There's also one for exiled nobles in the Llael section of Kings, Nations, and Gods if the party seems to be going the noble and his entourage route, though it would probably need a little bit of tweaking.
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If the war in Llael is in full swing, I think that a Golden Crucible exile who elected not to go to Ord with the rest of the order is definitely a viable option. I'm leaning Alchemist and something magic using with a more support role. Storywise, he was probably one of the alchemists who focused on making the armor and weapons of the Order and Crucible Guard. Arcane Mechanic or maybe Gun Mage could work well.
Hmmmm, maybe an Alchemist then. I'll play around with ideas, but someone connected to the Golden Crucible would be neat.
How shady of a character would you consider appropriate for this kind of game? I'm considering a Thamarite Advocate (not sure on my second career yet) who's definitely into necromancy and other distinctly illegal things.
If you're still looking for interest, I've always wanted to try Iron Kingdoms, though my own attempt to get a game started on the boards here didn't get very far.
No prob man. Take all the time you need.
I'm glad that you like it. Most of the gods I described are divine gods, but a couple of them are fey/daemon gods. Mechanically, the One-Eyed Lord is the God-Emperor, the Lady of Bones is the Custodian, and the Frost Queen is the Witch-Queen. I liked the idea that the elves of his homeland worship both the more standard divine gods and other fey/daemon lords. For a reason to sign on with the caravan, I feel like perhaps he saw signs in the stars or something like that that basically told him that it was important that he signed on and got to Xanaste ASAP. I'm terrible with names, so if you have a decent one, I'm fine just going with that for his homeland's name.
The system is set up so that each order alignment has a chaos alignment paired with it that is something of an opposite. However, you can also roll each separately so you don't necessarily have to use the opposed chaos alignment instead.
I think a grease, fat chef fighting monsters with his cleaver sounds perfect for a low fantasy game with a good helping of black comedy. Helix is pretty open to designing your own aspects of your character's culture and whatnot, so it should work well. There are two daemon lords, the Endless Maw and the Prince of Pleasure, who could certainly have certain aspects worshiped as glutinous and indulging in feasts and celebrations. Amusingly, cleavers are actually given stats as a unique weapon because one of the advanced professions in Main Gauche is known for using them.
There are fairly large number of criminal careers. For a swashbuckler type, I would suggest the duelist advanced profession. It's easy to get into for an entertainer and feels like it's just what you're looking for.
VETERAN’S BOOT
No problem Markus. Alright, and here's my mechanics. I'll put together an alias later. Character Sheet: Name: Hedir Starsoul
Ancestry: Elf Age: Middle Age Social Class: Burgher Sex: Male Profession: Astrologer Order Alignment: Mystery
Combat: 45 [4]
Talents: Azimuth, Secret Signs
Peril Threshold: 8 (11/14/17)
Encumbrance Limit: 5
I shall take over forthwith Apothecary: While Barber Surgeons perform surgeries and bind wounds, Apothecaries are the ones who make the medicine. They can ward off infection and disease with archaic remedies and treat wounds with ointments and pastes. Their special talent allows them to flip the results to succeed on Alchemy tests and lets them avoid harm on a critical failure. Grave Robber: Everyone dies someday, and that means that a graverobber's business is always booming. They exhume the bodies of the recently deceased to sell to academics and scholars in need of test subjects, as well as occasionally the depraved and monstrous. Though on occasion, they accidentally dig up something not quite dead anymore. Their talent makes them immune to fear and stress from Supernatural creatures and immune to diseases commonly found on corpses. Entertainer: People can always use a little entertainment, both the masses and private shows for the rich and powerful. Every race has their own arts and preferences and depending on their talents and specialties, entertainers can be hated or renowned. Their talent allows them to bolster their allies with Inspiring Words for a full day when using a specialty related to their entertaining specialty. Ferocity: ORDER: The will you possess is capable of moving mountains and comes with such a rush of passion and vigor that others are often forced into stunned awe. You are unlikely to break under torture or mental duress, possessing a well of emotional strength that at times seems unending. Hypocrisy: CHAOS: Others see you for what you are; a charlatan and a liar, unwilling or unable to be held to your words. Your judgments and insights are seen as false, unlikely to be followed or trusted.
I tried to convince Helix to allow the minotaur race, but he shot me down :P Also, will hopefully have the mechanics together later tonight or tomorrow.
@Helix: I understand! As you can probably tell, I was going for a sort of viking aesthetic, especially with the Iceland inspired isolated island culture and the particular aspects of the gods. Perhaps his homeland is known as the home of the sea elves or something of the sort, one of many elven cultures that are now scattered. I think his ancestry trait plays in well to a more war-like elven society. @Brunhard: I don't know if you have access to Main Gauche, but it has two new advanced careers for knights: the chevalier and the grand master. If you want to stick with a theme, they're definitely a great way to go.
@hustonj Results: Ancestry: Elf
Elf Trait: Nature's Own Wild Elves have lived amongst the forest, beneath the jungle canopy, atop the highest mountain and even below the earth. With burrs, leaves, mud and the like clinging to their clothing, they emerge unwashed from the wilderness, acknowledging little reason to clean themselves up for civilized company. Effect: You leave no trace of your passing in rural areas or above ground, unless discovered by Magick or a CriticallySucceeded Awareness Test. or Human Trait: Natural Selection Favored above all others, Humans are the living instruments of the gods. A thankless few are granted an inkling of their might. To those born beneath the right stars, a great blessing is bestowed. Effect: You may permanently change any one Primary Attribute to a 55%. Profession 1: Commoner => Artisan
Season of Birth: Winter
Order Alignment: Cunning
Alright so I end up with: Combat 45 Brawn 38 Agility 43 Perception 48 Intelligence 38 Willpower 49 Fellowship 34 Definitely going elf astrologer. So he's getting on in years and looks the part, which is a bit odd for an elf. This has left him somewhat grumpy and introverted. He's not nasty, he just doesn't like to talk to other people much. He does have sharp eyes and a will of steel, but his head is in the clouds on occasion and despite being fairly well educated, he has a tendency to be absent minded. He's willowy and slight, but still manages to have quick hands and a good thrust with a knife. He was raised in the elven homeland, an island nation to the north of the mainland where the elves have somewhat secluded themselves from the increasingly human population ever since their great empire fell apart in the distant past. They have a strong martial culture and elven raiders are not uncommon on the coast. However, his mother was a scholar and his father was a navigator on an elven trade ship, so he wasn't entirely isolated from the rest of the world and he was raised to be knowledgeable. His parents were very devout to the elven pantheon, a mixture of capricious incarnations of the gods and honored ancestors, so when he developed his talent for divining and reading the stars, it was taken as a strong omen. He was given blessings from the One-Eyed Lord, the god king and wisest god, the Lady of Bones, queen of the underworld and knower of mortal destinies, and the birth blessing of the Frost Queen, bringer of dooms and the world's yearly slumber. He has had a complicated relationship with his own abilities for a long time. Being able to make out fate from the stars leaves him conflicted. He was taught to respect fate and to interpret the gods' will in the heavens, but also that such things are written. He has mixed feelings about destiny and part of him wishes that he could challenge what he sees, but working up the courage to do so is difficult. Going adventuring out in the wider world is his way of seeking new knowledge and trying to put his concerns to rest, one way or another. As an ancient holy city of the elves, Xanaste is a fantastic destination to seek his own fate.
@Gaming Ranger: From the looks of it, the Reeve is supposed to be a hardcore law enforcer. Having high perception so nothing gets past you seems like it fits as well as being able to beat a fool down who tries to cross you. You honestly rolled pretty well for both of them, so I think it comes down to preference. I don't think you necessarily need the higher intelligence from a mechanical standpoint, but if you want your character to be more clever simply for character reasons, it fits nicely.
@Gaming Ranger: I have a weird knack for remembering little details like that. I was going to ask if I should help out since I've got the books too, but you beat me to it, so I should thank you too :P Also, so many winter births. I guess all our parents have busy springs, if you know what I mean ;) I think I'm going for Astrologer for my profession. I'm still working out my elf's details, but I think I'm going to use my Mercy to swap my Brawn and Willpower. I think I'm going to need it.
Remember that Helix swapped Lowborn and Burgher since the middle class is larger in his setting. So you all rolled Burgher actually.
You already know that I'm interested. If anyone reading this is familiar with WFRP 2nd Edition, it's basically the same system with some streamlining and the serial numbers filed off to make it setting agnostic. A lot of the gods and magic will look very familiar if you're a Warhammer fan, so the system is super easy to get into if that's your thing. Now I'm gonna do some rolls. Character Rolls:
Elf. I'm down for that.
Ranger Outrider
Winter Do not tread upon thick ice nor thin.
Reverant. So his family likely took their faith quite seriously
Mystery. He's an elf, one of a rare elder race. Perhaps this is his first time among humans in quite a long time and his ways are strange to them.
That should be all of the rolls that need to be done. I think I'm starting to get ideas already.
I am most definitely down for this. Concept:
Haruto, the self-assured temple prodigy
Image: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61oosxV-sDL._UY445_.jpg Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyuUcTewmBI Momento Mori: The air is smoky with incense and only a faint hint of afternoon sunlight filters through the loosely drawn silk curtains. Haruto lays across a long massage table, his shirt cast over a rack in the corner. He breaths in a careful, practiced rhythm to block out the repeated stinging pain as needles prick at the flesh of his back again and again. Time passes in a haze of boredom and occasional discomfort until finally the metallic clink of the needle being set aside echoes in the quiet room. He stands slowly, not willing to stretch his back too far just yet. The artist backs away wordlessly and lets him turn to examine his skin in a full length mirror on the wall. A brilliant phoenix in red, orange, and gold covers his entire back, stretching from his waist up along his spine and across his shoulders with flaming wings. He grabs his shirt from its place and digs into his pocket, extracting a wad of paper. Mismatched bills are piled on top of a faded grey-scale photograph. The young man slaps the bills onto the tattoo artist's counter before he glances at the photograph one more time. A dozen teenagers stare back at him, one clearly a younger vision of himself standing at the front with another young man of Asian heritage. He scowls and crumples the photo, tossing it into the garbage as he pulls his shirt on and slips out the front door into the city twilight. Worst Fear: Haruto feels a deep sense of dread when confronted with ghosts and similarly disembodied spirits. Death Wound: A brutal blow has scarred Haruto's chest with a mark that resembles a star, still reddish like his skin was just torn into. Character Sheet: Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Athletics d6, Chi d8, Common Knowledge d4, Fighting d8, Guts d8, Healing d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Occult d4, Stealth d4, Taunt d6 Grit: 2 Parry: 6 Sanity: 6 Toughness: 7 Hindrances: Arrogant: Enemy (Minor): Outsider (Minor): Edges: Arcane Background (Chi Mastery), Chi Focus, Harrowed, Martial Artist, Superior Kung Fu (Shaolin) Harrowed Edges: Stichin’ Power Points: 15 Powers: Bolt, Protection Gear: Backpack, Bed Roll, Bottle of Fine Baijiu, Linen Shirt, Long Coat, Mess Kit, Oil Lantern, Pants, Phoenix Tattoo, Shoes, Straw Hat, $214
I probably should have mentioned my plans too. I'm looking at a straight up bard as a possibility, probably more buffing and enchantment focused than illusion though. Could also work with a mesmerist too, but I love bards so... I was also playing around with a weird cavalier build.
So what kind of class ideas are people thinking of at this point?
Have a good time everyone :)
Everything looks ready to go on my double check of my character. Very interested to see who will be participating.
I'm kind of impressed with the sheer variety of concepts honestly. There's not that much overlap with words at all. I guess the idea of playing a demigod really gets people's creativity flowing.
I should probably give my two cents on my character's personality and morality as well. Anastasia has a tendency to be ruthless, but she's not actively cruel. Sometimes her actions can come across harshly because she's trying to be pragmatic. In part because she was first raised by a man trying to be a traditional nobleman with the proper manners and behavior that entailed, and partially because the rest of her life she was raised by an amoral witch queen who took amusement from forcing her foreign apprentice to challenge the other apprentices if she wanted to survive, much less succeed at anything. That said, she doesn't intentionally act cruel and she does try to avoid some of the Ulstang's more reprehensible practices (such as hating slavery, since she's a former slave and all that). Though she certainly isn't opposed to using mindless undead for things like manual labor or dangerous battles. They don't really count in her mind since their souls have already moved on and she's just controlling bodies with magic. She wants to have her own kingdom, but she doesn't want to just brute force it and act like a petty, incompetent tyrant. She wants to be a leader that people actually want to follow willingly and earn their trust by actually being a decent ruler. Honestly, I also see her desire to return to the Skerries and claim one of the thrones as wishful thinking on her part. She's much more likely to found a new kingdom or something like that than succeed as a witch-queen.
For what it's worth, Iofiel should be able to fit in pretty well with any group that's not outright, like, mass destroying everything. XD Personally, I've always been most fond of seeing the human aspect of powerful entities - you can only go "I blow up the city" so many times before it gets boring, y'know? Seeing how such a character would view a situation, though, and how to change it... to me, that's fun. Thankfully, it doesn't seem that anyone seems particularly interested in randomly destroying stuff. There might be a few with designs more geared toward conquest, but random destruction hasn't really shown up much. And everyone seems to be developing characters that are fairly human, for demigods at least.
This game, I feel, is all about choices and what you want to do. One of us on our own is obscenely powerful; a group of us is a Nightmare. I've played Exalted by White Wolf Publishing and this game feels like a d20 version of it. It is all about what you want to accomplish, what your goals are. We aren't as tied together as an adventuring party may be but we come together to battle truly dangerous threats that we alone cannot fight. This slightly diverges from the discussion, but I can say with certainty that that tone is intentional. The Deluxe edition of Godbound has a set of 'Themed' Godbound templates as character options that are very explicitly the different types of Exaltations with the serial numbers filed off. It even has extra words to help flesh out the concepts.
Okay...okay. I've done a (slightly slapdash) skim of the book, and I've got something percolating, so I've got a question. I'm thinking a former smalltime thief with noble aspirations, a sort of Aladdin type, who, upon being Bound to his Words, finds himself becoming a kind of benevolent trickster (a Coyote/Hermes-ish kind of god). I'm thinking Deception, Luck, and Passion or maybe Journeying for his Words. Anyway, my question is; how tightly are we bound to a common morality here? I'm assuming we all need to work together for the common good, but if I want to go about it in a sneaky way, is that going to step on anyone's toes too hard? That sort of thing usually depends on what the pantheon wants. The game doesn't really have any baked in expectations of morality. That said, there's also a word of Theft in the Lexicon book that you might want to consider as well.
Hey there. I'm a fan of Godbound and I just found your recruitment, so I thought that I would apply with a character idea that I've been interested in for a while. I enjoy the Godbound setting and I've wanted to get to play since I picked up the books ages ago. I'm very eager for feedback and thoughts on what's good and what could use some work. Application: Anastasia Wintertouched
Origin Fact: Kidnapped daughter of Bleak Reach Anastasa's father was a charismatic and headstrong wanderer who claimed to be a descendant of the old mortal nobles of Nezdohva. He rallied settlers and other outcasts and wanderers to help construct a coastal principality on the northern coast of the Bleak Reach, where he became the lord of the surrounding regions. She was born in this somewhat prosperous community a few years later. However, a raid from far ranging Ulstang warriors found their village when she was a girl and slew much of the population, including her father, and took the rest as slaves. Profession Fact: Exiled Foreign Witch-Princess After her people were brought back to the Ulstang Skerries, the Witch-Queen who commanded the warband that had raided Anastasia's home recognized a potential for mystical power in her. She took the young girl as one of her apprentices as something of an inside joke, teaching her the magics of ice and necromancy. After her awakening as a godling, Anastasia overstepped her position in the rush of power and managed to anger several of the other apprentices. Still new to her powers, she willingly went into exile to grow in strength until she could return and claim her power as one of the Witch-Queens. Relationship Fact: Mistress of the Warband Anastasia did not go into exile alone. She still has a small warband of a few Ulstang warriors who have sworn their loyalty to her and act as her personal guard and a few personal servants, mainly a handmaiden. Background: Mostly detailed above, but Anastasia's personality has been shaped by her hardships. When she was young, her father insisted that she act as a boyar was expected to, requiring her to be polite and somewhat imperious at all times in order to maintain her manners. After she was taken away to the Skerries, she was forced to be closed off and ruthless to survive against the other apprentices who also sought the Witch-Queen's favor. She's not as cold as she acts, but she maintains the act religiously for her own safety. 1st Word: Winter
Immediate Goal: Rebuild her power base so she can either return to Ulstang and claim a throne or forge her own kingdom in another land (perhaps returning to the long abandoned princedom in Bleak Reach). Personal Motivation: Anastasia is motivated by a mixture of desire for power and desperation. She wishes to reclaim what she sees as her birthright and become a princess/queen of her own domain, but she maintains this insistence that she has the right to a domain primarily to give herself a goal and justify the hard life she's led. To admit that she's not meant to be a leader would mean admitting that everything she's gone through has been pointless. Personal Weakness: Cold, but not as cold as she thinks. Anastasia acts cold and distant because it's been a necessity much of her life. But she's not as ruthless as she insists and her more cruel decisions eat away at her.
Just getting the disadvantage of a class is honestly a lot harder than the advantages. Most feats or whatever aren't going to give you the downsides. Just going Medium is probably the only way you're going to get it, but I could be wrong. In the end, you'll probably enjoy the character more if you just pick whatever build you prefer. @ James: Seeing as we're both doing scholarly types, I was thinking that we might have met before. Perhaps your character has done work for the university before. Also, I want to ask how you're thinking of progressing your character since we're using the same class. I don't want to end up stepping on each other's toes too much.
Also, is pre-game crafting okay? I'm probably going to be looking at a lot of alchemical items
My current idea is that my character is a professor of medicine and alchemy at the university, and I'm planning to have him be a bit on the older side. So maybe characters who have recently gone to the university could have had him as a teacher? That could in theory be why Jeminda includes him in the group she contacts too if she's a student or has friends who are.
Okay, I think I am going to do the Alchemist (Vivisectionist)/Bard (Archaeologist). It's going to make me a lot more rogue-like than being heavy on support like a lot of bards. Does that work for everyone? I'm planning on trying to grab a lot of support spells like buffs and illusions, so I'll at have that, but I think I'll be a little more skill focused.
Oh, question. Are we using Background Skills?
I'm still playing around with concepts, but I just came up with an idea for a medical doctor from the university who's fascinated with monstrous and non-humanoid anatomy and has a tendency to get into trouble hunting after research subjects. Right now I'm thinking Alchemist with the Vivisectionist and maybe Preservationist archetypes. Still need to think about gestalt, but Bard with either Archaeologist or Archivist would probably fit the theme, but I'm still looking.
Hello. I need to work out what I want to do, but I'm checking in.
I've heard this argument a lot and it just makes me ask two questions. 1) Assuming this was how the class was intended to turn out, why exactly did they come up with 'simplified to the point of inadequacy shapeshifter' as the primary design goal? Creating an entirely new class that's uesless to anyone other than a GM making NPCs or first timers who don't know better seems pointless. 2) Who came up with the idea of an entry level shapeshifter anyway? If doesn't seem like something a lot of players wanted or anything like that. So where exactly did the idea of an entry level shifter come from in the first place?
Dotting in just to follow along.
A Nightrunner is fine. As I have stuff drafted up now, they're also the party's first employers during the game, so having a member in the party fits just fine.
Hmmm, too many ideas on things I want to play. Maybe a Gillman since the new options in Blood of the Sea were interesting. Will have to wait until you're ready to put up build rules to decide what's what.
Dotting in to follow for... several campaigns actually.
Honestly, the name comes from the triumvirate of Maiden/Mother/Crone that's symbolic in a lot of old mythologies. Being able to steal the game's sweet naming conventions was just a bonus. Also, I might grab the Heal skill instead of something else and I might sway the Plague Subdomain for Decay, but otherwise I think I'm pretty much good now. I did forgot my vice and virtue though. Let's do that now along with a little more backstory. Backstory:
Her memories are fogged, but she remembers some things.
The Maiden remembers being a healer. It was a family trade, one she learned on her mother's knee. She remembers when her mother showed her how to mix herbal poultices and taught her simple healing arts to cleanse the sick and heal the injured. She remembers when the darkness came and the forest became a place of evil. She remembers walking out into the woods to find the heart of the disease and cleanse it. There were others who walked with her, healers, priestesses, and guardians who wanted to see the peaceful times return. She doesn't remember the rituals. Not all of them at least. She remembers her poultices and healing potions becoming poisonous mixes of decay and death. And she remembers nature bending to her whim and the rush of power that came with it. She remembers the horror of seeing her gaunt face in the water and the pain of the things growing under her skin. She remembers running, running as far and as fast as possible before it's too late to go back. She wonders if it's not too late already. Vice and Virtue: Vice: Gluttony: Her head feels fuzzy sometimes. The diseases and black magic clinging to her body make her ache and her mind screams for her to let the fungus spread. So instead she feeds it, drinking tinctures of herbs and carefully cultivated mushrooms that fill her mind with wonderful lights and gentle whispers instead of the dark urges.
Virtue: Charity: She doesn't remember her mother very well, but she knows she was a healer. She remembers the faces of the children when they were cured of their ills and could run and play again and the grateful looks on their parent's faces. Healing the ill and helping the weak brings these thoughts to the front of her mind and helps her feel at peace with herself.
Alright, I think I have the mechanics of my druid done. I'll write up a more complete back story in a while, but basically she's based on a little lore tidbit from the game. The description of the Crones from the Weald says that a lot of them were looking to cleanse the corruption in the woodlands, only to be consumed by it instead. She's basically an herbalist who wanted to do the same, but began to become corrupted by the dark arts being used by the Hag. Unlike the Crones, she ran when she had the chance, but at the cost of her body already being infected with the fungal diseases and dark powers that infect the woodlands. She's used her knowledge of natural magic and healing to control the infection and turn it to a better use: cleaning out the darkness that threatens the Hamlet. The Maiden: Female Human Druid (Blight Druid) 4
Humanoid (Human) Init: +2 Senses: Perception +12 ------------------------------------------------------ AC: 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 Dex)
------------------------------------------------------ Speed: 20 feet
------------------------------------------------------ Str: 15 +2
Feats: Shade of the Woodlands, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spell Focus (Necromancy)
Dotting in for the moment as well. I'm working on a build for a Druid who escaped the Weald and is infected with the supernatural funguses that dominate the area. She'll probably be a Blight Druid with the Plague subdomain, though I might make her a Leshy Warden if you'll allow me to break the rule about not taking the Decay subdomain so I can play up the fungus and disease angle. Probably Blight Druid though. It fits relatively well, I just need to get the mechanics working the way I want. Hopefully focusing on poison and disease effects won't end badly, but Blight is a Darkest Dungeon thing, so I'm hopeful.
My first question might be irrelevant. That's actually quite a good stat line.
Couple of questions: First, can we default to point buy if we roll really badly? Or do we get a re-roll if our stats are particularly poor? Second, how canon is Darkest Dungeon to this game? I have an idea related to the Weald and the Hag from the game, but they need to actually exist for it to happen obviously. Third, relating to the second, would Shadow of the Woodlands and the Plague Domain be alright to take without the setting details (worshiping Zon-Kuthan or Norgorber primarily)? |