[dice=Diplomacy]1d20+12=30
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I'm Mikael, a 29-year old freelancer in Southern California. I'm currently on leave from my Ph.D. program in history (Chris, let's talk!) while I figure out whether I should pursue a different career or if I truly want a life in academia. I'm currently looking for work as a proofreader/copy editor (preferably working in the video game industry) while editing college admissions essays (again, Chris, let's talk, lol). I have two pet rabbits, a major sweet tooth (with miraculously normal blood sugar), and dreams of teaching at Hogwarts. I was also a contestant in RPG Superstar one year; that was fun. ^_^ * Bojd: Definitely a kindred spirit, but he seems different since coming back from the Last War. We all saw things, but now he's even more hard-boiled than he was before. Sure, he tries to hide it under a slick veneer of gentility, but there's more to him than meets the eye. A lot more. And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it or my name's not Tavick Tarker. Jynn/Quill: I know they're different people, but with all the shapechanging going on, I have trouble distinguishing between these two. I don't necessarily agree with their methods, but sometimes the only way to get to the truth is to fight deception with deception. They're both also very sweet in their own way; I'm surprised to see that sort of thing since the War. I just wish Jynn would stop trying to mess with me...or is it Quill who keeps doing that? Hmm... Selmy: He's sharper than he gets credit for, even if a little rough around the edges. I wouldn't be surprised if he's some sort of secret mastermind, but he I think he values his comfort a little too much for an undertaking like that. His parents are sweet people too, though you might not expect it from looking at them. At least they season their food, which is more than I can say for my folks.
Totally digging the image links, by the way; they're awesome!
Tavick shifts uncomfortably in the green room as he mulls over the situation. "Maybe one of us could be a supernumerary or watch from the wings disguised as stagehands in that case. We understand your predicament, ma'am, but you we need some room to our jobs. We'll be no good to you if we're stuck in the orchestra seats."
"Jesaeli can look after him. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
Inhaling deeply before signing his name, the intrepid reporter inscribes Tavick Tarker on the parchment sheaf in a neat, quick secretary hand. All in, he assures himself. * Tavick watched the events unfold as he sat in one of the corner armchairs, eating a cold bowl of porridge his mother sent him home with the night before. The residents of Overlook always talk about how subtle their cooking is. In Sharn, they call it "bland". Setting his food down on the floor, he walks over to Bojd's side to inspect the missive himself.
And Bojd, thanks for the response: I agree that we should both have detect thoughts (and I can't avoid it since it's an SLA for me anyhow), but I do like the idea of building more towards offensive spells. Fits my discipline's theme nicely as well. I'm ready to go whenever you guys are. When do we sign the lease?
I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!!! *panting* As it so happens, my vote is for Black Clouds as well! Also, my skills are updated and I corrected the fact that I had only spent ranks as though I were a 1st-level character. Facepalm.
Checking in. I'm good with whatever narrative structuring you think works best. I still need to adjust my skills for the Background Skills variant. Bojd, would you like to coordinate our spell selection since we're using the same list and we're both spontaneous casters? If we can minimize redundancies, I imagine that we'll be able to have differently-flavored kinds of psychic spellcasters.
There's still a lot of time left for more applications. I have hope we'll have more. Of that I have no doubt! I'm just being cheeky. ^_^
At this rate, the only applicants left will be psychic magic-users. More like Third Eye Inquisitive Agency, amiright guys?! ...actually, that could be pretty interesting.
GM Aest: I decided to swap out Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus for Expanded Phrenic Pool and Extra Amplification. That way I can continue to focus on the psychic/psionic dimension of the character concept without just jacking up my DCs through the roof. Let me know if there are any other concerns you have about the character concept that I can consider revising prior to the closure of the submission window.
GM Aest:
1. I suppose it depends on the nature of the campaign. Admittedly, I was looking for feats for quite some time and more or less "settled" on the Spell Focus chain since mind thrust and detect thoughts are both Divination spells. That and his psionic mentor is a seer, so I figured it would be fitting. That being said, I wouldn't want to play a character that routinely sucks the mystery out of the mystery. I'll happily swap out the Spell Focus feats if you think that I'm running the risk of doing so. I definitely see detect thoughts and mind thrust as staples of the character concept (and one is built into the class and unavoidable). 2. In combat, I see Tavick having a Jean-Grey sort of vibe: lots of mind-affecting spells as well as force/telekinesis spells. Looking at the psychic spell list, they definitely aren't wizards, but the Abomination discipline will at least net me black tentacles. His strength will likely be at disabling single targets and using spells like haste and slow to turn the tide of battle. Out of combat, Tavick specializes in working with people. His skill deal mostly with social interaction (Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive), so he could definitely be something of a party face. He's more interested in motives than methods, which means that there are definitely deficiencies in crime scene investigation that other characters would (hopefully) shore up. He doesn't have much in the way of Knowledge skills, so he defers to the expertise of others and if no one in the group knows anything about the matter at hand, Tavick is unafraid to seek out someone who does. Also, did either of the proposed traits work?
Alright, here's my submission: Tavick Tarker, intrepid reporter. Campaign Trait Thoughts: While I'm thinking to take The War Hero for my trait, I could tweak his backstory so that instead of reporting from the front lines, he's working as a spy for the Brelish crown (under the guise of a reporter) or working at the Chronicle while doing research at the Library of Korranberg . If you believe that Tavick's time embedded in a Brelish unit during the Last War is a nice twist on the trait's backstory, then here are some of the bonuses I was thinking of: Trench Fighter [The War Hero] Your experiences fighting in the trenches during The Last War have taught you how to keep moving while staying low. You can take a 5-foot step while crawling. Inured [The War Hero] The atrocities you witnessed during The Last War have numbed you to horror. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Will saves against fear effects. If neither of those work I can brainstorm others or work on possible bonus for the other two possible traits.
"My commanding officer's orders are to leave Almas before sundown and make my way to the hollow as swiftly as possible. And as for bloodshed? I daresay we can only hope; proving my mettle there could mean advancing my ambitions here." Cameric regards the smith as he returns the bastard sword to its scabbard and secures it to his belt once more. "Again, thank you Master Fangan for your help. I couldn't have trusted my blade into better hands than yours." Turning to Durgan, Cameric says,"Do you know then where the caravan bound for Darkmoon is stationed?"
"My father used this blade in the struggle for Andoran independence some forty years ago. I found it in a trunk of his belongings before I set off for schooling at the Arcanamirium ... I confess, I can only hope that I do honor to his memory by it, for he died of a broken heart with the passing of my mother when I was but a babe. My grandmother and grandfather, notaries here in Almas, took care of me ever since." Cameric continues to consider the blade and the mysterious rune, his eyes never leaving the sword as he speaks.
I just need to shop for equipment and put my backstory one paper if the DM so desires.
Quick Question: I can wield a bastard sword two-handed when attacking and hold it in one hand when casting spells, right?
Haha, I love that one of my defining features is that I wield a bastard sword. Priceless!
Cameric: that bastard sword will make a clumsy melee weapon for your abjuror at level 1. (-4 without martial proficiency) But you probably wish to wield it anyway as your bonded object. I don't think the heirloom trait ought to stack with the +1 masterwork quality it already has as a bonded object. It is a bit hard to make sense of it though. How does a wizard bond with a sword he has no training to wield? Why a sword? (or maybe you should start his career as a fighter?) Rhylis is correct on all counts (since, of course, the masterwork quality isn't doubled with itself or any such strange nonsense). I figure that since I'm selecting the bastard sword as both my bonded object and my heirloom weapon, I'm offsetting one of the inherent benefits of either ability by effectively "wasting" a free masterwork item at 1st level. I have two reasons for the weapon to be a bastard sword: 1) It's the iconic weapon of the Eagle Knights.
I know that many consider Heirloom Weapon to be a powerful trait (myself included), which is also why I took Classically Schooled, which though it honestly kinda sucks, though fits my background. ^_^ Plus, I'm planning on taking Fighter at second level anyway, which should help mix it up a bit. As predicted, Eldritch Knight is the ultimate goal here. Rules Question Which My Tabletop Group and I Routinely Wonder About: In combat, a character can hold a two-handed weapon in one hand while casting a spell and then use both hands when attacking (in different rounds, of course), correct?
(Mikael Sebag) Naturally, I opted for the 22-point buy. I also decided to go with wizard as it ultimately works better with the character concept anyway...! Cameric Dunstable
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