I'm going to be running Rise of the Runelords as a pbem on Yahoo Groups, a Pathfinder Core game (no APG) that will probably have a fairly easy posting rate. So far I have a Shoanti druid, a Varisian bard and a frost sorceror gnome. I'd like to see some warrior or cleric types as well, from players who haven't read/gone through the AP before. I'd like three more players - good concepts, so it's not first come, first served.
For those who don't know: The adventure takes place in Varisia, a frontier setting. We'll begin in a little town called Sandpoint, where the Swallowtail Festival is about to take place.
1) I'd like the characters to know one another at the start of the game to avoid, "Hello total stranger, let me entrust my life to you" syndrome. Tell me your background and I'll see how to work it in with the others'.
2) Lone wolf characters bad, teamwork good.
3) No evil alignments.
Just quick concepts please, nothing statted up. If you can keep it in third person, past tense, I will be extra happy.
|
Thinking of creating a Sklar-Quah monk, leaving his warlike barbarian clan in order to achieve the quiet mind and self-discipline he feels is the only path towards continuing his training. Having little but the clothes on his back and a small purse of gold, he traveled to Sandpoint in order to take advantage of the Swallowtail Festival's size to find someone to take him on as hired muscle. He plans on using the mercenary life to do a little bit of good and train himself while still making a living.
Greetings!
I've long wanted to be able to play RotR. I've not had the opportunity to play it before and I haven't read any of the AP. Here's my submission. Thanks for considering me!
Kellan Tressmore was an infant when Lia Tressmore discovered him in the forests east of Sandpoint. He had been left at the foot of a tree, nestled into a small pile of blankets. Unable to bear her own children, Lia brought him home with her.
Her husband Kelvan Tressmore, a fisherman, was initially unpleased by the discovery. He was even more reluctant to take the child in when it was discovered that he was a Shoanti. Lia had her way, however, and the child was raised as though he was their own.
Kellan was a bright, inquisitive child who showed little sign of his Shoanti blood aside from his appearance. Like most of his people, he was quite tall and healthy, with a broad ruddy face.
Kelvan eventually warmed to the boy, especially after he began to help out with the fishing. In this, the child seemed to be a blessing. Both Kelvan and Lia were getting on in years and without children they had no one to watch over them.
Eager to help though he was, Kellan was not especially enamored with fishing. His was the blood of the warrior and whenever he was not working he spent his time at the playhouse watching tales of valor and adventure, or listening to Ameiko Kajitsu tell of her time as an adventurer. His imagination was especially fired up when the Chopper was caught and killed. For a time, Sheriff Hemlock was his hero. Inspired by the events, he began to seek out training in swordplay and survival. His eagerness and persistence bore him well and with a few lessons he began to spend much of his afternoons and evenings devoting himself to practicing with wooden swords.
Two years after the Chopper was killed, Kellan's adoptive father died of a heart attack. Lia followed not long after and Kellan was alone once again. No longer having any real responsibilities except to himself, he devoted himself to seeking out those who would teach him the skills of a warrior, determined to strike out on his own when he had learned enough.
I would be interested in playing a cleric. Does this sound interesting?
Cleric of the Heavens. Worships the Gods according to the season and is a Harbinger to the community for the coming time of year.
For 4 days in the year- at the time of the Equinoxes and Solstices - the cleric performs a ritual to celebrate the changing of the seasons. His Domain powers and Domain abilities are dormant on this day - the last of the season - and every subsequent day until he completes the ritual. Once the ritual is complete the next day begins a new season with new domain powers. On that one day - the first of the season - the domain powers and domain spell slots of the two seasons are combined. The powers and domain spell slot which had been held over from the last day of the previous season become available again in addition to the domain powers and spell slot of the new season. On the following day the new season with its powers and spell slot proceed as normal until the next solstice or equinox.
Spring: Gozreh: Growth, Weather
Summer: Sarenrae: Sunlight, Glory
Autumn: Shelyn: Love, Good
Winter: Pharasma: Death, Repose
I am prepared to present a character outline to you...but before starting I wanted to see if you would be willing to allow the concept.
I'd like to submit, please.
Her parents were artists, nominally based in Magnimar, but often forced by poverty to visit friends and family in the Varisian countryside for long spells. This relatively rootless childhood has made Ami (as she is called by some) a lover of the outdoors, travel, and Varisia itself.
It was in a quiet moment during her coming of age celebration that Ami was first visited by the Goddess of love, beauty and the arts. Standing on cliffs overlooking the Varisian Gulf, Ami swayed softly to the music of nearby friends and family as before her a storm slowly grew on the wide expanse of water. Bold bolts of lightening and the low thrum of distant thunder combined with the sounds of laughing revelers and singing lovers to transport Ami into a state of sublime gratitude. Gratitude for life. Gratitude for art. Gratitude for the stunning beauty of the world and the priceless, ephemeral nature of people coming together in joy. In that moment Shelyn came to Ami with a simple calling: help me nurture these things, and make them part of every being’s life.
With that, Ami began learning in more detail the rites and teachings of Shelyn, focusing on two aspects of a personal art-worship: painting and dance. For the last several years, she has painted en plein aire and developed a style that focuses on atmospherics in landscapes. Her dance has evolved into a martial style that incorporates the glaive in telling the stories of Shelyn and her champions.
When she became a grown woman, Amismara set out to travel the world to bring joy, an appreciation for art, and a love of friendship and celebration to those she has met.
She is a full cleric of Shelyn, with the domains of Air and Good. She has planned for several years to visit Sandpoint during the Swallowtail Festival, both to participate in the good cheer and to make the event a subject of one of her paintings. She has been hoping for some dramatic clouds.
From the day of her birth the elders and good folk of a quiet Varisian village knew that Darsana was a unique girl. She definitely has a spark of the divine inside. Her power and devotion follow the procession of the seasons...and her moods and powers change along with them.
Darsana is deeply interested in Astronomy and Astology. She feels the pull of the stars inside of her. Every night she prays and meditates. Part of her ritual is to observe the heavens and measure out their movements with her portable observatory (a ring of sticks and stones). An elven mage aquaintance had told Darsana of troubling new developements which can be seen spelled out in the night sky....and Sandpoint is where they all point.
A young cleric, Darsan sees her calling as a duty to the community. She brings the spirit of the new season to the people...helping them to prepare for coming days and to celebrate festivals throughout the year. Swallowtail Festival is one such festival. If the festival occurs in the fall, Darsana will be especially excited to investigate. She may be inclined to pursue amourous exploits in Sandpoint as well- for Autumn is the most beautiful time of year and a time for lovers.... or perhaps it takes place at anothert time of year.
Spring: Gozreh: Growth, Weather
Summer: Sarenrae: Sunlight, Glory
Autumn: Shelyn: Love, Good
Winter: Pharasma: Death, Repose
She has an abiding interest in time pieces.
Alignment: Neutal Good
Holy Weapon: Spear (the Pointer)
Hi, just posting my effort.
Arlan Signet - Paladin:
As young a boy, Arlan proved rather shy and hesitant around the other local children, but always impeccably mannered and obedient to authority. At the age of twelve, he was sent away to the city of Taldar to study the order of Abadar in earnest. His exemplary dedication soon earned him entry into a small and highly select martial order based there. Over the years he was trained strenuously in the fighting arts and made to swear to a strict code of conduct that places the establishment of order and the furtherance of civilization as life’s primary goal.
Arlan has now returned to his homeland in time for the festival. He has changed greatly from the shy young boy he was into a formidable warrior full of confidence and purpose…and perhaps more than a little rigid and judgmental in his beliefs.
Wow, some great concepts so far! I'll give everyone another day or two to submit before making my choices. (Don't be afraid to submit more than one concept, either. It's all good.)
On a related note, is there anyone who, if they don't get chosen, would be willing to be on a "waiting list" in case one of our players drops out?
I can waitlist as well. And I can come up with a different concept, too if there is a "role hole" in the party.
In case you need something to go bash in the night:
Sha-Namar, a young Shoanti of the Shiikirri-Quah, had a problem. A wiser observer would have called it the boredom of youth, or a desire for the finer things he did not own, or even the echoes of his harsh life thus far. But Sha-Namar had focused all these vague possibilities into a single, clear certainty that better suited his temper.
“Galstak is my enemy, and he must be made to pay”, Sha-Namar would say.
Since the age of four, Sha-Namar had been renown in the Shiikirri-Quah for his temper. “A child should not suffer the loss of his parents so”, they would whisper to each other as one or another held the boy close during his many tantrums.
But the tantrums grew with the boy, becoming unseeing rages in the man. Elder Pikrak taught him much in how to control and focus these powers, but there always seemed to be some set of circumstances that would overwhelm reason and training.
Despite this, he gained his scars and became one of the people, and his strength and intelligence served him, and the Quah, well. He rode, and hunted, and fought, courted and feasted. Only rarely did the rages come then.
But come they did. And after one, as his eyes cleared, Sha-Namar saw Galstak’s blood dripping from his ceremonial klar into the trampled dirt around the campfire.
A wiser observer would have noted that Sha-Namar hadn’t solved his problem at all, but had created a few more instead.
Roto, do you have any more room? I would like to either run my half-elf ranger or perhaps bring out a new cleric if one is needed.
I am new to pathfinder but very eager.
I haven't picked anyone yet, so post your concepts and check back in a day or so.
A few years passed, and Zenaria gained in skill. She began to dream of marrying the other thief, going so far as to gather up some gold for when he'd ask her - gold that she later used to buy traveling equipment when she found out Varo had been sleeping with another woman. Disgusted by her 'lover' and all he stood for, Zenaria ran back to Sandpoint, hoping to get back in touch with her parents and old friends.
Despite her proclivities towards theft, Zenaria is a bit naive, not fully seeing the harm in the crimes she commits. At present, she's decided to get back to her 'roots', and see if she can make a living doing honest work. Unfortunately for her, she craves danger, so it shouldn't be too difficult to push her into an adventuring party.
I noticed there weren't any rogue types, so I figured I'd take a risk and apply with one. This would be my first time playing Pathfinder over email, but not my first time roleplaying online, so it shouldn't take much to get me up to speed. :)
I'd rather not be on a waiting list. I've waited all these years for a chance to start RotR at the beginning; I'd hate to give up on that now!
I'm fairly certain that with only a few minor tweaks, my character concept could easily be adapted for either a Paladin or a Monk, or even a barbarian if it came to that. I was thinking about suggesting another background idea but I'm pretty happy with what I've got. If it works for you, great! If not, I'll just keep my fingers crossed for a future opportunity!
This half-orc youngling was abandoned in front of small farm house on border of Sandpoint during night-time... The night passed slowly and the small bundle was keeping voice until it was slowly fading. The only person to live in this house was an middle-aged man, with no wife and kids and he was well known drunkard in Sandpoint. He was again in the town having fun and getting drunk.
The man got kicked out again, since he was always getting in fights during his time in town and he was well-known for his skills at brawls. Once again he tumbled back to home in dark hours, dark getting slowly brighter in horizont. When he reached his home, he saw a small bundle next to door and no voice. Upon bending down and looking more carefully, he saw a small baby, with white skin and mouth open... but he could not hear breathing.
A few second passed and then the man brains started to work. Grapping the child and running fast to nearest farm, where a newly married couple had moved in. The man was running faster than would be possible, like an animal. Upon reaching the cottage, he banged the door and yelled to people to open the door. A woman looked from window and asked what was the ruckus? Still banging and demanding to open, the door slowly started to open inwards and a figure of another person, man, appeared and was looking with careful eyes what was this.
Was it by the gods will or what, the small baby was able to survive thanks to fast reaction and help of the man and younger couple. In start he looked just like any normal human baby but when it got lighter, they noticed a small tusks and red eyes... half-orc child. Both parties were looking at child and though for a moment... and something happened to man, who had find the child. "I will take care of him" he just simple said and carefully took child with him.
Upon the years of coming, the small half-orc baby had grown bigger and upon the guidance of his "father" he had learned the necessary skills for hunting, farming... and fighting. Bare-handed and immense strenght, he occassionally could grapple and gush the air out of his dad although Algar would usually during this fight go into frenzy and foam appearing around his mouth... but his "father" had recognized this ability. He had a long time ago served as a militiant and had some fights with savage orcs. "A rager...hehe, no wonder this small bastard is getting stronger" he smiled to himself and was kind of proud of his "son" power. At least he would be able to take care of himself.
2 more years passed and his father had passed away... unknown to both, his liver had gave up due to his alcoholistic years and death fixed him during his sleep. Algar was unsure what to do but soon he remember that there was going to be a festival, Swallowtail and his dad had suggested to take him there and make use of Algars skills to earn some money and also to get him some experience. They had visited there for time to time and Algar knew some people... especially too well the towns sheriff since his father still had issues with him although he had changed his habits after starting to take care of Algar.
Packing his stuff, grapping the gloves, he left to town to see the festival... and promise to his dad he would not loose against anyone... since he had teaching of his dad along him
Thanks for submitting concepts and your interest in the game, everyone. It was hard to choose, but I've decided to go with Jelloarm's Sklar-Quah monk, Wander Weir's fighter and ubertripp's cleric of Shelyn. Please go to Yahoo Groups and join the group called rotrdk (Write your handle in the comment field so I know who you are).
Again, thanks to everyone else who submitted characters, too! It makes me wish I had the time to run more games. :)