Right then, two messages ignored over the last couple months and a post that was not replied to by anyone. Going to assume this is dead and move on.
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As much as I don't mind waiting for something this fun, I want to clarify that I am still waiting for something that's going to happen. Am I the only one still interested in this game? I'm kinda lucky that it didn't start up when my own reality break happened but all the same I haven't heard a peep from anyone in this great game since the pause.
I'll wait as well. I have actually looked through the mythic pdf a few times. Interesting stuff.
Arthur appreciated Basher's help. Before having met the larger young man, the noted 'crazy' bookworm had been an easy target for the few bullies in the city. Since meeting the man and befriending him, however, Arthur seemed to have a lot less trouble. It was in the rare moments when Basher had to actively do something that Arthur remembered why, and he was grateful for the friend. Granted, Arthur still found ways to get back at Basher for using his head as something to lean on, though half the time the young man spotted the tricks. When they were finally led to the area that would be their 'favorite place' for the next few months, Arthur looked around the area quickly for several moments, taking in all that he was seeing. A few questions came to mind about the more interesting training devices, but eventually Arthur was able to puzzle out what most of the stuff was for. Once they were directed toward the dummies, Arthur briefly wondered how many of these raw recruits had ever actually handled a real weapon. There was Basher, himself and the one who picked up the greatsword perhaps but aside from that? With a shrug, Arthur readjusted the device wrapped in cloth hanging on straps over his shoulder and follow the larger youth, Basher, expecting him to know more about how to deal with big crowds.
The turkey rebellion was successfully quelled once more. We lost many good men though...
Arthur, after conversation with Basher dried up, had taken out his journal and begun doing some math by the time the 'presentation' was over. It took a few moments to slip his book away and catch up to the group, namely his only friend in it Basher, but when he did he noticed Gohren studying those filing past. At least, a few of them. He tripped before he could see if he was one of the few, causing quite a commotion as his cloth shrouded device clanked against the ground, but quickly got back to his feet with an embarrassed shade of red now coloring his cheeks. He would mutter a thank you to any who had offered him a hand up, but was too busy checking to make sure the cloth was still securely wrapped around his musket to give anyone proper thanks. As much as Arthur wanted to demonstrate the weapon, he would be fool to give up the element of surprise in any situation, especially this one. If he was going to sell the idea he had to wow Gohren.
"I don't think that would be a good idea." Arthur admitted with embarrassment, not liking the fact that what he was about say would sound like bragging. "If I tried, I might hurt him. Or worse... Besides, I don't want to skip this training. If there's anyone in our city that can get my idea some backing it's Gohren and I need him to learn to trust me as much as my invention, or he'll always have doubts about it." Arthur seemed to completely miss the fact that Basher was leaning on his head. But then again, the bookish 'Arty' was more then used to Basher's 'antics'. "You did pretty well. I thought you almost had him. I don't think anyone will get any closer then you either. Those that are left look too sure of themselves." "Oh!" Excitedly, Arthur turned away from what was happening up front to look up at Basher. He was pretty sure he knew what was going to happen to the remaining kids who tried so he wasn't missing anything. "I managed to solve issue with the sight! Turns out the heat had deformed the barrel a little. I made a few adjustments so it should..." Arthur continued to talk about the technical aspects of his device as those who remained to challenge Gohren did so. Most people would probably be lost, but perhaps Basher had picked up enough of the lingo to follow what he was saying.
Arthur will just keep watching so I'm good from my end.
Oh, as a tip to anyone! if the edit button isn't showing up, here's a trick I learned. Favorite the post you want to edit, unfavorite it, then refresh. It should show up then. It works for me at least.
Very nice Baxter!
Arthur was grateful that Basher had taken out drinking two days ago rather then one. He had slept off the ill affects of the day yesterday, waking only long enough to eat a small piece of bread, all his stomach could handle. When he woke this morning, he felt refreshed and invigorated, ready to meet the day. Unfortunately his stomach betrayed him for completely different reasons today. He was nervous. All Arthur had been able to eat before coming over to the meeting place at the crack of dawn was another piece of bread. At the moment, Arthur was one of the less noticeable people in the crowd, save for a few small things. He wore his clothes as he normally did, a vest, a white collared shirt, and black cloth pants, as well as some new leather boots his father had given him and a sling on his shoulder that was suspiciously the same color as the pants he was wearing. But then he was also wearing several small things that would seem odd to another person who had never seen Arthur's gear. Small bags filled with metal balls. Powder horns that were crudely but solidly made from Arthur's own design. Oh, and of course on his back he wore something covered in a big piece of cloth that was dotted with black spots. It was longer then any sword and made metallic clicking noises whenever Arthur moved a little. He drew more then a few odd looks when he came into the plaza like that, clicking all the way. He watched Gohren speaking, impressed and even a shade jealous by the easy way he spoke in front of so many people. The man knew how to speak to a crowd, something young Arthur had never learned. He only hoped he would get the chance to demonstrate his weapon soon. The knot in his stomach was killing him. Of course, when the man offered the chance to earn their way out of the training, Arthur almost jumped at the chance. Almost. The fact that he would have to fight Gohren instead of simply display ones prowess definitely brought his step forward to quick halt. Instead, Arthur quickly stepped back. Even if Arthur's weapon could, through a mixture of surprise and effectiveness, earn him that pass Arthur wasn't going to risk the injury it could cause to Gohren. Not that Arthur could even guarantee hitting the man. So, instead, Arthur watched Baxter's attempts, wondering what his friend intended to do.
Oh! I just found May I take that instead of Apprentice Scholar? It gives a bit more of a benefit and it thematically works very well. XD
Ah, I see. That works. XD Crazy bonuses are always fun. So I should expect more suspiciously pants colored gadgets in the future? And, as a side note, the pants colored sling is all the more mysterious because Arthur doesn't know how to sew very well. XD
I have a question while we wait, if I may. Your campaign info says we're playing a game with Epic leveling (like epic 6 or epic 10) without the leveling cap. What does that mean, exactly?
Arthur is all set and I am ready to go!
Oh sweet! And sounds good. A masterwork with only 15% chance of misfiring is a lot better then a battered with 20% chance. Also, he will proudly wear his suspiciously pants-colored sling. XD I'm going to say that he doesn't seem to realize that it was actually made from his pants though. Alias is updated then!
I think you're right on the bonus part. I guess I misread it. Mind if I take a +1 or +2 in general to engineering for that trait then, drop the perception completely? I saw +3 and jumped on it but I'd rather have it count for whenever I use the skill. And I'll update my sheet for all that stuff right away. Though are we rolling the health for the second level? just in case we are. Will update if not. Also You do not need to make a Craft check to create firearms and ammunition or to restore firearms. You can use this feat to repair and restore your initial, battered weapon. It costs 300 gp and 1 day of work to upgrade it to a masterwork firearm of its type. How does that affect his time spent getting it to Masterwork? And what would you like me to roll if you still want me too?
"I was trying to make a cure for a hangover." Someone in the small crowd around him yells out, "Looked like he tried to blow his own head off." "Yes."
Arthur meanwhile is unconscious in some ditch with mad, horribly inaccurate math drawn in the dirt on how to make beer better and absolutely no memory of the night before.
Baxter might think Arthur's being a wimp, but the big guy might thank Arthur when the day of their training begins and they don't have a hang over. Well, Baxter might not have one. Arthur is a wimp, so unless he gets really lucky or turns out to be a drinking champ, he might still be a little run down. XD
He'll probably be doing what he was the rest of the month, though he might have dropped a hint, perhaps making fun of some people or, more likely, maybe just making an off handed comment about something he observed when Baxter brought up the idea of partying near the beginning of the month, to go out for a night of revelry two nights before hand. Give a person a day to recover.
XD Arthur wouldn't know what to do at a party. He'd probably bring a book and read in the corner.
As a note, I updated Arthur yesterday. His alias is now in line with Basher's style of setting it up.
Arthur will spend half the month in seclusion within his 'lab' (his bedroom. It just has his stuff in it) working out the kinks to his black powder formua (he notes that his current batch makes just a tad too much smoke sometimes, which interferes with the firing mechanism.) The other half of his time, the last half of the month, will be spent practicing shooting, likely outside the city, and working on the Musket itself (the shots tend to veer just a little to the left and the sights need re-alignment too often). He's pretty sure he won't fix either problem completely, but since he intends to unveil it to Danel's celebrity the day training begins he wants to improve it as much as he can, even if it's just by a tiny amount. Edit: Part of me is really wishing there was a way to use intel instead of wisdom for grit but... oh well, sort of makes sense that Arthur, the bookworm that he is, isn't very gritty yet. XD
A gunslinger actually automatically gets a minimum of 1 grit point, so I'm still in the okay for grit and how much of it I have hasn't actually changed (since my wisdom was a 12 originally). The reason I disliked dropping it is because it made Arthur a little more well rounded mentally, at least in my opinion. That said, encumbrance is a harsh mistress, especially when your main class feature is a huge hunk of metal. XD And sure! I'll finish getting it set up today while I'm cleaning round the house. Just to confirm, armor will be given when the training begins, right?
Arthur would probably pay for a meal here or there if asked. Especially if he's not paying attention.
That is hilarious. And Arthur might have taught a few things to Basher too if he wanted. Arthur's family had a library. Probably more then just a few scrolls on Northern Culture and Arthur would be more then happy to share what he had. Plus, you know, explosives. If the two became friends, Baxter would probably know about Arthur's invention too. Though he might not realize Arthur intends to unveil it during the training they're set to go too. XD
Arthur probably wouldn't try to shoe horn him into it, but perhaps he asks Basher's mother if she can translate and she introduces him to her son? I'm not sure how old you're portraying Basher though. I'm having Arthur turn 16 now, and having his training under the militia thing be a passage into adult hood kind of thing. Granted he's going to be trying to show of his invention but still... Anyway, back to the point! Arthur would have been 11 or 12 when he first started looking for answers to make his shoddily refined black powder more useful, so it's probably around that time that he would have gone looking for help translating some Northspake scrolls his parents had describing different uses for plants found near the fissures. As for how he might have been and reacted back then Arthur himself would have been rail thin back then, and rather short too. If he spoke at all, it was normally with a reserved air to him, as if he weren't sure how to interact. It wasn't a matter of race either. He seemed like that with everyone. That is, until the translations and the science began. As they progressed through the scrolls he would become more animate, more passionate, and wouldn't know when to shut up then. What do you think? Would Basher's mother direct Arthur to her son? How would Basher, however old he was, react to such a curious youth as Arthur?
Would you be interested in tying Arthur and Baxter together in the past? Have Arthur find Baxter in the hopes of helping with translations?
I've had to edit Arthur's ability score a little. Forgot just how heavy armor and weaponry was. Thankfully his background as a blacksmith's apprentice explains the small amount of extra strength he has too him. Otherwise he'd be stuck in medium encumbrance, which is a nasty thing if you ask me. Dropped his wisdom score down to ten. Upped strength to 13. Makes him a little less perceptive, but then again I can play the absent minded inventor a little more like this. XD Hope that's okay. Unfortunately I had to use that floating ability point too. Oh, Baxter! Question. Would your character happen to know the northerners language And Viscount, I finally remember the other mechanical question that was bothering me! I've found 2 traits that I like, but their names are kind of unfitting. Mind if I change them? The names are Egorian School Apprentice
Apprentice Scholar
What do you think?
Sorry DM locke. XD I got the games mixed up with another I was applying for. No trait necessary, especially if it's something you'd prefer not to have.
You're right, I am missing one. But thats fine I'll hang on to it as a luck point. Also, I understand the Touch AC is a big thing. I think a lot of people underestimate the gunslinger, actually. But I do thank you for that and, knowing your the DM, I know you have the right to ask me to change it to something else if it becomes too powerful for your tastes. It's not critical to the character so I wouldn't mind if it comes to that. I just happen to like the idea of putting intelligence to use like that. XD
Well I can do the math for what I intend right now if you'd like. Math
Spoiler:
Right now at level 2 I do +1 damage within 30ft.
At level 3, if allowed, I'd take that, and whenever I'm within 30 ft I'd do +4 damage when I take a standard action to fire (it won't work if I ever start using rapid reload) At level 4, I'd use the bonus feat to take deadly aim and, for a -2 to hit, I'd do another +4 damage. A total of +8 within 30ft, or +4 outside 30 feet. I'll also be bumping Arthur's dex up to 20 then. Then at level 5 I get gun training, giving me another +5 to damage at any range. So that's, within 30ft +13 damage. Outside 30ft that's +9 damage. That's all base damage. No magic or anything. It is powerful, I'll give you that. That's kind of why I had my eye on it. The downside is that by level 3 it will still take a move action to reload. So if I want to get that shot within 30ft off when enemies are moving, I'll have a lot harder time doing it. It also won't work with rapid shot if I ever get more barrels or alchemical cartridges working, since I need to make a standard attack. And that's my math.
Right then. Lets see here... The first question is, may I take and apply to using a gun the feat Focused shot? Normally it's by the wording, saying that it works for bows and crossbows, so I am pretty much asking you to overlook that with this question. The next couple of questions I have double checked on and apparently found my answers for, so apologies it's really just one.
Hmm... Arthur was refined a lot quicker then I had thought he might be. Mind if I ask a few mechanical questions then involving feats and such? I did say I would wait so I'll stick to that if you'd prefer. Curiosity as much as anything else that's driving me to ask.
I see! And Arthur's current idea is him getting creative. But I suspect he'll be more so rather soon. And yes, I'm sure you'll make an interesting time out of his gathering. But not to worry, that's half the fun! The other half, of course, being successful. As for how it's done traditionally, Arthur is going through a very round about way of doing it because he doesn't know the traditional method. He has one of three pieces from a miners journal. The other piece he's using doesn't quite make up for the two original ones. I left it ambiguous as to whether that was the reason his gun fails 20% of the time. (4 misfire instead of just 2. Double the trouble!) I was hoping to have that be one of the issue's he'd after to overcome, among other things.
Actually, surprisingly, Gunslingers don't get disable device. But he could probably teach her the basics of engineering, leading to her eventual understanding of disabling devices on her own? And he probably is a nose in the book type most of the time, but sometimes he's curious enough to work on other puzzles like a new language. After all, thinking of only one puzzle brings about redundant and stagnant thinking. Giving it some space and coming back to it later usually helps. Having them work on languages in the future will be interesting! I imagine there's a lot of now dead civilizations and such. I should probably give him a point in linguistics as well. XD
If I may ask, what language are they speaking? Is it complicated enough that Arthur might not be able to pick up a word or two from the context? He was raised by scholars and has been taught or taught himself four languages, so he might be able to get more then just his name being mentioned. That said, if it's too complicated, their careful with it or you just don't want Arthur to know then I certainly don't mind saying that he just doesn't pay attention enough or something.
That works quite well! I'll bet that, more often then not, he'll either be covered from soot from the forge or from his failed experiments, so he may never make a very good impression. However, given how often he experiments he's probably almost a daily customer, usually coming in for one very large meal that probably makes up for all the meals he missed that day. Also, you have a very interesting character idea! Wish I could write so neatly. Just to get my point across I have to be prolific with my word use. XD Anyone whose purchased or had a weapon fixed can say they've been to Durn's shop and seen Arthur working as well. If anyone spends any amount of time listening to rumors, they're also likely to hear, at least rarely, of the crazy young man who can make thunder.
Here it is. The revised background. Unfortunately, I got ahead of myself and my attempts to shorten the story while trying to add depth failed. It's a page longer by my estimation. Hopefully it's a good read though. Spoiler: Arthurs parents were, much like Arthur would be one day, followed by rumors from other residents of Danel. There comings and goings to and from the city, often leaving nearly empty handed and returning with books, scrolls or odd devices of ancient origin raised many questions. But none of them raised as many as the day they returned not with their findings but with a child. For the first few years, his parents remained at home to raise Arthur, giving him their time and their love. They were good people and from them had born a very intelligent child. He had learned to read and speak by the age of four. By the age of six, he was reading as if he were ten. By the age of eight, he read nearly as well as his parents, though could only understand three languages. The parents of this gifted boy were proud of Arthur and loved him dearly, but the road called to them and their purpose, which the rumor mongers would have you believe was to summon a demon and which Arthur guessed was the preservation of history, called with the road. By the age of nine, they left Arthur in the care of their only friend within the city, Durn, with instructions for almost every event that might happen. They had even left instructions for what would happen if they did not return within a year.
Arthur was already comfortable around Durn, though this was because he had met the smith before hand. Arthur, being every the curious child, had often gone to Durn's smithy down the road and asked questions of the older man. Most smith's might have turned him away so they could focus on their work, but Durn remembered being a boy at that age, always full of questions, and did the best he could to answer when he could. Arthur, for his part, did not pester the smith when he said he was too busy, understanding and respecting the adult who was so patient with him. So Durn often check on Arthur, who spent much of his time reading. His parents had left him a list of things to study but he had finished the list within the first week and now searched on his own for whatever his mind wanted. More often then not, he was drawn to books about engineering. Though they were few and far in between, much of the text focusing on the ancient world and it's rituals of old, Arthur learned quickly how to find and locate the books where technology was the topic. One such text was a journal of an old painter, one who had seemed to have a brilliant mind for many other things too. And within this text Arthur found what would, to this day, be an inspiration for his work. A picture of a flying machine made not with the magic of old but through sheer engineering prowess. Arthur marveled at the designs within the book, all of them, but this one especially touched his youthful heart. To reach the skies... Unfortunately, four months into his solitude, the date for Arthur's parents to return came and went without any sign of them. The youth was, at first, not worried, merely believing them late. But as the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, Arthur's fears grew. His studying came to a stop as the young boy, who loved his parents dearly, spent more and more of his waking hours hoping for them to return. Perhaps six months in, Arthur could more often then not be found sitting atop the wall around Danel looking toward the north where his parents had gone, waiting for their figures to show up on the horizon. Durn, unwilling to let the boy suffer alone, enacted the plans Arthur's parents had left behind early. During the seventh month of their absence, Durn asked the boy to move in with him. Arthur did so reluctantly at first, but the affect that a caring adult had in his life was quick to show itself. He became more animate now, speaking to Durn the way he once had to his parents, confiding in this simple smith his fears and reams. And Durn did his best to protect the boy from the truth. It was a year to the day that Arthur surprised the smith for the first, though certainly not the last, time. He wandered down from his room into the smithy attached to Durns home and asked the older gentleman if he believed his parents would return. Durn, who believed honesty was very important, was forced to answer the truth. “No boy... I don't think they will...” Arthur nodded and looked away, and Durn could see that the boys face was streaked with tears. “Do you think something happened to them? Bandits, perhaps?” “I knew your parents well boy... it would take more then just a few bandits to keep them from you.” Arthur looked to Durn, whose face was solemn in the light of them embers of his forge, and asked, “Do you think... that if they had a better way to protect themselves they would still be here?” Durn shrugged his shoulders and replied, “In this day and age, nothing is certain. But I reckon a better means of defense would make anyone safer.” Arthur nodded, as if he had expected this answer, and said, “Then I'll make one.” It was from a small mining town that his first inspiration for this means of defense came. The town had discovered, quite by accident, black powder and were using it to great effect to create more and more tunnels. Unfortunately the mining tunnels, the town and about half the mountain disappeared when they used it one too many times. The process they used to refine the black powder was not named in the journal Arthur had, one written by one of the miners. It wasn't his job, after all. But by luck or province, it had been his job to collect the mineral it originated from. A near perfect description of the mineral, how to locate it, and how to harvest it was provided. While he would have to learn himself how to create the powder from it, he had a start in his idea. Explosives such as that would be useful at a distance and, if formed properly, could be lobed across said distance. Few bandits or wild animals would be willing or able to stand against such a force At the age of eleven, he asked Durn, the man who had become a surrogate Father to him, to make the request for the mineral with detailed instructions on how to find and gather it. Durn, his legal guardian, had been given control over many things from Arthur's parents when he took Arthur in. The house, the library, and a surprisingly large amount of gold. Durn, however, was smart enough to realize he had also been given a responsibility to raise Arthur properly. So he did what his parents had done whenever he had wanted something in his youth, he made Arthur work for it. Though Arthur's gold could probably pay for orders a thousand times over, Durn wanted to instill in Arthur a sense of responsibility and the value of a coin. As such, Arthur only got as much mineral as he had earned helping out in Durns smithy. In the earlier days this meant little but Arthur did not object, wishing to make his guardian proud. With the small amounts of the mineral that he began to gather Arthur did extensive tests and, also with the aid of Durn, tried hundreds off different ways to refine and mix the powder. The tests often involved fire and, after the second one that had cost Arthur half an eyebrow, Durn insisted he find a place outside to continue testing. Arthur could not test in the streets or the alley ways for fear of causing a disturbance, so his testing, in the end, fell outside the city walls. Eventually, after a few minor burns and some discarded sheets of metal, Arthur deduced that his refinement process was not good enough, and the powder needed a great deal more heat a great deal quicker to ignite. So again he delved into the books his family had and the library of Danel, hoping to find a way to fix his issue. Though he did not find any way to fix the refining process, it appeared that no one save that mining town had ever tried after the accident out of fear, he did find something else. From the north, from one of the crafting tribes as his parents had detailed it, there was a manner of plant that grew about fissures that, when used properly, created a powerful flame. It seemed that this plant was used to start and sustain fires that would be hard to put out in the freezing cold of the north. Arthur only wondered for a short while how his parents had gotten such information, since he immediately began looking for plants with similar attributes through his texts. When he was confident enough to go out looking Arthur only spent a few weeks in search of what he needed. He found the plant that would aid him in abundance, but quickly learned through testing that it was no where near as potent as the Northerners recipe. Arthur guessed that the fissures that helped create the micro-ecosystems might create, in such a wild place, plants far stronger then the common kind he had found. It would stand to reason that the properties that allowed it to survive in such a harsh place, even with the aid of the fissure, would quickly overcome the weakest and bread true the strongest. So it was again that Arthur delved into his parents text until, at the very bottom of the pile, he found a signal scroll from far off to the east. It depicted glass containers of odd shapes over flame and leaves being mixed into it some how. It's language was archaic, beyond even Arthur's understanding, but more searching turned up a journal of his fathers with the translation. It was a process to extract key oils from plants, or from other liquid things, by evaporating the oil in one beaker, letting it flow to a higher beaker in the chain, and then letting it cool in the higher beaker until it was again a liquid. Arthur, delighted, set about creating a set of such beakers. It only took him a month of crafting and two more house fires before he was able to make the process work well enough for his needs. Using the knowledge of plants from the north and the skill of refinement from the east, Arthur distilled a vial of oil pure enough to create the heat he needed, perhaps ten times more effective then what was used to light torches in Danel. Experimenting was extensive now and his walks outside the city were usually followed buy loud thunder peeling across the city. Rumors abound of what he was doing began, the most prolific of them saying that he had found a way to tap into the 'magic' of old. When asked by the more brave, or nosy, of the rumor starters Arthur would laugh and say this. “The magic of old is a dead religion. Nothing more. What I do now is not magic. It is the future!” Often these brave souls who managed to catch Arthur between his walks back and forth between the outer wall and his home spoke little of their encounter with the young, but rapidly growing, man. If pressed themselves, they would simply call the child touched. The look in their eyes made them seem shaken by the experience. It wasn't Arthur's personality that did this either, for years of focusing inward in his mind made him distant and socialization had become difficult for him. It was the belief they saw in his eyes. The certainty that he had discovered a way to uplift man kind. Such a young child with such grand thoughts scared the older, more conservative lot who came to speak to him merely for a good story to tell their friends over a fire. And instead they were left with questions, so many questions. Arthur's experiments would, unfortunately, come to a grinding halt around his thirteenth year. This was when he finally managed to work everything out. The kinks in his explosives were many, and between the refining process for the powder itself and the weakness of the oil, Arthur would have to spend more gold then he had over the last two years, nay more gold then his parents had left him, to gather enough of the mineral to make only a few hundred explosives. Effective at first, but stock would quickly dwindle in a crisis and Arthur needed to create something the city would see as a viable way to defend themselves. Despairing that all of his work had been for naught, Arthur went almost half heatedly into the lessons his guardian, Durn, had insisted he have with him. Durn, knowing that in three short years Arthur would be called upon to learn how to defend the city, wished to instill in his youth the basics of martial combat. He was a smith, of course, no where near an expert in anything. But to be able to forge the weapons properly Durn had always held to the belief that he needed to know how they worked. So he practiced, constantly, preserving the skills that had been taught to him in his youth by the descendants of the founder. So Arthur went into these lessons and began to learn the ways of the sword, the dagger and other melee weapons. He picked up quickly on the basics, but did not seem to have any real potential when it came to close quarters fighting. However, he seemed to have a knack for ranged combat. He quickly picked up on how to use a bow and a crossbow, seeming to favor the latter. The practice took a lot of Arthur's time and energy, so more often then not he would stop working at the Smithy, a physically taxing job on it's own, and practice with Durn on how to use weapons. When they finally returned home, Arthur had not the energy to contemplate his experiments. It was oddly liberating for the young man, who had spent day and night thinking on how to improve it. And it proved, in the end, just what he needed. Now, more physically fit then he had ever been, with about two months of mindless and somewhat relaxing physical labor, Arthur returned to his work. Almost immediately he came upon his solution, something he would have never thought of if it were not for Durn. He began drawing, designing and then constructing his first prototype almost immediately. His inspiration? The bow. It was so deadly because it focused such great power behind a single point. The crossbow even more so for some, allowing a great deal of force to be added through engineering. So he decided to find out how much force one of his explosions, measured right, could create. At first he tried something more open, like a crossbow, but quickly discovered that too much of the force was directed upward and toward the wielders face. It cost him a small scar on his chin, but thankfully he had been practicing with hardly a fraction of the estimated oil treated black powder that would be necessary to make this work. Thankfully he quickly learned and, quite soon, he had a working prototype. He immediately decided to use something much stronger then an arrow, which were made of wood, and deduced that fletching wouldn't survive the force, so he had to create a long muzzle to help aim the projectile of his choice. A small metal ball. His first live test, though it cost him his first prototype, punched it's way through several inches of a tree. Over the years, Arthur has tweaked both his designs and his formula’s. He has discovered ways to streamline the loading process, the lighting process, and even the building. He has refined his black powder and the oil he treats it with and has, almost to a single speck, measured what he needs to fire his weapon. It is still a work in progress. It has, by his estimation, a 20% chance to not fire at all. But when it does, when used close enough, it does so with enough force to punch through armor, making even the most heavily armored man vulnerable. He has improved it's range, it's accuracy and it's durability. And now, at the age of sixteen, despite the rumors abound that have followed him since his youth, despite the loss of his parents and having to completely scrap his original idea; Arthur is ready to face the world. And now, at the age where all youth must go to learn beneath the descendant of the found, Arthur brings his weapon in the hopes of proving his worth. And in his breast pocket, just over his heart, lies his first inspiration. The flying machine that he often dreamed of building in his youth. A symbol, perhaps, that technology would be what uplifted mankind from this desperate lot in life they now had. Or perhaps, a goal of the young inventors.
I had problems with the flow of Arthur's background. Or rather the lack of one. It was very bulky and didn't do a very good job of explaining why, just what. For instance, it explains what he did with the experiments, but not why or what he attempted to create. Now it's clear that he intended, originally, to do something different but found it inefficient (to say the least). So I fixed that. I also integrated what I found from Baxter of the Northerners culture and lands into his inspiration to use plants to aid his workings. If anyone wants to try and write a thread or two involving Arthur I wouldn't mind. He's usually distant though, often mumbling to himself or writing in a journal. Which I need to add to his CS... As for my character sheet, it has been updated. I had two skill points missing and none of his gunslinger deeds listed. That has been corrected.
Unfortunately it appears I must sleep. I don't mean in general, though considering all the wasted hours I suppose that is slightly unfortunate, but at this moment. You can tell by my rambling that I'm not just saying this either. So, I shall get to sleep and will post my revision to Arthur's back story when I awaken and have had time to look over it later today. While I sleep, if you get the chance and have the time, would you mind telling me of any specific points you'd want clarified, shortened, lengthened or given more detail? I touched on the points I had problems with, but I don't mind at all if you had any comments. If not, it shall be up once I awaken! Or soon after.
I believe this is what you mean, yes? I suppose there's a way to add the mechanics of the character to it as well but until I figure it out, here is the Mythweavers sheet I have used. I do have a few questions for what feats you will and won't allow for him, but I'll wait until I see if I make the last cut before pestering you. And they really aren't pertinent until the next level at the earliest. If you have any questions, however, feel free to ask! |