicated sections and will cover things that go beyond what is immediately necessary to build a character. The reason for this is because it fundamentally changes how all gear and treasure is handled and, therefore, needs to be covered as soon as possible.
Players will begin with no combat gear whatsoever. They are, after all, attending a gala thrown by an acquaintance of theirs. Whatever clothes they are wearing or currencies they are carrying are ultimately irrelevant beyond superficial impressions.
Once PCs Awaken as Dreamwalkers, they will gain the full benefits of Automatic Bonus Progression.
While Dreamshifted, PCs can manifest special weapons and armor known as the Faerie Regalia. These are tied to their very souls and manifest immediately upon Dreamshifting, although they may be dismissed as a free action. These can take nearly any form imaginable and usually take on otherwordly appearances, such as a full-plate armor made of stained glass or a greatsword made out of glittering ice. Any ranged weapon that requires ammunition produces an unlimited amount of basic ammunition from thin air when needed. Disarmed or sundered weapons vanish immediately, as do thrown or projectile weapons without the Returning property after they hit their mark or miss. Resummoning weapons or armor is a full-round action. The form of any piece of Faerie Regalia may be changed at will, enabling a knight to change their greatsword into a longbow to target a fey dragon flying beyond the reach of their blade or to morph their full-plate into padded armor when they need to swim across a raging river. Each piece of the Faerie Regalia gains enhancement bonuses and abilities through Automatic Bonus Progression and these cannot be changed; magical properties that are incompatible with new weapon types simply do not function while in that form.
Certain beings in the Twilight Worlds have particularly strong essences that condense into glittering crystals known as Wyrdstones upon death. These are some of the most highly-valued items in the world beyond the Dreaming and hold many powers based on the essence of the being whose death produced them. Wyrdstones can be fused with weapons and armor as a full-round action to grant magical properties, some of which go far beyond those contained in rulebooks. They can also be morphed into truly unique items with wondrous- and terrible- powers. Unfusing a Wyrdstone from a piece of Faerie Regalia or reverting it from it's item form back into a crystal is a full-round action. Wyrdstones are completely weighless and are generally small enough to fit within the palm of one's hand.
When PCs first Awaken as Dreamwalkers, one item on their person becomes infused with faerie energies and becomes a Curio. These are unique legacy magic items that count as minor artifacts and hold a total of 25,000 GP worth of Wondrous Magic Item abilities, split however you desire. The floating GP pool worth of abilities grows larger as players level and, at 20th level, the Curio will possess 300,000 GP worth of Wondrous Magic Item powers. Any unused "GP" is carried over and players should feel no compulsion to use all of it as soon as it is acquired.
One last topic bears mentioning when it comes to wealth and gear. The Faerie Regalia, Curios, and Wyrdstones mentioned previously are not the only treasures in this campaign. Strange and wonderful magic items, magical folk ingredients such as Unicorn Horns, and more lie scattered throughout the Twilight Worlds, nestled in the hoards of foes, and bartered for in the shadowed stalls of fae markets. It pays to have a shrewd mind and a penchant for wise haggling when dealing with fey merchants, for their alien tastes and inclincations could lead to a number of requests: a lock of hair from the sixth daughter of a sixth daughter, an apple pie baked by a loving mother and stolen from a sunlit windowsill, or the customer's own emotions taken and placed within a gilded birdcage are all within the realm of possibility. One would do well to carefully examine the words of any bargains that are struck or oaths received, for fey are fond of trickery and honoring the letter of the bargain rather than the spirit it was struck in.
Crafting: It should go without saying that there will not be crafting in this game considering how gear and wealth will be handled.
Class Companions: All class companions receive the Fey-Touched Creature template. These companions appear normal while on Earth, but often take on supernatural aspects while in the Twilight Worlds.
Feats: Feats are gained every level rather than every other level.
Languages: In place of the normal Pathfinder languages, only Earth's languages are initially available. Since most of the (relatively small) Earth section of the game will take place around England and Scotland, English is effectively "Common". Upon Awakening as a Dreamwalker, you will gain the ability to comprehend and speak all the languages of both Earth and the Twilight Worlds; more on that under the Dreamwalker Template section.
Templates: Apart from the Dreamwalker template provided in a later spoiler tab, no templates may be acquired save through class features. Even then, I would advise people to stay away from any class features that give them an undead template.
House Rules: Background Skills, Elephant in the Room Feat Taxes, Fractional Base Bonuses, Skill Unlocks, and Stamina and Combat Tricks will be implemented. In the case of Stamina and Combat Tricks, they are are free for Fighter and can be acquired via the feat for any others who wish to take them. In the case of Skill unlocks, they are free for both chained and unchained Rogues and can be acquired via the feat for any others who wish to take them.
Description: Every submission must include details on your character's appearance and personality. These do not need to be elaborate or exhaustive, but they must be more detailed than "John Wicket is like a muscular Keanu Reeves but with salt-and-pepper hair."
Background: There are three essential components to a character's background that will need to be included in their profile. The first is simply listing where they are from; country/province is the bare minimum for this, but further detail is appreciated. The second is their general history; you don't have to do a full Ten-Minute Background for this, but a well-written background that gives the audience a feel for the character is always appreciated. And the final component is an account of your first meeting with either the jovial English scholar Duncan Ainsworth or his elegant Scottish wife Bonnie Fraser Ainsworth who often accompanies him in his travels; one or both of them are close acquaintances with each PC and have invited them to a gala at the Ainsworth family estate.
Type: The Dreamwalker's type does not change, although they do gain the Feyblooded special quality.
Senses: Dreamwalkers gain Low-Light Vision.
Defensive Abilities: Dreamwalkers gain a +2 bonus to all mind-affecting effects and 5 resistance against one of the following: fire, cold, electricity, acid, sonic, or negative energy.
Dreamshifting (Su): A Dreamwalker may draw upon the energies of the Dreaming and their fey Othersoul in the Twilight Worlds beyond it as a full-round action to enter a state known as Dreamshifting. While in this state, a Dreamwalker may use any of the other abilities granted by this template that require an action at-will. Dreamshifting lasts until it is dismissed as a free action, the Dreamwalker falls below 0 HP, or they are in contact with cold iron for more than one round or are dealt more than 15 points of damage from a weapon composed of cold iron. Even being near a Dreamwalker in this state is enough to induce Dementing in normal humans.
Dreameating (Su): Everything that lives touches on the Dreaming and those that die leave behind Animus, fleeting fragments of a being's essence touched by their memories and the energies of the Dreaming that hover a few inches over their corpse. A Dreamwalker adjacent to a deceased being may take a full-round action to consume the Animus, gaining access to the memories and emotions within that are experienced as if they were the deceased (GM's choice what memories are held within the Animus). A corpse whose Animus is consumed is immune to further Dreameating attempts.
Wyld Shape (Su): Tied to the Dreaming is the Wyld, the very essence of nature unrestrained by civilization or reality. Dreamwalkers are tied to this essence and may, as a full-round action, change into the shape of a single animal, functioning as Beast Shape II. They also gain the Fey-Touched Creature template and a 10-ft. increase to all forms of movement speed while in this form, but may not use any class features that require activation or concentration. The beast form provided by Wyld Shape is clearly unnatural in origin and cannot be mistaken as normal no matter the distance; a wolf Wyld Shape might have six eyes that glow an unnatural blue, a coat of white, and curving horns and claws of gleaming crystal, while an Owl Wyld Shape might appear covered in black feathers that reflect a starry night sky and with eyes that appear to glow with white moonlight. Despite being clearly unnatural and tied to the Twilight Worlds, a Wyld Shape form does not immediately provoke Dementing in normal human beings, although it may provoke fear or violence depending on the individual.
Faerie Regalia (Su): The source of Dreamwalker power lies within their fey Othersoul reflections on the other side of the Dreaming. When Dreamshifting, this energy can assume a variety of forms, but is most commonly manifested as the Faerie Regalia, armor and weapons formed from the essence of the Twilight Realms themselves. While Dreamshifted, PCs can manifest special weapons and armor known as the Faerie Regalia. These are tied to their very souls and manifest immediately upon Dreamshifting, although they may be dismissed as a free action. These can take nearly any form imaginable and nearly universally take on otherwordly appearances, such as a full-plate armor made of stained glass or a greatsword made out of glittering ice. Any ranged weapon that requires ammunition produces an unlimited amount of basic ammunition from thin air when needed. Disarmed or sundered weapons vanish immediately, as do thrown or projectile weapons without the Returning property after they hit their mark or miss. Resummoning weapons or armor is a full-round action. The form of any piece of Faerie Regalia may be changed at will, enabling a knight to change their greatsword into a longbow to target a fey dragon flying beyond the reach of their blade or to morph their full-plate into padded armor when they need to swim across a raging river. Each piece of the Faerie Regalia gains enhancement bonuses and abilities through Automatic Bonus Progression and these cannot be changed; magical properties that are incompatible with new weapon types simply do not function while in that form.
Essence of the Othersoul (Su): Dreamwalkers and a fey from the Twilight Worlds are reflections of each other and share a bond that crosses even the Dreaming. Dreamwalkers who have awakened begin to gain power from their Othersoul. How this manifests is unique to each Dreamwalker and is determined by the GM, but it commonly manifests as lesser versions of the Othersoul's special abilities or qualities; a Dreamwalker with a pixie Othersoul might gain wings or the ability to conjure magical dust that induces sleep, while one bound to a Rusalka might gain an enchanting song or the ability to breathe underwater.
Walking the Twisted Way (Su): Faerie rings and convergences of leylines, among other things, serve as locations where the Twilight Worlds and Earth are particularly close. Dreamwalkers adjacent to these liminal points can move between worlds to another connected point as a standard action.
Twilight Tongue (Su): Dreamwalkers constantly touch upon the Dreaming by their very existence and this connection enables them to speak and comprehend all of the common languages spoken by the humans of Earth and the fey of the Twilight Worlds. Secret languages such as Druidic, the languages of beasts and plants, and nonverbal languages that use body language are not covered by this power, nor are written forms of any language beyond Sylvan.
Feyblooded (Ex): Dreamwalkers count as both Humanoid (Human) and Fey for the purposes of both spells and abilities.
Cold Iron Weakness (Ex): In addition to the potentially disrupting Dreamshifting, as mentioned under that ability, weapons made of cold iron deal double damage to Dreamwalkers.
The Awakening: There are a few thousand Dreamwalkers on Earth at any given time, but the overwhelming majority of them are dormant and little different than a normal human being. Those who become exposed to the energies of the Twilight Worlds, however, unwillingly Dreamshift and gain access to their powers during a process known as the Awakening. The process is euphoric, exhilerating, and terrifying in equal measure and feels as if their mind and body are melted down before being remolded into perfecction.
Dreamshifting: A Dreamwalker's power resides on the other side of the Dreaming in their Othersoul. When Dreamshifting, they reach out and touches the Dreaming to bridge the gap and draw that power into themselves. If one wishes to use a modern analogy, the Dreamwalker is a lightbulb, their Othersoul is a source of electricity, and the Dreaming is the circuit that allows the two to connect.
Animus, Dreameating, and Mnemocytes: Every being has an inner essence known as Animus, the force that gives life to their body, structure to their thoughts, and drive to their soul. This essence brushes upon the Dreaming when a being sleeps and, when they die, fragments of this Dreaming-tinged essence remain behind that reflects their thoughts and emotions. Dreamwalkers are able to faintly perceive Animus and can choose to absorb it in a process called Dreameating. This process causes the Dreamwalker to experience fragments of the deceased's memories as if they were there on, along with all the emotions and sensations that come with it. Occasionally, beings whose Animus lingers for some time after death attract Mnemocytes, alien creatures that resemble barely-perceptible jellyfish who devour the Animus. Slaying a Mnemocyte releases the Animus contained within.
Wyld Form: The Dreaming contains many things and the energies of the Wyld, primordial nature wild and unrestrained by reality, is one of these. Dreamwalkers are tied to the Dreaming through their connection and can invariably take the form of a primordial spirit beast infused with this energy. The beast form provided by Wyld Shape is clearly unnatural in origin and cannot be mistaken as normal no matter the distance; a wolf Wyld Shape might have six eyes that glow an unnatural blue, a coat of white, and claws and fangs of gleaming crystal, while an Owl Wyld Shape might appear covered in black feathers that reflect a starry night sky and with eyes that appear to glow with white moonlight. Despite being clearly unnatural and tied to the Twilight Worlds, a Wyld Shape form does not immediately provoke Dementing in normal human beings, although it may provoke fear or violence depending on the individual. The reason this form does not induce Dementing is because, in essence, the natural world already contains trace amounts of the Wyld and they are insulated against it's energies.
Cold Iron: Most humans would agree that Earth is a place of hard laws and set realities, a place of cause and effect where similar actions always produce similar results. The protean unrealities of the Twilight Worlds, however, are the opposite and function according to alien rules that may be shifted according to the whims of the Fey Sovereigns or the Twilight Worlds themselves. Cold iron, whose form is in some way a physical representation of Earth's set reality given shape, is anathema to both fey and Dreamwalkers. To the fey, who are a power unto themselves, it shreds through their defences and impedes their ability to shunt power to heal their wounds. To Dreamwalkers, however, it temporarily disrupts their very connection and can immediately knock them out of Dreamshifting. Moreover, an Awakened Dreamwalker's body rebels against the metal, greatly exacerbates injuries caused by cold iron weaponry.
Personality Bleed: The connection between an Awakened Dreamwalker and their Othersoul can sometimes cause fragments of their personalities to blend and bleed into each other, although this is not a hard rule. The way it manifests and the extent to which it does so is always different for each Dreamwalker; a devout Scottish housewife with a Redcap Othersoul might begin to grow surly or even develop a joyfully sadistic streak. Othersouls are not immune to this either; in the previous scenario, the redcap may begin adopting incomprehensible religious dogmas or have a fondness for 'housemaking' with the severed limbs and entrails of its victims.
Campaign Style: This campaign will be somewhat closer to a traditional AP's structure, albeit one of the ones with closed sandbox elements. You will regularly have clear-cut objectives dictated by the plot, but you may approach them however you wish. There will be a nice blend of combat, roleplaying, and exploration with some investigations and puzzles thrown into the mix for good measure, so there is something for everyone.
Twilight Worlds to Earth Ratio: Most of this campaign will be focused within the Twilight Worlds and will occupy around 80-85% of the campaign. Segments on Earth will occupy the remainder.
Post Rates: A post a day would, in a perfect world where everything went off without a hitch, be ideal. Reality does not always work that way and so my expectation is for everyone to make five-plus posts a week. That should account for the random happenstance that occurs in people's daily lives. Advance warning for prolonged absences would be appreciated and I am willing to pilot someone's character for them temporarily. I will take temporary control of any character whose owner neither posts nor communicates for a five days. After a month of piloting characters whose owners have not communicated in any fashion, measures will be taken to phase them out of the plot in as organically as possible and recruit a replacement. I am flexible on this, however, and prefer gently nudging the game along.
Encounters: Both combat and social encounters will feature in this game and I will endeavor to make them uniquely challenging and rewarding. Out of the box thinking and clever strategems are things I very much appreciate and I build my encounters to allow for a great deal of player expression.
Initiative, Perception, and Sense Motive Rolls: I as the GM will roll each of these for PCs as necessary.
PC Selections: It is my plan to accept four players for this campaign. Like my Kisarta game, however, an abundance of exceptional submissions may inspire me to up the number of players I accept.
The Dreaming: The Dreaming is an in-between world, a veil that separates the realities of man and fey. Both realities border on it's ephemeral shores and the minds of slumbering mortals touch upon it briefly, spawning dreams or nightmares.
The Twilight Worlds: The Twilight Worlds are the lands of the fey and the unrealities of each are unique and beautiful, wondrous and terrifying. They are akin to pearls strung along a planar latticework known as the Twisting Way or the Faerie Roads that winds and wends it's way through the empty spaces of the multiverse.
Nature of the Fey: Many would say that the fey are simply inhabitants of the Twilight Worlds. But that definition is imperfect, for many inhabitants of the Twilight Worlds are not fey and not all fey make their homes in the Twilight Worlds. To try and classify the fey is folly: some are born to fey parents the Twilight Worlds while other emerge wholecloth from their homes as if they were always there; others are the souls of the dead given new forms or dreams molded by mortal thought and incarnated into impossible forms. More information on fey subtypes can be found within the preview document linked in this post.
Faerie Rings and Leyline Convergences: Faerie Rings and leyline convergences form where Earth and the Twilight Worlds are closest together. While the former always appears as a circle of mushrooms, the latter is invisible to the naked eye. Witches, Mages, and Dreamwalkers across the ages have taken to building markers denoting where one may find a leyline point, however, and can appear as many things: circles of monoliths like Stonehenge, stone doors that lead to nowhere within cairns, and torii gates hung with charms just to name a few.
The Twilight Worlds and Time: Time flows oddly within the Twilight Worlds and, in many cases, ceases to flow at all. Dreamwalkers can often journey into the Twilight Worlds for days or months before returning, with only mere minutes having passed on Earth.
The Dementing: The energies of the Twilight Worlds are anathema to the minds of regular humans. Exposure to these energies can cause the mind to snap, splinter, or completely disintigrate. Symptoms of the Dementing can range from delusions and homicidal mania to suicidal depression or catatonia. Dreamwalkers who are Dreamshifting emit particularly high amounts of these energies and pose an immediate danger to the sanity of all normal humans in their presence. It can take months or years for someone to recover from the Dementing and some never do.
Oohhh, Suddenly my mind is thinking of somebody who starts out as a stage magician performing for the group. I'm assuming we don't have magic in the "real world", but will suddenly discover it when we are reborn into a new jellicle life.
Oohhh, Suddenly my mind is thinking of somebody who starts out as a stage magician performing for the group. I'm assuming we don't have magic in the "real world", but will suddenly discover it when we are reborn into a new jellicle life.
That does sound like an interesting idea! The shock of going from performing parlor tricks to real magic and the character's reaction to that will no doubt be a sight to behold.
Magic does exist within this version of Earth, but it is obscured from most humans. Few are able to wield magic in the first place and only two groups do so with any regularity: Dreamwalkers and Witches. The PCs will awaken as the former not too long after the game begins and will come to know at least a few of the latter before all is said and done.
Super interested in this. Given the alignment changes, I kind of want to do something nuts like a Monk/Barbarian or Paladin/Antipaladin. I probably won’t, though. Speaking of antipaladins, though, would the feat Necromantic Affinity be allowed? It’d be nice for someone who uses negative energy to be able to heal himself, but given the discouragement of undead-type stuff I wanted to check to be sure.
I know we’re not in Golarion, but I think I may take inspiration from Count Ranalc and but something focused on the more shadowy side of the fae. Probably. But what that means exactly, I’m not sure yet.
Nice!
Regarding race and the extra race points, I bet they come always be invested in traits requiring Human, Fey or those without prerequisites, yeah? No gnomes, elves or whatever.
Also, I'm guessing no different Ability distribution is allowed (as in, Humans get Human Heritage for 0 points, they can't change it to any other by paying the cost, yeah?).
Dotting for interest, with one primary question-
following Spheres: Alchemy, Equipment, Leadership, Tech, Technomancy, and Trap.
Uh- So do we exchange martial traditions for Martial weapon proficiency? Because Equipment is basically the default sphere and is in literally every martial tradition save for *three.*
Also, why the bias against Trap sphere? Is it because it's probably one of the largest enabling spheres in the system?
Quite interested, love the fey and haven’t ever had a chance to mess around with them.
One thing I noticed missing that didn’t carry over from your Kisarta recruitment rules is the using a feat to offset stacking archetypes rule. I have a plan for a Druid that takes the Feyspeaker and Menhir Savant archetypes, but they both alter Nature Sense. Can we use a feat to balance that out?
I had a big game hunter that went after cryptids in another fey themed game, I might rebuild him for this! Would that be feasible for the amount of magic in the world? I had imagined mostly “grounded” cryptids as it were, things like mokele-mbembe or Bigfoot.
Been out and about all day so I haven’t built anything mechanically, but my history degree is showing: I decided my character will have served in the British Army, and every spare moment today I’ve been looking at which unit he would’ve been in, what rank he should’ve held, campaigns and battles he might have fought in, who he might have served with, etc.
Okay, here's my background. There is an obvious hook for people that would have gone to a fancy public school. (In England Public Schools are actually private schools, many of them boarding schools)
Other hooks for people who might have been in prison or entertainers.
Jake was an orphan of low breeding. One would hardly expect him to run in in Ainsworth's circles. As a child he made his way into the kitchens of the Marlbridge Academy. He was soon caught, but they chose to feed him and put him to work. Suddenly he had a home and food. While it came with a lot of work, he soon gravitated to the jobs that let him stay close enough to hear the lessons. After hours, he'd read in the library. He was giddy with access to so much knowledge. He had always been clever, but now there was so much information to absorb.
But he wasn't the only one sneaking around at night. Ainsworth and his friends enjoyed late night strolls and the opportunities for mischief that entailed. One fateful evening, they ran into each other in the halls. Osbert as a servant borrowing several books, Ainsworth and crew with a duck, attempting to pick the lock to the Headmaster's office. Both sides froze, obviously scared to be caught. A long silent minute went by before Jake offered, "It's a Chubb lock, you'll never pick it. But he has a dumbwaiter to send up his tea from the kitchen. You could do that."
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Jake knew the hidden parts of the school and could play pranks while everybody was in class. They introduced Jake to the finer life. Their piece de resistance was sneaking transfer paperwork into the office and setting up Jake as a student. It took a crash course in the accent and mannerisms of the wealthy, but they pulled it off. He spent most of the year actually studying and living it up. The servants all knew Jake wasn't supposed to be there, but they hoped he'd be able to live up to his potential.
Sadly, nobody had thought to fake records of payment to the school. That was how this was found out and Jake was sent to prison for fraud. He never told on his accomplices.
Prison was awful, but also an education. There were real criminals her and Jake was easy to get along with. Soon he knew about dozens of underworld professions. After ten years, he was released as an adult. At first he grifted and stole, but he didn't enjoy this. This was when he learned the arts of illusion. It took many more years to work his way up, but eventually he became the Awesome Oswynn.
After a while, he tracked down his old friends and arranged to get them tickets to one of his performances. Passed on through business acquaintances, friends and such. He began the performance by dedicating it to "old friends, the kind you think of fondly despite having lost touch over the years." During the performance, he dropped hints and catchphrases and nicknames that they had used as children. One of the tricks involved a duck that replaced a tea service. Another involved a school tie from Marlbridge.
After the show, the group came backstage. They seemed shocked to see each other there. At which point Oswynn appeared among them and a wonderful night was had.
Of course Ainsworth invited him to his upcoming party.
Oh, and confirming that this game does not use elephant in the room.
Oh, and confirming that this game does not use elephant in the room.
Under Character creation: house rules the GM has them listed as 'implemented.'
OH and Dot....
Firearms are heavily discouraged, but not outright denied.
Curious, I was thinking a Scottish officer home on medical leave. Obviously a military officer of that era would carry revolver and sword. Any chance the firearms Just Don't Work? in the fey realm?
Doh... Searching with the spoiler closed.
Firearms are heavily discouraged, but not outright denied.Curious, I was thinking a Scottish officer home on medical leave. Obviously a military officer of that era would carry revolver and sword. Any chance the firearms Just Don't Work? in the fey realm?
In the other thread I asked about firearms and was told they're common in the mundane world but not on the Dreamworld. Since there's where 85% of the action is happening, then yeah, I guess they're not adviced.
So it seems a few errors did make it in the recruitment despite going back over the draft for it almost a dozen times. It really is true what they say: you can stare at something so long that you can fail to notice the obvious and a second pair of eyes can help point these things out. There are a few points that need correction, after which I will address everyone's individual posts.
First on the list of corrections is regarding Spheres. I had originally listed every Sphere and diligently went through them to make sure they were okay for this game. Those with nothing that needed banning were removed from the list, while those that did were left on it. I had meant to create a separate section for the ones- Alchemy and Equipment- that were not banned wholesale, but had talents that I meant to ban; things happened and I forgot to work on that. So let me clarify: Alchemy and Equipment are not banned wholesale. There are a few talents that are banned from those two Spheres, however: out of Alchemy, banned talents include Habit Forming, Aligned Liquid, Instant Foam, Aboleth Mucus, Aging Toxin, Petrifying Poison, and Witch Doctor's Curse; out of Equipment, banned talents include Particle Blade Emulation and Techmaniac. I apologize for this error.
Next on the list of corrections is regarding crafting. Magic item crafting is what I meant to ban, but a lack of clarification may make people think otherwise. For clarity's sake, I am only banning magic item crafting; mundane item crafting and crafting necessary for class features such as alchemy are not an issue.
Last on the list of corrections is a small clarification on the extra RP used to build characters. The only limitations players have when selecting new racial traits is what I mentioned in that section. Race requirements are absolutely not a limitation unless they already violate the existing rule of not blatantly changing the Dreamwalker's form.
There is one addition that needed inclusion as well and I somehow missed adding it into the recruitment: Players may ignore one, and only one, instance of class ability replacement by an archetype. The price for this is either one feat for majority of these potential replacements or three when it concerns those that would replace one of a class's primary abilities (e.g. an Alchemist's Bomb or a Paladin's Smite Evil). My general rule with this is that anything not listed on the list of Variant Multiclass features- except for capstones- is one feat, while those that are and capstones are three feats.
Now that those corrections have been issued, it's time to answer some questions.
Super interested in this. Given the alignment changes, I kind of want to do something nuts like a Monk/Barbarian or Paladin/Antipaladin. I probably won’t, though. Speaking of antipaladins, though, would the feat Necromantic Affinity be allowed? It’d be nice for someone who uses negative energy to be able to heal himself, but given the discouragement of undead-type stuff I wanted to check to be sure.
Necromantic Affinity is cleared for use. I just didn't want PCs turning into actual undead themselves; merely growing closer to death or even creating undead is not an issue for me.
I know we’re not in Golarion, but I think I may take inspiration from Count Ranalc and but something focused on the more shadowy side of the fae. Probably. But what that means exactly, I’m not sure yet.
Please let me know if you need assistance with that, especially if you need help in deciding what fey species you want as your Othersoul; there are a number of options I could list off the top of my head.
Regarding race and the extra race points, I bet they come always be invested in traits requiring Human, Fey or those without prerequisites, yeah? No gnomes, elves or whatever.
Thank you for requesting clarification with this. I have answered it in this post for clarity's sake.
Also, I'm guessing no different Ability distribution is allowed (as in, Humans get Human Heritage for 0 points, they can't change it to any other by paying the cost, yeah?).
No racial ability score distribution changes are allowed, although you may take the individual racial traits that boost the ability scores. The reason for the former is because the RP is for extra abilities to be gained upon awakening as a dreamwalker; allowing the base ability score distribution to be changed is altering an existing feature, not adding a new one, and might result in changes that require abstract explanations to justify them.
Uh- So do we exchange martial traditions for Martial weapon proficiency? Because Equipment is basically the default sphere and is in literally every martial tradition save for *three.*
Thank you for bringing this up, as that was an error on my part. It has been rectified earlier in this post and I have also given an explanation for how such a gaff found it's way into this recruitment.
Also, why the bias against Trap sphere? Is it because it's probably one of the largest enabling spheres in the system?
As reductive as I realize it may sound, the banning of the Trap Sphere was nothing more than one of personal taste for this game; you may remember from the Kisarta recruitment that it was cleared for use there with no issue. I normally do not have a problem with it, yet it for some reason felt 'off' when considering it for this game.
One thing I noticed missing that didn’t carry over from your Kisarta recruitment rules is the using a feat to offset stacking archetypes rule. I have a plan for a Druid that takes the Feyspeaker and Menhir Savant archetypes, but they both alter Nature Sense. Can we use a feat to balance that out?
Thank you very much for asking that, as I am sure that will be heavily requested and the fact that I did not think to include it is baffling. It is added as of this post and the details for how it works is appended to this post.
I had a big game hunter that went after cryptids in another fey themed game, I might rebuild him for this! Would that be feasible for the amount of magic in the world? I had imagined mostly “grounded” cryptids as it were, things like mokele-mbembe or Bigfoot.
It would be feasible- and interesting- on a conceptual level, but I would prefer if he never managed to find a cryptid as of the start of this game. Maybe he found 'clues' that could be easily dismissed as utter nonsense by the majority of 'rational society'. It would be interesting seeing how he reacts upon being vindicated in his belief that cryptids not only exist, but go far beyond the established folklore and conspiracy theories surrounding them; the very fact that dreamwalkers themselves are cryptids of a sort will serve as the cherry atop this delicious cake of irony when that truth is revealed.
Been out and about all day so I haven’t built anything mechanically, but my history degree is showing: I decided my character will have served in the British Army, and every spare moment today I’ve been looking at which unit he would’ve been in, what rank he should’ve held, campaigns and battles he might have fought in, who he might have served with, etc.
A fellow history enthusiast is always welcome in games like this! It may seem dry to other people, but there's something special about digging deep into history and figuring out how to splice a fictional character into it in an organic fashion.
Okay, here's my background. There is an obvious hook for people that would have gone to a fancy public school. (In England Public Schools are actually private schools, many of them boarding schools)
That was fast! I suppose I should expect that though, given how quickly and diligently you worked on characters for the Kisarta game. I quite like Jake/Awesome Oswynn's background and the fact that he was once in prison gives me a potential angle to explore once the campaign reaches the year 1888.
Curious, I was thinking a Scottish officer home on medical leave. Obviously a military officer of that era would carry revolver and sword. Any chance the firearms Just Don't Work? in the fey realm?
Firearms do in fact work in the Twilight Worlds. My line in the original post about heavily discouraging, but not banning, firearms is because I do not want them everywhere, given the nature and themes of the campaign; I would like a good portion of the party to rely on more antiquated or mystical options as opposed to more modern ones for the sake of aesthetics. Moreover, although you can shape your Faerie Regalia into the form of a firearm and have infinite basic ammunition for it, there will not be much support for firearm use within the Twilight Worlds since gremlins are some of the few fey who have any interest in technology and theirs tends to produce... mishaps. As a result, magic item support for firearms will be limited to your Curio and what ridiculously rare items you can find in the Divided Kingdom of Nibiru and the Goblin Markets.
I was part of the same game as Simeon and was interested in reviving my character from it as well, a smooth talking American ultra-capitalist with a glass arm and a pistol (alias shown)
Well, I'm sure Lionel would love to butt heads with Cassius about industry versus nature and trade stories with Angus again.
Please let me know if you need assistance with that, especially if you need help in deciding what fey species you want as your Othersoul; there are a number of options I could list off the top of my head.
Thanks. As I'm building him to the setting, he's evolving more into a fencer than someone who manipulates light and shadow all that much, so I might go a somewhat different direction. (Count Ranalc's favored weapon is the Rapier, it still fits!) Even so, Ankou and Svartalfar are the two I had my eye on most, but I'm open to other possibilities.
I'm looking at probably Paladin/Monk, so I also need to get with you on a Code.
Also, how would the Faerie Regalia armor work with Monk? (I fully expect the answer to be along the lines of "Hey dummy, you're a Monk, you don't get armor, enjoy your fancy robes." but there's no reason not to ask, right? lol)
Looking into the Spheres of Power Shifter as opposed to the Druid, and was curious about when the feat used to combine two archetypes that replace the same ability would need to be spent.
Apex Shifter and Fey Incarnate both alter the 20th level capstone, do I need to spend a feat to be able to take both now, or at level 20? Three feats is a heavy price for something I won’t even notice the overlap on until 20th level, so I’ll probably have to decide on one or the other if that’s the case.
This looks really interesting to me; I've always been a fan of Changeling. I'll give some thought to a character application. I, too, adore history as I cut my teeth on Ars Magica and love researching details about the setting, especially when it is so readily available. I'm thinking of a female doctor/surgeon (one of the Edinburgh Seven) with a Doyle-like interest in investigating the supernatural, and a "dark passenger" side of her psyche that is both horrifying and compelling to her.
Hey Seer, thanks for rebooting this!
I too will be revising and revisitng an older character concept, except she's from a Hunter the Vigil game:
Talia was a witch with two very interesting bloodlines, as she was descendant from Morgan le Fay on one side, and on the other, had a high priestess of Hecate in her family tree.
There's some other interesting and fun tidbits in her lore, but those are the main hallmarks.
Nationality wise, she's part Irish, part Scottish, and part Greek.
Okay so I thought on using the Spell -Like Ability racial trait to get Divine Favour (which will be renamed Irish Luck).
Thing is, it seems the costs are a bit weird. You can get it 1/day for 1 point, 2/day for 2 points and 3/day for 3 points. But then you can get it at-will for 2 points.
I was going to grab the 3/day but... It seems like a waste. On the other hand, at-will Divine Favor for 2 points seems a bit too much, or?
Okay so I thought on using the Spell -Like Ability racial trait to get Divine Favour (which will be renamed Irish Luck).
Thing is, it seems the costs are a bit weird. You can get it 1/day for 1 point, 2/day for 2 points and 3/day for 3 points. But then you can get it at-will for 2 points.
I was going to grab the 3/day but... It seems like a waste. On the other hand, at-will Divine Favor for 2 points seems a bit too much, or?
I'm not the GM, but given that it's only a minute duration I don't think it's too overpowering.
Lucky number is another interesting luck spell. You roll a die and when that number comes up next during that day you get to reroll it or get a +2 bonus. If you like your luck more random, this one works.
Would the Spheres of Power Shifter’s shifting abilities qualify me for the Natural Spell feat? I couldn’t find anything on it counting as wild shape, but it seems silly for it not to.
Okay so I thought on using the Spell -Like Ability racial trait to get Divine Favour (which will be renamed Irish Luck).
Thing is, it seems the costs are a bit weird. You can get it 1/day for 1 point, 2/day for 2 points and 3/day for 3 points. But then you can get it at-will for 2 points.
I was going to grab the 3/day but... It seems like a waste. On the other hand, at-will Divine Favor for 2 points seems a bit too much, or?
I'm not the GM, but given that it's only a minute duration I don't think it's too overpowering.
Lucky number is another interesting luck spell. You roll a die and when that number comes up next during that day you get to reroll it or get a +2 bonus. If you like your luck more random, this one works.
Could also steal the Halfling Luck trait, or one of its alternates (or both and!). None of those require the sort of physical alteration that would rule them out. Could also take a Luckstone for your special item.
Okay, here's my first draft of Oswynn.
The Awesome Oswynn
Dreamwalker fey adept (unseelie disciple) 7/symbiat (operative) 7/gestalt 7
None Medium fey (human)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 90 ft., low-light vision, truesight; Perception +19
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Defense
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AC 25, touch 24, flat-footed 21 (+1 deflection, +4 Dex, +2 enhancement, +1 natural, +7 untyped bonus)
hp 84 (7d8+28); fast healing 1
Fort +8, Ref +13, Will +10 (+2 vs. mind affecting)
Defensive Abilities danger sense +2, evasion, uncanny dodge; Resist negative energy 5; SR 18
Weaknesses consciousness linked, mental focus, passive telekinesis, personal warp, shaped divination
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee +2 liquid glass dagger +11 (1d4+3/19-20)
Special Attacks sneak attack +4d6
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 22, Wis 12, Cha 16
Base Atk +5.25; CMB +9; CMD 27
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Cantrips, Combat Expertise, Cunning Caster, Deadly Aim, Deceitful, Extra Magic Talent, Lurker In Darkness, Power Attack, Skillful Disappearance, Superpositioned, Tactile Illusion, Telekinetic Exoskeleton, Vudu
Traits meditative, trap finder, waking dreamer
Skills Acrobatics +19 (+23 to jump), Appraise +11, Bluff +18, Diplomacy +16, Disable Device +21, Disguise +18, Escape Artist +20, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (engineering) +13, Knowledge (history) +11, Knowledge (local) +16, Knowledge (nobility) +11, Perception +19, Perform (oratory) +16, Sense Motive +11, Sleight of Hand +19, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +22
Languages English, French, German, Greek, Latin, Russian, Sign Language, Welsh
SQ always ready, blindfolded oracle, casting, catch, complex illusion, decoy, divine, divine allegiance, divine force, divine illusions, divine warp, easy focus, exhausting strike, extradimensional storage, finesse, finesse weapon attack attribute, high speed, hostile glamers, hostile lift, illusion, illusionary disguise, illusionary odor, illusionary sound, illusionary touch (20 nonlethal dmg), minor figments, minor glamers, phantom pain, poltergeist -4, read magic, resilient momentum -6, rogue talent (trap spotter), steal (Steal/Disarm +14), suppression, sustained force, telekinesis (Max size Medium, Speed 25 ft), telekinetic tools, teleport, totem of tactical coordination, two minds, unseeing teleport, viewing
Curio Exquisite Tuxedo
• Boots of Elvenkind
• Circlet of Persuasion
• Cloak of Elvenkind
• Eyes of The Eagle
• Gloves of Larceny
• Illusion Implement +1
• Robe of Infinite Twine (Scarves)
• Sleeves of Many Garments
• Telekinesis Implement +1
• Vest of Escape
Gear Cards, juggling balls, Entertainer props, pocket watch, subversive vest, MW thieves' tools.
Wyld Shape An owl that appears all black. But spreading his wings reveals stars nestled among his feathers.
Othersoul Muse Ability TBD
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Special Abilities
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Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB
Always Ready (Ex) Use an illusion, trick, totem, or mandate as a move action; 2 SP to use an Illusion or War effect as an immediate action
Cantrips You can create a variety of small magical effects
Casting (CL 7, MSB +14, MSD 25, Concentration +20, DC 19) You can cast sphere effects.
Combat Expertise +/-2 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Consciousness Linked Your sphere effects end if you are unconscious or unable to take mental actions
Cunning Caster Use bluff skill to hide sphere effects from observers
Danger Sense +2 (Ex) +2 bonus on reflex saves and AC against traps.
Darkvision (90 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Deadly Aim -2/+4 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Death: Exhausting Strike (DC 19) Ghost strike causes target to be fatigued
Death: Poltergeist -4 Ghost strike attaches an angry spirit to target, causing them to take a penalty to 1 roll
Divination: Blindfolded Oracle You can gain Blindsense, or Blindsight for an extra spell point
Divination: Divine You can divine magical auras
Divination: Divine Allegiance Divine to determine which side of a conflict creatures within range are on
Divination: Divine Force Divine for incorporeal creatures
Divination: Divine Illusions You can divine for illusions
Divination: Divine Warp Divine for disturbances in space
Divination: Read Magic You can read and decipher magical writing
Divination: Viewing You can divine to view a remote location
Easy Focus Maintaining a sphere effect takes a move action instead of a standard action
Energy Resistance, Negative energy (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Negative Energy attacks.
Evasion (Ex) If succeed on Reflex save for half dam, take none instead.
Fast Healing 1 (Ex) Heal damage every round unless you are killed.
Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute Finesse weapons use Dexterity on attack rolls.
High Speed Pushed Movement is an (Ex) ability, but with a slower progression
Illusion: Complex Illusion Create illusions with multiple, independent components; or cast a glamer on multiple targets
Illusion: Decoy (DC 20) Create illusionary copies of a creature, with a variety of uses
Illusion: Hostile Glamers You can create glamers that affect the wearer
Illusion: Illusion (DC 20) Create illusions that may fool observers
Illusion: Illusionary Disguise (DC 20) Disguise creatures with your illusions
Illusion: Illusionary Odor Add scent or taste to your illusions
Illusion: Illusionary Sound Add sound to your illusions
Illusion: Illusionary Touch (20 nonlethal dmg) Create illusions that feel real to the touch
Illusion: Minor Figments You may create unconvincing figments
Illusion: Minor Glamers You may create minor changes to objects or creatures
Illusion: Phantom Pain Increase damage done by Illusionary Touch
Illusion: Suppression (DC 20) Create glamers that suppress senses
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Mental Focus (DC 23) You can lose mental focus, making it more difficult to use magic
Passive Telekinesis You may only use telekinesis with the Orbit ability
Personal Warp You may only teleport yourself
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Shaped Divination You can only divine targets in a cone area instead of a sphere
Skillful Disappearance Learn to use teleport with some finesse.
Sneak Attack +4d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Spell Resistance (18) You have Spell Resistance.
Superpositioned While suppressed, teleport self as a move action. You may leave a Decoy behind when you teleport
Tactile Illusion Illusions can exert force, support weight, and deal lethal damage
Telekinesis: Catch Stop a projectile or thrown object midair, preventing it from dealing damage (Will neg)
Telekinesis: Finesse You may use telekinesis to perform fine manipulations
Telekinesis: Hostile Lift (DC 20) Lift an unwilling creature with your telekinesis (Will neg.)
Telekinesis: Steal (Steal/Disarm +14) You may use telekinesis on attended objects, and perform steal or disarm maneuvers with it
Telekinesis: Sustained Force Maintain a lift without concentration, with the ability to obey simple orders
Telekinesis: Telekinesis (Max size Medium, Speed 25 ft, DC 20) You can move objects and creatures with your mind, with several applications
Telekinesis: Telekinetic Tools Use your telekinesis as a substitute for various tools
Telekinetic Exoskeleton (Dampening Field) Gain the benefit of one of three telekinetic enhancements
Trap Spotter (Ex) Whenever you come within 10' of a trap, the GM secretly rolls for you to find it.
Truesight (7 rounds, 1/day) (Sp) See through magical darkness, illusions, and other effects that hide the true nature of things
Two Minds (Ex) Roll twice on Will saves and take the better result
Uncanny Dodge (Ex) Retain DEX bonus to AC when flat-footed.
Vudu Your ghost strike deals Illusionary Touch damage. With Illusionary Disguise, your undead appear as they did in life
War: Resilient Momentum -6 Ally may spend 1 momentum to reduce damage by your CAM
War: Totem of Tactical Coordination Allies within totem do not risk harming each other with attacks, spells, or abilities
Warp: Extradimensional Storage (175 lbs.) You gain a permanent extradimensional space that may hold non-living material
Warp: Teleport (40 ft./170 ft.) You can teleport touched creature as a standard action
Warp: Unseeing Teleport Teleport without line of sight (1 SP)
Could also steal the Halfling Luck trait, or one of its alternates (or both and!). None of those require the sort of physical alteration that would rule them out. Could also take a Luckstone for your special item.I'm not the GM, but given that it's only a minute duration I don't think it's too overpowering.
Lucky number is another interesting luck spell. You roll a die and when that number comes up next during that day you get to reroll it or get a +2 bonus. If you like your luck more random, this one works.
My plan was to take one on top of the other, and make it a theme, yeah. Fate's Favored, of course, and whatever I can find.
Edit: just checked and the Lucky trait gives a Racial bonus. Not what I expected but well, we can still do something with it.
Don't forget the Fate's Favored trait. I may actually take that and the Luckstone myself. Good combo.
Before the recruitment goes further, I wanted to reiterate one point: everyone is a (fairly) normal human at the start of the game. It's only when they awaken as dreamwalkers that they really gain power; think of it like the circuit that closes the gap and allows an electrical current to power a light bulb. The connection dreamwalkers have with their othersoul goes through the Dreaming and that connection sparking enables them to draw on that power, boosting existing abilities to inhuman levels or giving them entirely new ones.
Since there are a lot of people in Reckless's 30th level gestalt recruitment that are also applying for this game, I am extending the deadline for applications in this game. That way, people do not feel compelled to choose between the two or, worse, sacrifice precious additional time outside of the forums that they may not really have to try and get both done in time, seeing as how both have fairly involved character creation processes. I do not know how long this recruitment will be extended as of yet, but I wanted to add this concession out of respect for the potential players of both games and Reckless alike.
I would also like to announce a change to the Faerie Regalia that those who cannot use armor will appreciate: dreamwalkers may shape the armor of their Faerie Regalia into clothing. This clothing has no statistics (AC, armor check penalty, weight, etc.) but functions as armor for the purposes of armor enchantments. It was my intention to add this to the original post, but it slipped my mind until Ouachitonian asked how the Faerie Regalia might work for the Monk class, if at all.
I was part of the same game as Simeon and was interested in reviving my character from it as well, a smooth talking American ultra-capitalist with a glass arm and a pistol (alias shown)
I took the liberty of reading Cassius's alias and in-game posts and, I must say, his colorful personality is very endearing! Between arguing over the primacy of humans vs cats with a talking cat and his glee every time a new venture opportunity arises, he has been a very entertaining read. I can only imagine his over-the-top reaction when he finds out what faerie gold is.
Och aye, thaur ur a coople ay us abit
I can actually make sense of that sentence, perhaps as a result of spending a good amount of time around someone with a thick Scottish accent. The only real difference is that his 'abit' sounded more like 'aboot', although that may have simply been a local inflection from wherever he was from before moving to the US.
Well, I'm sure Lionel would love to butt heads with Cassius about industry versus nature and trade stories with Angus again.
Lionel does seem to have a compelling view on the natural world and how it compares to the civilized one based on what I read from his alias and the campaign he played in. Despite being a rugged woodsman type, he seems to have comported himself well with the fey lady and isn't the typical asocial naturalist. Consider me intrigued.
I'm looking at probably Paladin/Monk, so I also need to get with you on a Code
Would you prefer handling that here or in private messages? I am fine with either.
Also, how would the Faerie Regalia armor work with Monk? (I fully expect the answer to be along the lines of "Hey dummy, you're a Monk, you don't get armor, enjoy your fancy robes." but there's no reason not to ask, right? lol)
That would be a reasonable assumption if I was anything like a 'normal' GM; I am, however, nothing of the sort. Because I wanted to ensure classes who do not rely on armor get some use out of the Faerie Regalia, it was originally intended that a form the armor section could be formed into clothing. Such clothing has no statistics, but could be granted enhancements as if it was actually armor. It seems that I forgot to implement this, which is something that is being corrected as of this post.
Apex Shifter and Fey Incarnate both alter the 20th level capstone, do I need to spend a feat to be able to take both now, or at level 20? Three feats is a heavy price for something I won’t even notice the overlap on until 20th level, so I’ll probably have to decide on one or the other if that’s the case.
The way 'feat fees' work is that they are all taken at once. This is to avoid someone accidentally forgetting to save up the amount of feats needed to pay for a given conflicting archetype replacement.
I'm thinking of a female doctor/surgeon (one of the Edinburgh Seven) with a Doyle-like interest in investigating the supernatural, and a "dark passenger" side of her psyche that is both horrifying and compelling to her.
I will admit to being intrigued! A doctor with a burning sense of curiosity and a dark passenger like that from the Dexter series sounds very interesting. Consider my interest piqued; I look forward to seeing where you go with that.
Talia was a witch with two very interesting bloodlines, as she was descendant from Morgan le Fay on one side, and on the other, had a high priestess of Hecate in her family tree.
There's some other interesting and fun tidbits in her lore, but those are the main hallmarks.
Nationality wise, she's part Irish, part Scottish, and part Greek.
I am intrigued by the Morgan le Fay connection! After all, Morgan was the faerie queen/steward of Avalon in Arthurian legend.
Okay so I thought on using the Spell -Like Ability racial trait to get Divine Favour (which will be renamed Irish Luck).
Thing is, it seems the costs are a bit weird. You can get it 1/day for 1 point, 2/day for 2 points and 3/day for 3 points. But then you can get it at-will for 2 points.
I was going to grab the 3/day but... It seems like a waste. On the other hand, at-will Divine Favor for 2 points seems a bit too much, or?
RP costs have always had shaky foundations, so I understand your trepidition. That said, at-will Divine Favor isn't game-breaking by any stretch of the imagination and I have no issues with it.
and do we still get the +2 to one stat as a human? or does the +4 and +2, +2 replace it...sorry if a dumb question...
You get both. The +2 bonus is from your actual human race, while the primary and secondary ability score bonuses are just something I like to include for gestalt builds to help enable multiple ability score-dependent builds that would otherwise be left in the dust.
Would the Spheres of Power Shifter’s shifting abilities qualify me for the Natural Spell feat? I couldn’t find anything on it counting as wild shape, but it seems silly for it not to.
I have always considered the SoP shifting abilities to count as Wild Shape, so I would rule that yes they do qualify you for the Natural Spell feat.
Dreamwalker fey adept (unseelie disciple) 7/symbiat (operative) 7/gestalt 7
...
Medium fey (human)
Dreamwalkers still have Human as their race and Humanoid (Human) as their actual type; the Feyblooded ability from the template just makes them count as also being Fey for the purposes of spells and abilities. Other than those two misunderstandings, nothing seems to stand out as needing correction.
Curio Exquisite Tuxedo
It may be to your benefit to see my ruling earlier in this post on Faerie Regalia, particularly as it pertains to having a 'clothing form'. It's just a suggestion that could give you a boost, although it would likely require you to change your Curio to another item. This is ultimately just a suggestion on my part though and you don't have to make the change if it doesn't appeal to you.
Question: I noticed among the Monk bonus feats Intimidating Prowess. Now, my Dex based Monk would get absolutely no benefit from that, I have a Strength of 11, Dex maxed out at 24. Literally the only 3PP option I took was the PoW Dex-to-Damage feat Deadly Agility. So...can I read it more broadly as "apply your damage stat to Intimidate"? I mean, it is really intimidating how he can skewer that Irishman across the bar through whichever freckle you please, while the guy is trying to dodge.
As for a code, it might make more sense to discuss it here, so that anyone else looking at something similar can have an example.
Oh, one more question, given the deity-less state of the game: can I take Crusader's Flurry, which usually requires a deity's favored weapon? In this case he's a fencing instructor, who is scary good with a rapier. I'm not wanting to flurry with a greataxe or anything.
How would you treat inhebriation in terms of resistances? Is it a poison? a drug? both? I'm trying to pick a racial trait to increase alcohol resistance but I can't find nothing (other than increasing Fort saves).
Philo Pharynx wrote:
Curio Exquisite Tuxedo
It may be to your benefit to see my ruling earlier in this post on Faerie Regalia, particularly as it pertains to having a 'clothing form'. It's just a suggestion that could give you a boost, although it would likely require you to change your Curio to another item. This is ultimately just a suggestion on my part though and you don't have to make the change if it doesn't appeal to you.
Could I have them bee the same? Or have one be the jacket and the other everything underneath? I do like having my clothes be my curio.
Am am also inordinately proud of how much of my character's choices can be useful for performing as well as being useful for adventuring.
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Starting in Victorian era earth alone inspires so many cool character ideas!
One of the top contenders in my mind right now is British-born Elizabeth, an archeologist/anthropologist/naturalist and part-time university professor inspired by the great explorers and anthropologists of the 19th century like David Livingstone, Richard Burton, Nellie Bly, and Alfred Wallace, as well as drawing inspiration from fiction like the Mummy films and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Mechanically, something like a Brawler//Investigator that uses Improvised Weapons to smack bad guys with her surveying equipment.
Another is the American Kraig. Tallest man in the world. Strongest man in the world. Owns a brewery that makes the best drinks in the world. Big and boisterous, always ready for an adventure, but a kind gentleman at heart. There's not much to say about Kraig, really. He's a simple guy. Mechanically, Barfighter Archetype Striker from SoP, along with something that can pass out buffs in drink form. Alchemist, Cleric into Brewmaster PrC, or maybe something from SoP.
It'll be difficult to narrow down to a single one I want to submit.
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@ Crisischild, I really love both of those concepts! They sound like a lot of fun!
@ Seer, as I've been reading over these characters, and while thinking about my own, it struck me that most/all of us should have some sort of profession or means to earn money. We might also want a few skills to help us to do our jobs better.
In another game, the GM has something he calls the Background skill. It combines any 5 of craft, perform, or profession skills into one. Ie, if you're a brewmaster, you might have Craft(beer), Profession(brewer) and then maybe Perform(sing), and two others. Instead of spending skill points on 5 different skills, you spend one.
This would be in addition to using the Background skills optional rule, meaning you could spend 1 of those points on Background(getting your five skills) and the other point on say Linguistics.
Also, I don't suppose there's any possible way I could somehow gain just the class features of a 3rd class, is there? A quasi tristalt would allow for a near perfect build.
I know that's a pretty big ask, but I figure I might as well shoot my shot, and see if I hit it out of the park, lol
One thing that's not clear to me is if you would allow Cash to keep his glass arm in the real world even tho it comes from a class feature in Constructed Pugilist (and gains its special material thru a charitable read on two of his traits). Would it just lack its special properties in the real world but gain them in the Dreaming? I'm very attached to the aesthetic of this older man with his working glass arm.
My operating thought for the connection between Cash and the Ainsworths is that they worked together on creating the substance, it proved too volatile for mass distribution, exploding and badly maiming Cash, who took what was left and fashioned himself his arm to replace the one lost in the explosion. In the time since, he's been trying to convince the Ainsworths to sell him their half of the recipe but they believe it too dangerous seeing as he was left armless and eyeless
Two more questions.
1. How do classes with spellbooks/familiars that grant spells known (wizard/witch) pay for new spells to be added to their source? Is that out of the Curio gold?
2. When the curio says “wondrous items”, is that specially the non-slotted wondrous items, or can we get the effects of rings, necklaces, etc from that pool?
Question: I noticed among the Monk bonus feats Intimidating Prowess. Now, my Dex based Monk would get absolutely no benefit from that, I have a Strength of 11, Dex maxed out at 24. Literally the only 3PP option I took was the PoW Dex-to-Damage feat Deadly Agility. So...can I read it more broadly as "apply your damage stat to Intimidate"? I mean, it is really intimidating how he can skewer that Irishman across the bar through whichever freckle you please, while the guy is trying to dodge.
I would allow that.
Oh, one more question, given the deity-less state of the game: can I take Crusader's Flurry, which usually requires a deity's favored weapon? In this case he's a fencing instructor, who is scary good with a rapier.
That is perfectly acceptable.
How would you treat inhebriation in terms of resistances? Is it a poison? a drug? both? I'm trying to pick a racial trait to increase alcohol resistance but I can't find nothing (other than increasing Fort saves).
The official rules classify alcohol as a specialized poison.
Could I have them bee the same? Or have one be the jacket and the other everything underneath? I do like having my clothes be my curio.
The Faerie Regalia is something you create and manifest with your essence, whereas the Curio is an item on your person that was imbued with power; this makes them fundamentally different objects. I don't mind if you were to rule the curio is just the jacket, a tophat, etc and your regalia is everything else in the ensemble. I only mentioned what I did so that you didn't inadvertently miss out on the full usage of both.
Starting in Victorian era earth alone inspires so many cool character ideas!
One of the top contenders in my mind right now is British-born Elizabeth, an archeologist/anthropologist/naturalist and part-time university professor inspired by the great explorers and anthropologists of the 19th century like David Livingstone, Richard Burton, Nellie Bly, and Alfred Wallace, as well as drawing inspiration from fiction like the Mummy films and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Mechanically, something like a Brawler//Investigator that uses Improvised Weapons to smack bad guys with her surveying equipment.
Another is the American Kraig. Tallest man in the world. Strongest man in the world. Owns a brewery that makes the best drinks in the world. Big and boisterous, always ready for an adventure, but a kind gentleman at heart. There's not much to say about Kraig, really. He's a simple guy. Mechanically, Barfighter Archetype Striker from SoP, along with something that can pass out buffs in drink form. Alchemist, Cleric into Brewmaster PrC, or maybe something from SoP.
It'll be difficult to narrow down to a single one I want to submit.
Both of those could be interesting depending on the finer details of their backstory and build.
In another game, the GM has something he calls the Background skill. It combines any 5 of craft, perform, or profession skills into one. Ie, if you're a brewmaster, you might have Craft(beer), Profession(brewer) and then maybe Perform(sing), and two others. Instead of spending skill points on 5 different skills, you spend one.
This would be in addition to using the Background skills optional rule, meaning you could spend 1 of those points on Background(getting your five skills) and the other point on say Linguistics.
I will allow that, but it will take up one of your Background Skills.
Also, I don't suppose there's any possible way I could somehow gain just the class features of a 3rd class, is there? A quasi tristalt would allow for a near perfect build.
VMC normally exchanges a few feats for the core features of a given class. I am willing to rule that you can exchange 12 feats for the class features of a single class in a similar fashion.
me again...since crafting is a no go, does that include Scribe Scroll? I assume it does. what could be an alternative class feature to replace that?
The ban on magical crafting does include scrolls. Any instances of a class gaining Scribe Scroll will instead grant a bonus feat in it's place.
One thing that's not clear to me is if you would allow Cash to keep his glass arm in the real world even tho it comes from a class feature in Constructed Pugilist (and gains its special material thru a charitable read on two of his traits). Would it just lack its special properties in the real world but gain them in the Dreaming? I'm very attached to the aesthetic of this older man with his working glass arm.
I see no issue with a somewhat-functional glass prosthetic; there were actually a number of similarly eccentric artificial limbs from the Victorian Era. It would only gain the full functionality listed under Constructed Pugilist after your character awakens as a dreamwalker, of course, but that will happen within the prologue of the campaign.
1. How do classes with spellbooks/familiars that grant spells known (wizard/witch) pay for new spells to be added to their source? Is that out of the Curio gold?
I actually never gave much thought to that aspect, I am ashamed to admit, but using effective Curio GP is an acceptable method for handling that.
2. When the curio says “wondrous items”, is that specially the non-slotted wondrous items, or can we get the effects of rings, necklaces, etc from that pool?
Everything that is listed under Wondrous Items on the Archives of Nethys is fair game. Here is a link to the page for reference.
Philo Pharynx wrote:
Could I have them bee the same? Or have one be the jacket and the other everything underneath? I do like having my clothes be my curio.
The Faerie Regalia is something you create and manifest with your essence, whereas the Curio is an item on your person that was imbued with power; this makes them fundamentally different objects. I don't mind if you were to rule the curio is just the jacket, a tophat, etc and your regalia is everything else in the ensemble. I only mentioned what I did so that you didn't inadvertently miss out on the full usage of both.
Okay, I'll use the Tuxedo as the curio and the regalia being the cape and top hat.
Presenting Lionel Ravenstone, minor noble, expert survivalist, and unrelenting cryptid seeker!
Lionel Ravenstone
Human investigator (cryptid scholar, natural philosopher)/ranger (trophy hunter, trapper) 7
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +14
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 11 (+1 deflection, +5 Dex)
hp 105 (7d10+28)
Fort +6, Ref +11, Will +9; +2 trait bonus against fear while you have a firearm drawn
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks deeds (quick clear, dead shot), favored enemies (fey +4, magical beasts +2), grit (5)
Investigator (Cryptid Scholar, Natural Philosopher) Extracts Prepared (CL 7th; concentration +12)
. . 3rd—fly, heroism
. . 2nd—barkskin (2), blur, cure moderate wounds
. . 1st—cure light wounds, endure elements, heightened awareness[ACG] (2), shield (2)
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 20, Con 10, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 17
Base Atk +7; CMB +12; CMD 23
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Amateur Gunslinger[UC], Combat Expertise, Deadly Agility, Deadly Aim, Endurance, Extra Grit[UC], Extra Investigator Talent[ACG], Extra Investigator Talent[ACG], Focused Shot[APG], Power Attack, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot
Traits armed grit, frontier-forged (any frontier area), weathered emissary
Skills Craft (traps) +11, Diplomacy +13, Disable Device +18, Handle Animal +8, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +15, Knowledge (engineering) +10, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (history) +10, Knowledge (local) +15, Knowledge (nature) +15, Knowledge (planes) +15, Knowledge (religion) +15, Linguistics +11, Perception +14, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +15, Survival +14 (+15 to get along in the wild)
Languages Common
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +7), favored terrain (forest +2), finesse weapon attack attribute, firearm style ability (deed: dead shot[UC]), herbalism +3, hunter's aim, improved tracking, intuitive monster lore, investigator talents (expanded inspiration[ACG], fast stealth, infusion, intelligence inspiration[ACG], mutagen[UM]), keen recollection, knowledgeable strike, mutagen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 70 minutes), natural philosopher’s inspiration (8/day), opportune advice, swift alchemy, track +5, trap 6/day (penetrating, snare, wounding), trapfinding +3, woodland stride
Other Gear investigator starting formula book
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Special Abilities
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Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB
Alchemy +7 (Su) +7 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Amateur Gunslinger Although you are not a gunslinger, you have and can use grit.
Combat Expertise +/-2 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Deadly Agility Use Dex for damage with light and finesse weapons
Deadly Aim -2/+4 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Deed: Dead Shot (Ex) Use 1 grit, all att rolls vs. 1 foe, hit if any of them do, higher dam with more hits.
Deeds
Endurance +4 to a variety of fort saves, skill and ability checks. Sleep in L/M armor with no fatigue.
Expanded Inspiration (Ex) Free Inspiration on Diplomacy, Heal, Perception, Profession, Sense Motive (if trained).
Fast Stealth (Ex) Move at full speed while using the Stealth skill at no penalty.
Favored Enemy (Fey +2) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs. fey foes.
Favored Enemy (Magical Beasts +4) (Ex) +4 to rolls vs. magical beasts foes.
Favored Terrain (Forest +2) (Ex) +2 to rolls when in forest terrain.
Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute Finesse weapons use Dexterity on attack rolls.
Focused Shot +5 Make a ranged attack, adding your INT modifier to the damage roll as precision damage.
Herbalism +3 (Su) Use Knowledge (nature) in place of Craft (alchemy) and Profession (herbalist) checks.
Hunter's Aim (Ex) Can use firearms to make touch attack vs. favored enemies for 1 extra range increment.
Improved Tracking (Ex) Can make a DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check to learn type/condition of tracked creatures.
Infusion Create an extract can be used by anyone but takes up a slot until used.
Intelligence Inspiration (Ex) Free Inspiration with Knowledge, Linguistics, Spellcraft even when untrained.
Intuitive Monster Lore +3 (Ex) Add Wis mod to knowledge checks to ID foes.
Keen Recollection At 3rd level, an investigator can attempt all Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Knowledgeable Strike +1d6 (Ex) As a move action end advice and deal extra dam vs. foe type for 1 rd.
Mutagen This discovery gives the alchemist the mutagen class ability, as described in the Advanced Player's Guide. (This discovery exists so alchemist archetypes who have variant mutagens, such as the mindchemist, can learn how to make standard mutage
Mutagen (DC 18) (Su) Mutagen adds +4/-2 to physical/mental attributes, and +2 nat. armor for 70 minutes.
Natural Philosopher’s Inspiration (+1d6, 8/day) (Ex) Use 1 point, +1d6 to trained skill or ability check. Use 2 points, to add to attack or save.
Opportune Advice +1 (5 rounds) (Ex) As a move action when ID monster, allies in 30 ft gain +1 AC and saves vs. them.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into melee.
Rapid Reload (Rifle) You can reload fast with one type of Crossbow or Firearm.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Swift Alchemy (Ex) Construct alchemical items in half the normal time.
Track +5 Add the listed bonus to Survival checks made to track.
Trap (6/day, DC 16) Learn to create traps.
Trapfinding +3 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Woodland Stride (Ex) Move through undergrowth at normal speed.
Lionel Ravenstone was born in 1849 to a well-to-do family in the lower aristocracy a ways outside of Birmingham. He excelled in his studies as a boy and had a special passion for the tales of the great beasts that lurked in the dark corners of the world, learning all he could about them. His life changed dramatically when he took part in his first hunt at the age of 13. His father, grandfather, and older brothers were all prolific hunters, and he was inducted into the family tradition. They rode their manor’s wood on horseback, looking for deer and foxes. It was a crisp autumn morning and even now, Lionel fondly remembers most every detail of that day. He had found another great passion, one that unbeknownst to him at the time, his life would grow to revolve around.
He took to hunting as naturally as a fish takes to water. The courtly ways of hunting soon proved boring to him, and he spent a few months in the Scottish highlands learning to truly hunt from the rugged trappers and hunters that made their homes there. As the youngest son of a wealthy family, he had all the money he could wish for and none of the expectations. He tracked tigers in Bangladesh with the help of a Bengali scout, hunted bison beside Comanche braves, even took down an elephant in the savannas of Kenya as part of a Maasai hunting party. He found that just as the hunt called to him, he also loved to learn from the native hunters he met in those far off places. He learned their skills, seeking to add them to his own. Even still, the tales of the monstrous beasts of legend that those other hunters told tales of dogged him as he drifted off to sleep each night. The animals of the wilds no longer challenged him. He needed more.
The dense forests of America’s Pacific Northwest held legends of the Sasquatch, and Lionel decided it would be his next target. The journey was long, and the American’s infrastructure was about as terrible as one would expect. It took nearly a month to get to Seattle and to hire a Salish hunter to act as a guide, and a month again to catch the beast’s trail that took him far south into the redwoods of California. Hot on the pursuit, he saw the great beast standing in a clearing. It turned and stared into his eyes, and Lionel lost all sense of time. The sasquatch was more than just a wild animal. It felt almost like an equal. He fumbled his rifle, dropping it into the mud and ferns. When he made ready to fire, the sasquatch was gone, leaving behind naught but a single great footprint and a clump of pungent red-orange fur. Though discouraged and a bit disturbed, Lionel knew he could not relent in his search for the mighty beings of folklore. He had to prove himself a hunter without equal. He searched for mokele-mbembe in the stifling heat of the Congo River basin, chased after rumors of thunderbirds in the Dakotas, rode alongside Mongol steppe herders in a nearly hopeless pursuit of the Gobi death worm. He never found them. He found fleeting traces of these creatures, a flash of a massive wing in a thunderstorm above the endless prairies or acid-scorched rocks on the expanse of the Gobi desert.
When he returned to England, dejected and discouraged, he found himself in a terrible slump. Nothing ignited his passion anymore. That was until the Ainsworths came calling. Their search for the unknown and forgotten needed assistance in the wild parts of the world, and his reputation as an expert survivalist with a thirst for finding the world’s stranger truths had reached them. He entered into their service, his rifle and keen mind cementing his value as an associate and his surprising geniality cementing his value as a friend.
Lionel is a tall, slim man with short salt-and-pepper hair. He tries to stay clean-shaven, but long days in search of prey often leaves him with stubble on his chin. One of his greatest pleasures when he stops through London is getting a full hot shave. He wears well-made khaki hunting clothes as well as a long leather duster and a cigarette almost perpetually smoldering in his mouth, both affects that he picked up from some cowboys he traveled with while chasing down a rumor of a chupacabra in the American southwest.
The wilderness is a harsh place where the strongest rise to the top. Lionel sees humans as a contender for the strongest creature the world has ever known. Mundane beasts stood no chance against his rifle, so he’s decided he will prove the superiority of humanity by finding the most magnificent beasts the world has to offer and killing them in spectacular fashion. He knows they exist with all his heart, and yet he cannot quite prove it. That sense of unease with his cause drives him. He is at once driven almost to the point of obsession by his quest for legendary beasts but also increasingly concerned he is simply losing his mind. Beyond his nearly all-consuming passion for the hunt, Lionel sees little use in the politicking of the Empire, no point in the Lords and their thirst for power. The rule of beasts is one of skill at arms and the hunt, after all. That said, Lionel thoroughly enjoys the comforts of civilization when he can indulge in them. A hot bath in his London townhouse and a trip to the social clubs never fails to satisfy him. While preferring the wilderness to the city, he is far from a recluse. Much of his hunting expertise has come from learning from others, and he delights in learning from others, especially those from cultures more connected to the wild places of the world than the English. The wilds are lovely, but without the people who live there, Lionel finds they feel rather hollow. Quite outgoing in his youth, years of disappointment have tempered his vigor. While tired and discouraged from his failures, he still draws his strength from the wilderness and the companions he travels it with.
This is Ouachitonian's submission, C. Lysander Fitzroy, Esquire. I tried to tie him into Philo's public school background, some real people and events of the era, and a certain other fictional franchise. Lysander fancies himself one of the best fencers in England. No one has yet proven him wrong.
Mechanically, he's a Monk(Scaled Fist/Weapon Adept)/Paladin(Virtuous Bravo) who specializes in the rapier (he can even flurry with it!). He's got more skill points than you'd expect from a pair of martial classes, though still fewer than I'd like. No spellcasting, but building him "in the real world" (more or less), I kind of naturally trended away from any caster classes (the Virtuous Bravo archetype gives up spells). All Dex all the time. Dex to everything! Lots of Charisma too, which is weird since I originally meant for him to be more of a High-INT build, but when you're half paladin and take the Scaled Fist monk archetype for synergy, what can you do, right? As for his racial modifications, I took Advanced ability scores (4 RP), See in Darkness (4 RP) and At-Will Spell-like Ability (Deeper Darkness, 6 RP). I belatedly realized that put me 1 over the allowed RP, and took the Light Sensitivity weakness (-1 RP). Those are pretty much all meant to set up his shadowy Othersoul connection (well, not Advanced stats, I just couldn't pass that one up). I spent one feat to get back Evasion, which one of my Monk archetypes gives up. Haven't decided on my item yet. Also, I have one trait left to assign (a previous version of the build had some energy resistance, and once I gave that up I was lost on what trait to replace it with. Might change his FCB to gain back resistances, actually). But I'm basically done.
We still need to work on that Code, and also possibly nail down his Othersoul (though that might could wait until later).
Having a second look at the rules I saw the following phrase (bold mine):
Disarmed or sundered weapons vanish immediately, as do thrown or projectile weapons without the Returning property after they hit their mark or miss.
So what if you have your own means of making a thrown weapon return to you (such as the Advance Weapon Training option or the Equipment Sphere talent)?
I've got an interesting question:
How do various dream/nightmare spells, class features, feats, etc work and interact with Dreamwalkers and the Dreaming?
Stats:
I spotted a slight error in your statblock: under your Special Attacks section, you have the Favored Enemy bonuses against Fey and Beasts at +4 and +2 respectively, but those bonuses are swapped under the Special Abilities section.
Background:
How long do you reckon that Lionel has been friends with- and retainer to- the Ainsworths? Assuming it has been for a decent period of time, then Lionel will have likely picked up that their research involves the folklore surrounding fantastical creatures, the arcane, and leylines. Regardless of those finer details, I quite like Lionel as a character and he seems to be a level-headed and down-to-earth sort who could play off the more eccentric characters very well.
This is Ouachitonian's submission, C. Lysander Fitzroy, Esquire. I tried to tie him into Philo's public school background, some real people and events of the era, and a certain other fictional franchise. Lysander fancies himself one of the best fencers in England. No one has yet proven him wrong.
I read through his alias and it was pleasant to spot so many historical and fictional references woven together. He's definitely an interesting character, flaws and all.
We still need to work on that Code, and also possibly nail down his Othersoul (though that might could wait until later).
I am ready to discuss these things whenever you are, though I would like to see what sorts of ideas you come up with for these two things since these should always be tailored to the character.
So what if you have your own means of making a thrown weapon return to you (such as the Advance Weapon Training option or the Equipment Sphere talent)?
That would likewise prevent the weapon(s) from disappearing so long as they do indeed make it back to you.
If they, for whatever reason, do not make it back to you, they will need to be resummoned. That should only occur in fringe corner cases, however, and are nothing that should be of immediate concern.
How do various dream/nightmare spells, class features, feats, etc work and interact with Dreamwalkers and the Dreaming?
That depends on the spell or ability in question and how it is used. Those can have such a wide range of effects that I cannot make a blanket ruling on how they interact or whether they even do.
This is Ouachitonian's submission, C. Lysander Fitzroy, Esquire. I tried to tie him into Philo's public school background, some real people and events of the era, and a certain other fictional franchise. Lysander fancies himself one of the best fencers in England. No one has yet proven him wrong.I read through his alias and it was pleasant to spot so many historical and fictional references woven together. He's definitely an interesting character, flaws and all.
Thank you sir!
We still need to work on that Code, and also possibly nail down his Othersoul (though that might could wait until later).I am ready to discuss these things whenever you are, though I would like to see what sorts of ideas you come up with for these two things since these should always be tailored to the character.
Ok, so. First off I updated him very slightly; added a fourth trait and changed one of his existing ones, and added his curio: the mangled bullet that Watson dug out of his chest after Maiwand, which he wears as an amulet for good luck (functions as a luckstone).
I suppose there's also the Vilderavn, which could also give inspiration for an animal form. Its Raven Knight ability is cool, but wrong for this character, and basically covered by Faerie Regalia anyway. Fate Warden is great but I'd need to rejigger my stats (or base it off of INT, maybe. I already get CHA to those stats and have no WIS bonus currently.). Blodbird is nice. Raven hexes don't really seem this character's style, nor do Shatter Loyalties or Soul Eater. Fly Speed, SLAs, DR, Sr, etc, all always helpful.
Fly might be especially important if he gets challenged to a duel by an opponent that can fly and has a ranged weapon. Then again, he might be able to weasel out of such a duel on the grounds that it isn't a match of equals. Then again, if you have to weasel out you're probably still in the wrong.
None quite fit the flavor of a duelist, these are all more sneaky assassin types. Like I said, I'm open to something different if you know one that might fit the flavor better. That might cause some reworking of other elements of the character though (thinking specifically of taking See in Darkness and Deeper Darkness with my bonus RP). i'm also not sure what power level tyou're looking for here exactly; should we be targeting something around our CR, or gradually growing into the power of something well above us?
Ok, like I said above, I don't see this character as a sneaky assassin type. He doesn't have rogue or slayer or assassin levels, no dice of sneak attack, etc. I did put some points in escape artist, stealth, and sleight of hand, but that was more because "Hey, Dex-based skills! I have all the Dex, may as well put a few points in them." It would probably make more sense for him to feel honor-bound never to attack a foe who is unarmed* or unaware of him, and perhaps to insist on solo fights as much as possible (of course, a foe may not cooperate on this last one). Never refusing a challenge from an equal should probably be in there ("from an equal" is important, he'll happily take help against Pit Fiends or Great Wyrms!). He is also very conscious of his social status, soo something like never wearing colors associated with royalty (purple comes to mind for our world, but if made aware of differing traditions among the fae he'd endeavour to follow them) and showing proper courtesy to those of higher rank (bowing, using proper titles, always standing when the Monarch enters the room, never turning his back to the Monarch, etc). Helping the weak and downtrodden (even if they don't see themselves as such), respecting and honouring women, etc would all make sense.
*Wizards with attack spells are armed, by Jove. Anyone who tries to ensorcel him or blow him up is a combatant and liable to get stabbed.
How much of this do you want from me, and how specific should we be? For the "equals" part should there be ooc qualifiers about CR or special abilities (like flight), or should it be all in-character? I figured I'd start by just brainstorming, but once we've narrowed things down a bit I can write out the whole thing for you to ok. Or you can write it out for me to ok, whichever you prefer.