Oh, don't worry about me. I don't mind waiting at all. I'm just concerned about Poly since his absence was so sudden and without notice. I hope he's alright.
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Hi Qunnessaa, have you heard back from Poly at all? If not, what should we do?
Well, it's getting worrisome I think. Poly typically posts quickly and enthusiastically. I'm in more than one game with him and he's completely disappeared from the boards for about 2 weeks now.
Ugh! I'll try to get a gameplay post up today. Thanks for getting things rolling Qunnessaa. Have you heard from Poly recently? I haven't seen any posts from him anywhere in quite a few days, which seems out of character for him...
Can we agree that moving forward everything bad is Tabitha's mom's fault?
I'm ready. Still a little busy but I'll manage just fine.
Oh, the story feat. I don't have any one of them in particular that I'm most attached to. I mentioned three: Town Tamer, Vengeance, and Explorer that I could see working. Feel free to surprise me, any of them are fine. I listed more than one because I didn't want to create a bunch of work for you in having to try to fit a specific one in. Choose the easiest of the three for you and go with it. Pathfinders... I'd kept the idea of Sayrin Firewyne in Uringen from before sort of by default. That could be Ausra's connection. But, Daggermark does make sense as well. I'f forgotten there was a Lodge there actually. I could see Ausra coming back to Daggermark a couple of times over the years to try solving the question of who murdered her mother. She could easily have joined up then, especially if she thought it might help her own investigation. Istivil Bosk could be her boss if that's better for your plans.
I think the spear is the best choice at this point. There are only a couple of feats involved, Phalanx Formation and Combat Reflexes that I'd really need. If I decide I don't like it so much, I can always switch to ECB when get a martial level. I've actually been super busy the last week or so and haven't done much at all about anything here. I have some highlights for Ausra's backstory figured out, but haven't put it in narrative form yet. I'll bullet point them here: Background Basics: 1. Ausra lived in Daggermark as far back as she can remember, but can't say for certain if she was born there. 2. She knows her father's name and that he is/was from Kyonin. Her mother was forlorn. They had parted ways well before Ausra formed any memories of her father. 3. Her mother was a member of the Poisoner's Guild. Ausra learned the basics of chymistry from her. 4. Ausra was not at home when her mother was murdered, perhaps that was by design because it was an assassination. While she was in her early to mid-teens (human equivalent) at the time, one doesn't live in Daggermark without learning a few things and she could read the signs. 5. Ausra didn't know how safe she was in the aftermath and abandoned her home, going into hiding. 6. Although she never fund out anything specific, what Ausra heard was that her mother's killing was initiated internally. Maybe she botched a batch of poison, or she said something to someone that she shouldn't have. 7. Ausra left Daggermark, considering it too hazardous, and began her long period of itineracy. She began working on the river, eventually finding a permanent place on the crew of a barge. The barge was independently owned and operated, carrying cargoes along the West Sellen and Sellen rivers. 8. After more than a decade the barge owner died of old age and Ausra moved on. For a while she traveled, or lived rough in the forest. 9. Ausra's second extended residence was with a witch who lived in the Cordelon forest about halfway between Bacul Gruii and Novoboro. She stayed until the witch died of old age some twenty years later. Now Ausra has moved on again, but she likes Cordelon because she's treated well there. She considers the area to be her home more or less. 10. Places Ausra has been, at least in passing, and has a poor opinion of: Razmiron (very creepy and cult controlled), Protectorate of the Black Marquis (dodgy situation up there, easy place to get killed or disappear, best avoided but if one can't stay on your boat), Sevenarches (they bastards won't let her in, so screw them), Hymbria (the bastards won't let her in, so screw them too) Riverton (completely insane pack of fanatics, super bad vibes, stay away). 11. Between Ausra's experiences and and the stories she's heard about all the little cities and towns where entire populations suddenly vanish (Heibarr anyone?), and there are quite a few of those places in the River Kingdoms, she has concluded that it's best to not live in settlements. One can't get by without any outside contact at all, but it's better if one sleeps about a day away from them.
I've tinkered some with feats and I believe I'm going to drop the two-weapon fighting idea. Even with fighter on one side and EitR it takes up an awful lot of feats. Considering it only works on a full attack anyway, it seems like more trouble than it's worth. There are also problems that come up with having both hands occupied and using alchemy in combat if I need to. I'm thinking Elven Branched Spear is a better route to go. Also, it looks like Xys is using and Elven Curved Blade? Ausra doing the same as well is too much Elven Curved Blade in one place I think. Besides having reach can help with Ausra's relative squishiness during the earlier levels. I've also rethought progression on the Rogue/Fighter side some. I think 4 levels of Rogue will be better than 3. Lots of good stuff comes in at 4th: debilitating injury, a 2nd rogue talent, and uncanny dodge. It only costs 1 BAB if I switch before 5th level, so that only cost is that, another level of lower HD, and waiting a bit longer for the good FORT save. I wouldn't do it straight out of Rogue, but a couple of levels later I might dip 2 levels of Shadowdancer, which would give Ausra hide in plain sight and darkvision. She'd be well on her way to being almost impossible to find until she shows up for a sneak attack.
...it leans pretty effectively into the growing coven nature of this little triumvirate. If Tabitha ever suggested such a thing to Ausra, she would mock you so hard. Then, she would explain that she swindled the knowledge of hexes out of a witch. :p Silksworn sounds cool, but I haven't been able to get my head around the occultist class yet. Silksworn converts to arcane casting right?
A similar question to Qunnessaa's regarding Ausra. Since campaign traits are open for us to select, I'm thinking about taking a Rogue archetype that trades it trapfinding out. I can then get it back with a Mummy's Mask trait. Lot's of Rogue archetypes trade it out for something else. Most of the trades are bad of course, but there a a few that might be worthwhile, at least for flavor. River Rat: Mitigates some movement issues in certain types of difficult terrain. +1 FORT against disease and poisons. Ausra did spend some years working on a barge traveling the Sellen and West Sellen rivers. Rake: Can trade 1d6 of damage on a sneak attack for a swift Intimidate check to demoralize. Sylvan Trickster: Get a Witch's hex, which qualities her to take the extra hex feat. She would have to choose non-offensive hexes like Flight or Prehensile Hair, but cool... Ausra did spend some years as a sort of girl Friday for a witch out in the woods. Sniper: Ranged sneak attack up to 40' rather than 30'. Any opinions on this?
As for background feats, I can’t promise anything anywhere near as polished as something official, but I’m willing to try. I would appreciate, if you take Vengeance, that maybe we not set up Janna Smilos as the BBEG, because I’m not sure I have the energy to work out the fallout for Daggermark in that case. If you would have your heart set on her, we can talk about it a bit more. Well, it probably wouldn't her precisely. I neglected to mention that there's a time scale problem with this choice as well. My background for Ausra has her in Daggermark as a child. Her mother was murder while she was still young, in her seventies, which makes her sort of a young teen comparatively? That's forty years back now, so finding culprits for revenge might be difficult unless they're also a a long-lived race. The other thing is Ausra doesn't actually know if the Assassin's Guild was involved, or who in it was responsible if it's true. She assumes it's the case. It might be too complicated to work for the feat really. Oh, and I have a rule question for you two, since I’m happy to tweak things so I can stack archetypes for Xys, but I don’t want her to be overpowered. Strictly, Sacred Servant and the Oath against Fiends both replace the standard paladin’s aura of resolve at level 8. I would prefer to go with the Oath’s anchoring aura (evil outsiders within 20’ need to make Will saves to use dimensional magic, or she can spend a use of smite to cast dimensional anchor), rather than the Sacred Servants free weekly lesser planar ally (improving to the regular and greater at higher levels). Or would that be too much? I don't think it's a problem. It's a good ability, but narrow. Aside from a brief time in WotR, which is devoted to the subject. I've probably only come across actual evil outsiders who can actually teleport, etc. fewer time than I can count on one hand. To the extent that it might come up, I think we'll be grateful she has it actually.
Oh, I see how this is going to go now. The sullen teenager, who is actually three times your respective ages (well, one of you), is going to have to act like the responsible adult who keeps things on track amid your woo woo kookiness. Brainpower and speed baby! Ausra will snark back at you before you can even start saying something. XD But more seriously, looking at story feats I think I've narrowed it down to three. If I understand what we're doing with them, the goal would be to complete them. That's the part that keeps me wavering. Two of them would require specific future adventures to take place if that would happen. 1. Town Tamer: Save Bacul Gruii from the pack of baddies who have taken over there. Problem: must go to that town for a mini-adventure. 2. Vengeance: Ausra seeks revenge against Lady Janna Smilos, head of the Assassins Guild, or perhaps an important minion of hers. Ausra's mother, a poison maker, was murdered by them. Must have mini-adventure in Daggermark. 3. Explorer: It's one of the thing Ausra does. No problem really, just not terribly exciting. A default choice if the others are no onerous.
Here's a quick work up of Ausra. Most all of the mechanical stuff is done, so mostly BAP sections to finish. A rules bending question: Would anyone mind if a couple of changes were made to how Ausra can use a Thornblade + Leafblade combo? RAW she can'tuse those weapons yet because she hasn't taken a martial class yet. But that's kind of a pain since it means she has to start with one set of weapons and change over at 4th level to a different set of weapons she'll need to find and buy. I'd rather them have been in the family. Also, Rogue's finesse training allows a single type of weapon to be selected for dex to damage at 3rd. I'm planning for Ausra to be a 2 weapon fighter, so she would only be eligible to get dex to damage with either the thornblade or the leafblade. She could go with a pair of leafblades, but since they're supposed to be a paired set could we call them a single weapon choice?
Background added. Almost done! Wealth: = 140gp
@Brand: It looks like Brand is built with a 15 point buy? This game is a 20 point buy.
Here's my almost complete submission. Ausra is a Half Elf Investigator (Cartographer/Natural Philosopher archetypes). She's a smart survivalist type who comes from the tiny remnant of a small Elven outpost in the Northern part of the Artfell Forest. I'm working on her background now, and should have it done today.
Ok, thanks for the update! Hope all is well!
Hiya everyone! Just checking in to see if this campaign is still a go....
Sounds good Rorek!
Sorry everyone for my long absence. I've been in the process of buying a house for several weeks, and he endless list of chores from doing that have taken every bit of my spare time. I'm almost at the end now, the deal is wrapped up next week, and after that things will be getting back to normal.
With the hobgoblins dealt with, Ausra turns her attention to helping Aubrin. Since of of the men gives Aubrin a healing potion, Aubrin waits to see how it affects it affects Aubrin's condition before using any magic of her own. If things are as bad as they sound outside, magical healing might soon be at a premium.
Ausra slips forward between the elf and the dwarf near the doorway, as she moves beyond them, she lunges at the hobgoblin she had targeted with her spell
Ausra had spent the evening ensconced in a chair toward the back of the crowded room, listening quietly. In part this was to learn a bit about tradecraft. While Ausra is mostly a singer, it never hurts to expand one's repertoire so learning a few things from Aubrin about storytelling is welcome. She finds the types of stories humans tend to respond well to quite different than those appreciated in Kyonin, especially where humor is involved. Aubrin is used to a more oblique, dry, or mordant humor such as irony, situational dilemmas, or satire. The humor of humans is much more straightforward and slapstick. It was very hard for her to get such things right. Besides, there was an elf there as well. It wasn't a big problem for her that this was so, but Ausra wasn't really in the mood to find out how she might react to her. Even forlorn elves could be difficult since they usually recognized she was from elven lands and they found that a bit intimidating, at she supposed that was it. In any case, she was content to let the night go by as a learning experience. It might cost her a little bit in income if she didn't volunteer to sing, but it didn't seem to her like much of a paying crowd anyway. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When the door blows in it brings Ausra immediately to her feet in surprise. The hobgoblins' threat and immediate attack on a man by the door makes their intent clear, so Ausra acts. She hops her small table while drawing her rapier and moves up just past the end of the bar. Aubrin looks in a very bad way, and everyone else is in various stages of surprise. We need just a little bit of time to ready ourselves, they need to be delayed. She extends her arm to point at the hobgoblin who issued the threat and says "Järkyttää!" in a loud, clear voice, hoping to stop the marauder in his tracks for a few seconds.
Happy upcoming birthdays Rorek and Lasaral! Thanks for choosing me! I think I'm close to squared away with my Ausra's character sheet. Mostly just an editing check and getting purchases/money finalized. One question for you Rorek: Would you consider going with the pre errata version of Daring Champion Cavalier which keeps the Opportune Parry and Riposte deed?
One more application for the pile! Ausra is a Half-Elven Cavalier (Daring Champion) / Bard (Studious Librarian). Answers to the recruitment questions are below. The full information on Ausra is in this alias's profile. Aside from doing the typical bard kinds of things, Ausra will be better at healing due to the Frontier Healer trait. Studious Librarian allows her to cast Wizard/Sorcerer/Witch spells from scrolls and spellbooks without consuming them a limited number of times per day. 1-2 goals your character has, short or long term.:
In the shorter term Ausra is wants to find some people or a place where she fits, some sort of community where she will find friendship and emotional support. In a sense her roving around Nirmathis is a form of matchmaking. Where will she find a spark that hints she’s found a place for herself? Given her past it seems safer to go about things this way rather than committing to a place and hoping her investment in it will be reciprocated. Longer term Ausra would like to found a great library. One thing she misses about Kyonin is how highly esteemed knowledge and the arts are there. She wants to foster the same kind of “civilization” in Nirmathis. 1-2 fears your character has.:
While it’s not exactly a fear, Ausra worries that she will in time be forgotten. Partly this is a result of her experiences with elven perceptions of time. She is aware that the entire span of her presence in Kyonin barely registers as a blip to its residents. Most everyone is forgotten over the span of a few generations, but Ausra could be entirely forgotten by the very people who knew her in a few hundred years. Perhaps even by her mother. She often perseverates on these thoughts. Although she doesn’t know why, Ausra fears and hates spiders. If your character has any family/loved ones they are close to.:
The only long-term connection Ausra has is to her mother in Kyonin. Against Ausra’s wishes, their relationship isn’t a close one. Pelingilneth, her mother, didn’t neglect Ausra, but she never seemed to bond closely with her daughter either. Over the course of her childhood, it became clear to Ausra that Pelingilneth did not think much of her father. She suspects Pelingilnith never did have an emotional connection to him, although Ausra knows nothing of the specifics about what transpired between them. How you managed to end up in, or passing through, Pheandar.:
Ausra is passing through Pheandar as she does many of the towns, hamlets, and villages in Nirmathis. She doesn’t exactly have a set, repeating route, but she’s visited Pheandar briefly more than once in the past. A quirk or mannerism your character has when stressed or frustrated.: Ausra is a bit on the nervous side and has several soothing rituals. Her hair is quite long and she combs, braids, and unbraids it repeatedly if it’s a sitting and waiting for something to happen situation. She is an avid reader of course and does it to take mind off troublesome things. If very agitated Ausra paces. Sometimes she reads while she paces. |