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So knowing the proposed list of characters so far and given time to think things through more while the site was down, I've dropped the Ranger and Oracle ideas I'd mentioned before. There actually seems to be a dearth of basic smash 'em up martial character submissions.
With a 25 point buy, I believe I can put together a really nice Fighter VMC Bard to lead a party into battle. Lots of armor, big ole greatsword.
@GM Hurley: Is Variable Multi-Classing allowed? Would a character background of being a former Gray Maiden be too much of a divergence if it still connects well to the plot of the campaign? There are some nice Gray Maiden options for Fighters and/or Cavaliers I'd like to play with.
This is Dorian Grey's work in progress.
I found a hook that I liked...lol.
Any questions, comments, concerns are welcomed.
I'll have to adjust her, but I found the character I was really looking for. A travelling priestess of Shelyn, beauty, grace.Poise who seeks to spread love and joy ot all people, even in the most remote places.
She has a travelling temple, where she entertains and preaches. She aids the sick and hopeless with her beauty and grace. Fierce and capable of defending herself, she is a wonderful wastrel.
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I love the idea of the traveling temple!
She spreads joy, love, song and beauty. To lift up the spirits of others and spread the love of Shelyn to the world. A woman of poise and proper education turned entertainer. Dancer Singer, Glaive mistress out of stories. A smile and a song she greets, feet ever ready to move to music that only she can hear.
She is a mother, sister, and daughter to all whom she counsels. Travels the lands with her wagon and horse as she sets up to offer blessings, teachings, preachings, and more. She is after all on a mission to bring love to all, for all!
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Hi all! Sorry for the radio silence, I was away at PAX Unplugged for a week. I am back now. With the holidays coming up, I think it's a good time to go ahead and lock in a final submission deadline of 12:00PM (noon) PST on Friday the 5th of December. I will hold off on reading character submissions until at least Monday December 1st but I will start looking over them during that week. Whether you are already finished or still working on your submission, I would ask that you make a post following this one with or the like at the very top of the post to make it clear that the submission is ready for review. For extreme clarity's sake: I will only review any final submissions that appear below/after this post of mine which are marked as or its equivalent at the top of the post. Thank you!
@everyone Is there an issue with the Google Doc? It should be a single doc with a lot of tabs and subtabs, someone in the thread indicated they were having trouble with it. If there's a problem, I can try to put everything in one long document instead of broken into separate tabs, I just need to know if there's an issue.
@Rosc This is a valid question and concern. The Swashbuckler is a particularly poor choice for the PbP format. My issue with Attacks of Opportunity is specifically that they introduce additional steps into the flow of combat. In sychronous/real-time play this isn't a huge issue; in PbP it can be a substantial delay. The Swashbuckler's entire schtick revolves around multiple different kinds of abilities that can introduce such delays. Opportune Parry and Riposte does it with AoOs, but Dodging Panache does it as well by allowing the Swashbuckler to retroactively increase their AC. I can imagine some "fixes" that would at least make the Swashbuckler playable; if it comes to that, I will discuss that with the Swashbuckler's player should there be such a character that is chosen. But to be clear, no, they would not be granted an exception to the rule about Attacks of Opportunity, we would houserule their abilities in such a way as to not interrupt the flow in an asynchronous game.
Oozemorph Shifter is published by Paizo, I'll allow it. I'll be happy to address any concerns about them should they come up in play. The Ooze Empathy feature is pretty clearly "magical" (it's Extraordinary, not Supernatural), it's probably going to break the limits of regular logic and that's fine.
@Mark Thomas 66 Sworn of the Eldest is published by Paizo, I'll allow it. Nyrissa's lost lover is not specified in official canon but the evidence suggests it's Count Ranalc. For the purposes of this game, that is explicitly the case.
@Malylev, the Little Lion I don't see anything in there that I have a major problem with. I haven't fully decided exactly what's going on with Choral and descendants, but the only thing I'd ask you to change is that the character is descended from Choral's heir rather than Choral himself. I'm leaning in the direction of having Choral's sole heir (and thus the branch that all of Choral's descendants trace through) be the incestuous offspring of Chorazulanthus and Caelyndraxis (extremely consistent with everything going on with the Targaryans in ASOIAF), but might decide that that heir was instead the offspring of Choral and Myrna.
@Anders Smith I'll allow the living steel. I'm open to using the Alternate Crafting Rules, but PCs do not get the monetary benefit of crafting their starting equipment. Someone else has already justified having a masterwork bow as having crafted it themselves, and that is fine, but it will not reduce the purchase cost of that item. The starting gold is already extremely generous to account for a wide variety of RP (it allows most mundane starting equipment somebody might reasonably want except a suit of full plate).
@Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan I am checking PMs, I was offline for about the last week due to being at PAX Unplugged. I have responded to your PM as of writing this message, this is just for posterity.
@rdknight In truth I do not have a plan for methodology. There's no guarantee that I am going to select a balanced party based on combat roles. There's no guarantee that I will select a party based on balanced assortment of plot tie-ins. Heck, I'm letting 3 players have major say-so in who the rest are, so there's bound to be at least some imbalance in the final party in one regard or another. I'm sorry if that comes across as a bit arbitrary, I just want to be as up front as possible. Submit what you want to play, write your best writing sample, and we'll see where everything lands.
I'm fine with Variant Multiclassing. I look forward to seeing what you do with a Gray Maiden, I think they're a compelling part of Curse of the Crimson Throne and while I wouldn't think them a natural fit for Kingmaker I have an acknowledged bias for characters that are well-grounded in the official setting. So a Gray Maiden is more likely to be looked on favorably than some random character from an unnamed city in Varisia.
Let Beauty awake in the morn from beautiful dreams,
Beauty awake from rest!
Let Beauty awake
For Beauty’s sake
In the hour when the birds awake in the brake
And the stars are bright in the west!
Let Beauty awake in the eve from the slumber of day,
Awake in the crimson eve!
In the day’s dusk end
When the shades ascend,
Let her wake to the kiss of a tender friend,
To render again and receive!
A simple tune, learned long ago from the lips of a jovial bard. The man was white haired, yet handsome. Eyes as bright as a beautiful, crystal clear lake. She drank in those eyes for almost a fortnight before he moved on to the south. Cyrus was his name, Cyrus the Stupefying, a half-elf of many treks.Like her past lovers she stole a bit of hait and cloak to add to her collection.
Cavenuagh the Apprentice, his cloak the color of midnight, hair as dark as the void. Edwena, a patch of rainbow, with hair a golden as the sun,Argenta a Oread, a simple amethyst colored hair and a magenta cloak, Thera, Fiery red with a red cloak, Mouse the halfling, soft brown with a gray cloak, Mystherallend silver hair of an elf with yellow and black checked pattern as she was a follower of Calistra, and lastly Cyrus his hair white, his cloak green. None though compair to the simple doll among these supposed scraps. THe beautiful Oparal her daugther was nine now, raised with her brother and mentor, until she fulfills her purpose.
Almost on que she sees the outpost and smiles. "Come Prancer lets make good time" a snap of the reigns and harness Ionnia urges him on. She had arrived, So had Shelyn through her. Soon her mission would pick up and with it her daughter can come to her.
I love the idea of the traveling temple!
Kinda see it like the Frontier Preacher/Doctor/Snake Oil Salesmen in the Wild West! One Wagon, Horse and sets up shop in a town to preach, entertain, and heal.
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I added a writing sample to the end of Zsófia's profile.
As far as her being a swashbuckler goes, I swapped the Vengeful Heart deed of renown for the Opportune Parry and Riposte deed, but I'm totally willing to work with the GM and the other players to come up with a solution if she later gains that class feature or others that rely on attacks of opportunity to function. I trust that it will work out for the better. :)
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Again, just for ease of reference, a tentative list of folks who have expressed interest:
Critzible - Lady Ionnia Orlovsky, human cleric
Daniel Stewart – Gem Chiaclisnid, gnome druid
DeathQuaker – Jack Ciarathan, elf slayer
Dorian 'Gray' - Cirok Brokencrown, half-elf fighter
ElbowtotheFace – (expressed interest)
eriktd – Zsófia Dobós, human swashbuckler
Evindyl – (expressed interest)
GM_Drake – Anders Smith, android spiritualist
karlprosek – Malylev, human oracle
Kittenmancer – Ta Bayang, gathlain oracle
Mark Thomas 66 – (something nature-themed?)
Monkeygod – (fae-themed, House Arvanxi?)
Nightfiend - Seamus Edelbom, dwarf inquisitor
Qunnessaa – Tsia Troian Malynova, elf occultist
rdknight – human (?) fighter, VMC bard
Rosc – oozemorph shifter
TheWaskally – (expressed interest)
Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan - Kolaiah of the Iron Ledger, tiefling inquisitor
I hope I haven't missed anyone!
I'll think about getting bits and bobs together for a final submission for Tsia soonish. Good luck, everyone! :)
This is the final submission for Seamus Edelbom. Thank you for your consideration.
Final Submission
Ok, here is the finished version of Gem. Hope she can fit into a party of adventurers as they explore the lands of the River Kingdoms.
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@GM Hurley Yeah fair enough. For what it's worth, I've seen groups handle it decently enough by pre-rolling AoO's in spoiler posts. But I also respect the house rule.
Parry and Repose was the centerpiece of the Swashbucker build (heavy reliance on attacks as defense) so I think I'll shelve him for now. But that's okay! I've been reviewing the plot elements and I've been inspired for a thematically appropriate character. I've got the stats, I just need to settle the gear and write a backstory.
This is the final submission for Jack.
This is Malylev's final submission. Since he doesn't get his animal companion until level 5 he's mostly a buffer/debuffer and healer. Outside of combat he's basically a wandering healer and handyman who emerges out of the wilderness and disappears back into the night.
A banner house of House Lebeda, the Raths are known have strong connections to House Orlovsky and ancient ones with House Medvyed. But kept secret from the scribes and priests who keep the ancestry records, one of Gortin Rath's children (Mal's 5th-great grandfather and the son of House Rath's founder) was a bastard of Choral's heir with Gortin's wife, Milena Evenstar, also called Milena the Fair. Unrecorded and long forgotten, the blood of Choral the Conqueror flows in the veins of the rulers of Evenstar, though now only faintly.
6 generations later, Mal's mother- Hana Rath- found herself shipwrecked on a tiny, unnamed island in eastern Lake Reykal after a sudden storm destroyed her boat. She spent weeks on the island and fell in love with nisid who claimed the island as his own. Nisids are solitary creatures by nature, but helpful, and over the weeks he tried to help her fix her boat they forged a strong bond. They weren't able to fix her boat but she was eventually rescued by a young nobleman sailing Lake Reykal- Simon Manolescu, son of Wyman Manolescu. Due to the nisid's fey magics, Hana forgot him even though she was newly pregnant with his child (just like Simon and every sailor who ever learned of the island forgot about the nisid's island).
Hana and Simon fell in love and arranged to be married, forging a connection between two of House Lebeda and House Medvyed's most loyal banner houses. Hana, having forgotten her nisid lover, thought Simon got her pregnant, and Simon had no reason to think otherwise.
Unbeknownst to him, this makes him the long lost last descendant of Choral the Conqueror through the blood of Choral's heir as well as half-fey.
In spite of his strong, insistent noble training for war and strategy, Ravan never really took to it. Even though he had the training he recognized both that he didn't want the title and that both of his more apt younger brothers would be better Lord Manolescus than he, so instead of being bundled off into the church of Abadar he left in the night.
Always somewhat spiritual, he followed signs and feelings out into the Stolen Lands, where he managed not to be killed by bandits long enough for him to discover an aptitude for working with plants. He actually met his mentor, Bokken, when he unknowingly raided the hermit's secret garden. After a rocky initial start, Bokken let him study herbalism with him for a few years.
After too much time spent in one place he started seeing signs again that he needed to move on, so he did, following them all the way to a sick mother mountain lion in need of help. He spent the winter in a cave nursing the sick adult lion back to health and keeping her cubs alive. When spring came and he was ready to leave, one of the cubs insisted on going with him.
Since then, he has been wandering around the Stolen Lands and has come to be known as just another eccentric in the wilds beyond civilization. He frequently helps anyone in need, be they hunter or farmer or soldier or bandit, and has developed a reputation as a friend to all. Not wanting to use his family's name, he stopped using the name given to him by his noble parents and adopted the moniker given to him by the residents of the Greenbelt- the Little Lion, Malylev.
So...is it waaaay too late in the process to put up a submission for this fantastic sounding campaign?
That's up to the GM, of course, but he previously stated no new interest would be allowed after some time on 26 November.
Gotcha. Thanks for the reply.
Typos aside this is my final submission. The two Yaks are Bass and Treble
This is Dorian Grey's submission for Kingmaker.
I am really pleased with the connections dotted about his Crunch and Fluff...hehe.
I am taking a bit of liberty where his birth by relying on his having both Drow and Dragon blood running through his veins. He grew up in drow society so....
Thank you for running!
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This is Kittenmancer's final submission, everything is in the profile. I changed their ancestry to fetchling since I noticed that gathlain was not specifically allowed in the character creation rules (and I think the character actually works better this way).
Additionally, reading over the other final submissions I tried to come up with some potential connections or shared goals/traits.
If Seamus is willing to share the story of his lost love, Ta Bayang would definitely be sympathetic; after all, it somewhat mirrors the tale of their own mistress. Moreover, the mystery of the disappearance of the Golka clan would pull at their curiosity.
Gem Chiaclisnid
They share an affinity with the First World and with nature, and they share a common goal in wanting the Stolen Lands’ wildness to be preserved as much as possible.
Jack Ciarathan
Jack and Ta Bayang share an interest in the story of Nyrissa. Ta Bayang doesn’t know about Briar, but if told they would definitely be interested in searching for it. They might also be a little alike in their personalities - reserved, quiet, watchful - although Ta Bayang is prone to the occasional prank sometimes.
Malylev
Ta Bayang might be unconsciously drawn to Malylev’s half-fey nature - or might even be the catalyst for Malylev to learn about this particular secret of his heritage. Ta Bayang is also technically part of House Medvyed, although they wouldn’t care about this aspect and how that relates to House Manolescu. They might bond over their shared knowledge of nature.
Lady Ionnia Orlovsky
Ionnia’s singing and dancing might remind Ta Bayang of their mistress, back in the good times before the curse. They might share a love of colour and beauty, and Ta Bayang would be supportive of an artists’ retreat in the Stolen Lands.
Seamus Edelbom
If Seamus is willing to share the story of his lost love, Ta Bayang would definitely be sympathetic; after all, it somewhat mirrors the tale of their own mistress. Moreover, the mystery of the disappearance of the Golka clan would pull at their curiosity.
Seamus would be anything but reserved about the vanishing. So, open conversation about the subject would be on the horizon.
Yeah I figured Ionnia would shape the new Kingdom into a Cultural Jewel. Too think what could happen with artists and culture coming from her to Shape Brevoy and the lands around. Would make Pitax envious.
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This is Qunnessaa's final submission. The crunchy bits and background are in Tsia's profile, but just for fun, since I saw some folks have done similar, I tossed some more words around trying to start finding a character and narrative voice for her, which I figured I might as well add in a spoiler here, just because. Feel free to ignore it, GM, since it's frightfully self-indulgent.
“Darka, and Seraph. Good morning,” she says coolly. “By all means, make yourselves comfortable.”
“I beg your pardon, ma’am. You know what this one’s like,” Seraph offers. The young Lebeda has always been the more correct of the two, in Tsia’s dealings with them, as might be expected of someone whose house has a flair for the dramatics and touchiness of duelists.
“Oh, hush, Ser. At least make it Mam’zelle, you know Needleberry hates being ‘ma’amed.’ Makes her feel old,” the irrepressible Darka Vetrovna says, flopping onto one of the other chairs around the table, before taking in Tsia’s work and bending closer to take a look. “Oh! But you’re not working on your dress today! What is it this time? Go on, let’s see!”
“For the doll for Lady Surtova’s youngest. The poor thing’s been feeling a bit neglected what with her mama’s confinement in the offing. I should be able to get this blouse done by today, and the whole thing should be ready before all the fuss, which I’m sure both mother and daughter will appreciate, whether as distraction or acknowledgement, as the case may be.”
“This is Lenor, right, and not another Surtova? Her time must be very near, and I can’t think one would take the trouble for any of the others we know,” Seraph confirms as she settles herself in turn, a slight wrinkle still between her brows at her friend’s familiarity, as if to say, Needleberry? Must be a nickname.
“Mm,” Tsia nods, still stitching away happily. “And how are you two today? I notice your Satiya’s not with you, Darka.”
“She’s not mine,” Darka huffs, skipping directly to the point in Tsia’s mild observation. “And you know her house and milord Orlovsky’s don’t get on, so I’ll thank you not to go bandying such gossip about quite everywhere. But we’re fine, thank you. As a matter of fact, though-”
There’s a pause as the Vetrovna scion catches the smiles between the Lebeda and the elf and rolls her eyes before continuing, “All three of us are fine. But, as I was going to say, before I was interrupted by certain insinuations-”
“We are, but I don’t know what you mean, darling.”
“-what’s this about you, Needleberry? Are you really leaving us for the wilds of the Stolen Lands, at the call of those lunatic swordslingers that Seraph loves so much?”
“And we have something else for you, if you don’t mind. Well, I do. Or, we both do, but I’ll go first, because it’s embarrassing enough, and then we can go back to teasing Darka with … insinuations.”
“I’m afraid needs must. It’s much too good an opportunity to let slip: so much to explore, so very long since my people were last there, safer than going alone, and between barbarians, bandits, and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, some careful someone needs to keep an eye on things.”
Tsia sets down her needle for a moment with a smile soft enough to take the sting out of her announcement, and, just as she’s about to continue with what she’s heard about the coming expedition, finally notices the small casket that Seraph must have had in her lap this whole time. With a reflexive smoothing of her skirt, Seraph lifts the box onto the table and scoots it over.
“Lovely! Sarkorian, isn’t it? I’m afraid I can’t tell you much more than that. Some of the poor things did cross the mountains after the Wound opened, to take refuge among their kin, but I’m afraid that’s a bit further than I’ve spent much time in at all, and I’ve no meaningful Hallit.”
“Winged-eye Tribe, Father tells me. But … um, what I was going to ask was if you could open it, please?”
The hand raised to her mouth does nothing to stifle Darka’s giggle, earning a mock glare from Seraph, to whom Tsia returns a quizzical eye for an explanation. Seraph sighs, bowing to the inevitable.
“I use it for some of my baubles, that’s all. Or it would be, except this morning, just when I was putting in my earrings, I got distracted, and so, when I was putting everything else away…”
Oh, no. There’s only one way this tale could be tending, so Tsia rises to find the case holding several other tools beyond more needles and silks as Darka exclaims, with a not unsympathetic titter, “She scooped up the key along with bangles and rings and brooches, and locked herself out! I’m sorry, Ser, but you have to admit it’s a bit funny. Annoying little sisters can be a disaster even when they don’t mean to be. I should know, since I am one.”
The lanky elven woman nods her acknowledgement of this piece of sagacity, as she unrolls her new case while examining the lock on Seraph’s casket, assessing the quality of its steel and the likely intricacy of its mechanism. As she chooses her tools, she asks, with a show of asperity belied by the evident good humour in her tone, “And you, Darka? I understand that my morning just got busier.”
“I actually am here for Sati, in a manner of speaking. You do read Dragontongue, right? Well, her brother – older, in case you’re wondering – is being particularly obnoxious now that their parents have decided to try to get some poor devil to drill some magic into him and he can swan about showing off his big, mysterious books and be all smug about the ‘secrets of the Art,’ and all that. Of course, the sisters have to make do with keeping up their Skald, and your own lovely language, Needleberry – don’t get me wrong! – but they’re not encouraged to preen about it, without mastering so much as a … as a cantrip yet. Ridiculous. The dragons are gone, and the Rogarvias are gone. Who are they trying to impress, or to take in?”
It does sound like there’s quite a bit of acrimony brewing among the rising generation of Lodovkas, with their parents’ having a clear favourite, and quite apart from the possible implications for the balance of power within one of Brevoy’s great houses and thus, by extension, among them all, the delight of gossip is enough to hold a significant part of Tsia’s attention even as she patiently feels out Seraph’s lock with one of her stranger “needles.” It’s rather comfortingly like wiggling room for another thread in a spot where the back of one’s work is heavy with other colours running to and fro, although nowhere near as satisfyingly productive as the creative act of embroidery.
Before too much longer, her communicative friend reveals, “Anyway, the strange thing is, he’s not boasting of anything in particular. Which, even if he’s a prat, wouldn’t it at least make sense to promise that we’ll all see, soon, and he’ll … gods, summon his own dragon, or whatever? Apparently not, which makes it that much more frustrating. So, Sati managed to, oh, let’s say, liberate a scroll that looked important, but not so much that it would be missed soon.”
Tsia produces a hum that falls somewhere plausibly between noncommittal and affirmative, just as her hook releases the last pin and she’s able to spin around an opened jewelry box for Seraph.
Inclining her head in thanks, the young Lebeda pokes around briefly among her trinkets until her hand closes around her key. “Wonderful! Abadar be praised for mysterious embroiderers and their odd bodkins! Thank you, Silver Dawn. Did you say you had dabbled in jewelry-making? How did you say you learned the trick?”
Seraph is cleverer than some people give her credit for, and there’s a bit of weight behind her casual questions and the slightest, just barely perceptible narrowing of her curious eyes. There’s no malice that Tsia can detect, but still. Under circumstances I hope you never have to encounter, she muses. Aloud, she demurs with a slight shrug, “Something like that. It was some time ago, but now that I think of it, I think it must have been the hinge of, let’s see – yes, a particularly unfortunate locket. It’s surprising how often one’s pins and needles come in handy.”
She must have said “locket.” Probably overcompensating on the last syllable to soften her Iobarian-accented Taldane. Hand resting on the back of the still-open lid of Seraph’s casket, though her fingers itch to take up her hoop and resume her work, Tsia turns a wide smile to both her friends even as she addresses Darka specifically. “I’m glad to help. Well, then, shall we see what’s so special about this scroll?”
A bit more Austen (nay) than Radcliffe (yay!) so far, but something like a quietly social sage is starting to emerge, I hope. For now, the courtly, Game of Thrones side is at the forefront of my thoughts, but if Tsia ends up on the expedition I'm sure there will be ample opportunity to feel out how her weird, fey magic might work, in addition to gossip and "the best sweeteners of tea." :)
Good luck, all!
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Alright everyone, here is your 24 23 HOUR WARNING. Submissions should be posted within the next 24 23 hours, by 12:00PM PST on Friday December 5th.
@Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan Your final submission post can include as much or as little as you'd like, it's just there to clearly indicate that your character is submitted and ready for review. Either your submission post or your profile will ideally include your character build, character background info, and any other writing samples you'd like to submit for consideration. I'm not requiring full builds to be complete for submission and I'm only planning to audit characters who are accepted, so don't feel too much pressure on the mechanics as long as you've got a general idea of where you're going with the character.
Background and writing quality are the main things I'm interested in for this - submissions are judged on a gut feeling combination of how much I'm enjoying reading you write as/about the character (and any other included samples) and how much I want to play with that character. If somebody submits an enthralling story about a gunslinger from Alkenstar turned Shackles pirate with no mention at all of Brevoy or the Stolen Lands then I'll enjoy the read but pass on the character because this isn't Skull & Shackles and being able to collaborate is going to be a vitally important skill for everybody playing. Likewise, if the character is a perfect fit and slots in neatly to the plot but the writing style makes me want to claw my eyes out, I'll thank them for the submission and pass on the character because writing stuff that other people want to read is also a vitally important skill for everybody playing.
@GrimbleGrumble It is indeed too late, but I do thank you for taking the time to ask! Sorry you missed it, but if this experiment goes well then hopefully it won't be the last. In the meantime, best of luck with any other games that catch your fancy.
@Anders Smith Acknowledged, thanks for your interest and best of luck with your future games!
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Trillium is my submission for the campaign. She's an Aasimar (Musetouched) Bard (Studious Librarian), but by all appearances she's a Half-Elf. She's a Restov native.
Trillium is meant to be linked to "The Secret Plot". She thinks the mystery of House Rogarvia's disappearance is solvable, and she aims to be the one who cracks it. Trillium doesn't think the key to the solution lies in the Stolen Lands, but she needs to raise money for her grand project and she thinks the Stolen Lands expedition might make her the money she needs. Kind of a 'side quest ends up taking one closer to one's destination than the road you planned to take would have' situation.
Trillium's campaign trait is The Snoop. It's actually is a campaign trait but for Tyrant's Grasp. It's not a super great trait but I like what it does in its weird niche way. Besides, the name alone sells it for Trillium. She's exactly what it says on the tin.
Diplomat is the best Kingdom role for Trillium. Spymaster could also work, Magister as well if there's nobody better suited for it. Ruler is a match due to the Charisma component, but Trillium doesn't have those kind of ambitions. It sounds like an awfully big responsibility, which she thinks would be a real headache.
I plan on going Bard all the way except for a possible 1 level dip into something martial if Trillium is needed to help out in combat. Swashbuckler works best because it would function spending only one feat. The idea is quick and cheap dex to damage. Since Bard is 3/4 BAB I'm not concerned about the lack of attacks of opportunity, etc. opportune parry and riposte wouldn't be very reliable absent the full BAB and other Swash bonuses. Not using it isn't a big deal.
If Trillium isn't needed for combat, a 1 level dip into Lore Oracle is good. If there's another character who will be a great encyclopedia type, I might not dip at all. It all just depends on party composition, and Trill getting chosen of course.
My apologies for the Backstory's length. Hopefully it trends more toward amazing than slop. :p
It became so long because I needed to cover two characters, Trill and her mom. The first sentence of it even reads: "To understand Trillium one must first know about her mother, a forlorn elf named Lenorilla Anstarza."
Wow we could have a kingdom of Song! Performers, Musicians, Art and Beauty. Not only beautiful songs, clothing and crafts, but also a powerful beautiful legions!!!
" Come o come ye who threaten'
'We sing in welcome, we sing for peace'
' O Come o come ye who threaten
' our rose given, our rose rejected
'O Come o come ye who threaten
For now our thorns come to bare
O come O come ye who threaten
Dance we bring, Songs we sing
O come o come ye who threaten
Dance Macabre thus we bring
O come o come ye fools doth be
The Kingdom Dances, and you cease to be
Quick light and medium infantry full of pole arms. Bladed brush,fast and fluid, Cavalry fast, and harrowing. Decent archers.
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If you’ll indulge me, here’s some music to set the tone.
You’d be surprised by what people are willing to trade. You’d be even more surprised by what they’re able to trade. I was on my way towards building an empire. Gold, favor, fame, even things like happiness and love passed hands under my watch. And to whoever reads this, well, let me tell you a thing or two about making a fortune.
And read she did. While the journal’s author never put their name inside, they seemed to talk themselves up as a trader of remarkable renown. And the wayward fetchling was clever, as one had to be to survive with her kind of life, so she was able to sus out several individuals described within the stories and even take advantage of a few old contacts. They seemed to recognize the knife and offered her a few useful items as ‘debt repayment,’ though the refused to elaborate further.
She eagerly read the book in its entirety, learning every bit of esoteric knowledge she could: caches of items, the last few favors to call on, and even a strange ritual that would give her a one-way trip to the Stolen Lands in the material plane. But after all of that it was the final entry that affected her the most.
When you reach the surface, the humans will treat you like some exotic creature. Don’t fight it. Instead, play the part. Be unusual. Be ‘exotic.’ Let their assumptions about you add an aura of mystery to your persona and an illusory value to your wares. In fact, you should take on a name to fit the persona. Something like ‘Lady Umbra.’ Try that name on for size. Say ‘I am Lady Umbra’ out loud. If it doesn’t work, I’m sure you’ll figure out something more fitting.
When the fetchling uttered the phrase out loud, something in her mind unraveled. A psychic lock came undone. Something within her mind crawled out of it, leaving a gap from which her mental energy could pour forth. Following a sort of hazy instinct, Lady Umbra drew upon this presence to bring her Phantom into her world for the first time. While the being was just as confused as she was, it did remember one thing: the shadow plane was not safe for her, and she needed to leave.
And so, she did. With her salvage, a phantom she named Lumina, and her newly awakened powers, she set out to build a better life.
In her desire for rarer and more valuable ‘goods’, she got involved with the Hollowborn. The nature of such dealings, I’ll leave to you: after all, amnesia stories are more fun if the player doesn’t know everything that happened! But what matters is that it went quite poorly for Lux. Perhaps she earned their ire. Perhaps she got roped into a deal she couldn’t afford to pay out. In a desperate attempt to escape her fate, she sought to ‘trade away’ every aspect of herself (memories, wealth, nontangible aspects, etc) and then arrange to have them traded back in the hopes that her brief ‘nonexistence’ would nullify her debt to the grim fey.
She had her favors to be paid to help her restart her trade. She convinced a shadow dragon to watch over her ‘body’ while the deals went through. She even used a journal of her own thoughts, warded with cold iron, as a proper vessel that would bring her back as soon as the proper command phrase was uttered. But something went wrong. Maybe she failed to properly execute the ritual. Perhaps it was a foul fey prank. Either way, the ‘body’ retained its own identity while only tattered remains of Lux returned to her old mind. Just enough to be drawn out by her unwitting pawn.
Now a phantom of her former self, only remembering just enough to realize some kind of identity was lost to her, she devolved into a being of pure Despair.
And her new self, Lady Umbra, gained power from her Fractured Mind.
(The song totally fits, right?)
I have experience playing through the Pathfinder Kingmaker adventure path on PC. I also have experience playing Society scenarios that I have previously run as a GM, so I know how to ‘play stupid’ in character to avoid spoilers in an adventure.
Here’s an example play by post scene if you’d like examples of how I write up the ‘big moment’ scenes in a character’s story. You can also check that profile to see how I post in game and add reference material to profiles. I have been posting in this game consistently for two years.
Lady Umbra
This pale-skinned woman wears black and violet finery. She beckons you over to her display of exotic, silvery trinkets.
Female Fractured Mind Spiritualist 1
N Medium Outsider (Native)
FCB +1 HP
Init +4; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1
Resist cold 5, electricity 5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee cold iron kukri +3 (1d4+1, 18-20), sap +3 (1d6+1 nonlethal)
Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8 19-20)
Spiritualist spells known (CL 1st; concentration +6)
1st (2/day) - cure light wounds, doom
Knacks - detect magic, mage hand, mending, stabilize
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Statistics
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Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 13
Feats Enforcer
Traits (So)Friend in Every Town, (Ma)Arcane Temper, (Ra)Murky Allegiance
Skills Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (planes) +8, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +4, Use Magic Device +8
Background Skills[b] Handle Animal +5, Profession (merchant) +3
[b]Racial Bonuses Knowledge (planes) +2, Stealth +2
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic
Combat Gear scroll of cure light wounds, 20 bolts
Mercantile Gear heavy wagon, heavy horse, 4 days of feed, scrivener's kit (ink vial, an ink pen, spare pen nibs, pigment for making ink, tiny knife for cutting quills into pens, blotter, small ruler), book of inventory, large chest with simple lock and key, duplicate key, 2 barrels, 4 sacks, 20g worth of ‘exotic plane of shadow jewelry’
Other Gear courier’s outfit (black and violet) without matching jewelry, 2 sets of traveler’s clothes, cold weather clothes, sorcerer’s kit (backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, iron pot, mess kit, soap, 10 torches, 5 trail rations, waterskin.), 100 ft. of rope, gifted journal
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Special Abilities
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Darkvision Lady Umbra can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Low-Light Vision Lady Umbra can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Skilled +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (planes) and Stealth checks.
Shadow Blending When in dim light, attacks against Lady Umbra have a 50% miss chance instead of the normal 20% miss chance. This ability does not grant total concealment; it just increases the miss chance.
Shadowy Resistance Lady Umbra has cold resistance 5 and electricity resistance 5.
Spell-Like Abilities Lady Umbra can use disguise self once per day as a spell-like ability. She can assume the form of any humanoid creature using this spell-like ability. Her caster level for these abilities is equal to her character level.
Emotional Spellcasting Lady Umbra uses her Charisma score rather than her Wisdom score to determine the highest spell level she can cast, the saving throw DCs of spells she casts, and her bonus spells per day.
Phantom Lady Umbra has the ability to call upon her phantom Lumina. Details in the class entry
Shared Consciousness (Su) While Lumina is confined in Lady Umbra’s consciousness (but not while it’s fully manifested or banished to the Ethereal Plane), it grants the spiritualist the Skill Focus feat in Stealth and Intimidate.
Once per day, when Lady Umbra fails a saving throw against a mind-affecting effect, as an immediate action she can shunt that effect into Lumina’s section of her consciousness instead. When Lady Umbra does so, she is not affected by the mind-affecting effect, but for the normal duration of that effect, she loses the bonuses on saving throws against mind-affecting effects and the Skill Focus effects granted by her phantom, and can’t use this ability to shunt a mind-affecting effect into the phantom’s consciousness or manifest her phantom in any way. When a mind-affecting effect is shunted into the phantom’s consciousness, spells such as dispel magic and break enchantment can be cast on the spiritualist to end the effect’s duration as if the spiritualist were affected by the mind-affecting effect.
Etheric Tether (Su) (Details linked above in the Phantom entry)
Lumina
Bandages cover the majority of this lanky spirit’s form, allowing a single eye and long, matted hair to hang out. She bears a dagger in one hand and a flickering, useless lamp in the other.
Despair Phantom 1
N Medium Outsider (Phantom)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
Defense
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AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 natural, +2 Dex)
hp 6 (1d10+1)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +2
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 slams +4 (1d6+1)
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Statistics
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Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 13
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Weapon Focus (Slam)
Skills Bluff +5, Intimidate +5, Perception +4, Stealth +6
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic
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Special Abilities
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Darkvision (Ex) The phantom has darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
Link (Su) A spiritualist and her phantom share a mental link that allows for communication across distances (as long as they are on the same plane). This communication is a free action that can be performed even when it isn’t the spiritualist’s turn, but the spiritualist and the phantom must both be conscious to communicate in this way. This allows the spiritualist to give orders to her phantom at any time. Magic items interfere with a spiritualist’s connection to her phantom; as a result, the spiritualist and her phantom share magic item slots.
Share Spells (Su) The spiritualist can cast a spell with a target of “you” on her phantom (as a spell with a range of touch) instead of on herself. A spiritualist can cast spells from the spiritualist spell list on her phantom even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the phantom’s type (outsider). This ability does not allow the phantom to share abilities that aren’t spells, even if they function like spells.
My apologies for the Backstory's length. Hopefully it trends more toward amazing than slop. :p
I, for one, loved reading the backstory! I think you created a very interesting mother-daughter dynamic and Trillium's mother is an intriguing character in her own right.
Tsia - They both have as a goal to preserve some of the wilder areas and prevent over-exploitation/industrialization. As long-lived beings, they might have a somewhat shared perception of time and its passing that is different from what Tsia called 'mayfly species'. :)
Trillium - They are both curious by nature and might get into mischief together while searching for answers. Trillium might teach Ta Bayang some basic etiquette if she feels like it, since the fey is woefully lacking in that department.
Lady Umbra/Lux underlight - Ta Bayang spent a very long time on the Shadow Plane and is a fetchling themsevels (except with fey rather than human origins), so they might have met Lady Umbra, Lux Underlight, or both at some point or another.
Wow we could have a kingdom of Song! Performers, Musicians, Art and Beauty. Not only beautiful songs, clothing and crafts, but also a powerful beautiful legions!!!
" Come o come ye who threaten'
'We sing in welcome, we sing for peace'
' O Come o come ye who threaten
' our rose given, our rose rejected
'O Come o come ye who threaten
For now our thorns come to bare
O come O come ye who threaten
Dance we bring, Songs we sing
O come o come ye who threaten
Dance Macabre thus we bring
O come o come ye fools doth be
The Kingdom Dances, and you cease to beQuick light and medium infantry full of pole arms. Bladed brush,fast and fluid, Cavalry fast, and harrowing. Decent archers.
Jack's mouth jerks in a closed, lopsided smile. He lifts his own bow, beautifully carved and shaped over literal decades. "I hope," he says softly, "We can do better than 'decent.'"
Jack's mouth jerks in a closed, lopsided smile. He lifts his own bow, beautifully carved and shaped over literal decades. "I hope," he says softly, "We can do better than 'decent.'"Wow we could have a kingdom of Song! Performers, Musicians, Art and Beauty. Not only beautiful songs, clothing and crafts, but also a powerful beautiful legions!!!
" Come o come ye who threaten'
'We sing in welcome, we sing for peace'
' O Come o come ye who threaten
' our rose given, our rose rejected
'O Come o come ye who threaten
For now our thorns come to bare
O come O come ye who threaten
Dance we bring, Songs we sing
O come o come ye who threaten
Dance Macabre thus we bring
O come o come ye fools doth be
The Kingdom Dances, and you cease to beQuick light and medium infantry full of pole arms. Bladed brush, fast and fluid, Cavalry fast, and harrowing. Decent archers.
"I was never one to learn the bow. I did learn the crossbow out of necessity. As my trainer, Sir Cordwin drilled into me." she said, then laughed
" Granted, I was more infatuated with Dame Rosealita, with the strawberry hair and perfect heart-shaped face with the cute bow-like lips. Then it was Sir Farrage, tall, dark, and handsome. I got a lot of wrapped knuckles and bruised backside." She says as a hand reflexively goes to touch her butt and stops.
" So maybe another can figure the amptitude of archers than I!" she giggles, looking at Jack.
My apologies for the Backstory's length. Hopefully it trends more toward amazing than slop. :pI, for one, loved reading the backstory! I think you created a very interesting mother-daughter dynamic and Trillium's mother is an intriguing character in her own right.
** spoiler omitted **
Thanks Ta! I did get more sucked into mom than I'd planned. Elf lifespans are such a head-trip for me if I really think about them overlaid with Golarion history. Forlorn elves make things even weirder because they're moving through a human-ish tempo world but decoupled from it. Then I went down the rabbit hole of how would such an elf might relate to people and events surrounding them. I mean on the elf's timescale (I figure Lenorilla is around 180 but she doesn't know exactly how old she is) about 9 human generations have passed. It's like any adult human an elf meets will be dead next year, or maybe the year after as the elf perceives time passing. Why bother to get to know anyone you really don't need to? Why bother to get worked up about current events? Anything you like or hate about the here and now will be gone in no time, replaced by something different without having to lift a finger.
So anyway, yeah I got very sucked in to what mom's mindset would be about things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I can see Trill knowing but not understanding really. Her reaction being something like "my mom is in the world but not part of the world. I don't want to be like that", and deciding to be super-engaged with everything around her all the time. She does know that she will experience something similar eventually, even if it's not nearly so extreme. Trill would try to inoculate herself against fading like her mom over time.
I can see Ta and Trill having a very similar energy about them. Hijinks yes.
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SUBMISSIONS CLOSED!
Thanks everybody, I'll be contacting my top 3 and together the four of us will select the rest of the party and alternates!
Alright everyone, here is your
2423 HOUR WARNING. Submissions should be posted within the next2423 hours, by 12:00PM PST on Friday December 5th.@Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan Your final submission post can include as much or as little as you'd like, it's just there to clearly indicate that your character is submitted and ready for review. Either your submission post or your profile will ideally include your character build, character background info, and any other writing samples you'd like to submit for consideration. I'm not requiring full builds to be complete for submission and I'm only planning to audit characters who are accepted, so don't feel too much pressure on the mechanics as long as you've got a general idea of where you're going with the character.
Background and writing quality are the main things I'm interested in for this - submissions are judged on a gut feeling combination of how much I'm enjoying reading you write as/about the character (and any other included samples) and how much I want to play with that character. If somebody submits an enthralling story about a gunslinger from Alkenstar turned Shackles pirate with no mention at all of Brevoy or the Stolen Lands then I'll enjoy the read but pass on the character because this isn't Skull & Shackles and being able to collaborate is going to be a vitally important skill for everybody playing. Likewise, if the character is a perfect fit and slots in neatly to the plot but the writing style makes me want to claw my eyes out, I'll thank them for the submission and pass on the character because writing stuff that other people want to read is also a vitally important skill for everybody playing.
@GrimbleGrumble It is indeed too late, but I do thank you for taking the time to ask! Sorry you missed it, but if this experiment goes well then hopefully it won't be the last. In the meantime, best of luck with any other games that catch your fancy.
@Anders Smith Acknowledged, thanks for your...
All good ... thought I had 45 more minutes, but all good.
(it's about 11:15am here in Los Angeles)Process was incredibly cool though, as I finally hammered out a really solid path to Thought Thief, one of the 2 prestige class archtypes. Totally psyched to be able to put my vision together.
Have fun!
All good ... thought I had 45 more minutes, but all good.
(it's about 11:15am here in Los Angeles)
Process was incredibly cool though, as I finally hammered out a really solid path to Thought Thief, one of the 2 prestige class archtypes. Totally psyched to be able to put my vision together.Have fun!
My mistake! I live in a different timezone and did my conversion incorrectly. You are correct, and you are under consideration!
Good luck everyone!
"I was never one to learn the bow. I did learn the crossbow out of necessity. As my trainer, Sir Cordwin drilled into me." she said, then laughed" Granted, I was more infatuated with Dame Rosealita, with the strawberry hair and perfect heart-shaped face with the cute bow-like lips. Then it was Sir Farrage, tall, dark, and handsome. I got a lot of wrapped knuckles and bruised backside." She says as a hand reflexively goes to touch her butt and stops.
" So maybe another can figure the amptitude of archers than I!" she giggles, looking at Jack.
Jack simply frowns, all too serious. "He hit you? Then he is no good teacher."
==========
Good luck everyone! (I won't bore you further with RP banter.)
PS: I *just* noticed a typo which I just corrected on my character sheet. (Literally changed one word.) I don't know how I missed it the other 2,000 times I looked over my sheet.
Draft Character Sheet
Preliminary Backstory
Had already sent this to GM-H, and he asked that it be posted here.
At this point, Mason can go a couple directions. He can be the Mesmerist Enigma who ends up becoming a Thought Thief, all of which is a supercool solution to qualifying for the prestige class archetype as early as possible (taking Accomplished Sneak Attacker is a big feat investment, but the hard part was actually getting sneak attack). He could also be a Paladin (Mind Sword), having taken leave of the crusade in Mendev. Would tack that additional backstory on to Magnimar.
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Thank you to everyone who submitted interest!
Congratulations to:
Jack Ciarathan
Maylev
Ta Bayang
Trillium Anstarza
Tsia Troian Malynova
Zsófia Dobós
Please report to the Discussion thread.
Our two alternates are:
Rosc/Lady Umbra
Gem Chiaclisnid
If for any reason I should need to recruit additional players, I will contact you first before moving on to any public recruiting.
To everyone else, thank you for your interest and best of luck in future games! If anything about this unorthodox style piques your interest, I'd love to see what it might look like for others to run with it.
Congratulations all!
Sorry for disappearing after settling on a concept. My wife's dad died last week so I haven't really had the time to focus on much. I'll definitely be reading the came thread. This sounds like it could be something special.
Have fun.
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Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope the two of you get the time to work through it in whatever way works best for you. I can only imagine.
Maybe we'll get to share a game some other time. Folks shared some really neat characters here.