Wow I’ve rarely been so sick. Almost one week coughing and vegetating on a couch. I’m back though, sorry for the long absence.
Borgmurch finds Dungo great company, much better than the bandits the day before. A favorite trick of his is to throw small items in Dungo’s mouth, then rummage under the table and bring out different items
“Well done Dungo!” he screams as he emerges from under the table-rug. “You turned that rock into a very useful spoon for porridge!” he holds triumphantly in his hand a silver spoon stolen from the buffet table “You see folks! Dungo will turn you coppers into gold! Just do not put your fingers near its mouth!”
“Dungo the Head will mock you and curse!
He eats your copper and spits gold in your purse!
Insults to the left, winnings to the right!
But if you get too close your fingers he’ll bite!”
Borgmurch is small, and his skin kind of the color of the ground. He is used to not be the first target in a fight out of the city.
This usually changes when foes realize he’s a goblin.
Borgmurch gets an small arrow nocked in no time at all, and lets loose a half-breath later.
As he starts to fight for his life, he pays homage to the time-honored tradition of goblin war songs.
“You shouldn’t try to take my gold!
Better alive than dead and cold!”
A toothy, threatening grin opens on his face when the arrow hits the target.
_________________
Move action: draw longbow and move, if possible within 30 ft;
Standard action: longbow attack longbow attack:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25+1 if within 30 ft damage:1d6 ⇒ 3+1 if within 30 ft
Borgmurch doesn’t much care that a few fools are blaming the goblins. Some goblins are crafty and cunning. We could do that if we wanted to.
He is severely less happy about his blades weighing him down. He feels betrayed by his own steel – the very thing that earns him his business.
“Umpf. This is very annoying. I wish I had some birds with me. I could glue them to my blades and they will try to fly away and that will make the extra weight disappear.” he mutters to himself, pondering how to catch a few birds. Perhaps I’ll find bats in the cave.
“Today is bad day to buy stuff. The merchants will not use the scale. They will cheat on the weight.” he ponders “Going to the cave is still good idea. Far from the people getting crazy and angry.”
I tried them for a campaign that died very soon; I'm not a big fan, but I did write Borgmurch as a "small business owner", so I guess I can work with that.
Borgmurch looks up at Cameron and Alayna with an unnerving smile “I have been underground many times. Sewers and caves and tunnels! I can see very well in the dark – I guess you with your small eyes can not do that.” he shrugs. Another proof that the goblin race is just more evolved and better suited for survival than humans. It’s not their fault though. “Also I can fit in very small spaces. Underground is nice, it is more nice in the summer when it is very hot outside and underground is fresh and cool.”
Borgmurch’s eyes get as wide as apples when he hears Hal’dorel‘s statement
“That is a very false thing Aldo Rell!” he looks somewhere between shocked and enraged “No good goblin would ever ride a dog, or a horse! Zarongel the Mighty God of Riding Things made us very good at riding, but dogs and horses… puah! Goblins ride wolves and rams and camels and giant lizards and elks and boars and bears and giant spiders and dire rats and rashlings and many other good animals, but no dogs!” he seems to be sweating a bit after the tirade. “So you better be careful Aldo, Rell, when you talk of such things!”
As they go through the streets of Riddleport, Borgmurch keeps his distance from Inceku, but does not bear a grudge against Hal’dorel.
When they meet the children, Borgmurch is friendly and amicable, defending them from the awful Inceku when it gets too close and offering them good, seasoned rat meat.
“These children must be crazy to give good food to the dog!” he complains when his efforts produce only fear in the children.
Borgmurch waves enthusiastically when he sees Hal’dorel “A good day to you Aldo Rell! I work very hard, the shooting for show was Bosssaul idea. It did not work.” he shrugs.
Then sees Inceku and immediately crouches in a fighting stance, unsheathing a blade “Beware Aldo Rell! A nefarious dog is by your side, it will bite you. That is very dangerous!” he paces around the dog, the blde between the two of them “If a dog bites you, everything you eat taste like boiled beets for a month, that is what Ol’ Hruga said in the tribe! It is true! I never get bitten by dogs, so that I can taste good food!”
Eh, goblins and dogs, I’ll still milk that for a while.
Sorry for the delay, but now I caught up and I’m back.
I’d rather do something with another teammate for the following day of “vacation” – I’m ok with going with the group in search for Milon, but I don’t know if you guys want me.
A bit annoyed that his exhibition with the bow was both weak and poorly received, Borgmurch spends the rest of the night scrounging food at the buffet, occasionally getting an elbow to the head from the taller customers - he doesn’t mind: there is no corner nor brick of the sewers he hasn’t bumped into.
When Saul announces the next day is off he smiles with the others – he would’ve probably worked as a ratcatcher anyway the next day. But then he catches wind of Cameron’s plan.
“Hey! That Priest should be bigger than a rat – so, much easier to catch, yes? You will gain much help with me, Priest nephew of a Priest.”
Then he notices the tall blonde woman in the group. “Hello! My name is Borgmurch, the very best ratcatcher in Riddleport! You have a very nice hat, but you do not have a tail. The other woman in the group has a tail. I think she wins, but you are probably good too.” he extends his hand upward towards Alayna, smiling a disturbingly wide, filed-teethed smile.
EDIT: If I'm accepted into the group, the next day survival:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
It is Latin for prostitute. Fits the character I think, I mean, she was effectively raised as one. Let's face it, Nessa Meretrix sounds much better than Nessa Prostitute and I was at a loss for a surname.
To me you are actually called Nessa Prostitue, since 60% of Italian lexicon is straight from Latin. I thought your name was a (huge) bit on the nose :D before realizing that to English people it would be just an exotic sounding name.
Thoroughly enjoying his status as a mascot, Borgmurch spends the following few days performing tricks for the amusement of the public ”This is the Gold!” he says, showing everyone a gold coin ”And this is the Goblin!” he points to himslef and bows to the crowd. ”And this is how they come together!” he has one of the “succubi” throw the gold coin into the air, then quickly cocks and shoots an arrow at it.
Most of the times he misses, and even if his antics and confidence draw a laugh or two from the crowd, his show has little success: now the Gold Goblin’s second floor balcony has quite a few arrows sticking out of its parapet.
”Yes, I did not want to damage a good gold coin!” excuses himself Borgmurch This would work much better if we used rats. Why does Bosssaul refuse to let me throw rats in the air… Umhpf. He is not a very good manager. A good manager plays to his employees’ strengths.
Funny roleplay bits aside, Borgmurch is only qualified to be a spotter, a but that’s something he has no interest in doing – he barely understood the place was getting robbed!
I guess his own presence could be seen as either “greeting” or “performing”, seeing as a (semi)civilized goblin is something of curiosity. Besides the pest-control (and maybe organic garbage disposal) I don’t see alternative occupations for Borgmurch. GM Tarfugal, does Saul consider Borgmurch’s role as a mascot enough? do I have to roll a check or do something particular to do so?
“Very good then! My job is that I am the real Gold Goblin you said, yes?” Borgmurch smiles as he extends his hand to shook Saul’s key-hand. “Will you give me a Gold outfit? My clothes are very pretty, but they are not Gold!
“Of course I still get dibs on all the rats, yes? You said free meals, so I keep the rats I catch! And foxes, if they come through.” he adds very seriously, looking around to see if someone challenges him on that condition. “Can I use your kitchen to cook them?”
Borgmurch wanders off a bit, bored, when Saul reminisces his past wrongdoings. Borgmurch left chief Earmuncher and the Ratskinner tribe, but he surely isn’t sappy and sad about it!
It is only when the others start replying that he realizes something has been offered. He is quick to agree together with the others “Oh, yes, this is very good! I live in a pretty elegant mansion down the street, so I’m close, but I can come in for the free meals! I think that having a goblin at the Golden Goblin is a good idea. They can try to steal the gold, but they won’t steal this goblin!” he smiles satisfied.
When Saul mentions they’re free to loot the bodies, Borgmurch takes it a bit too literally. Not only he grabs a sap and a handful of coins, but also buttons from their clothes, a scarf, and even goes for the eye-patch of the still-alive woman before others intervene to avoid a scene.
“Mpf… Bosssaul said “any”. That’s one of any.” he points at the eye-patch.
He is pretty disinterested in the argument between the stern woman and the elf, but he appreciates the skillful way the latter describes the pulling of an arrow “Uh, I always push them through. It doesn’t ruin the pelt, and you can make a nice coat after! You like to keep the pelt of this one nice and shiny? I know a secret twist that works very well! I can show you!” he asks Hal'dorel pointing at the eye-patched woman.
After everyone is done talking, he follows the rest in Saul’s office.
I’ll take a sap and 10 gp. I’ll also take anything that is left on the ground afterwards, I won’t use them, but a goblin is a scavenger and doesn’t throw away anything. What I can’t sell will become furniture in my goblin mansion!
Borgmurch doesn’t hide his disappointment as he approaches Cameron “Why did you kill the man making the fireworks?” he asks the Desnan, a look of re-proach on his face “he was great entertainment! If you didn’t like the fire-works you should’ve just waited the end.” he looks at the dead wizard, then the thugs, then Cameron “You’re not with them, are you?” he points at the thugs “They’re robbing this place, but I don’t think they want to kill the entertainers.” he shrugs.
Hey! You!” he screams at the lady-thug “Just stop! You’re terrible at what you’re doing, you’re ruining the fun!” he draws another arrow, ready to let loose if the eye-patched woman doesn’t surrender.
___________________
Ready an action: longbow attack at the eye-patched woman; trigger: if she doesn’t surrender.
Oh, great! I was pretty sure I wasn't considered your ally since we never had a chance to meet, but that's good. +1 to atk and damage on my previous post then.
“This is definitely more interesting than that fake goblin in the cage!” screams Borgmurch, who quite enjoyed the fireworks. He comes out from under the table, ready to compliment the mage, when he sees that the thugs are robbing the place. “Hey!” he screams at them “That’s not a nice thing to do! Don’t ruin the fireworks show!”
Quickly he nocks a small arrow into his bow and aims for one of the robber’s arm.
“That’s not yours! Let it go!” he lets loose.
______________________
Move action to get out from under the table and simultaneously draw longbow. Standard action: longbow attack at one of the thugs. I assume I am within 30 feet of them since we are in a closed space.
are we in a surprise round, or round 1?
GM, do you want us to wait for our turn in initiative to post or do we post when we can and you recontruct the actions later?
You mentioned being new to PbP so maybe you didn't think of this: if the people high on the Initiative counter check the thread later than the others, a single combat round can last a few days...
Borgmurch sees his fair share of people wearing tension and anger and other emo-tions on their face – as humans usually do when dealing with large sums.
Yet those five hold his attention - Why do you close your eyes? – they stand out even among the others.
Then he sees the gaunt man reading from a scroll. Even if his knowledge of magic is close to his knowledge of proper etiquette, he knows that people casting spells while hiding generally brings trouble.
He moves around the room quickly, finding a thick drape, a table with a long tablecloth, something to hide behind If you meet a danger you don't know, don't let the danger know you either. That's a good saying in the pest-control trade as in many, many others.
______________________
Borgmurch will Hide behind some sort of drape, or under a table with a long tablecloth, if he finds one. If a Stealth:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26 is enough to hide, he’ll also make a peephole through the cloth.
Borgmurch looks up when he hears his name, and pulls back the hat falling over his eyes. It’s that elf. He kinda likes that elf.
“Good day Aldo Rell! I think that guy with the very useful key hand just gave me a job. It is very interesting. I might be the new Golden Goblin… My career is going very well!” he smiles satisfied.
Then Saul Vancaskerkin starts announcing the rules for the evening, and Borgmurch starts fiddling with excitement. “Uh, Aldo Rell! I will see you later in the evening, I really want to see the fake Golden Goblin in that cage!”
He doesn’t understand much of Asmodeus and planes and cosmology, but he is pret-ty sure that thing in the cage is not a very good goblin. Ears look pretty much spot-on – tail and wings would be useful – but the nose and build is all wrong. No wonder Bosssaul wants to hire him instead. He can fill that cage with much better mascots!
A little underwhelmed by Old Scratch, and momentarily uninterested in learning the rules for any of the games, Borgmurch wanders back looking for someone to talk to.
He bumps into one of the females working the crowd, the one that addressed him before. he sees the woman flirting and talking to the mostly male customers, and they seem to like it. People seem very interested in her body, so Borgmurch is pretty sure that talking about her body is a good move.
“Good day Lady! That is a very beautiful tail you have. I bet it is very useful to have a tail. A ranger once told me that down south there are goblins with tails, maybe I’ll grow one.” he shrugs, hopeful in his thoughts. “You offered me something to eat before. I like that! Do you have any fox? It’s been some time since one scampered into the city, I haven’t eaten that in a while. If there’s some fox with pickles that would be very good, thank you!”
Borgmurch smiles satisfied. Bosssaul is someone who knows how to make business. Exclusive contract with this place would be good. Not so much being a mascot though. Don’t want to end up in a cage like the imp devil, and people watch me and wave. Mpf… need to discuss more, if I am to be the Golden Goblin.
Borgmurch walks casually from table to table, replying to scared looks and peo-ple elbowing each other with toothy smiles and cheerful waving.
No need to be rude when you get among high society.
The waitress in the funny costume and the tail seems to be gone, so Borgmurch just gets perched upon a stool and looks over the various game tables, seeing if there’s anything that tickles his fancy.
_________________
Is there going to be a main post with the game rules to refer to during the evening - maybe in the Campaign info tab?
Sorry, the GM made Saul Vancaskerkin come at me, I thought nobody else interacted. I'd rather RP with other players than with NPCs, but of course my character would be more interested in the boss than in a waitress (I'm afraid your PC's hotness is wasted on Borgmurch). I'll catch up with you later.
“Dolgrim, that’s good! Good name. I think I will meet other dwarves, can’t really call them all ‘new dwarf’. Thank you for giving me your name. Can I have the horns too, please?”
***INSIDE***
Borgmurch doesn’t really care about the heavily-shadowed interior – his eyes see just as well in the dark as in light. He looks around curious, trying to locate the imp, when Saul comes to him.
“Yes, you are Bosssaul, yes? You should use your full name, Bosssaul. Much simpler than this Vaskreskin other name.”
Borgmurch is very happy that the man used the title “Exterminator” to address him. He goes to shake the man’s right hand, but his gaze falls upon the left one “Good hand! My cousin Grompach lost a foot to a wolf once. He killed the wolf, but then tried to to tie the wolf’s paw to the leg as a new foot. It worked ok for the first day, but then the paw started smelling funny so he ate the new foot.” his mind trails off for a second “I bet he would not have eaten a key. That is a good idea, the key. You don’t really risk eating it.”
“Anyway, you have idea, yes? That is good. Do you want me to be the new Golden Goblin?”
“Yes, they paid me double for the GasWorks. Rats there were tasty but very bad for the stomach.” Borgmurch makes a grimace, remembering that meal.
“Hi there, dwarf!” he then greets Dolgrim. “Larur says well. If you have rats problem, or bats or raccoons or whatever, I take care of them. Best in the city! Prices are very cheap if you let me keep the rats!”
He doesn’t even give Dolgrim time to reply, and starts with his jingle:
For a coin some sewer rats!
Birds are two and so are bats!
If they bite I ask for more
Wolves will cost you three or four!
A bug too big, a juicy fee
I barking dog I do for free!
Then he scratches his head under the coonskin hat “Mmm… an imp be a kind of devil? Bosssaul should have gotten a real goblin as the star for tonight. Devils aren’t as good entertainers as goblins, every-one knows that.” he is a bit disappointed, but does not want the dwarf to feel bad. “Hey, mister new dwarf, do you need the fake horns? They look pretty!” he asks Dolgrim who just managed to remove the horns. “Larur, you should’ve left them, make the Goblin more menacing. People should respect goblins!”
“I think I’ll take a look inside. Don’t want this imp devil to ruin the good name of the goblins. People come to the Golden Goblin, they must expect very amazing stuff!”
He goes for the door with a confident stride “Larur. New dwarf. See you inside!”
“No silvers today, Master Jotunsson Ulfen Leatherworks!” grins Borgmurch, looking up, tightening his grip on the bag’s knot “I wanna one of your belts!”
The pale, tall old northerner looks down on the goblin, exasperated “No, once again, my name is just Master Jot… never mind.” he shrugs “Those belts cost two gold each! They’re several days of work, you just caught a bag of rats! Are… are you keeping… did you take them alive?”
Borgmurch pats the bag of rats, which squirms and wriggles and squeaks “Yes! Fresh meat be better for stomach!” he winks. “And don’t be ashamed of your name. Master Jotunsson Ulfen Leather-works is a good name! So, that belt? Them rats where chewing all your good leather, if it weren’t for me…”
Jotunsson pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, exhaling slowly. Borgmurch knows that when humans do that, he is about to get what he wants. Time for the extra push “Maybe I am not that hungry. Don’t need all these rats… Maybe I leave a few here with you, hey! Keep them fresh, I come back to eat later…” he moves to untie the knot.
“Stop!” screams the leatherworker “You’re a pest worse than the rats! Here, take away those rats, take this belt with you… hope you hang yourself with it!”
Borgmurch grabs the belt, sniffs it, then smiles back “Naaa, I’mma dress up today! Big day! Imma meet the Golden Goblin!”
The old leatherworker looks puzzled “But… you know the Golden Goblin is just… oh, nevermind...” he slams the door behind himself and goes back to work.
A healthy meal later, Borgmurch is ready. He washed his working clothes (his only clothes) in a puddle of last night’s rain, donned the necktie and the belt he got in payment for his last two jobs, and wore his best coonskin hat, the one whose tail he hasn’t chewed too much yet.
As he strolls towards the casino, he sees the statue outside “Aaah, this is good! I’ll have a statue like this when I get rich! Only no dice for Borgmurch, no! I’ll be holding eight juicy rats by their tails. That will be a good statue, people will come from far away to see that.”
He addresses the closest person he sees that apparently works in the casino, the dwarf fiddling with the glued horns “Hey! Good day! I wanna meet him, please!” he points to the goblin statue “He is the star tonight, yes? Nice horns for his big night! Can I meet him?”
He might well not have seen anything since we got started later in the day yesterday.
That is what happened.
I live in Italy, GMT +1. My posting window is from 6 pm to 11pm, I can usually check and read posts during the day from my phone, but can't really write a good reply.
Ok, here's Borgmurch! GM, would you like me to put quick-reference stats under my alias as Yandasana and others do? I usually don't do it, but if it helps you I have no problem adding them.
Borgmurch is a slayer. In combat I'm building him as an archer (and later on finesse flanker). Out of combat he's a trapfinder and rangery/roguey skilled character.
Crunch-wise, it seems there's a lot of overlap with Hal'dorel. Could lead to a fun rivalry I hope. Borgmurch is a successful professional, best rat-catcher in Riddelport! What can the pointy-eared guy say for himself?
Also damn you plan on having a stray dog animal companion. I plan on playing Borgmurch as one who kills (among other things) stray dogs for money. That's just the cherry on top.
Airon87 here, with Namor Currin, the Namor/Aquaman mashup.
He is a brawler, fighting with his fists, and carries a few tridents around to throw. Focus of the build is the “Imperius Rex!” maneuver, which means a Power Attack unarmed strike coupled with Cornugon Smash to demoralize the fools who dare go up against the King of Atlantis.
In addition to being amphibious he has Favored Terrain (water), the Slipstream spell, his bloodline arcana, and a few other bonuses when he is in water – on land he’s tough, in water he is a monster.
His sorcerer spell selection is unoptimized since I tried to avoid giving him anything out of character: most are self-buffs to represent superhuman prowess (false life, heroism, haste, shield, ant haul) utilities to represent powers (fly), or water based attacks. His 4th level spell known is a bit of a mystery to me: I may go with the superpowers route taking Stoneskin or Freedom of movement, or I may take Fear, for a super-awesome “Imperius Rex!” factor. I’ll decide if selected.
Gear is pretty standard – brawling chain shirt and amulet of mighty fists I believe half the builds in this thread sport; efficient quiver carries around tridents to throw; I have still a few thousand gp unspent, I’ll use them if selected.
Background has assumed that Atlantis is based upon the the gillmen and the remains of the Azlanti Empire. In addition to a few Aquaman and Namor villains, I think aboleths would be his nemesis.
***
on a completely unrelated note, Spooky: what exactly did you not like about M&M? I ask because M&M 2ed is probably my favorite game system, and I find M&M 3ed a prtty good update, although I still haven't played 3ed, just read it, so I don't know which version I like better.
Still, I find both of them to be great RPGs, allowing for limitless customization and fantastic cinematic combats. Why didn't you like them?
The concept is as follows: a foundling, whose parents stumbled upon at the foot of the Gnarlfang (Eysteinn Jokullson means “a lucky rock from the glacier”). Shows immediately a great deal of understanding of the land, and grows up to become a true avatar of the Land of the Linnorm Kings (as a druid, he is linked to elementals and terrain stuff rather than animals or plants). His cohort is a former Fey Queen, who became a scourge of the Ulfen people when Nithveil apperared too close to Irrisen and the feys became corrupted with the winter powers of Baba Yaga. Eysteinn defeated her, showed her the suffering the Ulfen people went through due to her actions, and she accepted to be reincarnated into an Ulfen maiden (keeping most of her powers) to follow him and help repair the damage done (I figured a reincarnation where the caster gets to guide the soul into a body of his choice, instead of rolling randomly, is a suitable one-shot use of Mythic Power).
Please note that the current avatar sucks. I made a portrait with Heromachine linked in Appearance section, but for some reason can't find a blond ulfen man with a stony demeanor in the plethora of avatars here on Paizo's site. I'll keep looking if selected.
Cohort sheet
Nihildi:
Nihildi (formerly Queen Elgherivia of the Winterfir Court, the Evergreen)
Female Human* Sorceress** (fey bloodline) 10
N medium humanoid (human)
Initiative +6 ; Senses, Perception +6
* reincarnated winter pixie (see backstory)
**favored class: +4 hp, +6 spells known
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Defense
================
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+2 dex, +4 armor, +1 dodge)
HP 66 (10d6+24)
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +8
================
Offense
================
Speed 30 feet
Melee yeah, that's not happening
Rangedray of frost +8 (1d3 cold)
Special attacks laughing touch (7/day)
Sorceress spells known (CL 10th ; Conc +14)
5th (3/day)–feeblemind (DC 22)
4th (6/day)–poison (DC 18), greater invisibility, confusion (DC 21), telekinetic charge
3rd (7/day)–deep slumber (DC 20), suggestion (DC 20), pugwampi’s grace (DC 20), heroism, major image (DC 18), fly, haste
2nd (7/day)–hideous laughter (DC 19), false life, alter self, see invisibility, blur, rope trick
1st (7/day)–entangle (DC 15), grease (DC 15), charm person (DC 16), color spray (DC 16), liberating command, icicle dagger, mage armor
0–detect magic, mage hand, ghost sound (DC), message, prestidigitation, read magic, haunted fey aspect, ray of frost, dancing lights
Bloodline: fey
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 18
BA +5; CMB +4; CMD 16
Common adventuring tools, as per the various “kits” in Ultimate Equipment [50 gp]
2x potion of cure moderate wounds [600 gp]
EDIT: I noticed only now that the sheet template you linked is a bit different from Paizo's standard NPC sheet. Do I need to modify it, or is it close enough?
