Thanks, I will allow this applicant, even thought that makes 13. What branches is M'baba likely to follow at Magaambya? It's ok not to know at this point.
I am thinking Cascade Bearers/? for him. For the secondary I am still unsure.
Tindertwig is a unique concept. He is accepted as the 11th applicant to the game. Can you describe how he ended up with a gun? Also, which archetype do you plan to incorporate later, if known?Tindertwig is Goblin. An obvious choice for Background is Unsponsored. I find it funny that a Goblin Gunslinger would actually sign up for classes at some school he accidentally stumbled upon.
He would go Sun Mages and Uzunjati.
Thank you!
He actually will not be starting with a gun. He lost it. With the close proximity to Alkenstar, he should be able to purchase another in Natambu.
Definitely Wizard!
Kiyomi is an Ekujae elf who naturally feel into the way of the warrior mage. She is an Ekujae with the dragonborn heritage. She'll have the Cursed Family background.Not sure there is enough here to fulfill the requirements, but I will allow you to build on it and still be accepted. Can I assume the class is magus? it's not clear.
What is the archetype you plan to work to, and what branches of learning would Kiyomi follow at school?
Yes, magus, going into wizard and I'm not sure of my branches yet.
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Please take the next day or so to refine the concept (not necessarily the crunch, there will be time for that) and the backstory, incorporating the Background etc you selected. Inform us if there are material changes.
I expect to make final decisions on Friday.
Using the 'Ten minute background' (Actually takes me longer than that but hey) to fill out Ikto's concept and back story. If you prefer it in another way I'll try to get it done but it maybe a busy evening. Hope it at least fills his fluff out in ways you might find useful/interesting
EDIT: And, of course, the stuff mentioned in the spoilers is subject to your approval/tinkering etc and I can change anything that doesn't fit
“Write five background concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile, etc. Whatever you need to get an image in your mind. Five is just a minimum. More elements are encouraged!”
1) Ikto is a colorful fellow, literally. In his spider form he has brilliant almost cloud swirls of purple with edges of yellow gold to break it up, upon his short fur. When he takes on his human guise, these come across as tattoos cascading over obsidian hued skin. In both forms, he is shorter/smaller than average, but he is by no means stunted.
2) While many storm druids understand the 'fury of the storm', Ikto does not see it as angry so much as joyful. A storm is still dangerous and should be respected, but you could say the same about an Elephant dancing and the elephant is having a good time! So Ikto is prone to laugh at those moments of storm and actually enjoys them. He might even dance a bit himself.
3) While Ikto does not always feel he is an ideal Anadi (he is wise enough to know he is restless); as one, he has seen what can happen when people are vilified for being 'different', so he often is reluctant to accept labels at face value until he has learned more. If someone doesn't quite fit, he might be sympathetic.
4) Despite secret keeping himself, Ikto is not a great fan of mysteries but even less fond of ignorance in himself. These war at times and make him feel like a hypocrite. That said, when trusted with a secret from a friend, he will try to protect it as he protects his own.
5) Ikto isn't a fan of being weighted down. He's not that strong, and while no sprinter, he sees being slow and encumbered as a good way to get caught if there is trouble. Because of this, he often travels light unless he is sure things will be needed. He is delighted by items like bags of holding that seem to make things 'so easy'.
6) Though he is no Bard, Ikto is a good dancer, and loves doing so. He also has a surprisingly deep voice for such a short fellow and sings too. With practice he'd become decent at the drums. Thunder is a good teacher!
“List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be a short-term goal, while the other should be a long-term goal. In addition, you may include a personal goal you have as the player.”
1) Ikto's immediate goal will be easily reached with a bit of time, because he wants to go to the Magaambya and learn what it is like. He's heard stories, and hopes to see if the people there are as openminded and kind as stories say. Of course, this will lead to more frustration as he starts to dwell on WHY the Stranger wanted HIM here. Very suspicious!
2) Ikto longer term goal to find a way to channel his restless energy while helping create a safe locale for other Anadi, either at Magaambya, or maybe even in the city of Nantambu itself. If he can earn the trust of many before his secret is outed, he will have done some good. And perhaps even found a new home!
“List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one that involves him but that he is not aware of yet. This will help me create plots that center around your character. I will also create a third secret that you, as a player, will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!”
1) The Secret that Ikto knows- He's an Anadi, his very nature is a secret to most. Of course, he's going to a magic school where there are brilliant and curious minds so this may not last long. He also knows that someone is recruiting students, but without giving their name. Most curious and does the School know about that?
2) The Secret Ikto does not know- He's not the only Anadi in Nantambu. While some will welcome him happily, others will be very worried that he is not subtle enough to blend, and may bring doom on them all. They're not many, of course, just a handful, but even a city so enlightened might go on a witch hunt for spider-folk if things go wrong.
“Describe at least three people who are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, and one is hostile. If you like, you can also include an enemy of yours here, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.”
As Ikto is new to the school and town, this is a hard one to achieve, but if needed, here are some ideas.
1) (Friend) Marti Riverlaugh gave passage for the last leg of the journey to Ikto, on her small but tough rivership "The Joyful Wallow". Marti is a Zenj woman in her early fifties, and a Druid (likely of the water order). While she does not know Ikto is Anadi, she knows he's a bit odd but took a liking to him anyway. They also know each other to be druids and bonded over that. Nantambu is one of her favorite river ports and as she has gotten older she is considering sticking closer and closer to it.
2) (Friend) Paktu is an amurrun or Catfolk, while they're not unheard of in Nantambu, in the Mwangi expanse some consider them bad luck. This last is a bias Ikto does not share. Paktu is a street performer who juggles and more boasting how he had learned such magic at the great school. It was a lie, but it goet him unpleasant attention from Tbetang who deliberately tripped Paktu up. Whether HARM was meant to Paktu or not, the catfolk almost fell into the water near a mill that would have hurt him badly. Ikto managed to prevent this, barely, and the Street performer told Ikto they were now good friends. Ikto allowed this dubious honor.
3) (Enemy) The aforementioned Tbetang is a jealous young man. A native to the city, the Zenji youth has never recieved an invitation to the Magaambya. Rather than admit both his cruelty and vanity make him unsuited, and that he's just not that talented, Tbetang has found a new source to blame. Foreigners and nonhumans are clealry hoarding the spaces in the college! Tbetang learned Paktu wasn't a student after all, but found out Ikto had been accepted. He has no clue Ikto is an Anadi, but he knows he's an outsider who 'got in'. And that's enough for Ikto to earn his ire.
“Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don’t have to be elaborate but should provide some context and flavor.”
1) While the sound of rain is soothing, true and complete silence often increases Ikto's restless tendencies and he taps with his fingers on nearby surfaces, drumming softly as he works or focuses. This can annoy some, and Ikto always feels apologetic after.
2) Ikto often has conversations with storms when they occur, and to a lesser degree, other natural phenomina. To some this may appear he is talking to himself. He is assuredly not.
3) Ikto has three major memories that shaped his life. The encounter with the stranger where he felt compelled to answer is one. It was oddly violating, yet also stirred his imagination. Another is when he danced in his first storm as a child, with his worried mother yelling at him to get inside. His father? his father didn't' dance, but he came outside and watched. Between that, there was a memory of his sister, found barely alive after she had been spouted in her natural form by a human hunting party. He might have hated humans then, but his sister said it was another human that helped hide her until the hunting party passed. The mix of fury and gratitude for non Anadi he had at that moment is not something he'll soon forget.
This is Dorian Grey's work in progress.
Apparently, math is hard. He can afford a flintlock pistol...
I will endeavor to write up some fun shananagins tomorrow morning.
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I confess, I'm not sure how much more I can refine Za Minyahil's concept and backstory beyond what I already have from the last step...I kind of got carried away. <_<
Also, to clarify, "Za Minyahil" is the character's entire given name, rather than "Za" as a given name and "Minyahil" as a surname, since ghorans as a culture don't really DO family-names.
Welcome Shulfenth. You are an accepted applicant. I don't know much about the Lirgeni so far, so we will see how that plays out at the Magaambya.
There's not a lot about the Lirgeni, since Lirgen was destroyed when the Eye of Abendego formed and most of the survivors fled. Just about the only thing mentioned about them in the setting books is that they were eager astrologers--which is probably why they get along well with the less xenophobic lizardfolk, since lizardfolk also look to the stars for guidance frequently. There's more information on the lizardfolk of the Sodden Lands than the Lirgeni, in fact. :D
I'm thinking Shulfenth's clan, being more willing to work with other species, was probably driven out of the Sodden Lands by the Terwa Lords, meeting some surviving Lirgeni as they went and banding together for protection at first, then deciding they were strong enough to challenge those who had already claimed Jaha for themselves. Of course, when they found the city abandoned, figuring out the strange writings and such in the city became a high priority lest the same happen to them.
Oh, I have looked at the names of the modules in the adventure path, and
In terms of Shulfenth himself, to expand a bit on what I said before, I see him as being pretty young--around 16 (lizardfolk reach adulthood at 15). But since most other humaniods can't really tell lizardfolk ages by sight, he likes to act older and wiser than he is. The facade pretty quickly falls apart when you get to know him. He's kind of caught between honoring and respecting his people's ancient traditions and thinking they're outdated since they haven't really helped the Iruxi prosper in the past few thousand years. He kind of consciously tries to view human ways with an open mind, but subconsciously still falls back on ancient lizardfolk tradition in moments of difficulty.
A couple other notes:
* Since it's possibly unclear, I'm thinking Shulfenth's background would be Sponsored by Village
* Shulfenth doesn't have to be a magus. The idea would work equally well with him being a wizard or witch, I think.
Thanks all.
I will get back to you, most likely, tomorrow night with selections for the game. LMK if questions or more to add meantime.
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I guess if it helps, I'm envisioning Za Minyahil as a DEX-based Sparkling Targe Magus/Druid, focusing on finesse weapons like the shortsword (inspired by the sword they were clearly inspired by when illustrating people from Nex in Lost Omens: Impossible Kingdoms) and later picking up a lion scythe since it's the closest equivalent to a shotel I can find in 2e.
I think I pretty much provided how and why on the previous post. Song Gu is very anxious to continue his studies in a different jungle... with different bugs to study.
Preliminary Pathbuilder Stat Block
Song Gu Monk 1
N Medium Human Versatile Human Humanoid
Perception +6;
Languages Common
Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics +4, Diplomacy +3, Lore: Insect +3, Nature +6, Occultism +3, Stealth +7, Survival +6
Str +1, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +0
Items Explorer's Clothing, Backpack, Bedroll, Chalk (10), Flint and Steel, Rope, Rations (2), Torch (5), Waterskin, Soap
AC 19;
Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +8
HP 19
Speed 30 feet
Melee Special Unarmed (1d6) +7 (Agile, Finesse, Nonlethal, Unarmed), Damage 1d6+1 B, P or S
Melee Tri-Bladed Katar +4 (Uncommon, Disarm, Fatal d8, Monk), Damage 1d4+1 P
Melee Nunchaku +7 (Backswing, Disarm, Finesse, Monk, Uncommon), Damage 1d6+1 B
Ranged Shortbow +7 (Deadly d10), Damage 1d6 P
Ranged Shuriken (x10) +7 (Agile, Monk, Thrown, Uncommon), Damage 1d4+1 P
Monastic Archer Stance (Stance) Requirements You are unarmored and wielding a longbow, a shortbow, or a bow with the monk trait. You enter a specialized stance for a unique martial art centered around the use of a bow. While in this stance, the only Strikes you can make are those using longbows, shortbows, or bows with the monk trait. You can use Flurry of Blows with these bows. You can use your other monk feats or monk abilities that normally require unarmed attacks with these bows when attacking within half the first range increment (normally 50 feet for a longbow and 30 feet for a shortbow), so long as the feat or ability doesn't require a single, specific Strike. Special When you select this feat, you become trained in the longbow, shortbow, and any simple and martial bows with the monk trait. If you gain the expert strikes class feature, your proficiency rank for these weapons increases to expert, and if you gain the master strikes class feature, your proficiency rank for these weapons increases to master.
Flurry of Blows (Flourish, Monk) Make two unarmed Strikes. If both hit the same creature, combine their damage for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses. Apply your multiple attack penalty to the Strikes normally. As a flourish ability, you can use Flurry of Blows only once per turn.
Additional Feats Dubious Knowledge, Fleet, Monastic Weaponry, Natural Skill
Additional Specials Powerful Fist, Skilled (Diplomacy), Skilled (Occultism)
Little warning. I'll be traveling next week, so I might not see updates right away.
I'll get more details into my profile later today. I have a lot in my head, just have not had time to write it yet.
Here is a bit of RP sampling....
Dis bees much ov da walkings! Are wees dere yet?
Trudging through the thick foliage of the Mawagi Expanse, a small, big-eared goblin complains. Perched pristinely upon the complaining goblin's head (and seemingly sporting a smile) sits a tiny toad. With each soggy step comes another complaint from the morose goblin.
Mees stills bees tink's dat Wees had dose Stupids dogs! If'n youses didn't picks dat moment ta lick my eye, den Mees wouldn't had dropped Mees pistol.
The serenely sitting toad only licks his eye.
Stopping suddenly upon hearing a crack of the Stupids foliage ahead of him, the big-eared goblin puts a finger to his mouth.
Shushes, Dirtbag! Dere bees folks about.
The preoccupied toad doesn't seem to be all that concerned, as it continues to lick it's eye.
The gunless gunslinger deftly retrieves his dog slicer (which coincidentally has never sliced a dog) and he ducks underneath some still dripping foliage from the Stupids torrential rain. Stealthily advancing forward to see the potential party poopers, the Sneaky goblin comes to see a large wagon caravan slowing moving through the dirt road in the same direction as they.
Nice, Dirtbag! A ride! Mees feets hurts!
Studying the progress of the caravan, listening to dwarven voices inside them wagons, the goblin grins.
Looks like wees bees learning da dwarf's language!
Dirtbag does look intrigued by the comment....
Carefully climbing into a randy wagon passing his position, Tindertwig smiles when he sees crates with Alkenstar markings.
Bees git'n us da new pistol good!
The toad only looks on innocently.
As it turns out, the dwarven caravan was headed to Nantambu (which of course, our Alkenstar native never heard of) to deliver goods to some school called the Magaambya.....
I've expanded the backstory and added a couple of other fields to my profile. It took a while, but I hope anyone who reads it enjoys it.
I have made a profile for Za Minyahil, and am in the process of transcribing the important bits from Pathbuilder to it, along with the background I accidentally wrote out as his character concept.
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Cross-linked applicant pitch / alias in case we are voting?
Strength of Thousands
1) Iovia - human cleric
2) Ty Iskandir - elf protean wizard
3) Nyandra - elf bard
4) Ikto - anadi storm druid
5) Ruris - cat beastkin fire-elemental sorceror
6) Quatar Linxax - human thaumaturge
7) Za Minyahil - ghoran magus
8) Song Gu - human monk
9) Ntuni - dwarf fighter
10) Shulfenth - lizardfolk magus
11) Tindertwig - goblin gunslinger
12) Kiyomi - elf magus(?)
13) M'baba - human rogue
#1, #7, #9
=)
Ok, what the heck. I wasn't planning on doing voting for this group, but did in the Iron Gods recruitment, and it only reinforced my choices.
If you want to vote, send me via post, spoiler, or PM your favorite three you would like to play with IN ORDER and I'll tabulate and report the results. Please do not vote for yourself.
Will give through Monday for all the votes to come in, or until I get them all whichever comes first.
I selected 4 because I couldn't decide between the two (and you mentioned taking 5)....
Have votes from 6 of 13 players so far. There is 3-way tie for most points and the leader board pretty much mirrors what I would've selected. Still early though.
Please cast your vote if you have not done so already. Will close voting about this time tomorrow night, even if not all ballots are cast. Then we will make selections.
Personally don't feel comfortable voting, so consider me an abstain.
I am now in a trip to support my wife during a course in Cambridge, which means that I am on babysitter duty. Sadly this week I don't have the time to review these, so I'll refrain from voting.
Thanks for the votes (or abstentions) so far. Have heard from 10 of 13. Will close voting these evening and tabulate results.
Yeah! I agree I don't want to vote... especially since this game is about picking players not characters.
Perfectly within your rights not to vote. I still am missing contact from 2 players, but will close the voting and note the selections in about 30 mins.
Ok final votes are closed, and the results are in. Once again, the voting mirrors exactly the slate of characters I would've picked for the game anyway. In order of most votes, the winners are:
Ikto anadi druid - Ridge
Iovia human cleric - Lia Wynn
Ntuni dwarven fighter - Sir Longears
Za Minyahil - ghoran magus - Archpaladin Zousha
Nyandra - elven bard - Talindra
M'Bala - human rogue - Veniir
Please report to the Discussion tab, and be prepared to post your finalized character crunch for final reviews before the game begins. You are ok to make some changes to concept before posting final version, but please run them by me first.
Thanks to all who applied -- all very interesting concepts. If we need to dip back into the candidate pool, I will reach out for re-recruitment to that group first. Hope to see your around the boards otherwise!
Have fun all of you!
Good luck guys. I knew it was over when it went to a vote. Nobody ever votes for a monk
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Thank you!
And thanks for the well wishes. I hope someone else starts a Strength of Thousands game soon because there are a lot of great concepts here
Tindertwig pouts.
Dirtbag whispers
Really thought we had a shot....
The gunslinger grins.
Have fun storming the academy!