Welcome! Feel free to make adjustments to characters now that you see who else is in the game and what you think the party might need.
I know that this recruitment was a bit quirky with its grognard style, but I hope it will be an enjoyable game. I appreciate you giving it a chance and submitting characters.
You have been summoned to Ravengro to attend the funeral of Professor Petros Lorrimor. Each of you know the Professor, and to a degree his daughter Kendra. It was she who sent you the invitations, whether you were in town already or some distance away.
Kendra is an attractive woman of 25 years. Her eyes are red and puffy from mourning.
"I am glad you are here. Nobody else has traveled here to pay their respects to my father, nobody from Lepidstadt. Nobody from the University. And with things the way they are in town these days, there are very few locals from Ravengro who came out. Even though we have lived here for fifteen years.
We shall have more time to talk after the burial. For now, may I ask which among you are willing to serve as pallbearers?"
Looking for brave adventurers to explore the dark corners of Ustalav...
I have been active in the PbP community for a while now; I have previously taken over and run most of a mini-AP (Red Hand of Doom), and I am currently acting as a fill-in GM for another AP (Ruins of Azlant). This will be my first time starting an AP, and I mean to run it to the end, aiming for a relatively quick pace.
GM trade: I have two games that are in need of GMs. One is the aforementioned Ruins of Azlant, where I am a player-GM and wish to go back to just being a player. We are near the end of Book 2, and I am looking to hand it off soon. The other is Skull & Shackles, where we are in Book 4 and just lost our GM. I am hoping to offer two spots in this campaign to GMs who can take over one table or the other. I know there are more willing players than GMs, so if I am going to ask the forums for two GMs, I had better step up to be one myself. Here I go. If you would be willing to GM, say so in your submission. Obviously it would be best if you had some established history of PbP GM'ing, but I would not be averse to taking a leap of faith.
A word on optimization and restraint: Carrion Crown is an older AP, and heavy optimization is likely not necessary based on what I have seen. I wish to run it as written, with no adjustments to increase the difficulty. I'll probably select characters that I think are strong enough to succeed, but not so strong as to remove all challenge from the game. If you later find your PC getting so strong that the challenge has diminished, I'd expect you to dial it back for the sake of keeping the campaign fun. Like, maybe don't take that powerful feat next level. Maybe even retrain out something.
Character Creation Attributes: 20 point buy, no points for dumping stats. You can certainly have lower attributes if you think it makes your character more interesting, but it offers no mechanical advantage.
Race: Human.
Classes: Alchemist, Arcanist, Barbarian (either version), Bard, Bloodrager, Brawler, Cavalier, Cleric, Fighter, Inquisitor, Investigator, Magus, Medium, Occultist (no Trappings of the Warrior), Paladin, Psychic, Ranger, Rogue (either version), Skald, Sorcerer, Spiritualist (non-Phantom archetypes only), Swashbuckler, Warpriest, Witch, Wizard, Adept.
Special note about casters: I'm not making selections with the assumption that the party needs a 9th-level caster. I am in an all-fighter Ironfang Invasion game that is going quite well. So we'll see what the submissions are.
Alignments: Good or "neutral with good tendencies" as they said in AD&D.
Hit Points: Max at first level, then half your HD+1 for each level afterwards.
Wealth: Average starting gold for your class.
Skills: Background Skills are in use.
Traits: One campaign trait, no drawbacks, no Additional Traits. However, as it is a necessary rules patch, all casters gain the effect of Magical Knack for all casting classes they may have.
Optional Rules: Variant Multiclassing is allowed, but abilities do not stack beyond what a single-classed PC would get.
Variant Magic Item Economy: Automatic Bonus Progression at level +1, but no magic item shops and no crafting (use PFS rules to substitute automatic crafting feats; bonded items can be enchanted, as in PFS). There will be some magic items found, and maybe some that are tailored to things PCs want or need, but they are not fungible - use them or leave them.
Other rules: In general I follow most of the PFS rulings (e.g. no Pageant of the Peacock, no Tears to Wine), but not all (Armor Specialization is just fine). Ask about anything prohibited in PFS. I'm pretty liberal on Take 10, moderately conservative on Aid Another for skills, and very conservative on Masterwork Tools.
Posting expectations: Hopefully 1/day on weekdays.
Party size and selection: I will probably select 5-6 PCs, by February 20.
I know I am showing my BECMI roots (e.g. no magic shops), so this game will not be for everyone. I do think these changes will be suitable for a horror campaign, but most of all I'm hoping to be up-front about my ideas so there are no surprises later on.
This game is first come first served. It will begin on March 6, 2023.
This is a 7-11 scenario. I am running it for the CORE PF1 campaign and hoping to go high tier to get more CORE PCs in tier for Eyes of the Ten.
Outpost GM signup begins February 7. General signup begins February 10.
Please sign in here with the following:
Player/Forum Name:
Character Name:
Class and Level:
PFS# (and dash):
Faction:
Day job Roll (if any):
I know asking for a new GM is always a longshot. We have a solid and very loyal group of players partway through Book 1 of Runelords... after 2 years.
Our GM never posted particularly frequently, but we stuck with it because, I think, we all were very interested in getting to experience this classic AP.
The GM posted about once a week, then once every two weeks, and now not at all for months.
In the first year, we have had some turnover, but the current group of players has stuck with it for the past year (despite the diminishing frequency) and all have expressed an interest in continuing with a new GM and hopefully more like the 1/day posting frequency that seems to be the default.
We are all 2nd level and in the dungeon under the Glassworks.
Trig Fanabarellalisa, Gnome Shaman
Morgrym Stonestepper, Dwarf Warpriest of Torag
Lazur Anil, Human Investigator
Calin Moonbreeze, Half-Elf Fighter
Wayland Egorius, Human Diviner
I have a fair amount of experience with PFS, but mostly as a player. This is my second game as a GM. A few things:
1) Please post within 24 hours of your turn coming up, and sooner if possible.
2) If you have to be away, please let me know and include some botting instructions in your profile. Or designate another player to bot you if you wish.
3) I roll most things openly. Feel free to check attack rolls if I miscalculated, or saves (I might roll saves for you all to move things along more quickly if needed - to this point, let me know if you have reactive abilities that apply to saves). If something is in a "GM Eyes" spoiler then please don't check it.
4) Please do let me know if I make significant errors either in the rules or in game management. However, if you have raised a question and I have made a decision on it, that decision is final. As per PFS rules, I will not make rulings that are clearly and explicitly contradicted by the books, but there is a good deal of grey area where I will use my best judgment.
5) We're all here to have fun!
All that said, please sign in here with the following:
Player/Forum Name:
Character Name:
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PFS# (and dash):
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Welcome!
I have been a PFS player for several years, and a PbP GM for several years, but this is my first game as a PFS GM.
Expectations:
1) Please post within 24 hours of your turn coming up, and sooner if possible. A module is longer than an ordinary scenario, but I think we can get through this during Outpost. I will try to keep things moving.
2) If you have to be away, please let me know and include some botting instructions in your profile. Or designate another player to bot you if you wish.
3) I roll most things openly. Feel free to check attack rolls if I miscalculated, or saves (I might roll saves for you all to move things along more quickly if needed - to this point, let me know if you have reactive abilities that apply to saves). If something is in a "GM Eyes" spoiler then please don't check it.
4) I know the rules fairly well (and low-level Core has a lot less to keep track of), and can post reliably to keep a game moving, but please do let me know if I make significant errors either in the rules or in game management. However, if you have raised a question and I have made a decision on it, that decision is final. As per PFS rules, I will not make rulings that are clearly and explicitly contradicted by the books, but there is a good deal of grey area where I will use my best judgment.
5) Related to the above, one area with a lot of table variation is Take 10. I am a fan of it. Feel free to use it when not threatened or distracted (pretty much when not in combat) unless a skill says otherwise. MW tools are another area subject to some amount of GM discretion in my understanding, where I am not quite so permissive. I'm sure other things will come up - when I make a ruling you disagree with, please understand that I am not being adversarial, but doing what I think is in the best interest of providing a fun game for everybody.
So please sign in here with the following:
Player/Forum Name:
Character Name:
Class and Level:
PFS# (and dash):
Faction:
Day job Roll (if any):
Perhaps reading too deeply in this AP will leave you rocking on the floor, muttering incoherent blasphemies and shrieking with terror at your insignificance in the universe. It would explain the disappearance of several previous GMs. But if you wish to brave that risk, there is a party of intrepid souls that can give you a solid and engaging game.
The party is currently level 3, and is exploring the asylum. If you can take over, I can summarize which rooms we have explored and which things we have encountered so far.
Dervak was originally in another Strange Aeons game that folded, then started over with this one and survived the original GM vanishing into the fog, and then a second GM vanishing into the fog. He is hoping to one day make it through Book 1, and then who knows?
The PCs are:
Dervak, half-orc Aberrant bloodrager (hasn't raged yet, but is dreading when he has to)
Mara bint al-Katheeri, half-orc Speaker for the Past shaman
Theophilus Carter, human Cartomancer witch (also from the prior campaign)
Julius Anderson, half-elf Inspired Blade swashbuckler, who vanished into the fog but has since come back... or has he?
A few months ago the GM started a couple of all-fighter tables for Ironfang Invasion. We had a great thing going.
He recently warned us his frequency was about to diminish, but it has in fact stopped entirely for the past three weeks. I sent a PM but didn't hear back.
PbP games need momentum. I'm hoping for daily posting. Anybody willing to pick this up?
We have 4 players looking to continue and I would suggest a new GM bring on another 1 or 2; there are some tricks for fighters to fill in at other roles (like Item Mastery or VMC) but we do have some gaps in our capabilities.
We are level 2 and in the woods. He kept good records so you can see our supplies and so on.
I don't know about the other table, how many of their players want to continue; if there are too many to merge they may also want a new GM. But if only 2 want to continue they could join us.
The Knights of Ozem summoned Arazni to lead them in the Shining Crusade against the Whispering Tyrant, which she did for five years before being killed. Iomedae was the leader of the Knights of Ozem at the time of Arazni's death, and possibly at the time of her summoning (I am not certain of the timing of Iomedae's leadership of the Knights).
So did Iomedae herself decide to summon Arazni? It would be an interesting twist, and certainly feed Arazni's resentment of Iomedae, if the mortal who called her to her doom is the one who took her place and ultimately surpassed her. For her part, Iomedae would likely feel a great deal of guilt and grief for this role that is not generally discussed by the faithful... yet one could imagine her quietly championing a Tortured Crusader paladin, who likewise reflects on their own failings as motivation to do better.
Bit of a rant here...
The other day, we had a death in a low-level Core game. We could have raised the character if I had coughed up all of my cash. I didn’t offer. I felt bad about it, but I felt that PC would just die again. So I suggested that the player make a new one that was not quite so fragile; it was a 10-Con bard that died. The player seems to feels that neither HP nor AC do any good unless you optimize for them; a “modest investment” is worthless. He bought an 18 in his casting stat and didn’t have much left over. Well, I thought, if he didn’t care enough to invest any of his resources into his survival, why should I?
At this point two other players chimed in that 10 Con is just fine; they typically play casters and believe you are doing it wrong if you don’t buy an 18 in your casting stat. Con is for fighters. The thought here is "I'll ignore Con, stay off the front lines, and the attackers will target somebody else."
I don’t understand this, unless “as tough as the average shopkeeper” is part of your character concept. In every edition I’ve played, Con has always been even more important if you have a low HD and (in 3E onwards) a bad Fort save. A wizard gets 4 HP/level in PFS, so +2 Con is +50% more HP; it is only +33% for a fighter. The marginal gain from buying a 16 to buying an 18 is that 5% of the time your spells will succeed where they would have failed. The cost, 7 points, buys you a 14 and a 12. Put those in Con and Dex, and that can quite likely keep you alive for one attack from a CR+3 BBEG. If your spell fails on that 5% chance, other PCs can contribute to the encounter and defeat the opponent; if you die, there is typically not much they can do for you.
My Core rogue has a 16 Con (dwarf) not because I want him to ever take damage, but because I know that he will take damage, maybe even the BBEG’s opening salvo; I can’t plan on the GM being nice and targeting the barbarian or fighter (if there is one; this time I was the sole tank by default, and the bard was killed because there was no "front line" in that combat). I want him to be a skillmonkey. Con doesn’t help skills, or attack rolls, or nearly any offensive abilities. It doesn’t let him shine; it just lets him not die.
I didn’t dedicate resources to my PCs’ defensive capabilities so that you don’t have to. You can’t plan on him being targeted in lieu of you. First of all, expecting my rogue to take attacks for you seems far more selfish than expecting him to provide healing for you (the latter only costs gold, the former could get him killed). Second of all, he can’t make enemies target him, and smart ones will target a glass cannon. (Or, area of effect damage is also a thing.) You have to be able to survive at least one attack from a CR+3 BBEG. Sometimes in PFS you’ll be alongside an Archon Style Sacred Shield Lucky Halfling, and that’s great. But your survival is your responsibility; you don’t know who will show up each week.
Yes, at higher levels you can be flying, blinking, stoneskinned, with False Life and Resist Energy. Takes a while to get there.
Am I being unreasonable to suggest 12+ Con for low-HD classes? The thing I may be missing is enemy tactics in PFS. I have GM’d a lot in the past, but not PFS. Normally, I would expect enemies to focus fire on glass cannons, especially casters. That’s what PCs do. Are enemy tactics written as “split attacks,” “engage the most heavily-armored PCs in melee,” or “attack whoever hit you last”?
If not, then given that PFS GMs often seem to display at least some aversion to killing PCs, sacrificing defense for offense seems (to me) to be unfairly exploiting that kindness. I realize that I could be mistaken; it’s an opinion I bring from games where the expectation was that GMs would not kill PCs (and thus some other players ignored defense).
It’s ultimately any player’s choice to play the character they want, and I understand that. But I doubt if I should volunteer for the “tank by default” role if this is what I am enabling. I'm happy to have my characters defend those who have made at least a modest effort at survival, but otherwise it seems unreasonable.
Full Name
Maltorin Duskstrider
Race
Caligni
Classes/Levels
2nd Level Chaokineticist | HP 23/23 (NLD 0) | AC 16 | T 13 | FF 13 | CMD 14 | Fort +7 | Ref +6 | Will +1 | Init +3 | Perc +6 | Burn: 0/7
Armor:
Shield:
Head:
Eyes:
Neck:
Shoulders:
Waist:
Body:
Vest:
Wrist: Sleeves of Many Garments – 200gp
Hands:
Ring:
Ring:
Feet:
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Traits
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Fast Talker: You had a knack for getting yourself into trouble as a child, and as a result developed a silver tongue at an early age. Benefit:You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks, and Bluff is always a class skill for you.
Orphan Scion: You were born on another world, but came to Arch as a child. You were raised at the Temple and joined the Academy as soon as you were old enough. Benefit:Knowledge Local: Arch is always a class skill for you. In addition, your years of proximity to the Godstone have made your body more receptive to magical rejuvenation. Whenever you are magically healed, gain +1 Hit Point per Dice of magical healing. You also gain proficiency in one Simple or Martial weapon (Pistol) from the extra training you received at the academy.
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Special Abilities
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Kineticist Features:
Elemental Focus (Su): At 1st level, a kineticist chooses one primary element on which to focus. This element determines how she accesses the raw power of the Ethereal Plane, and grants her access to specific wild talents (see below) and additional class skills. She can select aether (telekinesis), air (aerokinesis), earth (geokinesis), fire (pyrokinesis), or water (hydrokinesis). She gains her selected element’s basic utility wild talent (basic telekinesis, basic aerokinesis, basic geokinesis, basic pyrokinesis, or basic hydrokinesis; see page 23) as a bonus wild talent. See Elements on page 14 for the specific abilities granted by each element.
Wild Talents: A kineticist can use wild talents—magical abilities similar to spells but drawn from the kineticist’s innate psychic talent and usable at will. Wild talents are typically spell-like abilities (though some are supernatural abilities), and take a standard action to use unless otherwise noted. A wild talent always has the elemental descriptor or descriptors (aether, air, earth, fire, or water) matching its Element entry. A wild talent that can be used with any of several elements gains the appropriate elemental descriptor when used with an element. For example, the wall wild talent gains the earth descriptor when used by a geokineticist.
Every wild talent has an effective spell level. A kineticist can always select 1st-level wild talents, but she can select a wild talent of a higher level only if her kineticist level is at least double the wild talent’s effective spell level. Kinetic blast and defense wild talents are always considered to have an effective spell level equal to 1/2 the kineticist’s class level (to a maximum effective spell level of 9th at kineticist level 18th).
Unless otherwise noted, the DC for a saving throw against a wild talent is equal to 10 + the wild talent’s effective spell level + the kineticist’s Constitution modifier. The kineticist uses her Constitution modifier on all concentration checks for wild talents.
In addition to the wild talents she gains from her other class features, at 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, a kineticist selects a new utility wild talent from the list of options available to her. A kineticist can select only universal wild talents or those that match her element (see Elemental Focus above). At 6th, 10th, and 16th levels, a kineticist can replace one of her utility wild talents with another wild talent of the same level or lower. She can’t replace a wild talent that she used to qualify for another of her wild talents.
Burn (Ex): At 1st level, a kineticist can overexert herself to channel more power than normal, pushing past the limit of what is safe for her body by accepting burn. Some of her wild talents allow her to accept burn in exchange for a greater effect, while others require her to accept a certain amount of burn to use that talent at all. For each point of burn she accepts, a kineticist takes 1 point of nonlethal damage per character level. This damage can’t be healed by any means other than getting a full night’s rest, which removes all burn and associated nonlethal damage. Nonlethal damage from burn can’t be reduced or redirected, and a kineticist incapable of taking nonlethal damage can’t accept burn. A kineticist can accept only 1 point of burn per round. This limit rises to 2 points of burn at 6th level, and rises by 1 additional point every 3 levels thereafter. A kineticist can’t choose to accept burn if it would put her total number of points of burn higher than 3 + her Constitution modifier (though she can be forced to accept more burn from a source outside her control). A kineticist who has accepted burn never benefits from abilities that allow her to ignore or alter the effects she receives from nonlethal damage.
Kinetic Blast (Sp): At 1st level, a kineticist gains a kinetic blast wild talent of her choice. This kinetic blast must be a simple blast that matches her element. As a standard action, the kineticist can unleash a kinetic blast at a single target up to a range of 30 feet. She must have at least one hand free to aim the blast (or one prehensile appendage, if she doesn’t have hands). All damage from a kinetic blast is treated as magic for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. Kinetic blasts count as a type of weapon for the purpose of feats such as Weapon Focus. The kineticist is never considered to be wielding or gripping the kinetic blast (regardless of effects from form infusions; see Infusion on page 12), and she can’t use Vital Strike feats with kinetic blasts. Even the weakest kinetic blast involves a sizable mass of elemental matter or energy, so kinetic blasts always deal full damage to swarms of any size (though only area blasts deal extra damage to swarms). A readied kinetic blast can be used to counterspell any spell of equal or lower level that shares its descriptor. A kinetic blast that deals energy damage of any type (including force) has the corresponding descriptor. The various kinetic blasts, as well as additional rules for simple blasts, are described on pages 15–16.
Gather Power (Su): If she has both hands free (or all of her prehensile appendages free, for unusual kineticists), a kineticist can gather energy or elemental matter as a move action. Gathering power creates an extremely loud, visible display in a 20-foot radius centered on the kineticist, as the energy or matter swirls around her. Gathering power in this way allows the kineticist to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent she uses in the same round by 1 point. The kineticist can instead gather power for 1 full round in order to reduce the total burn cost of a blast wild talent used on her next turn by 2 points (to a minimum of 0 points). If she does so, she can also gather power as a move action during her next turn to reduce the burn cost by a total of 3 points. If the kineticist takes damage during or after gathering power and before using the kinetic blast that releases it, she must succeed at a concentration check (DC = 10 + damage taken + effective spell level of her kinetic blast) or lose the energy in a wild surge that forces her to accept a number of points of burn equal to the number of points by which her gathered power would have reduced the burn cost. This ability can never reduce the burn cost of a wild talent below 0 points.
Infusion (Su): At 1st level, a kineticist gains an infusion wild talent from the list of options available based on her elemental focus. She gains additional infusions at 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 17th, and 19th levels. By using infusions along with her kinetic blasts, a kineticist can alter her kinetic blasts to suit her needs. Infusions come in two types, each of which changes a kinetic blast differently: a substance infusion causes an additional effect, while a form infusion causes the kinetic blast to manifest in a different way. Each infusion can alter only certain kinds of kinetic blasts, which are listed in its Associated Blasts entry. Each time the kineticist uses one of her kinetic blast wild talents, she can apply up to one associated form infusion and up to one associated substance infusion. Some infusions change the action required to activate a kinetic blast or entirely transform the kinetic blast’s normal effects. The burn cost listed in each infusion’s Burn entry is added to the burn cost of the kinetic blast the infusion modifies.
The DC for a save against an infusion is based on the associated kinetic blast’s effective spell level, not the level of the infusion. The DCs for form infusions are calculated using the kineticist’s Dexterity modifier instead of her Constitution modifier. When a kineticist modifies a kinetic blast with a form infusion and a substance infusion that both require saving throws, each target first attempts a saving throw against the form infusion. If a target succeeds and a successful save negates the infusion’s effects, the entire kinetic blast is negated; otherwise, the target then attempts a saving throw against the substance infusion. If a kineticist’s form and substance infusions both alter the kinetic blast’s damage, apply the substance infusion’s alteration first.
At 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, a kineticist can replace one of her infusions with another infusion of the same effective spell level or lower. She can’t replace an infusion that she used to qualify for another of her wild talents.
The descriptions of infusions begin on page 17.
Elemental Defense (Su): At 2nd level, a kineticist gains her element’s defense wild talent ( the descriptions of defense wild talents begin on page 16).
Void Element:
Like aether, void forms where elemental energy meets another material, in this case the substance of the Negative Energy Plane. Chaokineticists command this strange force in a way that in some respects resembles the manipulation of aether.
Class Skills: A chaokineticist adds Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Escape Artist to her list of class skills.
Wild Talents Simple Blast – Gravity blast, Negative blast Composite Blasts – Gravitic boost, Negative admixture, Void blast
Defense – Emptiness
1st – Basic Chaokinesis, Draining infusion†, Extended range†, Kinetic blade†, Kinetic cover, Kinetic fist†, Pulling Infusion†, Pushing infusion†, Skilled kineticist, Void healer
2nd – Eyes of the void, No breath, Great Skilled kineticist
3rd – Darkness infusion†, Elemental grip, Extreme range†, Flurry of blasts†, Gravity control, Kinetic whip†, Mobile blast†, Snake†,
4th – Expanded defense, Singularity†
5th – Great Eyes of the void, Great Gravity control, Grappling infusion†, Kinetic form, Spark of life, Wall†
6th – Great Darkness infusion†, Ride the blast, Suffocate
7th – Enervating infusion†
8th – Reverse shift
9th – Gravity master
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Standard Racial Traits:
Ability Score Racial Traits (1 RP): Caligni are quick and resilient, but generations of isolation and oppression have made them slow to accept new ideas. They gain +2 Dexterity and +2 Constitution but suffer –2 Intelligence..
• Size: Caligni are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Base Speed: Caligni have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Caligni begin play speaking Common and Dark Folk.
Senses Racial Traits:
• See in Darkness (4 RP): Caligni have the see in darkness special ability allowing them to see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including that created by deeper darkness.
Weakness Racial Traits:
• Light Sensitivity (-1 RP): Caligni are dazzled in areas of bright light.
Magic Racial Traits:
• Death Throes (1 RP): When a caligni is slain, its body combusts in a flash of searing light. All creatures within a 5-foot burst must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the caligni's Hit Dice + the caligni's Constitution bonus) or be dazzled for 1d4 rounds. The corpse left behind is a third of the caligni's size, withered and unrecognizable as the individual. Raise dead and similar spells cast upon these remains restore a caligni as normal.
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Background:
Maltorin’s birth in the deep dark beneath the surface of the world was a momentous event to the Dark Folk community. A Caligni birth was regarded as a great omen, and it was widely regarded that he would usher in a period of greatness for the cloistered community, which was beset by enemies upon all sides… Unfortunately for Maltorin, as is all too common within such evil communities, his perceived greatness was not as popular with all. The dark stalkers who reigned over the community were not as keen on the changes that seemed to be coming with Maltorin as he aged into adolescence. A plot began to end the caligni upstart before he could throw the leaders’ tenuous hold into disarray. Maltorin was well-liked within the community and the conspirators knew that he could not dispatched by the standard mysterious murder. Oh no, this caligni would require a more subtle touch. It had been too long since the community had marched upon their enemies, perhaps the duergar could take the blame? Or the dark elves? Or those foul-mouthed Svirfneblin? It was no matter, as long as the blame could not be traced back to them. Such subtlety would take exceptional planning and patience…
Maltorin was now at the age where he was beginning to learn about the dangers of his home and how to use the darkness to his advantage. It was also during this time when the conspiracy began its first hints when a strange crusade of surface dwellers began to invade the underworld. He witnessed what happened to the “good” folk of the surface when they attempted to combat the “vileness” of the darkness below. While the surface people often restrained themselves against their foes, their enemies held no such reservations and utilized tactics that horrified the surface peoples. Such tactics were nearly always effective and he learned an important lesson that would always stick with him; in battle the good die and the unscrupulous often survived. It was during these times he also learned about the horror that could be unleashed by those who allowed true evil into their hearts…
Maltorin was only nine when he suddenly woke in an abandoned tunnel with a pain in his head so strong that it caused him to empty the vile smelling contents of his stomach all over the hard, stone floor. Once he was able to regain control of his stomach he looked around in an attempt to figure out what had happened, but he suddenly realized he was surrounded by a half-dozen or more surface children corpses. His mind reeled as he tried to make sense of what had happened when he suddenly heard the clatter of surface dwellers rushing through the tunnels toward him. It was in that moment he knew he had been betrayed, but by whom he did not know. At that moment, however, it mattered not as he barely had time to scramble to his feet and flee ahead of the mob rushing to greet him. He rushed through tunnels he had never seen before, hoping that perhaps he would find one he recognized, until suddenly the ground crumbled away beneath his feet and he fell screaming… Only to suddenly land hard upon a strange path. He squinted his eyes at the terrible brightness that assailed his eyes. A strange sensation covered his body, as if someone was drawing the softest silk sheet he’d ever felt over his skin. He could hear talking in a strange language that was alien to him. Finally his eyes adjusted to the light enough for him to realize the light was… The sun?!?! He was on the surface! In his terror, Maltorin scrambled to his feet and ran blindly into a nearby stone wall, which knocked him out cold.
Maltorin did not realize it, but he had fallen into a long forgotten (if anyone had ever even known about its existence) portal to a strange city that was located at the very center of existence, Arch. When Maltorin’s story was finally extracted from him, it was determined that returning him to his home world was not in his best interest. Nor did he want to return to the unforgiving darkness beneath the surface world. Even though the sun stung his eyes, everything about the surface world fascinated Maltorin and he quickly fell in love with the great city. He was taken to the Temple and raised alongside the other orphans from strange and innumerous worlds. The first time he stood before the Godstone, he felt and saw a strange penumbral aura seeping out of his pores and surrounding him in a loving embrace. He found that the bright sun no longer stung his eyes! Furthermore he found he could control the darkness that clung to him and do strange things with it. When he finally reached the age of consent, he joined the Academy and further developed his powers as he came to lear ever more about Arch. The longer he stayed within the great city the more he understood its importance and vowed to protect his city with everything he could…
Description:
Reference Image. Height 6'3" Weight 130
Skin Ash w/ black Eyes Silver Hair Long white that darkens to black
Maltorin is tall and terribly thin, but lean and his slender frame belies the extreme constitution he possesses. His handsome face, shoulders, and torso are a bleached grey the color of ash; the ash color then begins to darken along his shoulders and hips to an obsidian hue along his extremities. His long hair is stark white near the scalp and, like his limbs, darkens to jet black at its tips. No matter how short his cuts it, his hair always gradually displays such strange coloration. His eyes are a little unsettling with inky black sclera (where normal people have white) with bright silver iris. He also seems to have a strange, shadowy aura about him at all times…
