Vorgon, amidst the soot and singe of the council chambers, raises his gnarled hands with a wild glee twinkling in his eyes. His fingers flicker like the last dancing flames he commands, muttering in a mix of reverence and mischief. "Glimsham, gimme da nod, snuff dese sneaky sparks," he sings out in his gruff, goblin voice, a playful tune to his elemental ritual.
The fire, as if charmed by the goblin's quirky incantation, retreats like the tide under a moon's pull. Vorgon's dance between the flames becomes more animated, his feet shuffling, stirring up ash in swirls around him as he manipulates the fire. Each ember dims under his gaze, subdued by the whisper of his words and the sway of his soot-stained robes.
"Shhh, sneaky fire, back you go," he chuckles, coaxing the last stubborn flare with a wag of his finger, treating the fire more like a mischievous child than a destructive force. The smoke begins to clear, and the air chills slightly, a sign of his success.
As the chamber settles into a smoky calm, Vorgon spins around, a triumphant grin splitting his face. "Not today, fire. Breachill's pal says no burn-burn in here!" he declares with a victorious cackle, his voice echoing off the walls, still standing strong and largely unharmed thanks to his efforts. Satisfied, he claps his hands, dusting off ash, ready to scamper off to the next challenge, his spirit undampened by the chaos.
"Ah, pleasure to meet ya, Markus!" Vorgon replies, extending a hand in greeting. "I'm Vorgon Bludskar, 'n' yeah, I reckon I'll be answerin' da call. Ya see, it's like dis: at night, I'm plagued by dreams o' dark fires, filled with ash, soot, 'n' screams. But when morning comes, I pray to Glimshyne—what longshanks call da Dawnflower—to make da dreams stop. 'N' ya know what she tells me? She says, 'Go to da Call, Vorgon. Seek out other heroes, 'n' together, ya can quench da flames o' yer nightmares.'"
He pauses, a flicker of determination in his eyes. "So here I am, ready to face whatever comes, 'n' maybe find a way to put an end to these bad fire dreams once 'n' for all."
As he finishes speaking, Vorgon's gaze shifts to Markus's sister, who stands nearby. Seeing her, he feels a pang of empathy, recognizing the weight of her brother's concern for her well-being. With a thoughtful expression, Vorgon draws upon his innate connection to fire, channeling his elemental powers to create a beautiful flame flower in his palm.
"Here ya go, miss," he says gently, offering the radiant blossom to her. "A little somethin' to brighten yer day. 'Tis a gift from da flames, crafted with care."
Though he feels a twinge of sadness knowing she can't hold the flame flower herself, Vorgon's heart swells with a sense of fulfillment, hoping he's brought a moment of joy to Markus's sister, even if just for a fleeting moment.
And here we have Vorgon Bludksar, the Goblin Dromaar Kineticist, who is plagued with troubling dreams of fire and destruction at night, and so prays to Glimshyne, who the longshanks refer to as the Dawnflower, for guidance.
When their kinetic gate first activated, in the middle of a haunting vision brought on by Dahak's visions, Vorog burned his clans supplies that were supposed to last them through the winter. So he is currently clanless, following his dreams to Breachill, hoping to find a way to silence them.
I find Ancestral Paragon, terribly boring, but then again Paizo hasn't been great with Heritage or Ancestry feats ... when running I actually prefer to give my players Free Archetype & Gradual Ability boost.
I tend to play Humans, I just can't wrap my mind set around the more obtuse races, and Ancestry Paragon actually encourages uncommon heritages etc to get the most benefit from it.
If my fellow applicants prefer, I'm on board. But since I will likely be going human, just means more general feats for me, lol.
I do enjoy a good PF2E game, and have had a recent character concept spring to mind which is far removed from my typical barbarian, champion, fighter submission ... so I would be happy to submit a character for review.
I'll get to work on my Elven Wizard, likely going Ancient Elf, Druid Dedication, to get a jump on the Free Archetype model used in the AP. Planned Progression would be shifting towards Magaambyan Attendant and Halcyon Speaker as we progress, becoming a true Archmage.
I'm excited to put it together and submit the character, background and build.
I found Virtue's recruitment thread on the Ronin Army boards and decided to dust off my Paizo account so I could apply as this looks like a game, and a GM< who has a long term plan in mind and I am definitely in this for the long haul!
Question #1:
I'm Zen Gypsy, and I have been an avid role player for more years than I care to admit. Cut my teeth on D&D in the 80's and I've continued sporadically throughout my adult life. In the 90's I discovered the Hero System & Champions in particular ... the superhero genre grabbed me. I loved the hell out of that game and still have fond memories of it. M&M is, in many ways, Champions spiritual successor, crunchy but not so much as to be off putting to new players. I have a strong preference for 2E, if only for the slightly more unified Combat Stats, Attack & Defense, rather than Dexterity, Fighting, Dodge & Parry, but I can deal with either system and look forward to running with you all if I get accepted.
Favorite superhero, it depends on my mood, but almost invariably it swings between Superman & Captain America. They are both exemplars of what we should aspire to as mature, responsible human beings. I've heard so many people moan when I mention Superman, but in all honesty, no, it's not a power fantasy for me. Superman, to me, is a character about restraint, humanity and modesty. He has the strength to impose a new world order, but he chooses not to, not out of fear of repercussion, but simply because it wouldn't be the right thing to do. Captain America is similar in many ways, but a little more grounded. In one mix-match Marvel-DCU I ran, WWII Cap served with Johnathon Kent, and the pictures of Pa Kent & Steve Rogers around the house inspired Clark as a youth. Whereas upon being unfrozen, Superman's deeds helped ground Rogers, making him realize there were still old fashioned values and decency left in the world. My brother geeked out when I told him that little piece of head cannon.
As for PbP experience, I moved to Northern Ontario about seven years ago for work, and as such no longer have a table top crew, so I have perused boards and such to scratch the occasional RP urge. As for Discord, I find it useful for keeping in touch with other players to keep OOC threads free of clutter and day to day chat, while allowing you to nudge other players to post, or to clarify THEIR posts. My Discord tag is @Jander-Prime#6244.
Question #2:
Not the first time I've read either, however it's Painlord's guide that stuck with me in PbP scenarios. Push the fiction, if you want to play a loner, ala Wolverine, fine, but don't brood and expect other players to come to you to inquire as to your sour mood. Make a condescending remark, put forth a plan, announce you're doing it your way, but storm out in a way that Kitty Pryde can follow you and the two you can infiltrate the Hellfire Club from the sewers while the rest of the team tries to talk their way into an invitation.
Background:
Isaih Jacobs was born on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. During his youth he avoided the cycle of poverty, crime and addiction which afflicted many of the Red Lake band. Instead he concentrated on the weight room and the track, eventually garnering the interest of an accredited coach during a local meet. He then went on to compete in local, state and national events, eventually earning his IAAF status, allowing him to attempt to qualify for Tokyo in 2020.
Now my idea for his mutation is that it radically alters his lifepath, preventing him from attaining his Olympic goals. Causing him to resent them, so yes he may be a little sullen, and reject the idea of a heroic identity, because his powers robbed him of any sort of normal life. However, much like the Thing, unwanted power does not preclude someone from being a stalwart friend and teammate.
His powers will manifest as Insubstantial 3, basically a sentient field of Quantum energy. However, as stated in the Sidebar as a GM option, is he can assume a Corporeal form as a Sustained duration, which requires constant concentration to do so. Secondly, as a Quantum Field he will be absent Stamina & have full Immunity to Fortitude Effects. Offensively he can cause his energy form to discorporate, violent, ie. an Area Damage affect centered on him.
Eventually, through earned PP, he will learn more control over his abilities, but this is my initial concept as he learns to cope with his newfound powers. As for Role I see him adopting the role of Armor, Infantry & Specialist. Armor because he will typically be insubstantial and only be able to be affected by energy effects, so he can take a punch like nobodies business. Infantry because he won't have range on his explosion, just in your face, BOOM! And Specialist because he can phase through walls and infiltrate a villains complex rather easily.
As for what type of hero he is, I'd say Disciplined, as his powers *are* very destructive, and Steady, because he's beginning to grow into them, and overcome his resentment of those powers, trying to use them for good.
The above answers are pretty wordy, but I wanted to get my thoughts up quickly, I can work on a build, or we can discuss it over Discord. Funny thing is, as I started writing this up, I veered significantly from what Virtue & I first discussed, either way, it's an interesting character and I hope to get the opportunity to play him.
Let me know what you think, comments and suggestions welcomed, and I look forward to getting to know you all!
As a suggestion Peanuts, I would make my character with a Physical Form, perhaps a comatose body that you animate, and then purchase Morph, and add the Meta extra to it for your invisible energy form, and then add a complication that you need to return to your host body, ie. physical form, to maintain cohesion in our dimension, or something to that effect.
An invisible, intangible energy form is kind of cool, but it severly limits roleplaying and such. The basis for comics is interactions outside of your heroic identity. Think Spiderman and how Peter Parker struggles to maintain his civilian responsibilities, like buying MJ an engagement ring, making it over to Aunt May's for dinner, and keeping his job while he struggles with the flu, and the Green Goblin attacks while he's swinging across town, and he drops the ring!
Geeze, that's like four hero points right there. The limited interactions of a intangible energy field are going to severly limit your ability to interact with the campaign world without some sort of physical body. The meta morph idea allows you 'instant' access to a possessed body for ... reasons!
