Notes: I still have to work on equipment, and I took the Slippery trait that is normally reserved for the Bellflower Network, but I think you'll understand why I think it's appropriate for Sluagh. I'm using a base tiefling, no grimspawn or shackleborn.
Init +3* (+3 Dex)
Fort +2 (+0 base +2 Con)
Ref +4 (+0 base, +3 Dex, +1 trait)
Will +3 (+2 base, +1 Wis)
HP 9 (6 +2 Con, +1 FC)
AC 14/ff 11/touch 14 (+3 Dex, +1 size)
BAB +0
CMB -2 (-1 Str, -1 size)
CMD 11 (10 -1 Str, -1 size, +3 Dex)
Move 20'
Attacks:
Tiefling Racial Features:
Small Size, 20' move
Favored Class: Witch
Native Outsider type
Darkvision 60’
+2 racial bonus to Bluff and Stealth
Cast darkness 1/day as a spell-like ability
Cold resistance 5, Electricity resistance 5, Fire resistance 5
Alley Witch Class Features:
Alley Witch archetype (Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes of the Street)
Weapon Proficiency: Simple weapons
Armor Proficiency: None
Witch’s Familiar: House Centipede holds Sluagh’s spells
Crowd Patron: Patron spells come from the Crowd Patron list
Child of the Streets: Bluff and Knowledge (Local) are class skills, Knowledge (Planes) and Knowledge (Nature) are not
Speak to the City: While in Korvosa, Sluagh gets +2 to Initiative, Knowledge (Local), Perception, Stealth, and Sense Motive checks.
Unhappy Childhood: Tortured (Campaign): +1 Reflex
Vagabond Child (Regional, Urban): +1 Escape Artist, Escape Artist is a class skill
Slippery (Combat): +1 Stealth, Stealth is a class skill
Anxious (Drawback): -2 Diplomacy, speaks slowly, always assumed to be whispering
Background:
Sluagh doesn’t know where she’s from. She doesn’t even know her own name, or if she ever had one. She had been abandoned by her mother long before she knew her. She had no one to take care of her. No one to look after her.
No one, of course, except for Gaedren Lamm.
Sluagh was the name Lamm and the other children gave her, called her a demon, teased her for dripping everywhere and left to sleep in the trash heaps, covered in bugs and spiders and all manner of creepy crawlies.
She was one of Lamm’s thieves, valued for her ability to slip into tight spaces, get lost in crowds, and disappear. But, she still lived at the bottom of the pecking order, and any time things didn’t work out, she was punished for it. Even when it wasn’t her fault.
That’s how she ended up left for dead with the trash by the dockside at night. Maybe she did die. She doesn’t know. She does know that a centipede woke her up. She suspects it crawled out from inside her. But through it, for the first time in her life, there was something that knew she had more purpose. And now, she knows every last ditch, sewer, and dump site in Korvosa. And she’s going to do something about her situation.
Appearance:
Sluagh is scrawny, pale, and greasy. Malnourishment combined with her halfling heritage has left her looking like the picture-perfect example of a street waif, an urchin, a mudlark. One might think that this would lend her to earn sympathy in others, but no. Something is always terribly off about her. Whether it’s the black oil that hangs on her face or runs down her limbs, or the way there always seems to be something skittering in her long, black straight hair, people always know there’s something wrong about her.
Personality:
Sluagh is quiet, mousy, and used to being pushed around. She is used to living in fear, living with abuse in the home. She expects to be disrespected, harmed, bullied. None of that would drive her to stray. But there is still a spark of self-worth within her. She might not speak up, but she knows she can slip away and get things done herself. And, of course, she’s no longer alone.
Special Note: Oh, everyone, you own the Copyright on your hero -- although at least two are derivative right now (the Guyver and Chance Burton). You created your hero, it's yours to do as you wish.
I'll own the copyright on most of the villains you face. I still plan on using some villains (or at least their stats) from DC adventures. They will be Guest villains, part of a crossover. And some villains comes from Green Ronin Publishing's Rogues Gallery (the Alchemistress, the Syndicate, and Arctic Fox, for example).
Interesting! I hadn't thought about copyright for PCs before. I suppose it's important, today!
By the way, was there anything further we needed to do in preparation?
Advantages:
Attractive (1 rank)
Languages (1 rank, Spanish)
Powers:
The Calaveras Look: The costume of Miss Calaveras appears as needed from Mictlan, the Land of the Dead. Feature: Quick Change, 1 rank (1)
Speaks with the Bones: Miss Calaveras can convince the bones of the target to simply stop doing what the target wishes, freezing them in place. Ranged Cumulative Affliction (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Impaired, Disabled, Paralyzed), 7 ranks (21)
The Spirits’ Favor: Spirits of the dead will come to her aid, protecting her from blows. Protection (necromantic), Sustained, 15 ranks (15)
She Will Choose the Time: Death cannot be summoned against Miss Calaveras; only the goddess Mictecacihuatl may choose. Immunity (death/necromantic effects), 5 ranks (5)
Speaks with the Dead: She can speak with those who have passed before, gaining knowledge about an area’s history, or about what has been left undone.
• Senses (Postcognition and Spiritual Awareness) (5)
• Comprehend (Spirits), 2 ranks (4)
Bargaining with Death: She can plead with Mictecacihuatl to stave off wounds inflicted on others. Restorative Resurrective Healing, 6 ranks (24)
Complications:
Motivation: Responsibility to the Dead: Miss Calaveras recognizes that she has been chosen to protect people, both alive and dead. She will never desecrate the memory of those departed, and always strive to honor those who have come before. She also wishes for people to live the fullest, kindest lives possible.
Relationship: Meddlesome Great-Grandmother: Her great-grandmother Soledad held these powers before her, and mentors Miss Calaveras on what she can do and how best to use the gifts she has received. She’s also constantly following her around, giving her life advice, complaining about her choices, and misunderstanding technology. Ah, if only she would stay dead!
Background:
Catrina Xochitl Ortiz was born and raised in Angels Camp, CA. Her father worked at one of the local livestock ranches, and she spent her early years tagging along and helping him whenever she could. She quickly took to riding horses and spent much of her childhood riding alongside the other ranch hands.
She grew up to be a lovely girl, with long black hair and large dark eyes. With the attention she had gained, she was encouraged to join a local beauty pageant. She wowed the judges with her poise, her skill on horseback, and her looks, and was named Miss Calaveras, in time for her quinceañera.
The quinceañera was a lovely affair, by the way. She picked out a fancy red dress, was escorted to the party riding a white horse, and the whole town came out to watch their little celebrity of the day have a wonderful party. She received her presents from all her friends and family, danced late, and finally returned to her room, exhilarated and exhausted.
And there, on her vanity, was one more gift. She looked at the tag, and the name tag said it was from her great-grandmother. She loved her great-grandmother, but she had died years ago. She didn't mind, figuring this was from her family. She opened the present. Inside was an old framed black-and-white photograph, depicting Nana Soledad, wearing a beautiful dress, flowers in her hair, and her face painted as a decorated skull.
This filled her with joy. The whole idea of her beloved Nana dressed as La Catrina Calavera was beautiful, her reaching across the years and death to be with her on her special day. And she heard back, "Oh, my sweet little baby, how you've grown up! You're a woman now, and it is time you had my most precious possession."
Catrina looked up, wondering why she heard Nana's voice. And in the vanity mirror, she saw that her face was painted with the same decorated skull in the photograph. "The secrets of death have been in our family for generations," Nana continued. "I need to teach you all about them."
And since then, Nana Soledad has watched over her, showing her how to speak with the dead, how to speak with the bones, how to reach between death and life to help others. And Catrina, as Miss Calaveras, has never been more thankful.
So basically defences start out at the rank of the ability they're based on (e.g willpower is based on awareness). You can then increase it further by just spending 1 pp/rank. So for example my own sheet has awareness 5 so it cost me 5pp to bring her willpower up to 10. The exception is toughness which can only be raised by purchasing the protection power or defensive roll advantage. Power level limits are explained on pg 25 of the Deluxe Hero's handbook but should also be explained somewhere in the SRD.
Thank you! Also, what's a reasonable defense target? Does Willpower 10 mean decent, excellent, or super strong?
So you were pulled towards her, as she was literally ebbing away. And you could see her life force deminishing. But then when she was fused with the bio-tech. Something happened. You see her teetering at death's door but that it. No movement. Not towards or away. She is constantly on the verge of death. Perhaps you can also see the bio Armor anchoring her to life. Like the roots of a tree.
Just a thought. Happy to help expand on this
Oh, that's great! Definitely a mystery for Catrina. I can see her arguing with her great-grandmother about what it all means, Nana just completely confused at the technology and insisting it shouldn't work like that, but confirming that you're not dead yet.
@Silver I have an idea we can work on for a connection if we are both chosen for this
Cool, I'm curious!
Also, where is Zion High?
ETA: Also also, I've still got 27 points to spend, and I don't know what's appropriate power levels for things, so I might need to improve a power or skills or defenses (I haven't been able to figure out how to buy up defenses).
She's a (local) beauty queen, so she should be likable, despite the death theme.
And regarding death, I know dying is not a typical concern for a high school supers genre, but I figure more of "our relationship to the dead and ancestry" still makes sense. Given that, do the powers work, or are they against genre?
Advantages:
Attractive (1 rank)
Languages (1 rank, Spanish)
Powers:
The Calaveras Look: The costume of Miss Calaveras appears as needed from Mictlan, the Land of the Dead. Feature: Quick Change, 1 rank (1)
Speaks with the Bones: Miss Calaveras can convince the bones of the target to simply stop doing what the target wishes, freezing them in place. Ranged Cumulative Affliction (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Impaired, Disabled, Paralyzed), 6 ranks (18)
The Spirits’ Favor: Spirits of the dead will come to her aid, protecting her from blows. Protection (necromantic), Sustained, 6 ranks (6)
She Will Choose the Time: Death cannot be summoned against Miss Calaveras; only the goddess Mictecacihuatl may choose. Immunity (death/necromantic effects), 5 ranks (5)
Speaks with the Dead: She can speak with those who have passed before, gaining knowledge about an area’s history, or about what has been left undone. Senses (Postcognition and Spiritual Awareness) (5) and Comprehend (Spirits), 2 ranks (4)
Bargaining with Death: She can plead with Mictecacihuatl to stave off wounds inflicted on others. Restorative Resurrective Healing, 6 ranks (24)
Defenses:
Complications:
Motivation: Responsibility to the Dead: Miss Calaveras recognizes that she has been chosen to protect people, both alive and dead. She will never desecrate the memory of those departed, and always strive to honor those who have come before. She also wishes for people to live the fullest, kindest lives possible.
Relationship: Meddlesome Great-Grandmother: Her great-grandmother Soledad held these powers before her, and mentors Miss Calaveras on what she can do and how best to use the gifts she has received. She’s also constantly following her around, giving her life advice, complaining about her choices, and misunderstanding technology. Ah, if only she would stay dead!
Suddenly, the idea of Miss Calaveras came to mind. Would this make for a costume?
Strange costume for a hero (the skull motif on her face made me think of an anti-hero or villain).
Yeah, it's a cultural difference, is all.
The character concept is that she's a local beauty queen from Calaveras County, California. However, she just recently received death-related powers as a family tradition. This doesn't mean she's some killer-monster, though. Death is just a part of life, after all, and people are always looking for ways to speak with ancestors and the like.
The connection is through the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, who guards the bones of the dead and presides over festivals for the dead (see Dia de los Muertos for the most commonly known one).
I'm going to need some assistance with character design, I feel, since I'm new to M&M. Powers I'm considering are communing with spirits, healing, affliction/weakening through talking directly to her target's bones (paralyzation, maybe pain but I don't want to be a bad guy). Perhaps some physical defense from spirits coming to her aid, or a general immunity to death, in some way.
If you prefer I can run with a different concept, but this came to me, and I kind of like it.
His quirk: Wires! He can extend and retract a bunch of wires from his body, which he can use to attach to walls and ceilings, or entangle his foe!
I've had more experience with Champions (I think I still have my rulebook around here) but I can do M&M 3e if that gets chosen (I've never played it before, though).
(I've had a number of other character types before, like an invulnerable kid who's a bit of a bully because he never feels anything, or a girl who can teleport from any door to any other door but has to pay $10 each time for some weird reason she never understands, to a guy who has an... extremely violent allergic reaction to strawberries. So I got ideas. And I know enough MHA to get the feel down.)
I am not familiar with My Hero Academia, and the old computer I had could not get past the create the hero stage of City of Heroes so I am also unfamiliar with the City of Heroes world setting.
Here's probably the quickest way to introduce the typical high school student for My Hero Academia.
Init +2 (+2 Dex)
Fort +2 (+0 base 0 Con)
Ref +4 (+2 base, +2 Dex)
Will +3 (+2 base, +1 Wis)
HP 9 (8 +0 Con, +1 FC)
AC
BAB +0
CMB +0 (+0 Str)
CMD 12 (10 +2 Dex)
Move 30'
Inspiration Pool 4 (+4 Int)
Human Racial Features:
Medium Size, 30' move
+2 to any one ability score
Bonus Feat
Skilled: +1 skill rank per level
Favored Class: Investigator
Antiquarian Investigator Class Features:
Antiquarian archetype (Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of the Ancients)
Weapon Proficiency: Simple weapons, Hand Crossbow, Rapier, Sap, Shortbow, Shortsword, Sword Cane
Armor Proficiency: Light
Relic Magic: Can cast arcane spells via relics, from the Alchemist list. A 2lb collection of relics acts as a formula book. No arcane spell failure.
Inspiration: Inspiration pool of ½ level + Int mod. Spend 1 pool as a free action to add 1d6 to a skill or ability check. Free inspiration for trained Knowledge, Linguistics, or Spellcraft checks. Spend 2 pool for +1d6 to attack rolls or saving throws.
Trapfinding: +1 to Perception rolls to find traps, +1 to Disable Device. Can disable magical traps.
Basic character concept is a scavenger who sifts through abandoned Sessrendale homesteads for trinkets and artifacts for sale at the market, but I'm not yet sure on a class. A Tymora devotee, looking for serendipity.
We urge your friend to submit their porfolio for PaizoCon! It's the best way to get their work looked at by our team! Singups are coming soon, so please tell them to keep an eye on it!
Is there a way for an artist to submit a portfolio for consideration as someone to be commissioned for Paizo products? A friend of mine is graduating soon and is looking forward to working with the TTRPG industry. He has completed a couple commissions in the past for other companies.
Here's a writeup. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm missing something, so feel free to ask for details.
Player Questionnaire:
A. Player Questions
1. He/Him
2. 3
3. 8am-10pm, EST
4. Nothing objectionable
5. 3
6. 3
B. Content Ranking
1. 3
2. 4
3. 3
4. 2
5. 3
6. 4
7. 3
8. 2
9. 3
10. 3
11. 1
C. Character Questions
1. Syper lost the home he knew, took up with a sailing ship, and simply does what he needs to to keep surviving.
2. (Intentionally left blank)
3. He was adopted as an infant by Mad Old Hettie, a larger-than-life woman who lived deep in the swamp outside Genji. That’s the only person he’s called family.
4. Hettie provided cures or fortunes to whoever ventured out to her and was willing to deliver whatever she asked for; precisely why she wanted what she did was always beyond him. Hettie didn’t share her magic with him, much; she preferred that he dive into the muck for things people left behind, or go into town to procure whatever staples she needed for the two of them.
5. Being an orphan with a shady past and future did change the way he was treated.
6. Definitely Mad Old Hettie
7. Definitely Mad Old Hettie
8. The people of Genji never trusted Syper, and knew about his thieving, but as long as they all knew he was Hettie’s ward, they never messed with him.
9. He tends to steal and lie more than he should. He’s learned to tell an excellent tall tale, though.
10. His whole youth was in the Zuul Marsh, but now he’s in the Free Isles. Past that, not so much.
11. Judgmentalism is the biggest thing he hates. There’s been too much of that in his life. Also he doesn’t like how he looks in red. Too garish.
12. He knows there’s something terribly off about him. He’s not sure what. Most days, he just chooses to ignore it and hope for the best.
13. Nothing past petty thievery, but his greatest worry involves people who insist on not giving him a fair shake.
14. He wants to learn more about the occult. He knows that Hettie understood far more about him, but only revealed a few things. Now he needs to know more.
15. Make a new character, different background, something that fits what the party needs at the time
16. None in the past, open to them in the future
17. One day, Hettie, clearly agitated, told Syper to rush out into the deep water of the swamp and gather extra eelgrass. He left, dove down, and gathered up a handful when a huge wall of water appeared in a sudden flash flood. The smell of ash was in the air, a sure sign of an eruption of Mt. Ebar. The gushing flood barreled into him and washed him far downstream. Syper wasn’t sure how long he was knocked out, but he found himself on land, and alive. He figured out where he was and rushed back to Hettie’s shack, only to find it completely flattened, with no sign of her anywhere. He went into town, and no one there knew what happened, only that there was flooding damage to deal with. However, once Hettie was gone, it became clear that Syper wasn’t welcome anymore in Genji, so he found a boat, joined their crew, and left. He wears an eyepatch now, mainly to hide his aquamarine hag’s eye.
D. Campaign Questions
1. His most recent job took him sailing to Eredorn.
2. He is presently renting a small room until his next job.
3. He has a small stipend that’s running out from his last job.
E. Game Questions
1. Mostly support, with melee and manipulation of the battlefield
2. Not sure; Witch or Captivator are possibilities to grow the occult connection. In all honesty I’d rather see where the adventure takes my interests.
3. Witch is probably my top choice.
4. No clue
5. I’ll use a whip quite a bit for both disarm/trip and mobility tricks
6. I don’t know
F. Player Redux
1. I have no particular preference for enemies
2. I haven’t seen any enemies overused
3. I like opportunities to grow, develop, and personal events that can change a character’s direction
4. I’ll keep my mind open regarding plot points
Crunch:
Character Sheet
Syper
Ancestry: Changeling Human
Background: Sailor (swapping Swamp Lore for Sailing Lore)
Class: Bard
Strength 12
Dexterity 16
Constitution 10
Intelligence 14
Wisdom 10
Charisma 16
HP 16
Size Medium
Speed 25
Low-Light Vision
Languages: Common +3
Focus Pool: 1
Perception: Expert
Fortitude: Trained
Reflex: Trained
Will: Expert
Feats:
• Brine May – Successes in Athletics for swimming are critical successes. I don’t sink.
• Underwater Marauder – not flat-footed in water, no penalty to slashing, bludgeoning melee
• Bardic Lore – Recall Knowledge on any topic
Occult Spellcasting
Spell Repertoire
• Cantrips
o Summon Instrument
o Mage Hand
o Message
o Shield
o Daze
• First Level
o Command
o Animate Rope
o True Strike
Composition Spells
• Cantrips
o Inspire Courage
• Focus Spells
o Counter Performance
Okay, so I've been looking through backgrounds, and deep backgrounds, and I think I can do something better for myself, but I would like some guidance.
My character concept is a Brine May Changeling from the Zuul Marshes. Upbringing involves adoption by Mad Old Hettie, a hermit occultic eccentric, who knows his heritage but also doesn't mind. He grew up learning both how to forage from the swamp, and how to go into Genki to, eh, acquire supplies as needed. You don't go digging in the swamp for treasure, but the marsh doesn't care if you just pick something off the ground that no one's using, after all.
Any thoughts about appropriate backgrounds? I was looking at the Deep-Sea Diver, but something more like Swamp Lore would make more sense than Plane of Water Lore.
Camber's player here. For this campaign, I'm imagining a human cleric of some kind. Not sure yet who the deity will be; whether it's tied to the major powers with Abadar or Shelyn, or focusing on getting people through tough transitions, and being a cleric of Alseta.
Hello! I'm still quite new to PFS2e (and PF2 in general), and I'm thinking of making a second character. I haven't yet used any of my starting 80 points, and I'm thinking of creating a Sarkorian Tiefling for the game, but I'm not yet sure how helpful that would be within PFS or not. Has anyone had any experience with a tiefling in PFS, and what's it like?
One of my PF1 characters is not a priest, but grew up in a Razmiri orphanage, and so takes on a number of Razmirian characteristics. She has a mask and robe but never wears them.
Admittedly, her full story was that she was born as promised to Sivanah, and she was quickly pulled out of the standard grind when she was discovered by a Sivanah faithful who was masquerading as a Razmiran priest, so she ended up being trained as a sleeper agent for Razmir or maybe Sivanah or maybe both, but that pretty much never pops up.
So there's definitely ways to use Razmir without pushing deep into the conversion and more difficult aspects of Razmiran, but it's important to think about how you'd want to approach it.
So way back in D&D2e days, I came up with my own campaign world. New deities, new races.
The war god was also the god of the night sky, and his chosen people were nocturnal hunters whose eyes glowed like stars. So, it had both combat and astrology in his portfolio, but I kind of left it at that.
Suddenly I saw this war god as also the god of time. The cycle of change, destruction, the volcano that buries the city and replenishes the farmland. It's dancing the world away. Now I'm reenergized. A god that is both prophet and destroyer. His home palace is a place of endless battle, dates and places plucked from history, where travel between battles becomes possible, because it's all part of the same great eternal battle.
I'm going to start writing up this world once the ORC gets finalized. Get everything functioning in PF2e. I'm feeling my muse return after years. It's beautiful.
Wait, there's a cannibal tribe called the Kuru? Kuru is, IRL, a prion disease that causes "laughing sickness" that spread through cannibalism in PNG (although even then it's not "people hunting people to eat" but via a ritual meal to honor their deceased). So even the name is a bit too on the nose.
Anyway, if there's a Tian-Sing colony there, then I totally want something done like Legend of the Tsunami Warrior which has some of the best over-the-top fantasy involving aquatic action anywhere.
The High Seas would be a great place for something like Armada from China Miéville's book The Scar and uncharted islands only reachable by luck.
Hints about the Eye of Abendego would be needed, as would a discussion of storms in general, both above and below the surface.
A whirlpool leading to a dry section of seabed. Intelligent reefs. Go wild.
General campaign idea: The PCs cross paths with the Bottle of the Bound at the beginning of the campaign, and watch as it ends up in the hands of an evil wizard who frees all the creatures within it, which spread to the far reaches of Golarion.
The campaign is the party rushing around the world tracking down and resealing all the creatures in the bottle (and possibly adding a few more besides).
I'm not familiar with kaiju as a specific monster of Golarion, but in the field of giant monsters that level cities, there's the Spawn of Rovagug. The Tarrasque and Ulunat and more certainly fit the bill.
