Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
I thoroughly lament the death of this game.
You are all immortalized in my mind.
I may run something humble on this medium some time soon.
If not here, then maybe on a discord server I made for this same reason that also went cold.
If not that then perhaps on hangouts for live play
If there is any interest here, it will certainly stoke my inspiration to put something together in a shorter time frame.
My setting is the home world of the Furnace King, it's strange dark fantasy with classical and romantic elements, and as you'd probably imagine, a whole lot of heart.
It also naturally lends itself to dungeon crawl gameplay.
Let me know, and regardless, I pray you are all well in all ways
And that your lot in life is the success of the overcomer.
Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
I think I need to bow out. My life is just speeding up and I'm finding I don't have the time anymore. I really enjoyed the time I spent with you all. Maybe in another season things will change.
Please use Vehemence however is most useful for plot events.
If you want to stay in contact, I love making friends and talking about nerd theory and all things, please PM me for my social media info. LOOKING AT YOU THRATCH
I have only love for all of you. Slay Psathyrella for me.
Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
His heartbeat skips. Too quickly they came. Too quickly they left.
Remorse, you cursed thorn...
The furnace king breaks his silence. He chooses not to fold to the internal claims of impotency, nor the rash response which would only serve to give the lesser serpents glory. He lost his charge, his friend to whom he devoted himself.
He would gain him back again, with all the devices at his disposal.
"BOY!! STAY ALIVE! WE WILL COME TO YOU!"
Vehemence's howls trail into the darkness.
He turns to Moq with an earnest urgency:
"Do you know where their true residence lies?"
Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
Vehemence without word follows suit, twenty five paces behind the golem.
He wouldn't abide more reckless deaths.
He summons the long blade to his hand, walking with subtle steps.
It feels good, to be back. May our journey remain unending.
Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
Vehemence sees Thratch and silently beats himself up once more. He takes out the knife which once spilt the boy's blood in both of his open palms and presents it to the dancing thief. He speaks gently.
"Boy, it was not right to seek your life. If I had not succumb to the wiles of the powers that be, I may have been able to keep our lost one with us. It is unbecoming."
He takes the dagger in his left hand and nicks himself in the right hand, drawing his purple blood from its' vein.
"I swear fealty to you as a bonded sword, to be at your side and disposal until we clear ourselves from this place.
Let this dagger be the testament to this contract; the one by which I wounded us both. Let this be the price of my pardon."
Thratch may be dancing in this moment, but the furnace king was as a kneeling statue. The fear of servitude which intitially ensnared him to try and murder the small one before him rebuked him at each utterance of etiquette. It was this fear that made the words he spoke so calculated, that both his honor and his will may be left unblemished.
The whole gesture was a risk, but he could not abide by his own cowardice.
Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
Like a sucker punch from the gods- hell, even Remorse himself- Vehemence falls to the floor.
The images flock around him, prodding his mind further. He comes to face a deep seated foe unconquerable, one enemy hidden which he never considered; enslavement to a perverse and unknown power. Their imminence was palpable to him- the chains. He had never fathomed the true horrors which may befall him in his current state of finite weakness- he was always the one on top, he was always the apex, if not the challenger.
He had never once fathomed in his existence that he could become the quarry; that he could become a slave. Death was impermanent to him; he was not a mortal, that he should be bound by his blood. He would always be, in one manner or another. Eternity was always before him, always as a deer waiting for him to ensnare. In this moment he pondered for the first time the chance that would be divorced from any exaction of his own will. To be subservient to that of an other.
He was coming to terms with the vulnerabilities that came with being nothing but a wanderer, but to have even that ability to rebuild replaced with the chains of servitude... He would have none of it. If he did not fight in this moment, Vehemence perceived that he could lose whatever amount of fight he had left.
"I WILL NOT BE AS SOME PALTRY- Djinn caught in a BOTTLE!"
The furnace king spits as the words hoarsely echo from his gut. The words were wracked with pain. He knew he had only one way out of this sentence: he must do as he had done thousands of times before: to gain power through blood. His fell magic had kept him sustained up until this point, but if he were to give sway any further in this moment to weakness, he feared that those who wished to bind him as the devil he was would be upon him, with their chains... with their circles.
His eyes flit frantically. The terrors were prying into his soul and laying him bare. He felt them burying him alive. He sook for a shovel to dig himself out with- a heart to dig in to.
And at the apex of his weakness, his blackened pupils find the small one whom he'd come to admire- Thratch the thief.
Sooo I have to try to get up and attack him now DM? Dear Thratch, I really don't want to do this, but this is the choice that Vehemence would make in this moment in his development... He's disadvantaged at the moment anyways. Do your worst
Warlock 5 | Init +1 | HP 34/34 (+8 THP) | AC 14 | S-4, D-2, C-2, I-1, W-3, Ch-8 | Pact Spells- 2/2 DC 15 | Insp: 0
Vehemence snorts at the thief as he strides into the next room, faithful to Capilli's aid.
He stood more to gain with the choice which bore the threat of mortal risk, and mortality wasn't something Vehemence was all in all afraid of...
If it were another imp, the furnace king may be given to a more indignant rebuttal, but Vehemence was fond of Thratch in all his young fury.
Am I wandering into the room w/ Ashlyn and Aterro or a new room?
LN Male Hum Necromancer 1 | HP 6/10 | Init +7 | Perc +1 | AC 12; T 12; FF 10; CMD 11 | F +1; R +2; W +2 Fate Points: 2?
Sense Motive!:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Wictor is perturbed by this awkward experience amidst the crucial moments he is surrounded by. However, at Kendra's opening, he steps forward, wanting to make further amends for his blunders earlier.
"Petros Lorrimor was, as you all know, one of the most studied men found among these horizons. He was one of the brightest stars I had ever met, and knew of so many nuances of so many fields. One of his lesser known masteries, at least among those who only shared acquaintance with him, was his cunning sense of humor.
On one summer day, many years ago, when all was aright, and there was once fair hair upon this head..."
Wictor goes on and tells a fond memory of the Professors' dealings with a peculiar patron who came to him that was starkly reminiscent of a pirate, and how Mr. Lorrimor had deftly diverted a hilarious calamity from befalling several persons involved inside of a student's intended shenanigan. He later revealed that the student was indeed himself. As the tale continued, Wictor's face continued to brighten, his moustache continued to bloom, and his grin continued to widen. Not in a linear fashion, but one precisely quadratic. As he told the tale, it seemed as if layers of age were peeling away from the rugged fur-man, revealing riot of a young showman.
"...and in the end, (he-hee!) the privateer turned out to not be lying about the whole ordeal! But the feathers we had prepared were nary to be seen. 'Twas as if the Professor was always two steps ahead of our foolery, but he also proved to be a master of guile before even ourselves! We found the feathers, on the night of the great Ball, in front of everyone attending. By some feat of prestidigitation, the ceremonial crown of the ball (which was given astutely to yours truly), was transfigured from its' golden form into the same yellow feathers we stuffed into that sack! To an outsider it might've been seen as a cruel jest, but to those involved we couldn't help but laugh it off. And because of it, my dance of the eve ended up becoming my bride of even this day! He was a marvelous fellow in all his ways, that dastardly man..."
He smiles warmly as he wipes a singular tear from his eye, stepping down from whatever precipice he told the story from.
I assume as a player that Elf 1 is One Eye, and that Quinys has simply cast an invisibility spell. Vehemence will make no assumption of Quinys' temporary escape, passive perception I'm pretty sure I fail.
Vehemence is enthralled- savoring each moment as the raucous dance begins. He listens intently to the rhythms; of the hearts present, of the swords striking, the dripping of blood. However...
...It's too faint. Out of tempo with the other instruments...
Let us correct this.
The revelling Maestro of war grins with his expected cruel mania.
He addresses the elf(4) who failed to mar the servant of Torm:
"WORM! Did you not hear the wisdom so freely given TO you?? I said STRIKE!"
The last word of his exhortation was punctuated with a gesture, a quarter of a heinous laugh, and a measure of invisible power.
Casting Crown of Madness on Elf 4. Will save DC 13. If he fails, for a duration of concentration I force him to use his action to attack a subject I designate through impression. He gets another save every round until I break concentration, and I have to spend my action every turn to keep the hold. I will make him target whichever white elf is closest to him on every round.
This may be the start of a beautiful friendship sir, for i am a writer and designer as well. Id love to discuss projects with you over PMs if you have the time. I'm all about that feedback life.
If you want to make new content for each race you're probably going to need to quantify how much racial stat bonuses are 'worth'.
Most of them have +2 to 2 stats, and -2 to one. I believe there is a human alternate racial ability where you can trade away your extra feat for another +2 racial stat buff. If we quantify things based on that, we could say that each +2 buff is equal to one feat.
From there you could decide to either give each race two original feats and a flaw, or perhaps just say that the -2 racial penalty cancels out the other racial bonus and give each race only 1 original feat.
I would refer to the material that helps with designing new feats and go from there. Also, using pre-made designs of feats and reallocating certain facets of them could help lessen the work load for you, because how they applied it they probably screened those feats in testing and said that they weren't overpowered. Less headaches down the road, assuming you actually use these home rules as opposed to this just being a fleeting exercise.
I think this is a very cool proposition. The modifier metagame in pathfinder seems so cutthroat at times, and this is a way to alleviate that while diversifying the mechanical expression of each races' lore.
I would go with the two feats and a flaw route if I were you.
I'm all about unflashy magic. I would say that arcane caster banning is one way to go for sure, but there might be other avenues which could be less restrictive to your players and still align with the mood you're envisioning for your setting.
Essentially, my advice would to be just go through all the spell lists and write down the offenders, and then tell your party that this sort of magic just doesn't exist in your setting.
You could go about that venture several different ways, depending on how keen your group is. You could exhaustively run through each spell list, or you could just have an up front blanketing 'no blast spells' rule. Painless.
You could also in tandem with that idea is use the caster level progression limit to 6th level spells. I think there's a name for games like that somewhere...
Name: Vehemence, the Furnace King
Race: Tiefling (More or less)
Class: Warlock
Background: Noble
You must steal a painting that is important to you. Describe the painting you steal and how you steal it:
"Before me the Queen again yet stands. WHY?! WHY MUST YOU LINGER, WRETCH THIEF! I can-NOT... I cannot let this abide. I..."
Within a gallery of portraits of dreams and nightmares, the spirit of Vehemence stands before the haunting visage of his late wife, the spirit of Holy Tranquility. Their aqcuaintance was but short, for she was a thief, and he was a king. She stole from him his crown, his estate, and even the fire of his soul. In return she gave him her still beating heart, and a quest spoken through dream to come find her, for although she was pernicious, she only longed for his company.
The proportions and hues of the composition none could belie, but the emotions she evokes are unanimous- splendid rest, the swirling of souls' designed harmony, sweet repose, fountains of wellbeing, all to be found in the breast of this Madonna- silent rest unto all, save for the one standing presently before her. Within his arduous hunt he found her, and in the bitter end, he could not overcome himself, and slew her. From this act of thoughtless uxoricide was birthed their post-mortem child: the spirit of Remorse. In that moment, the son cursed the father, and the father now roams endlessly, searching for a silent acquittal, yearning for the wife whose heart he once owned...
"...TO WHOM DO THESE HALLS BELONG? WHO HAS FOUND IT WISE TO DOCUMENT MY SHAME? YOU SHAN'T BE LEFT UNTOUCHED, SINNER. I WILL BURN DOWN YOUR HALLS, AND STEAL FROM YOU YOUR MOCKING GLORIES. FOOL SWINE!
You let me in... You let me see your treason. If I cannot hold her again...
None shall be allowed to remember her beauty.
None will own MY SOLACE!
AS IT WAS MY HAND WHO SLEW HER, THUS I SHALL BURN HER ESSENCE FROM EXISTENCE. SIN AGAINST ME!? SIN against ME!?? OH COLLECTOR, I WILL THIEF FROM YOU MY OWN THIEF. AND IN MY TAKING YOU WILL KNOW THAT MY FIVE FINGERS WERE HERE. YOU LET ME IN, YOU BID THIS UPON YOURSELF! SO NOW SHALL I STEAL FROM YOU YOUR HALLS OF HUBRIS, MY DARLING'S MEMORY, AND EVEN THE BREATH IN YOUR LUNGS.
Now you will remember... You will remember only justice. IN FIRE!"
...
False Chanterelle.
I must disclaim that this character will NOT be played in any manner which could be attributed to an edgelord-that-guy. He will get along with the party and the quest, and I'll do my best to use capslock in a tasteful manner, under the ideology that less is much, much more. I never got to explore this character and I really want to explore and focus on bringing his vulnerabilities and humanity to the forefront.
I have background info and a bunch of deets which I will be uploading onto his character page either now or tomorrow. He's been abrew for awhile...
If selected I will roleplay rabidly. Thanks for your consideration. It's good to be back.
