Maria Serastus's page

Then lets just keep going at 1st. If it feels lacklustre we can always accelerate how fast we ramp it up anyway.

Marcan just needs a stunt (basically the Fate equivalent of a feat) and we look good to go. Have a look at the site and pick one. If your struggling feel free to ask for guidance, or even leave it blank and fill it in during play.

If you want to start off knowing any other characters then pick one and tell me how you met them. Otherwise you will all meet in Sandpoint during the coming troubles.

I should have the opening post up in the next day or two

EDIT - The first IC post is up.

Unfortunately I dont know how to link to it, but I am working on it.

When I manage to get you across there, please could you Fill in your character details in their profile so they are easy to reference.

For your first post IC, please include the following details;

What has brought you to Sandpoint?
Where are you staying while there?
- If you are staying in an Inn, it is probably the 'Rusty Dragon' as this is the most popular place for visitors to stay. You might choose somewhere else however.
What are you doing while everyone is gathering for the opening ceremony?

At any point feel free to suggest a compel on one of your aspects if you think it might complicate your life in some way.

I am also going to put some more information in the OOC thread once I have managed a link.

Thanks (and I will provide a link ASAP)

Great, apologies for being back a few days later than expected. It has been a bit crazy with visitors this week. I start back at work next week though, so things should settle back into a steadier pattern.

So we have a party of 3, and everyone seems to have worked their way through the character creation so I think we are ready to move on.

I saw in the thread that there was a bit of confusion about what power level to make characters

Agreed. My initial plan was to start at Level 1 and map progression along the lines you would expect from a game of pathfinder. I will be the first to admit however that I have never been a fan of the 'zero' part of 'zero to hero' so it is something I can happily skip.

Anyone have feelings on the matter?

So we have

Jonathon Kitandal - Prodigy Mage
Marcan - Reformed theives guild member
Kejal - Monk of the Healing Hand

I guess the last thing we need to establish is wether you already know each other (and how), we can fillin everything else as we go.

Ok, looks like this is slowing.

I am about to go away until next Wednesday.

Please can anyone who is still interested check in so we know where we are?

As if stands we have 1 character completed and 1 concept but not much else.

I am certainly ok with starting with normal rules if people prefer. As I will be converting everything anyway it makes little difference to me. Starting at level 1 seemed like a pathfinder thing, but I understand that it is very restrictive.

OK, thanks for checking things out.

If you dont mind my asking, what is it you were aiming for? The rules are pretty flexible, and I am surprised if there is a concept that doesnt work.

If the problem is with the permissions given by the Archetypes (ie not having enough points to spread around to be able to fight, do magic, and be athletic) bear in mind that we are starting at the equivalent of 1st level so more points will be following for archetypes, and any gaps can be covered with stunts (the equivalent of feats).

Marcan is looking really good.

So in addition to the High concept and Trouble,each character is allowed two other aspects. Most seem to have chosen them already, but they can be left or changed later if prefered.

The next thing we need are 'Approaches' and 'Archetypes'

These work a little differently to both pathfinder and core Fate, so I will try to explain;

Approaches can be thought of as being a bit like characteristics from Pathfinder (or rather, the bonuses attached to them).

In pathfinder, when a character is doing something that requires being tough they add their Con bonus, and when they require brute force they add Str. Approaches work in a similar manner, but rather than being about WHAT they character is doing, they are about HOW the character is doing it (and as such they tell us a lot about how a character prefers to do things.

For example in Pathfinder pretty much any social interaction is going to rely on Cha, but here a character might Forcefully demand something, Sneakily attempt to deceive someone,and so on.

The approaches are;
Forceful
Flashy
Careful
Clever
Sneaky
Quick

You can either pick 2 approaches and give themeach a +1 bonus, or give a single approach a +2 bonus.

Archetypes are a cross between skills (very broad ones) and proficiency bonuses. They are a big part of defining class in this hack. As well as providing a bonus to relevant actions, they also act a little like aspects in giving you permission to docertain things.

In general a +1 in an archetype gives basic skills, +2 gives professional competency, and +3 or higher pushes into supernatural levels of skill.

Because Archetypes give permissions as well as bonuses, I will include some examples here. For more infrmation see the website. As always feel free to ask for clarification.

The Archetypes are;

Combative - Governing weaponry, armour, combat tactics etc. Bisically things you would expect a fighter to do.
With +1 you can use martial weapons and armour as well as carry out basic attacks and defences.
With a +2 you can formulate strategies, coordinate your allies, carry out sophisticated moves etc.
With a +3 or higher you can even defend against magical attacks

Roguish - Skills in Urban environments and social encounters, as well as urban and social knowledge. Basically the kind of skills you expect Rogues and Bards might have.
With +1 you have decent social skills and can draw on knowledge of your specific area of societal expertise.
With +2 you are skilled at planning and executing robberies, con jobs etc. You can also use dirty tricks and surprise attacks in combat.
At +3 or better you can carry off improbable feats of roguish skill. You can also use roguish to dodge any kind of attack, even when surprised.

Focussed - Athletics and unnarmed combat. Basically the Monk Archetype, although it also benefits fighters, rogues and such.
With +1 you have a strong awareness of your body, mind, and capabilities. You can use it to competently fight unnarmed and to dodge attacks.
With +2 you can perform impressive feats of athleticism, Grapple, and tap into inner reserves.
At +3 or better you can perform impossible wuxia like feats.

Arcane. Magic. Wizard and sorceror stuff.
With +1 you know magic stuff and can use wands and scrolls.
With +2 you can cast a limited amount of basic spells - cantrips and maybe a bit of L1
At +3 or better you can cast more powerful spells.

Divine - Religious knowledge and Magic.
Pretty much similar to Arcane, but Divine magic instead.

Primal - Skill and Knowledge in the wilds. Rangers and Druids.
With +1 you are knowledgeable about your usual habitat and skilled at hunting, survival, stealth etc in said environment
With +2 and +3 you have similar magical skills to Arcane, but Druidy rather than Wizardy.

Again to start with you can either put a +1 in two Archetypes, or put +2 in a single archetype.

OK, lets move on to our characters second Aspect - their trouble.

first I think we need A note on Fate points and Aspects

Fate points are essentially like Hero points in pathfinder. As long as doing so can be justified by an aspect they can be spent for a reroll or for a (substantial) bonus.

You regain a number of Fate points at the begining of a session equal to your refresh.

You can also regain fate points by accepting a complication - something happening in the story that makes your life more difficult because of one or more of your aspects. These complications (or compels in fate terms) can be suggested either by the layer or the GM.

For example, a 'reformed guild member' might be offered a fate point to be recognised by a member of their former guild. A 'Gruff and Driven Dwarf' might be offered a fate point to cause offense to someone because of his bluntness.

If this complication is suggested by the player, the GM will either accept and give them a fate point or refuse (possibly suggesting a tweak to make it worth the fate point). If the complication is suggested by the GM the player can either accept it for a fate point and deal with the complication, or they can pay a Fate point to turn the suggestion down and keep things simple.

Aspects are statements that are true. They are simply tags that describe things in the game (with some things such as characters having more than one).

The main use of aspects is to provide permission to do things. A former member of a theives guild can do things you would expect a theif to do. A 'Monk of the Healing Hand' can do monk things as well as healing.

Once you have a High Concept,the second aspect (fact) you need about your character is a Trouble. Something you can milk for complications to earn more Fate points.

For example (if you dont mind me using the example) Kejal has 'I beleive in second chances' - meaning you can bet that not only will there be plenty of opportunities to give second chances, but that those opportunities will complicate matters and earn Kejal fate points in the process.

Any questions feel free to ask

Sure we do Adam

I like the look of the Monk/Paladin.

The only thing I will say about it at this point is that the character creation rules as given reflect the abilities of a level 5 character, and with that in mind I am considering reducing them to reflect a level 1 character so we can see the kind of advancement we would in a traditional pathfinder game.

That would mean;
Only 2 aspects in addition to high concept and trouble
Base refresh of 1
1 stunt slot
Total approaches of +2
Total Archetype bonuses of +2

The rest would be picked upduring the first adventure.

If people feel this is too restrictive however, I will be happy to start at the normal level and adjust the adventure around that.

So far we have a 'Reformed Theives Guild Member' and a 'Monk of the healing hand'

Once we have some High concepts in, I will go through the other parts of a character in more detail so people new to the system are not overwhelmed trying to take it all in at once.

"Reformed Theives Guild Member"
is a great start.

The closest city is Magnamar.

If you want to you can specify the theives guild, tying in to the setting more closely. You could either pick an existing guild, or create one of your own (or leave it unspecified for the time being - there is no rush).

If you want a tie in to an existing guild (either as a member or as a rival), there are a number operating in Magnimar;

The Night Scales are Magnimars oldest theives guild and its members view themselves as the overlords of the cities underworld. They are a large gang focusing on petty theft, extortion, and smugling.

The Gargoyles are Magnimars most refined 'gang.'They are an elite, handpicked group of cat burglars operating throughout the wealthy districts of the summit.

The Scarnazi are a loose collection of Varisian (basically Gypsies, and the nomadic original inhabitants of Varisia)crime families who operate in towns and cities throughout Varisia. They focus on robbery, pick pocketing, and confidence schemes, mostly targeted at Non-varisians and have contributed to the general feeling that varisians cannot be trusted.

The Gallowed are a gang of Scarnazi Thugs who terrorize the poverty stricken district of Rags end in Magnimar.

Great, looks like we have enough for a party.

Since nobody is familiar with fate I will walk through the process of character creation one step at a time. Please feel free to ask questions

The first step in a fate game is usually setting creation, but following an adventure path means we already have a setting ready for us and can go straight to character creation.

Characters in fate are described through a number of what we call "aspects". These are basically important facts about the character.

The first is what we call the High Concept - basically a sentence describing who the character is in broad terms. It is the core of who your character is.

For instance Harsk is a "Gruff and Driven Dwarven Ranger",
Amiri is a "Feirce Tribal Warrior", etc.

Race and class are a good starting point here, but it is better if you can get more specific. Backgrounds from Pathfinder 2e might have some good ideas, and tying into the setting is even better;

We begin in the town of Sandpoint, on the Varisian coast.

Here is the wiki entry for Varisia;
https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Varisia

And Sandpoint;
https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Sandpoint

Most importantly, "The most notable events in the short history of Sandpoint occurred in the winter of 4702, and are referred to locally as "the late unpleasantness.... Within the course of only a few years, a string of murders by a ruthless killer known as "Chopper" and a great fire which destroyed the iconic chapel and many of the surrounding buildings ravaged the town both physically and emotionally. A grand cathedral has since been built and the people of Sandpoint are finally optimistic about their future."

You are all gathering for one reason or another in Sandpoint on the eve of the "Swallowtail Festival", a yearly event thanking Desna for her blessings on the new cathedral.

You might be locals, or you might be travellers who have arrived for the festival (or by coincidence for some other reason).

If you have the time and want more inspiration it might be worth looking at the players guide;

https://paizo.com/products/btpy8tgl?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Rise-of-the-R unelords-Anniversary-Edition-Players-Guide

and the rules I linked In my first post. Dont worry about the rules specifics, but if you find the page on classes it has some advice that might be helpful.

http://www.killershrike.com/Fate/Fae/Pathfinder/Guidelines/ClassTranslation .aspx

So to recap;

You each need a character concept (a sentence describing the character)
Feel free to add some descriptive detail afterwards giving more background and explanation about the character. It is not necessary at this point, but might help get a handle on who your character is.

Nothing is final at this point - we can refine them as we go.

Rise of the Runelords using Fate as an engine rather than pathfinder. This is partly because I feel much more confident GMing Fate, and partly because it allows things to be shaken up and follow the story people want to tell much more easily.

Probably using the fate Hack on

http://www.killershrike.com/Fate/Fae/Pathfinder/PathfinderFateAccelerated.a spx

Which is specificaly set up for playing pathfinder (and because it is free, so easily available).

Dont worry if you are unfamiliar with Fate - the rules are available for free and I am happy to walk people through the process of both character development and play.

Anyone interested?

Sorry to hear you had such a tough Christmas.

Happy new year everyone

Agreed. Still interested and waiting, but I understand if darkmeer has too much going on

Merry Christmas all

"Looks like your time for redemption is at hand." Maria says, clapping grau on the shoulder in what she awkwardly hopes is a comradely fashion, "let's make your Neffi proud."

Maria ignores the retort, smart enough to know that Tawni is more than her match in terms of clever wordplay.
She throws a look of pure disgust back towards the bar
"I doubt anyone else in that hole has made any deals that are worth our time. How about we return your friend to his post and hope there are at least some guards left who are worth the cost of their uniforms. Say what you will about the hellknights, but at least they take their duties seriously.

Maria raises her glass in salute as Tawni wins the fight, her face a mix of entertained disdain, sniffs it distastefully and puts it to one side.

As Grau propositions her she gives him a cold look and is about to give a cutting putdown as Ernhild cuts in. Tawnis description of her as 'nice' almost gives her pause, but she hardens her look and lets rip regardless.

"Damn right you wont get a kiss in that state. Flailing around with a blade and then tripping over your own feet is hardly going to impress anyone. If I were you, Id get cleaned up quick before we find this Neffi girl and show her what she is missing. Now if you boys have finished comparing testosterone levels I beleive we have work to do." She turns her glare on Tawni, "Unless of course you feel the need to demonstrate your prowess by dueling any more drunks?"

Sorry guys, life has swamped me over the last week or so and i havent been able t keep up. Nothing near as bad as darkmeer is having it though - just getting swept away with the daily grind plus seemingly endless visits from family.

Sounds like things are really tough at the moment Darkmeer. Do you mind if I remember you and your family in my prayers? I know some people prefer not, so I will respect your wishes either way

The one grau ordered? She turned it away. If she is offered another now she has settled to watch the entertainment however, why not...

Maria rolls her eyes and perches on the edge of a nearby table, "boys and their toys. Well don't mind us. We'll just wait until you finish swinging your pointy sticks around. Im sure the city is in no hurry. It's not like there's a riot going on or anything."

Despite her words, she seems happy enough to sit and watch the fight.

Good luck Juliet. Happy gaming

Maria gives him a cold smile and turns the drink away. "this is the man we are relying on to save the city?"

Maria pointedly ignores the men with their swords, distinctly unimpressed. "You think he will be hiding here?"

Maria is about to respond, but pauses as Dennyn interrupts and quickly changes her mind, "Agreed Dennyn. Let's check out this lead. Perhaps it will bring us closer to restoring order ourselves. "

"it seems to me that the hellknights might actually bring things back into some semblance of order around here. Sometimes a sledgehammer is exactly what you need." Maria pauses thoughtfully, " After zellaras reading however, I am convinced that we need to get things under control ourselves before that becomes necessary. I think something dark is orchestrating the problems we are facing, and it strikes me that bringing a sledgehammer into the situation could well escalate things."

"what my colleagues are saying is that we want to see order restored to our streets." She glances around at her companions "Probably for a variety of motives, but the important thing is that we are all willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. And to be frank, from what we have seen so far it looks like you could do with some help."

"Such Galantry." Maria says "Welcome to our band little dragonling. Now lets get to that guard station and find out whats going on in this city."

"well that went surprisingly well." Maria says, watching the imps flee. She then turns her attention to the pseudodragon, "do you think it's ok?"

Maria takes position behind her comrades and murmurs a quick spell, Lll unleashing an avid bolt at the closest imp as a warning shot

touch attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

acid dart damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

"Thank you." Maria says to Riren as he steps in, "He might be mad, but I fear there may be a seed of truth in his ramblings. Zellara told me the city was being poisoned, either through peoples bodies or their minds; although it is hard to tell if he was giving warning or spreading the poison. There is a far more dangerous undercurrent to all this than simple riots."

"Urgh" Maria exclaims, shoving the madman away from herself, "Be gone you foul lech, unless you need a cold shower of acid to cool your humors."

fortitude: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

"Thank you." Maria says, as healing energy washes over her, helping to ease her aches

6 nonlethal left

She glances round, unable to spot the supposed persuer, shrugs, casts prestidigitation to regain a semblance of dignity, and turns her attention to the guard.

Juliet doesnt speak. She doesnt bother trying to instil order in the masses like her companions do. She simply concentrates on hauling buckets. One at a time. Bucket after bucket. It is a kind of work that she is not used to, and the strain tells, but they need to get this fire under control.

Fort save DC15: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Fort save DC18: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Fort save DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

3 failures, ouch

non lethal damage: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 3) = 10

Her whole world narrows to passing buckets. Time seems to stretch into eternity as her muscles begin to burn. By the time they are finished she is panting heavily and barely on her feet. As she passes the last bucket she collapses in releif. They are finished. The city is saved. Surely it is time for bed now.

Then she remembers the riots are still ongoing. She pulls herself painfully back to her feet and seeks out her newfound companions.

Take care of yourself and your family darkmeer. Best wishes to all of you

Fixed hit points by adding the extras 1. Thanks for pointing out out riren

Maria takes stock of the situation. There is not much she can do to help the downed rider. Truth be told, there is not much she can do to help stop the fire either - she is not exactly built for physical labour. If the fire spreads it could quickly get putt of control however so she grabs bucket and helps as best she can.

Maria was going around collecting magic items, or at least ones that caught her interest.

She gave the dagger to the kid because nobody else seemed to want it (sorry. Perhaps he will become an allie down the road?).

The wand was of acid splash. Nearly useless, but she has taken it to free up a cantrip. If anyone else wants it they are welcome to it.

Can't remember, but I think she picked up the key. It belonged to a serial killer.

As for the brooch, she identified that at the time too and definately picked it up

The brooch, however, is something you'd never expect in Lamm's possession. The brooch was a gift from the now deceased king to Queen Ileosa! How did this get to Lamm? Other than seeing the broken clasp, the queen and king are genery followed by a number of guards. This, on the night of her husband's death, could be very interesting.

Wizard 2

HP +6 (3+Con+Fav class)
BAB +1
Wil +1

Story Feat: Spell Focus (Conjuration)

Skills:
Spellcraft +1, Knowledge (Arcana, Planes, Religion, Nobility) +1, Craft +1, UMD +1

Spellbook:

L1
Protection From Alignment
Mount

Spells/Day:

L0 +1
L1 +1

Let me know if I have anything wrong

"Agreed. if the cards are to be believed it seems that trouble is brewing in this city, and it looks like it will be hard to unravel. Perhaps if we can help restore order to the city first, the source of disruption will be easier to spot."

Might not be able to sort out my new level till monday (pretty hectic right now). Is that feat extra to whatever we get from leveling?

"You may read the cards if you wish." Maria says cautiously.

Maria considers for a moment. There is danger in this path, but also a chance for greatness. "I am with you lady."

Maria responds to Grigory with a tight smile, "Not bitterness youngster, pragmatism."

And a little bit of bitterness, she privately admits to herself, but Gaedrin is gone now and that is all behind her.

"very touching." Maria says dryly

Have we had enough rest overnight to refresh spells and such?

"Discipline is valuable sister. I am glad you are instilling it in these children." Maria says, gathering her things, "Well lets get this over with. Our mysterious benefactor needs to know justice has been served."

"suddenly prestidigitation looks a lot more useful than either of us assumed."Maria says, "We might as well get this cleared. The night is far from over and much as I want to conclude our business with our mysterious benefactor, I am uncomfortable leaving the children here until we can be sure they are safe.

"You are welcome. "
Maria emerges from the doorway and looks at the corpses in disgust. "who would attack an orphanage? I mean what could they possibly want to gain here? Children? "

Leave it till you recover. I have suffered migraines and as heroic as suffering short bursts to post makes you, we can wait.
Also, I find migraleave is pretty effective

"You have chosen the wrong orphanage to target tonight" Maria says, unleashing an acidic dart at the closest thug and then retreating towards the corridor

acid dart: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6