I don't have her stats at hands (though I could easily rebuild her from scratch given some time) but her Sihedron Hero would be my character from my previous Shattered Star campaign, the one mentioned in her backstory: Sarwendah the Petal and Thorn, a Tian-Sing Aasimar hailing from faraway Tianjing.
Mechanically, she was a monk/paladin who would use Crusader's Flurry to cut her enemies to ribbons with her Glaive (only not really because, as a devout follower of Shelyn, she had gone to great lengths to give her weapon the Merciful enchantment). She had come to Magnimar to test her mettle in the city's famous arena, and was then involved in the events of the afore-mentioned campaign. It's mostly in her honor that Alessandra has picked up Shelyin as her patron.
A (quite hastily thrown together) background has been added to Alessandra's profile. I'm sorry if it might look a bit incoherent here and there but I've been jotting it down in a hotel room in the past few days - I hope I'll be able to polish it up a little bit once I'm back home (which alas will be in two days, so after the deadline).
Once again, thanks for your consideration and the time it took you to review each and every submission - to everyone else, best of luck!
This has actually been confirmed as a typo by James Jacobs - it's 10% OFF the standard cost, not 10% OF the standard cost.
Indeed, it seemed too good to be true :)
GM Phntm888 wrote:
For the armor, use the stats for a lesser suit of armor that can be afforded based on your starting wealth. We can fluff it as pieces of the armor have been broken over the years and you've had to discard them. Eventually, if you get in, you may be able to either acquire a full set of Gray Maiden plate or have one made.
I was leaning towards that option too. Banded mail it is then.
GM Phntm888 wrote:
For Close Allies, please refer to my first post, where I specify the two options for handling the Close Allies trait.
Upon skimming through the various submissions, Balacertar's character would make the most sense as her ally (with some adjustments here and there in their respective backstories), though I won't push for a group submission unless he's also keen on it. Let's say I'll go for option 2 and pick Scion of Legend as her backup trait.
GM Phntm888 wrote:
Which order's edicts will you follow?
As a non-loyalist Maiden, she'll follow the Dragon's edicts.
Only saw this thread right now (I'm new to PbP so, by definition, not very active on the forums — until now, that is), so I hope I can still squeeze my way in if only by a hair.
The idea for this character came to me during a RL campaign of "Shattered Star"; somewhere through book 2 (if I remember correctly) our group had to
Spoiler for SS:
fight its way through a group of Grey Maidens who had been forced into servitude by an Alu Demon. Being the goody-two-shoes that we were, and realizing that they were acting more out of coercion and desperation than actual malice, we managed to solve most of the encounters non-lethally (be it though diplomacy or non-lethal damage).
After defeating that dungeon's final boss, we agreed to let them go peacefully to try and find a new course in life; the campaign moved on and we never quite managed to check back on them, even though my PC (a paladin of Shelyn, who would also happen to be her Sihedron Heroine) sometimes wondered what had become of them.
In a way, Alessandra's my way to make up for that loose end: when I read about Grey Maidens being suggested as playable PCs by the Player's Guide, I conceived her as one of those nameless steel-clad women the AP threw at us, a faceless mook among many others whose existence was usually confined in the two rounds between rolling for initiative and our resident DPSer's first full round attack. An NPC getting her second chance in life to step up as a PC, so to say.
Her build reflects this both thematically and mechanically. Grey Maidens are supposed to be scarred individuals relying on each other for sustenance and psychological healing, putting the party's good before their own; her archetype emphasizes that by making her fill a support/tank kind of niche.
DEFENSE AC 22, touch 11, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +9 armor, +2 shield)
hp 13 (1d10+2+1)
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0; +2 vs. pain effects
OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee longsword +4 (1d8+3/19-20)
Special Attacks halfhearted challenge 1/day (+1 atk. to allies when threatening, +1 dmg., +1 AC), tactician 1/day (Shield Wall, standard action, 3 rounds)
STATISTICS Str 17, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 15
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats – Gray Maiden Initiate (endurance, scarred), Noble Scion (war)
Traits – charming, close allies, reactionary Skills (4 cavalier +1 Int +1 FCB +1 human +2 background); ACP -8
Bluff +6 (+1 rank +2 Cha +3 class) (+7 vs. sexually attracted)
Craft (painting) +5 (+1 rank +1 Int +3 class)
Diplomacy +5 (+1 rank +2 Cha +3 class -1 feat) (+6 vs. sexually attracted)
Intimidate +8 (+1 rank +2 Cha +3 class +2 feat)
Knowledge (local) +5 (+1 rank +1 Int +3 class)
Knowledge (nobility) +3 (+1 Int +2 feat)
Perception +4 (+1 rank +3 class)
Perform (oratory) +6 (+1 rank +2 Cha +3 class)
Sense Motive +4 (+1 rank +3 class)
FCB – Level 1 – +1/4 banner bonus
Languages (2) – Common, Varisian
SQ maiden's order (order of the dragon, order of the lion)
Gear gray maiden plate, shield (heavy steel), longsword, whetstone 70 lbs., light load
I still lack a full backstory, which I intend to add shortly. I picked "close allies" as her campaign trait, as it seemed the most obvious choice given her outlook and backstory. I can stay vague about it, but I'd be very happy to link backgrounds with other applicants if someone's willing.
One (not so) little problem: most of her background (as well as her Grey Maiden Initiate feat) relies on her having been a Grey Maiden for a long time, and having spent a lot of time in their distinctive armor. However, being priced at 1500 gp, there's no way for a 1st level PC to afford a Gray Maiden Plate, barring some odd combination of traits. This is particularly jarring since that very feat's text references it, while also specifying it can only be taken at 1st level.
In order to circumvent it, I thought of a few options:
She owns a "lesser" or broken variant of , which shares stats with a cheaper set of armor (like a banded mail)
She owns it, but it's currently not in her possession for some reason. It will become available to her once it makes sense considering WBL.
She gets one in exchange for her "Circle Market Deal": at 10% the cost, it would suddenly become affordable to her.
Well, that's it for the time being, I think. Oh, I live in GMT+1, I hope that's not too much of a problem.
