A repost of the background information so far:
Life in Bastion
The social structure in Bastion is tightly regimented. At the bottom of the heap are the slaves – they are the property of their owner and there are no laws governing their treatment. In general, they are a symbol of power and a means to wealth, so in general people take at least rudimentary care of their slaves. Nonetheless, there are many examples of brutality and mistreatment.
Slightly above slaves are foreigners. Visitors to Bastion who choose not to make it their home are denied almost all rights. They are technically allowed through most city wards, however face frequent interrogation and harassment. In the interests of supporting trade at some level, there are laws against attacking or robbing foreigners. Nonetheless, it would be a desperate foreigner who turned to the local authorities for help.
The next class is the most numerous in Bastion. Known technically as Good Folk of Bastion, they are universally referred to as Low-lifes. They are granted “third class freedom” which entitles them to some nominal protections. Nonetheless, life is tough for these people – patrols through their districts are few and far between and they are regular targets for the military press gangs, not to mention other more sinister random acts of violence and degradation.
One step up from low-lifes are the Residents of Bastion, granted “second class freedom” by the ruling powers. This includes successful tradesmen, merchants and a few labourers who have been rewarded (typically for informing on criminal actions or serving the state in some other way).
The final class are the Citizens of Bastion, who enjoy “first class freedom”. This class is restricted to the very successful merchants, priests of Hextor, Nerull, Erythnul or Wee Jas and the Warlord and his barbarian cohorts. They enjoy a privileged status over the other classes of the city (including such things as increased rights to bear weapons, a presumption of truth in any public utterance, etcetera).
The City of Bastion
Geographically, the city covers a large island at the mouth of a large river as it empties into the ocean. It is built around an imposing bluff, atop of which is the heavily fortified citadel of the Upper City where only the most wealthy and powerful citizens are allowed. The rest of the city is divided into several wards:
The Holy Quarter is built on the edge of a great plaza, dominated by the imposing cathedral to Hextor, but with most other Gods having temples or churches there as well.
The Royal Quarter lies at the foot of the bluff and is home to successful merchants and those born into wealth and influence. It is the most commonly patrolled ward and is also closed to most residents and especially to lowlifes unless they can show good reason for visiting (typically only if working for a noble house or merchant).
The Race is the largest ward within the city and is where most businesses are based. It also contains many homes, the docks and the daily market. Most residents live in the race, though there are a few down-on-their-luck citizens and a small neighbourhood of lowlifes near the docks .
The smallest ward of the city is the Foreign Quarter. This is devoted primarily to the needs of visiting merchants and contains many inns, businesses dedicated to the needs of travelling caravans and so on. It is only lightly patrolled as, under Bastion law, foreigners have very few legal rights and are expected to look after themselves.
The final ward is the slums. Here is where the majority of the city’s population lives. Almost exclusively populated by low-lifes, life in this ward is desperate and hard. People eke out a living working the surrounding farms, the mines in the hills to the west or in some other low-paying job.
Churches of Bastion
The leading religion in Bastion is Hextor. Other dominant religions are Nerull and Wee Jas. Erythnul is also venerated by the warlord and his barbarian tribes and as such is granted special privileges. These four are rumoured to have enormous temple complexes in the upper city, as well as maintaining temples and cathedrals in the Holy Quarter.
Other churches with temple complexes in the holy quarter are:
Fharlanghn, Gruumsh, Kord, Moradin, Olidamarra and St Cuthbert. The church of Obad-Hai maintains a small shrine by the banks of the river a short distance from the city.
The holy quarter also contains a ruined temple to Pelor which has been almost completely destroyed. A defiled temple to Heironeous is also preserved, littered with the now skeletal remains of his highest priests.
A small shrine to Ehlonna is maintained by the faithful in the slums, there are also small temples to Corellon Lorethian and Yondalla, legal under Bastion law, but not granted the right to maintain a full complex in the holy quarter.
Worship of Pelor and Heironeous is outlawed and punishable by a life of slavery. Worship of Boccob and Vecna is also outlawed, as Wee Jas claims pre-eminence as the god of magic. Any followers of Boccob or Vecna discovered face immediate execution.
Magic in Bastion
Magic use is outlawed in Bastion without being ordained as a lay-preacher and follower of Wee Jas. The only legal way to trade in arcane magic of any description is through their temple. For spellcasters who are not willing to submit to Wee Jas, it is necessary keep their arcane talents secret.
There is an underground movement of arcane spell users called the Cabal. Organised into small groups, they meet in cognito, wearing hoods and long robes, with only the leader of each cell being known to the others. The churches of Boccob and Vecna are both heavily represented amongst the Cabal and do not always work in unison.
Organisations in Bastion
Besides the churches, there are a few well-known groups operating with various spheres of influence.
The warlord and his barbarians are ruthless followers of Erythnul. Hell bent on conquering more and more of the outside world, in general their depredations are focussed beyond the walls. Nonetheless, sometimes boredom will set in whilst resting in the citadel and this has given rise to the practise of “hunting”. Groups of four or less(sometimes one barbarian on their own) will rampage through the slums in the dead of night, hunting anyone who is out and cutting them down in the name of their dark god. Relationships between the warlords troops and the followers of Hextor are strained at best, nonetheless the barbarians remain at least the notional rulers of Bastion and are usually treated as being above the law.
The cabal are a secretive group of underground wizards and sorcerers. Closely allied with the forbidden churches of Boccob and Vecna, they often have cryptic goals and seem to work towards mysterious ends. Feared by most of the residents of Bastion, this group is often blamed for unexplained mysteries or unusual phenomena.
The Family is a ruthless, criminal syndicate. They hold a virtual monopoly on illegal activity through The Race and the Royal Quarter, a situation they work to preserve with murderous enthusiasm. Their primary sources of income are smuggling (both of people and contraband), robbery, extortion and blackmail. Rarely venturing inside the slums directly, they nonetheless have many contacts through the gangs and smaller criminal operations which do operate there. Their reach is broad and their ruthlessness legendary.
Gangs arise frequently throughout the slums. They rarely last more than a year or two before splintering or running afoul of a newer, more vicious gang. Their primary source of income is extortion. In fact, given the sparse nature of official patrols through the slums, they do perform something of a service to most citizens. The exact relationship they have with their neighbourhood varies based largely on the personality of the leader. As a general rule, though, they are tolerated as a necessary evil.
Information for interested players:
The default social class for starting players is as a Low-life (3rd class freedom). I will use the 20 point stat buy system, with starting gold the average amount as listed on table 7-1.
All the standard classes are available, although if you are a Sorceror or Wizard you should be aware that spellcasting in the presence of witnesses is a risk (Bardic magic is tolerated by the church of Wee Jas on the ground that “it’s not real magic” other arcane magic is dealt with harshly. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be caught and killed if anyone ever sees you cast a spell – in general the lower classes follow a strict code of non-informing. However, it would mark you as someone dangerous to be associated with.
Any followers of Heironeous, Pelor, Boccob or Vecna are also at risk of serious consequences if you were to ever be caught. Nonetheless, if anyone wishes to serve these gods, underground church organisations do exist.
My preference would be for a good-aligned, working-from-the-shadows-against-oppressive-evil type party. Although I have also run evil-aligned “agents of the state” campaigns in Bastion, from above comments it seems like there is a preference for good characters and I’d rather not have half-and-half (let’s not make it too hard, hey?)
Starting adventure seed:
It’s a little brief at the moment, although it will tighten up based more firmly around any specific character ideas that come up (if that seems sensible).
Essentially you need to be unemployed, skilled people in need of cash. You’ve heard through contacts, word-of-mouth, etcetera that there is a job on offer for discrete, talented individuals. The campaign opens at the initial meeting point to hear more – the Strangled Chicken tavern in the heart of the slums, you’ve been told to ask the proprietor, Conthus de Gore for Antius’s private table.
From experience, given the paranoia which often develops amongst PCs in an environment like Bastion, it often helps if the characters have connections with each other. Whether that be best-buddies or casual acquaintances. It’s not necessary, but it helps.
Well, here I am. Halfling Rogue, eventually getting into Sorcerer(Celestial bloodline) and Arcane Trickster. One of his parents/ancestors was high up in a good religion. Said god decided to bless the descendent of said good person with magic, and get him to help make the world a better place. Meanwhile, Garret here is getting tired of the voice in his head telling him to do good deeds. So, should a plucky Rebellion show up and ask him to join, he may just do it, just to make the voice shut up.
In other words, he's chaotic Neutral with Good leanings. I'll have the rest of the sheet up tomorrow.
Hail and welcome, fellow low lifes. I am Eland Westlocke, Human Enchanter and native to the city of Bastion. What I lack in common sense i make up for in wit and charisma. Spend a night on the town with me and we are sure to find trouble and an escape from it worthy of retelling. I am an initiate of the cabal and a lay priest of Boccob, just don't tell the authorities.
Me? Oh, I'm just an ordinary human girl. Nothing special about me. Woops.
*suddenly loses balance, flails wildly, smashes mug into face of man who had been ogling her*
Oh, I am so sorry, sir. Are you alright? Oh, your nose is bleeding. Let me help you with that.
*stomps hard on his foot as she reaches to hand him a towel*
Oops, I'm so sorry. I'm just so terribly clumsy. I really am sorry. *calls after him as he beats a hasty retreat.
I'm just so prone to unfortunate accidents. *wink*
I think I have all the info you wil need for Eland under his profile. If you want a more detatiled sheet I can e-mail an excel version.
Eland was born to a barmaid who is not quite sure who his father is. He grew up milling about the inn where she worked having his head filled with tales from travelers and bards. His intellect was noticed by a slightly unhinged wizard who secretly taught him the art and how to best hide his gift in Bastion. He has a childlike curiosity and lacks the common sense to see things all the way through to there logical conclusion. He lives for the moment and is rather irreverent and charming all at the same time.
Eland - let me know what you think of the following as some further fleshing out of your background. Feel free to adopt as much/as little of this as you like, or to modify it if you prefer.
Eland grew up around the Wilted Rose Tavern where his mother works as a barmaid. As a child, he worked doing odd jobs around the tavern, an eager audience for the regulars’ tall tales and the ballads of travelling bards. As he grew older, he caught the eye of a secret wizard, Ashwyn Coros, who owned and operates the tavern as a front for a temple to Boccob. Joining the wild-eyed, slightly unhinged old wizard as an apprentice, Eland began learning to master the forbidden art of wizardry.
Eland sleeps on the floor in the common room and still helps out around the Wilted Rose. However, as his training in magic has progressed, his duties in the tavern have grown less and less onerous. Ashwyn regularly makes vague references to Eland’s “future career” as if he has some special knowledge of the young man’s destiny. However, when pressed, the old wizard remains elusive as to what that may actually entail.
As his apprenticeship progressed, Eland learnt of the Wilted Rose’s great secret. A hidden compartment in the tavern’s cellar, behind which is a small complex kept as a safe-house for followers of Boccob who are in need of sanctuary. Behind the concealed door, there is a shrine to the god of magic, together with a small library of arcane scrolls and books. The hidden complex is tended by Gavel – an irritable old priest of Boccob and sage of the arcane. Eland and Gavel have never got along, the older wizard viewing the young man as irreverent and not approaching his studies with the duty and responsibility they deserve.
On the afternoon that the campaign begins, Ashwyn pulled you aside with a message. His eyes wild with a suppressed excitement, he told you that tonight you must go to the Strangled Chicken tavern, a raucous but safe tavern a few blocks away from the Wilted Rose. There, he said, you must ask for someone called Antius.
“Great things await, Eland. Great things!” he told you excitedly. “This is what we’ve been training you for...all these years...who’d have thought?...Now prepare yourself Eland. Your path ahead is dangerous, but the rewards if you succeed will be unimaginable!”
That background fits with my conception of Eland, I will be stealing all of it. Can't wait to get started.
Anyssa, feel free to use any and/or none of this for a background. I hope it fits in with what you were planning:
Unfortunately, she has proven much more successful at finding trouble than at holding a job. Her unwillingness to suffer fools has led to many of her former employers suffering painful and embarrassing accidents. Her most recent work was in a factory sewing sails. When the foreman’s hand wandered he mysteriously tripped, sprawling flat on his face and somehow impaling his hand on Anyssa’s sharpest, longest needle. Dismissed as a troublemaker yet again, her father didn’t take the news well.
The two of them quarrelled and despite Alshina’s protests, Garve banished her from their home. For the last week Anyssa has been staying in a rundown, two storey building in the slums. The tenement is run by an old elven woman called Zelora. The rooms are tiny and primitive, consisting of nothing more than a hard bed, a blanket and a small bedside cupboard. As her funds have begun to dwindle, Anyssa has been keeping her ears open for some way to earn enough money to survive.
This morning her younger sister Giselle came running to the apartments, hammering on the door and calling for Anyssa. Giselle grinned broadly when Anyssa answered the door. Although it had only been a week, the two sisters had been close and the younger girl was missing her older sister terribly. They spoke quickly, catching up on the gossip of the last week, before Anyssa interrupted Giselle’s tales of childhood adventure.
“What did you want, Giselle?” she asked her sister. “You said it was important.”
“Oh, I forgot!” confessed the younger girl. “Mother says you have to see her at work. At the tannery. She says she’s found someone who’ll give you work.”
When Anyssa reached the tannery where her mother worked, she sought out Alshina to hear what work her mother had found for her. The elderly woman’s face crinkled into a smile to see her eldest daughter and she hugged her briefly.
“Anyssa I don’t have much time,” she began, speaking quickly before she was missed. “Are you eating well? You have somewhere to sleep?...I do worry about you. It’s just your father. With Darius gone...he needs a few days, that’s all.”
“Mother, I’m fine,” Anyssa reassured her. “What’s this work Giselle was talking about?”
“Well, it’s the strangest thing,” replied Alshina, changing topics mid sentence. “I had a visitor early this morning, asking after you by name. He said he has very important work and was very upset to learn you weren’t at home. He looks very well-to-do, a resident and maybe...maybe even a citizen!...Oh Anyssa, I do hope you’ll be nice to him...His name’s Antius. He said he’d be waiting tonight at the strangled chicken tavern. Do go, child. This could be your big chance to leave the slums! He had money, I could see that...”
“ALSHINA!” came a bellow from inside. “WHERE ARE YOU?” With a gasp the older woman kissed Anyssa and held her close.
“I have to go,” she said, resting her hand gently on Anyssa’s cheek. “Do try and be nice to him, Anyssa. This could be your lucky day!” With that, Alshina hurried back inside, profusely apologising to the scowling foreman and leaving Anyssa in the muddy street.
Garret, some potential background stuff for you. You should use as much or as little of this as you like.
Throughout his life, something has set him apart from his friends, something he’s never spoken of with anyone. From time to time, he hears a voice in his head, a calm, patient voice whispering advice and guiding the young rogue at times of crisis. Garret has no doubt that the voice, whatever it is, has saved his skin on several occasions. He’s come to trust it instinctively, even when he’s not quite sure why he’s following its advice.
Lately the voice has been planting doubt in Garret’s mind. He’d steal from a shopkeeper’s stall only to be plagued with questions. “How will he feed his family?...Couldn’t you have offered to work for him, instead of just taking what you wanted?” The voice has never been accusing, just questioning, pushing the young man to examine who he is and how he lives.
The most recent gang Garret has been working with are known as the muckrakers, led by a belligerent and slightly stupid human girl called Ishmel. A small group of around a dozen Halflings and humans, the muckrakers have been making their money running scams throughout the slums. Their usual conjob involves staging a mugging – two of the gang members pretend to menace some of the younger members as a merchant or trader drives his wagon past. When the chosen passersby intervenes, the rest of the gang swarms over their wagon or force them to the ground by weight of numbers, stealing whatever they can before dissolving into the crowd.
This morning, the gang was prepared to run their usual scam, this time on a richly dressed resident, obviously uncomfortable in the slums. As the middle aged man walked into the gang’s trap, his eyes widening as he saw two young men menacing two Halfling children, the voice came unbidden to Garret. “What has he done to you?” it asked. “Warn him. Tell him to run.” As the innocent man moved towards the thugs, oblivious to the half dozen gang members closing on him to hustle him into the alley and rob him blind, Garret suddenly dashed up to the richly dressed man.
“It’s a set up!” he cried, pushing the man down a winding side street “Run!” Startled, the middle aged man turned to speak, but the gang’s howls of protest warned him to do as Garret said. “You’re dead, Garret!” screamed Ishmel furiously as Garret paused to overturn a nearby stack of crates before diving after the older man, soon catching him and leading him down several winding back alleys, the cries from the thwarted muckrakers fading into the distance.
When they had reached safety, Garret was almost swearing at himself. What had he done that for? He cursed himself. Now I’m broke and I’ve got Ishmel’s goons hunting for me..His reverie was interrupted by the middle aged gentleman resting his hand on the young halfling’s shoulder.
“Thank you my friend,” he said with a smile. “I do believe I was going to walk right into that one!” His eyes twinkled as he fished into his pocket for a small pouch. “What’s your name, Son? I’m in your debt.” He said as he handed the Halfling the surprisingly heavy pouch.
“Garret,” answered the young rogue automatically as he accepted his reward.
“Well Garret, my name is Antius. If you’re interested in more work, I have just the thing for an enterprising young man like you! Come to the Strangled Chicken tonight and ask for me. I’m in need of some brave and streetsmart people to help me with a simple job tonight.” Bowing slightly, the well dressed resident took his leave, heading back towards the safer areas of town as Garret inspected the pouch, his eyes widening as he saw more gold than he’d ever seen in one place.
Maybe the enemies that stupid voice had just made for him would be worth it after all...
A few comments as to how I plan on running this.
In general, I am happy for you to invent NPCs, places etcetera if necessary for your backstory, character comments, etcetera. All I ask is that you not go into too much detail on the initial post so that I can mull it over and work it into the PBP version of Bastion without tangling myself up later.
I plan on using invisible castle for die rolls. I dont really mind how you prefer to do it - if you want to physically roll dice and post the results, I'm happy with trusting you not to alter the rolls or roll the important ones twice.
In general, I'll be getting you to do all rolls, with the exception of initiative. It seems to me that in PBP it always wastes a post from everyone asking for initiative then posting the order. When combat arises, I'll be rolling all your initiatives (again on invisible castle) together with the NPCs and posting the order together with starting positions, maps, etcetera. I hope that's ok with everyone.
With regard to maps, I'm no artist and my MS Paint is even worse. I'll be scanning in hand drawn maps, but dont expect to be blown away by my artistic greatness.. :)
If you have any comments as to where you'd like the story to do, how you'd like to develop characters, etcetera, please post them in this thread. I dont promise you'll get everything you ask for, but I'll see what I can do to accomodate you and it's a good way to prod me in new directions.
I will be awarding experience points based on the usual rules for challenges overcome plus when we pass milestone post numbers - it's a nice incentive I've seen a few of the longer running PBPs use and I'm happy to steal it. I expect you'll progress ridiculously fast by the standards of the gametime and ridiculously slowly by real life time.
Hmm..Can't think of much else. We'll wait on the remaining characters and then start up in a couple of days. As I mentioned, I'm hoping people can post at least once per day - if people miss two, I'll NPC them a while. If you're going to be away for a bit, please let me know so that we dont pause waiting for a post that's not going to eventuate.
Hopefully this will be a success. I'm keen to make it work, let me know what's good and bad (email is steve.geddes@optusnet.com.au if you prefer to do so privately). Cheers. :)
That background works for me, and explains why Anyssa started acting out when she did.
The rest of her info will be available in her profile later today.
I Grunthor Firbolg. I Half Orc Barbarian. Me leave fastly from my tribe when warned by mama that tribe gonna kick me out. I okey dokey with making fight with other tribes. But bad to fight wussy people who not have chance. I then walk all over and move to Bastion. Find work in Blacksmith shop. Me okey dokey Blacksmith. Make own swords but mostly make horse shoes. Me like horseys. Wanna join others and make town better. XXX
Well here is a quick character background, let me know what you think. Character stats will be following soon.
Background:
Damandor Yolanux is a elven priest of Corellon Lorethian, newly raised up from an initiate in my order. I currently serve on a part-time volunteer basis at the shrine to Corellon in the slum where I am a resident. Although I serve at the shrine under the guidance of the high-priest of Corellon in Bastion, I am looking for any opportunity to serve and assist those around me. I care not who they are, or what they believe, but seek to do the will of he who guides me. I especially look after my fellow citizens in the slum and do all I can to make things better for them, even if it means bending a few laws here and there, or bashing a head or two.
As of late, I've heard rumor of someone by the name of Antius looking for a group of people to do some work for him. Sounds like this may be the opportunity I've been waiting for to spread the will of Corellon. I will go to the Strangled Chiken tavern and ask the proprietor, Conthus de Gore, for this Antius fellow.
Garret, some potential background stuff for you. You should use as much or as little of this as you like.
*Spoiler Omitted*
Appropriate, gives a good reason to why he's working here and not in a gang, it's good.
I Grunthor Firbolg. I Half Orc Barbarian. Me leave fastly from my tribe when warned by mama that tribe gonna kick me out. I okey dokey with making fight with other tribes. But bad to fight wussy people who not have chance. I then walk all over and move to Bastion. Find work in Blacksmith shop. Me okey dokey Blacksmith. Make own swords but mostly make horse shoes. Me like horseys. Wanna join others and make town better. XXX
Let me know how this sounds. Again, feel free to accpet/modify/ignore whatever doesnt fit.
Grunthor Firbolg was born into a harsh life in the badlands west of Bastion. His tribe wanders the wastelands, eking out an existence whilst avoiding the magical storms which regularly sweep through the region and the dangerous creatures which hunt there.
Several months ago, Grunthor embarrassed the tribal chieftain’s eldest son whilst on a hunt, rescuing the weaker barbarian from a desert python and bringing shame on the ruling chieftain’s family. Shortly thereafter, the shaman announced to the tribe that he had received a vision and that Grunthor was possessed by an evil spirit, the secret of his great prowess in battle.
As the warriors of his tribe descended on his tent, Grunthor’s mother warned him just in time and the young barbarian managed to escape into the surrounding wasteland. Surviving by his wits, he eventually made his way to Bastion where he was accepted by the city as a lowlife and granted third class freedom – a concept he still struggles to understand.
He soon found work with Bartok Dwarfkin, a powerfully built human who runs a busy smithy near the foreign quarter. Although happy enough working the forge, he has grown somewhat bored of late. One of Bartok’s regular customers, a well dressed citydweller named Antius, has approached Grunthor and offered him some work guarding an important parcel and transporting it through the city.
If interested, he has asked the barbarian to come to the Strangled Chicken Tavern, a well known watering hole in the nearby slums. Antius has promised Grunthor quite a bit of gold and much more excitement and danger.
Well here is a quick character background, let me know what you think. Character stats will be following soon.
Background:
Damandor Yolanux is a elven priest of Corellon Lorethian, newly raised up from an initiate in my order. I currently serve on a part-time volunteer basis at the shrine to Corellon in the slum where I am a resident. Although I serve at the shrine under the guidance of the high-priest of Corellon in Bastion, I am looking for any opportunity to serve and assist those around me. I care not who they are, or what they believe, but seek to do the will of he who guides me. I especially look after my fellow citizens in the slum and do all I can to make things better for them, even if it means bending a few laws here and there, or bashing a head or two.As of late, I've heard rumor of someone by the name of Antius looking for a group of people to do some work for him. Sounds like this may be the opportunity I've been waiting for to spread the will of Corellon. I will go to the Strangled Chiken tavern and ask the proprietor, Conthus de Gore, for this Antius fellow.
How does this sound, Doug:
Damandor grew up in a secluded neighbourhood of the slums of Bastion, entering the temple of Corellon Lorethian at an early age. For several years he worked tending the small garden maintained by the faithful and assisting with minor as he received instruction in Corellon’s faith from the head priest of the temple, an elderly elf named Theriandor Silverstar.
He has always struggled to assist those in need, yet no matter how much charity he has provided, or how many of those struggling with poverty he has helped, the brutal regime of Bastion has always produce ten more stories of desperate suffering to take their place. Gradually becoming more and more passionate in his opposition to the system, he is nonetheless aware that direct action against the ruling powers would bring certain doom on both himself and the temple of his faith.
One month ago, he undertook his final rite of initiation. The ritual involved praying in the garden for a full day and a night, deep in meditation as an image of Corellon Lorethian visited him in a dream. The vision gave Damandor hope as he saw that a time was coming where the citizens of Bastion would have their chance at freedom. Plans were in motion, an alliance of Gods are working to shine a ray of light over the lives of the dour, oppressive city.
Waking from his commune as a fully ordained cleric of Corellon Lorethian, Damandor was filled with new hope and resolve. The young priest knows that he has an important part to play in the coming struggle. He knows that despite the secret alliance of devout gods working in the shadows, the evil alliance of Hextor, Erythnul, Nerull and Wee Jas are very strong in the city. Success is not assured, it will require faith, perseverance and righteousness to ensure a successful revolution.
This morning, whilst tending to the garden, Damandor saw a stranger visiting the temple. A well dressed, middle aged human man sought out the head priest and conferred briefly with him in private. As the human left, he looked over and met Damandor’s gaze, smiling at the young elf as he headed on his way. Shortly afterwards, the new priest was summoned before Theriandor and given a new task.
“Damandor, you have been called to serve,” began the old elf softly as the two sat in a secluded corner of the garden. “Tonight you must go to the Strangled Chicken tavern. There you will meet a man named Altius – you saw him visiting me earlier. He has a task for you, a dangerous mission, but one whose success is vital. Know that I have been visited by Corellon Lorethian himself and he has spoken to me. He will guide you in this and through your efforts and your righteousness, you will see that his will is done.”
Anyssa's info has been added to her profile now.
If you have any comments as to where you'd like the story to do, how you'd like to develop characters, etcetera, please post them in this thread. I dont promise you'll get everything you ask for, but I'll see what I can do to accomodate you and it's a good way to prod me in new directions.
One obvious and albeit cliched avenue to explore is who is Eland's father.
I see Eland developing into a local hero. The vigilante who wraps himself in a cloak of confusion. He will no doubt take actions however that have dire consequences for others as retribution for his acts is taken out on the citizens of Bastion. A big part of his maturation will be how long before he realizes the consequences of his actions and when he finally does realize what he is responsible for does it change him or does he accept the collateral damage for the greater good. Just some thoughts.
Grunthor okay with idea of making money. After work go to Chiken Place to look for fun. GM want Grunthor Stats? I got in Excel.
How does this sound, Doug:spoiler omitted
Sounds great, thank you for filling in the details. I'll print that out and incorperate it in with my character sheet.
GM want Grunthor Stats? I got in Excel.
I have a question about spell that I can select for Damandor. Do you want me to only select spells from the core PRPG spells spells only, of can I select spells from other sources.
The other sources that I have are:
The first four books in the Complete series.
The Draconomicon
For now I will only pick from the PF core spells, until I hear different.
Thanks,
DJ
Patrick, see what you think of this background for Ivan, I tried to keep it close to what you were looking for in the previous campaign. Let me know if it works, or if you want to modify it in some way...
Ivan was brought up in a fierce monastic order in a secluded and heavily fortified monastery far to the south of Bastion. The Order of the Bear are a strictly neutral and independent group who have successfully fought off conquest by the church of Hextor for many years. They practise continuous self-improvement through a strict training regimen developing strength of both mind and body. Their fighting techniques focus more on wrestling and grappling their foes, depriving the enemy of the use of their weapons, rather than on more traditional fighting techniques.
The Order of the Bear has several paths of development. Although most monks remain in the monastery, training and developing their skills in seclusion, there are a rare few who travel the world, seeing real life-or-death combat as the only true test of their fighting prowess. Ivan has been following this path for the last year, travelling down through the war-torn lands surrounding Bastion and eventually reaching the city itself.
He has been granted third class freedom and been accepted by the town rulers as one of the good folk of Bastion, more commonly referred to as a lowlife. His considerable strength and fitness has enabled him to easily find work as a labourer when he needs. In recent months, Ivan has been working for Fightmaster Barbarin Mattusk, who maintains a stable of fighters who compete regularly in the arena for the entertainment of the higher classed residents and citizens of Bastion. In exchange for board and training facilities, Ivan has been fighting under Barbarin’s banner for the last few months. Technically he is free to leave at any time, although Barbarin is known to keep close tabs on the men who fight for him.
Barbarin has been delighted to add Ivan to his stable of warriors, his prowess in unarmed combat has allowed the fightmaster to win several prestigious events and to earn a substantial profit through occasionally gambling on Ivan’s likely chances against better armed and armoured opponents. Lately, however, Ivan has begun to find his life as a gladiator has grown dull and repetitive. It is rare that he encounters a warrior able to best him in unarmed combat.
After his most recent bout this morning, Ivan was approached by a well dressed, middle aged man who asked to speak with him. The stranger introduced himself as Antius, a resident of Bastion. After speaking briefly about the fight and life as a gladiator, Antius bent his head towards the monk and lowered his voice.
“I know of your order,” he murmured conspiratorially, “I know you want more challenge than this. Winning fight after fight against these oafs without the skill to stand against you, that’s not the path destiny has laid out for you. Meet me tonight, at the Strangled Chicken Tavern. I have a proposition for you. There will be dangerous foes and real challenges to face, but only through real hardship can you develop to your full potential.” With that, the middle aged man departed, leaving Ivan to ponder his way forward.
I have a question about spell that I can select for Damandor. Do you want me to only select spells from the core PRPG spells spells only, of can I select spells from other sources.
The other sources that I have are:
The first four books in the Complete series.
The DraconomiconFor now I will only pick from the PF core spells, until I hear different.
Thanks,
DJ
Sorry Doug, didnt see this yesterday. I'd prefer you to stick to the core book for now. I may relax that later, but I will often be posting from work and the core rules are the only PDF I will have with me.
If you could post once here with Damandor when he's ready, that'd be good.
OK, we're nearly set to go. I'll be posting the game thread in around twelve hours - Ivan just needs to approve/modify background etcetera and Dragonborn3 or I need to come up with something for Flint. We can finalise that as we begin play.
Just to summarise:
I'll be expecting one post a day. We all get busy from time to time, of course, so sometimes posting may lull for a day or so. If you miss a couple then I'll take over your character until you return, just to keep things moving.
If you're going to be absent a while that's no big deal, just let us know in advance. If you decide it's not for you, that's no big deal either. I do just ask that you let me know if you choose to pull out.
My email is steve.geddes@optusnet.com.au if you need to contact me and would prefer to use that.
I'll be doing rolls on invisible castle. I dont mind how you want to do them (but dont cheat). :)
I plan on rolling all initiative at the start of combats, in the interests of speeding things along. I hope everyone is happy with that. I'll be asking you to make all other rolls.
I'd prefer any discussions about the game to happen in this thread and to leave the main thread for the play.
The first game thread will be posted in around twelve hours. I hope you all enjoy it.
A few more details still to come, but I think we can get started anyhow. I dont want to lose momentum. I hope you all enjoy it. :)
Ready to go. I will add the background when I can.
Okay, I think I've got Damandor's info added into my profile, so you should be able to see it now. If there is anything I've missed that you need, let me know.
DJ
I have created an alias for Damandor and will be posting as Damandor from now on.
DJ
Hale and well met fellow adventurers!
My name is Flint Earthbrother, and I'm one of the rare dwarven druids.
Unlike the others though I'm more interested in the sky, storms, and the sea. So I left the Underdark to better experience these things.
Currently, I'm looking for a job to fund my research of herbs from the sea.
Is the Stormlord Prc from Complete Divine have a chance of being an option?
There aren't any Prcs from the beta that having anything to offer for druids.
Probably by then I'll be more comfortable.
My reluctance for anything non-beta is because that's the only one I have a pdf of. I'm often posting away from home, so I wont have any of my sourcebooks handy.
Early on - I'd like to keep it all simple, just while I find my feet.
Yes, it appears that our DM has a gift of storytelling. I'm enjoying this very much so far. It provides a nice break from working on my tax return.
Thanks for the encouragement. It's a little strange running a PBP - I'm so used to immediate feedback, it's hard to know which things people enjoy, whether to slow down/speed up, all those kinds of things. At the table it's much easier to tell who wants more time roleplaying, who wants to move onto action scenes, etcetera. Not to mention the pacing - the current scene was quite frenetic and panicky when it happened in my tabletop game. It's hard to convey frantic confusion when it's spread out over a week..
By the way, please feel free to pass on criticisms too if things arent quite as you'd like them. You guys are my PBP guinea pigs, I figure the best way for me to learn what works in this format is if everyone's happy to say what you liked and what you didnt.
Got a question: Which experience progression rate are we using, slow, medium, or fast? It just crossed my mind today, and I didn't see that it had been stated.
Also, just for everyone's information, the latest beta release of PCGen has the Pathfinder Beta information in it and it seems to work pretty well. As far as I have been able to compare so far with Damandor, it calculated everything the same as what I had done by hand. It has some nice features and makes character creation/updating a lot easier.
Got a question: Which experience progression rate are we using, slow, medium, or fast? It just crossed my mind today, and I didn't see that it had been stated.
To be honest, I'm not too fussed. I was planning on using fast (purely because it's still going to take weeks/months to advance a level anyhow) however I also plan on allocating bonus experience points every 500 posts or so (not a lot, but enough to encourage lots of posting...). Given that, it's going to require some suspension of disbelief (it's likely you'll race through levels in game time, which doesnt make a lot of sense - nonetheless, seeing my characters progress has always helped me maintain interest and I'm presuming that's not unique to me.
I'm happy to hear opinions though if people would prefer a more leisurely approach to advancement (life in Bastion will continue to impose restraints on you anyway, being from the lower classes, and I tend to be a little more stingy with magic items/other wealth than the standard rules suggest).
Got a question: Which experience progression rate are we using, slow, medium, or fast? It just crossed my mind today, and I didn't see that it had been stated.To be honest, I'm not too fussed. I was planning on using fast (purely because it's still going to take weeks/months to advance a level anyhow) however I also plan on allocating bonus experience points every 500 posts or so (not a lot, but enough to encourage lots of posting...). Given that, it's going to require some suspension of disbelief (it's likely you'll race through levels in game time, which doesnt make a lot of sense - nonetheless, seeing my characters progress has always helped me maintain interest and I'm presuming that's not unique to me.
I'm happy to hear opinions though if people would prefer a more leisurely approach to advancement (life in Bastion will continue to impose restraints on you anyway, being from the lower classes, and I tend to be a little more stingy with magic items/other wealth than the standard rules suggest).
I don't mind trying the fast progression with a play-by-post campaign. As you said, it may keep us more interested in continuing on if our character advance at a more rapid rate.
At any rate, I'm in for the long haul, because for now this is about the only chance that I get to be a player as I am DMing for another group.
Same here. I'm DMing the All Hallow's Eve pbp game.
At any rate, I'm in for the long haul, because for now this is about the only chance that I get to be a player as I am DMing for another group.
I'm glad to hear you're both planning on sticking around. Have you run many PBP games DB? I'm finding it an unusual format - hard to get used to. Some things are much easier than running a tabletop game, but others are much harder.
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I'm glad to hear you're both planning on sticking around. Have you run many PBP games DB? I'm finding it an unusual format - hard to get used to. Some things are much easier than running a tabletop game, but others are much harder.
Nope. I tried setting up one but that ended not even being played.
It is hard to get used to it but if it wasn't worth there wouldn't be any pbps up would there? Plus you get to see what your player's characters can do without waiting a week between games and asking for it. Not having to ask how they cast spells in armor will really keep the unwanted post count down. If you want to look at my game to for ideas/reference go ahead. Good luck and I hope you keep DMing!
Monty:
The use of the Appraise spell can only be done when it is trained (ranks taken in the skill). Damandor has no ranks in Appraise at this time, but I am planning on remedying that as soon as we gain a level.
The Detect Magic spell still has the ability to give the caster some detailed information about magical items and their aura's when concentrated on for up to three rounds, the longer you concentrate the better the information. This is what Damandor was trying to do and required the Knowledge (Arcana) checks.
Good luck with all the work hours. I've had to pick up extra work as well, so I know what your going through. Hopefully things will get better for you when you get through your tax season. My brother is a CPA and use to work for an auditing firm, and we would just never plan on seeing him from January through April.
Monty:
** spoiler omitted **
Ah thanks for the clarification - I didnt check whether it could be used untrained and figured I could just use your arcana roll as appraise...we'll go with that for now. I guess all you should know is the school of magic and strength - although Eland is trained in appraise I think, so I guess you could have learnt that info anyhow. Cheers.
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I'm glad to hear you're both planning on sticking around. Have you run many PBP games DB? I'm finding it an unusual format - hard to get used to. Some things are much easier than running a tabletop game, but others are much harder.Same here. I'm DMing the All Hallow's Eve pbp game.
At any rate, I'm in for the long haul, because for now this is about the only chance that I get to be a player as I am DMing for another group.
The worst part of running a PbP, is waiting for the characters sometimes...especially when you have some prolific posters and some that only post once ever 3-4 days.
The worst part of running a PbP, is waiting for the characters sometimes...especially when you have some prolific posters and some that only post once ever 3-4 days.
Yeah differing schedules can be a pain. I also find it hard to 'read' what people like and what they don't. At the table it's pretty easy to see when someone is bored and to move things along, or to notice that they're really into it and develop a scene further. In this format - an absence is either because they've lost interest, they can't think of anything to say but they like it, or they're camping for the weekend...who can say?
Another problem I've had is correcting misexplanations - people post their actions or whatnot and it's only then I realise I didnt describe the situation very well...stopping to correct them bogs things down, ruling by fiat must be annoying to them...
Still, I'm enjoying the chance to play more often than I otherwise would be able to. Plus playing with a new group of people is an eye-opener. My group have a very slack attitude to rules and no skills at character-optimisation. Plus, after nearly thirty years, I can be pretty confident in predicting what they're going to do in response to a situation (no matter who they're playing). DMing for players I dont know is a breath of fresh air. :)
The worst part of running a PbP, is waiting for the characters sometimes...especially when you have some prolific posters and some that only post once ever 3-4 days.Yeah differing schedules can be a pain. I also find it hard to 'read' what people like and what they don't. At the table it's pretty easy to see when someone is bored and to move things along, or to notice that they're really into it and develop a scene further. In this format - an absence is either because they've lost interest, they can't think of anything to say but they like it, or they're camping for the weekend...who can say?
Another problem I've had is correcting misexplanations - people post their actions or whatnot and it's only then I realise I didnt describe the situation very well...stopping to correct them bogs things down, ruling by fiat must be annoying to them...
Still, I'm enjoying the chance to play more often than I otherwise would be able to. Plus playing with a new group of people is an eye-opener. My group have a very slack attitude to rules and no skills at character-optimisation. Plus, after nearly thirty years, I can be pretty confident in predicting what they're going to do in response to a situation (no matter who they're playing). DMing for players I dont know is a breath of fresh air. :)
Steve,
Hope you don't mind if I jump into the conversation?
I've only played in one other pbp before, although I have "watched" several others as they progress. One idea that I saw that was helpful, especially when the party is in a combat situation, is that the GM tried to post as close to the same time as possible, and if a player hadn't posted his/hers action by then, it was assumed that they were taking no action that round. It really helped to move things along in combat.
That might be less useful when in free form situations, like we are in now, where you want to let the story develop. At some point though, you need to assume that everyone is done interacting with the current scene. So a predetermined amount of time might be useful when were not in a round-to-round scene as well.
The other thing that we as players need to realize is that if we aren't going to be able to post for an extended period of time, we need to let you or one of the other players know so that you or they can either play for us, or you can write us out of the story temporarily. I know we all have emergencies that come up, and so for those times I think the above suggestion would work well. If for some reason you can't post one day, then your character just passes.
Where you have asked us to try and post once a day, I don't feel like it would be unreasonable to say that you are going to try and post by a certain time each day, and that if I haven't posted by then, then I get skipped for that round of posts and have to just pick up the "action" where is at currently.
Anyway, those are some suggestions from what I've seen in other pbp's, hope it helps give you some idea's. I'm really enjoying the adventure so far, and like you it is about the only time I get to play, so lets keep it going, thank you.
Steve,
Hope you don't mind if I jump into the conversation?
I've only played in one other pbp before, although I have "watched" several others as they progress. One idea that I saw that was helpful, especially when the party is in a combat situation, is that the GM tried to post as close to the same time as possible, and if a player hadn't posted his/hers action by then, it was assumed that they were taking no action that round. It really helped to move things along in combat.
That might be less useful when in free form situations, like we are in now, where you want to let the story develop. At some point though, you need to assume that everyone is done interacting with the current scene. So a predetermined amount of time might be useful when were not in a round-to-round scene as well.
The other thing that we as players need to realize is that if we aren't going to be able to post for an extended period of time, we need to let you or one of the other players know so that you or they can either play for us, or you can write us out of the story temporarily. I know we all have emergencies that come up, and so for those times I think the above suggestion would work well. If for some reason you can't post one day, then your character just passes.
Where you have asked us to try and post once a day, I don't feel like it would be unreasonable to say that you are going to try and post by a certain time each day, and that if I haven't posted by then, then I get skipped for that round of posts and have to just pick up the "action" where is at currently.
Anyway, those are some suggestions from what I've seen in other pbp's, hope it helps give you some idea's. I'm really enjoying the adventure so far, and like you it is about the only time I get to play, so lets keep it going, thank you.
I will do that from time-to-time (so far only twice in the various PBPs I've been running). Although it's one of the peculiarities I've noticed - despite it being 'generally accepted' that combat in a PBP is slow and that it's more suitable to the role-playing/story based form of gaming, in my experience it's combat that ensures a quick post from everyone. No doubt due to the structure of a round-by-round setup - everyone knows what's expected. In an interaction or planning discussion it's a little less clear on how much is expected (and perhaps less clear about exactly what's going on to).
Thanks for the comments - as I said, in a text-based setting it's really hard to know what everyone is liking and/or not liking and what people expect and/or are surprised by.