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Welcome everyone! After my long hiatus I am looking to be settling back into some Play-by-Posts and have been doing prep work with the intention of running one. Namely, the Dragons Delve based off of dungeonaday.com.
This post is going to be quite wordy, so after a brief intro to what I am looking for, I am going to hide everything behind spoilers. I figure this will keep the post from looking too spammy and will allow those who are going to give submissions to find specific parts(character creation, location info, ect) without having to skim the whole thing again.
I figure I will accept character submissions for about a week to let everyone hammer out the details on their ideas whether they have the most time on the weekends or are like I am now and do this when they should be working. I’m primarily looking for a background/concept at the start. The more detailed and more fleshed out the character, the more likely they will be accepted with secondary consideration given to party balance.
I’m going to flesh out a -lot- of information below about the main area the party will be in, points of interest, variations of local worship, the dungeon itself, and of course character creation since I know that even though I’m not asking for a character sheet yet, a lot of people use the stats as a baseline to design their characters personality. I’m going to put up a ton of notes, but I’m going to try and keep it all surface information that could be gathered by hanging around town a few days and talking to the locals, so feel free to read it all or skim some areas and go in depth on others based on your characters interests(a cleric might have detailed knowledge of the local religions but no idea about the blacksmith for example).
Alright, so for the basics of what I’m looking for:
-This has the possibility of being a AP length game, which I know is a blessing and a curse on PbP, so I’m hoping to find players who are interested in a continued story. Right now there is content to take players up to levels 13-14 and more is being added all the time, not even counting things I will be adding myself. We can keep this game going as long as there is player interest.
-I’m going to be using the Pathfinder rules and the primary setting for the game will be the River Kingdoms in Golarion.
-This is a megadungeon, but that doesn’t mean its just hack and slash or dungeon crawl. There will be plenty of opportunities for social RP among townsfolk, intelligent dungeon dwellers, other adventurers as well as each other. Also, not all the action has to take place in a maze of corridors: caverns, the wilderness, even other locations are all considered part of the ‘dungeon’.
-Finally, I have found I really love using google-docs as a tool in PbP games, it allows me to share images, maps and documents with my players without opening them up to the rest of the world and allows both editing and roll backs of edits. I also make heavy use of the google-docs spreadsheet tool in combat and dungeon mapping, having the gridded interface lets players see the rooms layout in a tactical sense as well as receiving my description of it. What this means is that I will need an email address from each of the players(does not need to be posted on the board, I will post mine and you can just send me a message) so I can allow them access to the otherwise private documents. Any email address will allow you to have the documents shared with you, but I believe you need a gmail address to make edits yourself. This is encouraged since its nice to have players be able to position themselves on a battlemap or make notes on documents that the others can read.
Character Creation
Ability scores will be done by point buy to keep everyone on even footing, but you will have 25 points(epic fantasy) to spend.
Preference is given to the core races, but some of the more ‘standard’ non-core races, such as teifling, aasimar, goblinoid, ect may be considered if there is a good enough story to them. Remember though, the town nearest the dungeon is a small one in a dangerous wilderness. Those seen as ‘monsterous’ will be responded to accordingly and will have a much harder time with interaction or acceptance. Any race which is accepted that is more powerful than the core will be adjusted to be on par with them, either through the cost of one of the characters starting traits or through adjusted ability score bonuses.
Any of the classes from the Core Rules or the APG are acceptable. Until its a little closer to finished, I’m not looking to play test the Magus in a long term game at this time.
Skills and Feats will be done as normal, each character will also be allowed to select two traits of their choice, though remember the traits have to fall into different categories(a faith trait and a combat trait, for instance).
Each character begins with 200gp to spend on equipment.
I would strongly prefer not having any evil characters but your characters do not need to be particularly heroic. A mercenary party who is adventuring to find the legendary treasures of dragons delve is just as feasible to play in this campaign as the noble heroes who hope to vanquish the evils that have always seemed to find their way into the dungeon. Once I have seen people’s individual backgrounds I will give each of you 1-2 rumors your character would have heard about the dungeon that may have contributed to their desire to be here.
Location
The only nearby city is the small town of Brindenford which only holds on in this area due to being positioned on a major trade road known as the Queens Road and just downstream where two large rivers combine, making the town’s survival strongly in the interest of the lumber consortium. This trade is supplemented by a regular influx of adventurers, purchasing supplies for excursions into the Delve and somewhat more rarely returning with treasures to sell and trade.
The town itself has a population of about one thousand people, most of whom are human. While the mayor Saddanna is technically the law of the city, no one questions sherrif Mansan’s judgement and he makes many of the day to day decisions in the town and has recently taken over the gathering hall in town to serve as a barracks for a growing constabulary.
Brindenford boasts three taverns to serve both the locals and the frequent travelers that pass through. The Lost Shepherd is the most famous of the inns in town as the most frequented by adventurers prepared to set out to the nearby dungeon. The Bridgeman is the fanciest inn in town, popular among merchants passing through town and anyone in town with the coin for a good meal. The Water Stone could be considered a ‘dive bar’ in the town. Its usual clientele are the local miscreants as well as the poor loggers.
As well as taverns, Brindenford has several shops that are well stocked for a town its size. Fascher’s Supply is a general adventurers store, run by a would be explorer to keep those wishing to face the Delve stocked. Leaving the fixing of plows and shoeing of horses to several less skilled metal workers, Aesa’s Smithy covers the weapon and armor needs of anyone who needs a good defense. Finally, Queens Crafts is a large communal shop run by a number of craftsmen as well as their apprentices. Functioning much like a in building bazaar, nearly any sort of worked or trade good can be found here.
There are a number of temples in the town, while Brindenford isn’t a deeply religious community, their rough history and dangerous surroundings has led to nearly all its citizens paying some service to various gods. Nearly everyone respects Sarenrae and her clerics, the Temple of Sarenrae is easily the largest in town. Following it is the Temple of the River gods, a multi-god shrine where worshippers have tied their own pantheon of deities to the aspects of the river that provides them much of their livelihood. Kurgess holds a small shrine in the city, the loggers respecting his strength and competitions. Finally there is a crumbled shrine to the demi-goddess Glarias who has lost worship here since the duke was killed a century before.
The town itself doesn’t have a library to speak of, but it is home to a sage named Felstor who is known to be a great mind throughout the River Kingdoms and is considered to be the most knowledgeable man alive about the history of the region and the dungeon itself.
Well Known History
Millennia passed with the unnamed dungeon being regularly occupied and expanded as one set of inhabitants was either driven out by the next or simply vanished before the new occupants moved in.
Several thousand years ago the dungeon gained its name as Metterak settled into the dungeon. Known as the Prince of Dragons, Metterak is thought to be a spawn of Dahak himself. The dragon ravaged a wide area around the dungeon for centuries before suddenly going silent, its unknown if he is sleeping, has left the region or was finally slain by one of the many adventurers who hunted for him over the years. Legends persist that whatever his fate, he remains at the bottom of the dungeon. From his first appearance the dungeon has taken on his namesake, being referred to as the Dragon’s Delve.
About a millennia ago a coalition of some of the most powerful spellcasters in the world known as the Mages Four set up their home within the dungeon, using it as a fortress and a laboratory. People often speak of the wondrous items that were produced from the dungeon at this time, whether found or created.
Five hundred years ago, an adventuring party gathered an army of displaced Aldori, leading them to clear out the dungeon. Somehow their plans were altered and rather than clearing the area, a fortified tower was erected nearby and they began to conquer the local populace, enforcing a cruel reign. A powerful cleric of Sarenrae known as The Red Saint rose up and struck down the leader of the adventurers and squashed the army, securing the worship of the goddess in the region and leading to the local practice of her clerics being almost exclusively female.
Four hundred years ago a large red dragon begins to terrorize the region. After nearly fifty years a gold dragon is spotted circling nearby and is assumed to have driven him off as he isn’t seen again.
Finally, just over a century ago the lands around the Dragon’s Delve are granted to duke Chordille and his followers. Chordille Keep is erected over the site of the dungeon itself. The Duke is well liked by the locals but his reign is less than 30 years when troops from surrounding lands invade, killing the Duke and Duchess and razing the keep. No troops or ruler are left to maintain the area, leaving Brindenford and the surrounding area uncontested and referred to as ‘The Fallen Dutchy.’
Gods and Traditions
The local area holds belief for all the gods of Golarion but a number of gods hold specific sway in the region or are perceived in an unusual way.
Lamastu has a great deal of power in the region outside of the civilization of town. A powerful cult of monstrous humanoids and deformed humans known as the bestial horde worship her and often lead attacks on travelers or the town itself.
Kurgess is a minor god elsewhere in the world but his portfolio of strength and competition and freedom suit the local loggers very well. Most locals who worship him believe that he is the son of Cayden Cailen and Desna and the two greater dieties are worshiped at his shrine as well.
Glarias is a minor diety who has fallen out of favor in the region since the fall of the Duke of Chordille a century before. She is thought to be a vassal of Desna and represents the moon.
Sarenrae holds the largest following in the region with her primary clerics all being female though there is a small sect of men in her service known as the Brothers of Charity. The proximity of the dungeon and frequency of adventurers has colored the cleric’s views in some ways, while they give freely to the townsfolk and loggers in need, offering food and healing to those without, the church has a strict policy of using explorers ill gotten gains to fund their other charity works. Any strangers are charged fully for the church's wide variety of services.
The River Gods is a popular local belief system that is at least given lip service by most of those who work on the water in some way. Rather than finding new gods to worship, instead it is a different way of viewing a number of the greater gods that ties them to the river which provides their livelihood.
Nethys- Thought to be the source of the celestial river, Nethys is worshipped for his aspect as the creator. He is the patron of crafters as well as local mages and sages.
Gozreh- Worshipped for the chaotic nature and rapids of the water, Gozreh is worshipped for the clash of elements he represents.
Abadar and Erastil- According to the River Gods belief system, these two gods are thought to be twins, a reflection of each other from the surface of the river casting its opposite.
Norgorber- Serving as a warning in the pantheon as well as the patron of more unscrupulous followers, Norgorger represents the treachery of a rivers ability to be a slow flowing stream one moment and dangerous rapids the next.
Torag- The source of industry among the River Gods. Torag uses the strength of the river for his own ends, spinning mills and shapping steel and stone.
Players Intro to the Dungeon
A vast underground dungeon of labyrinths and catacombs, built perhaps by dwarves or perhaps by wizards--or maybe even dragons--Dragon's Delve is infamous among treasure-hunters and monster-slayers. Filled with deadly danger and ancient treasures, the dungeon offers both risk and reward in equal amounts, each growing more intense the deeper one goes. How much peril is worth risking for how much return? It's all up to those brave enough to try.
The tales of Dragon's Delve teem with contradictions and unbelievable anecdotes of impossible encounters and bizarre monstrosities. And yet, some of it all must be true. Do demonic cultists really use Dragon's Delve as a secret base? Is there truly some kind of ambient magic seeping up through the place? Did wizards of old hoard away powerful artifacts in the dungeon's vaults? Do gateways to remote lands and even other planes of existence really lie somewhere in Dragon's Delve? Does the prince of all dragonkind really hold court in the deepest reaches of the subterranean stronghold? No one knows for certain, but those that could find the answers to even some of these questions, or learn even a few of the dungeon's other secrets, might earn for themselves notoriety and wealth beyond imagining.
If they survive.
Dragon's Delve lies in a remote corner of Mivon in the River Kingdoms, that people once called the Duchy of Chordille. Yet a hundred years ago or so, the folk of the surrounding lands took up arms against Chordille. They razed the keep and slew the duke. It's hard now to find someone who knows the real reason why this happened. A few speak of evil intent on the part of the duke, who had plans for conquest. Others, however, say that the duke's actions were always benevolent, and that the conflict arose from misunderstanding, or perhaps deception on the part of some mysterious third party.
All that is known for certain is that folks call that remote area the Fallen Duchy. It boasts no ruler and little population. Wilderness reclaimed Chordille, and it is now a land of dangers.
People in Brindenford, a small town just two miles to the north of Dragon’s Delve, claim that murderous humanoid creatures prowl those ruins. Goblins? Orcs? Worse? No one seems to know for sure, and eyewitness accounts are few, and always contradictory. They also claim that the place is both haunted and cursed.
So many questions. So many secrets.
If you dare to brave this ancient dungeon, go well equipped. Be ready for anything. Keep your eyes open, and search everywhere. Any passage or door you find could lead to wealth enough for you to retire. Or it could lead to certain doom.
But that's what being an adventurer is all about, right? This isn't an undertaking that you'll finish in one foray or even a dozen. This is the challenge of a lifetime. As someone thrilled at the prospect of exploring the unknown, incredible challenges, and the promise of gold and magic, Dragon's Delve is exactly where you've always wanted to go.
This last bit doesn’t involve information the PCs may have access to or how their characters are created. However, early on in the life of the site, Monte Cook(the creator of dungeonaday) put up a post talking about how he looks at the design of megadungeons and the assumptions that you can normally(but not always) make regarding what to expect. Its an interesting read and I thought I would put it up for any players who are on the fence about whether a dungeon like this is for them. I scrubbed out a few spoilerish things, but there are still some great hypothetical examples.
Tenets of Dungeon Design
These, then, are my Ten Tenets of Dungeon Design.
1. Things get more dangerous as you go deeper. This is perhaps the keystone of old school dungeon design. As you get farther from civilization and into the wilderness, the more dangerous things get. So then, it just makes sense that the farther you get from the surface, the deadlier and stranger things get. In both cases, the farther you travel from the known to the unknown, the greater risk you take.
3rd Edition created a system that used Challenge Ratings to match relatively appropriate encounters to a given group of player characters (the key word being "relatively"). Matching monster toughness with PC toughness has always been in the game in one form or another, of course. But in dungeon design, this isn't that important, because the dungeon level dictates (or at least suggests) the difficulty of the encounters. Things too easy? Go down. Things getting pretty dicey? Go back up. Of course, finding the way up or down isn't always easy, but that's what makes it fun.
2. Treasure and other rewards are based on challenges overcome, not PC level. Again, 3rd Edition created a gauge to determine appropriate wealth for PCs of a given level. But if the challenge determines the rewards (either based on how hard it was to get to the treasure, or the guardians that must be defeated to obtain it), then this should take care of itself. It does mean that skillful--or perhaps lucky--player characters will be able to get more treasure than average ones, but that's a good thing, if you ask me.
Let's look at points 1 and 2 together for a moment. Basically, the assumption here is that players will need to manage risk versus reward. In a standard campaign, the DM controls the level of challenge for the players. But in a dungeon like this, the players can choose to seek encounters that might be too challenging for them in order to get bigger rewards, or stay and face easy challenges for low rewards. This is sometimes referred to as a "sandbox dungeon," because the DM just presents a sandbox in which the PCs to do whatever they want, and go wherever they want.
3. There's a happy medium that embraces both realism and fun. When discussing dungeons with people, you hear all kinds of things:
"Dungeons aren't realistic. I don't like them."
"Dungeons can be made to be realistic, but then they aren't much fun."
"Dungeons are terribly unrealistic, and we love that about them!"
Somewhere between the people who want realism (or at least, believability) and those who want wa-hoo fun, there is a broad middle ground where most people can find something to enjoy. That means neither a careful and detailed study of the dungeon's ecological balance nor a 30 foot long dragon in a 20-foot by 20-foot room with no way for it to exit. The dungeon's got to avoid obvious, glaring challenges to a player's suspension of disbelief while not bogging the text down in details that no one will pay any attention to anyway.
4. The dungeon is dynamic and huge--there's no clearing out the dungeon. This gets to the heart of the difference between what I call a megadungeon and a regular dungeon. (Some might call the former a dungeon and the latter a lair.) The point here is that regular dungeons are small--5, 10, even 30 rooms--and megadungeons are vast, with hundreds of rooms. The megadungeon is an environment, not just a locale. In many ways, it's like many joined dungeons, connected lairs, and so on. Kill a monster and another might wander in and take its place. The dungeon detailed here--called Dragon's Delve--is a megadungeon.
There's another point to be made here: the megadungeon may be more than just an underground complex. The megadungeon adventure might include a side trip to a wilderness locale, a gate to another plane, a teleporter to a mystical forest far away, and so on. It's all a part of the megadungeon, even when it's not entirely underground.
5. The player characters are not the first adventurers to explore this place, and they won't be the last. As they explore, your PCs will find the remains of previous adventurers. They will hear about other parties coming to the dungeon to test their own mettle. They may even encounter them while delving into the depths themselves. This contributes to the dynamism of the dungeon environment.
6. Although there are many entrances, and many ways to get from level to level, this dungeon is being presented so that the PCs are unlikely to get ahead of the design. This doesn't mean things are linear (because linear dungeons are bad dungeons). It just means that sometimes access to certain areas will be temporarily blocked. For example, a secret door may pass from one level to the next but be hidden in a way that makes it much more difficult to find on the higher floor.
7. The rules exist to facilitate the dungeon, not the other way around. Basically, what this means is, if I have a cool idea for an encounter and present it in a way that forces me to bend the rules, I'll do it. If a monster needs an extra feat in order to fulfill its role, I'll just give it the feat.
I know that the rules were designed the way they were for good reasons. (I mean, c'mon. Consider my design credits.) One of those reasons, of course, is consistency. So I'm not going to throw the rulebook out. But I also know that the rules can't be expected to work in every situation. Rather than resign myself to accepting the occasional Encounter Level based on the formula that doesn't feel quite right, the value of a treasure that seems inappropriate to the specific situation, or the monster whose stats don't allow him to do what he needs to do in a given encounter, I'm going to change them. The key here is that the design needs to fit the specific situation, and the rules were written with general situations in mind. In this dungeon, DCs will fit the situation, even if they don't match the book 100% every time. Encounters will be designed to work the way they need to work for the most fun for all. This is why an actual human being serves as a game designer (or a DM) rather than a computer.
8. Magic gets stronger the deeper you go. This is related to point #1, but it's worth mentioning again. The farther you get from the surface, the more mysterious and strange things become. This means that magical tricks and traps get more powerful, encounter areas get weirder and wilder, ancient treasures are better preserved, and sorcerous and otherworldly creatures are more at home. Basically, the deeper you go, the less the place seems like the undercroft of some quasi-medieval keep and more like a unique, subterranean fantasy environment all its own. And the best part? This doesn't just fit with dungeon design philosophy, but also with the backstory behind Dragon's Delve. There's a reason why there are weird and challenging magical phenomena in the dungeon, and why they occur in greater numbers the farther down you delve.
9. Food is fairly abundant in the dungeon. If you don't mind the taste of rat. The point here is that the dungeon's full of life--rats, bats, insects, and so on. Just because it's not given stats and isn't a threat to the PCs doesn't mean it's not there. And so all the carnivores in the dungeon have enough to get by. Not that they wouldn't mind a tasty treat in the form of an adventurer or two.
10. Every level or sublevel has its own unique character. This is another old school trope and, I must admit, one that I love. The level's character might be expressed in similar inhabitants, a related purpose for the chambers, or a theme of some kind. The prison level. The submerged level. The demon lord's level.
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I appreciate the show of interest. I know I put up a lot of information, but if you have any questions, need clarity on anything, or just want to bounce some ideas off me about your character ideas I'll be happy to answer.
I like the style of adventure, and am willing to accept any role. How much time do we have to make a character concept?
I am extremely interested in getting a piece of this action. I am stationed on Okinawa and have had a hard time finding a game so this is optimal for my situation. Are you at all interested in allowing a rifle toting ranger or cavalier into the game using Monte Cook's firearm rules? I have a halfling or gnome that I would love to use, but if not I can fill his place with another character I have. If you have concerns about the firearms thing I think we can work it into the story and you like the reason for their use.
Noting my tentative interest (and dotting). I've been wanting to play a ranger something fierce for... quite a while now and reading the APG stuff only makes that craving worse. If my imagination latches on to something while I'm reading I may go in an entirely different direction, though.
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I like the style of adventure, and am willing to accept any role. How much time do we have to make a character concept?
I figure I will give people a week to submit ideas and will select a final roster before the end of next week. Take your time to flesh out what would be fun for you to play and feel free to bounce ideas off me to see how they would fit in the setting.
I am extremely interested in getting a piece of this action. I am stationed on Okinawa and have had a hard time finding a game so this is optimal for my situation. Are you at all interested in allowing a rifle toting ranger or cavalier into the game using Monte Cook's firearm rules? I have a halfling or gnome that I would love to use, but if not I can fill his place with another character I have. If you have concerns about the firearms thing I think we can work it into the story and you like the reason for their use.
Firearms have a place in the world and I have no problem having a character whose concept is based around them. I haven't read whichever Monte book had his firearms rules in it, but the default campaign setting for Golarion had firearm rules in it as well. They were designed for 3.5 but I don't see anything about them that would require changing. I would include both the exploding dice and misfire rules to give them a different feel and potential for greater damage but a chance for failure at the same time.
I believe they brought firearms up into the adventurers armory book, but I don't have it handy tonight so I'm not positive and will check in the morning for you. I think the biggest setback you are going to find in this regard is the price of the weapons, but if its a good character and important for your build we can find ways to work around that. There are several traits that provide a good deal of extra cash, and I may be willing to bend the costs some to fit the character since the weapons aren't much different power-wise from other ranged weapons.
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Noting my tentative interest (and dotting). I've been wanting to play a ranger something fierce for... quite a while now and reading the APG stuff only makes that craving worse. If my imagination latches on to something while I'm reading I may go in an entirely different direction, though.
Let me know whatever ideas may jump out into your head. I love helping develop concepts and see the process going on in people's heads behind them.
I am interested in joining this adventure, and am toying with the idea of a barbarian... If I remember correctly the nearest barbarians to the River Kingdoms are the Kellid tribesman in Numeria. Time to break out the campaign setting to refresh on Numeria(I can't remember much).
Firearms have a place in the world and I have no problem having a character whose concept is based around them. I haven't read whichever Monte book had his firearms rules in it, but the default campaign setting for Golarion had firearm rules in it as well. They were designed for 3.5 but I don't see anything about them that would require changing. I would include both the exploding dice and misfire rules to give them a different feel and potential for greater damage but a chance for failure at the same time.
I believe they brought firearms up into the adventurers armory book, but I don't have it handy tonight so I'm not positive and will check in the morning for you. I think the biggest setback you are going to find in this regard is the price of the weapons, but if its a good character and important for your build we can find ways to work around that. There are several traits that provide a good deal of extra cash, and I may be willing to bend the costs some to fit the character since the weapons aren't much different power-wise from other ranged weapons.
Sweet. If they are already available in the Pathfinder rules, I'd rather use them for the sake of continuity. Where do you want us to post our characters? Here on this thread or emailed to you?
Here is my first character pitch.
Halfling Ranger (Skirmisher from APG).
Firearms (sub for crossbow style) fighting style.
Stats: 10,18,13,14,14,12
Traits: Freedom Fighter, Rich Parents (if needed to pay for guns high price)
Outrider taken in place of Sure-footed.
Summary of Background
Developed a deep hatred of slavery while studying at university after a lecture given on freedom by a cleric of Cayden Cailean.
Recruited by the 5th Royal Skirmishers upon graduation.
Parents did not agree with their son engaging in such a pursuit,but fronted money to ensure he was properly outfitted.
Appearance
Larger framed than most halflings, charming smile, mutton chops,wears a forest green uniform.
Will complete when picked or if needed for selection. If needs be, I can easily switch to a Cavalier Gnome or Halfling. Have character worked up that is less reliant upon firearm, but is still an integral part of character make-up.
I'd be interested; I was enjoying the previous incarnation where you briefly stepped into GM role after the original GM disappeared.
I'd probably go with an oracle again.
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Here's my first pitch:
Ralleck 'Stones' Kalonnor
Born to a wealthy Chelaxian noble family, Ralleck was a difficult youth. He was brought up in luxury, with nothing to coral his spirited impetuance. They lived in Eleder, Capital of Sargova.
When Ralleck turned nine, his father was appointed Ambassador of Sargova to Taldor. The family, along with slaves and helpers, set sail toward their new home. During the voyage, their vessel was accosted by pirates a sunk. Only Rallek and a Mwangi slave child named Buo-utan (aged 3) survived, clinging to an empty barrel for five days.
They made shore near the city of Augustana, in Western Andoran. There, they survived by wits and guile, hiding in the outskirts of the city and stealing what they could.
On one of their foraging expeditions, they went into a temple to see what they could gather, and were caught by the presiding cleric, a Taldan human named Brother Eudox. Eudox, a cleric of Kurgess (God of Self-sacrifice and luck) took the boys in, and adopted them as his own.
The 'Brothers' excelled under the guidance of Brother Eudox. Ralleck shed his impetuousness for spiritualness, his self-rightousness evolved to community mindedness, and his young frame transformed into a young man.
He was commissioned as Paladin-Hospitaller of the Church of Kurgess, and his brother, Bao-utan was refining his studies as a wonderful singer and poet.
**** I was thinking of playing him not as a Haughty 'I am above all' Paladin, but instead a freethinking moral 'guide', someone who will use persuasion to help his friends become more morally influenced***
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 15
***Full sheet to follow after approval***
I'm interested, so here's my go at it:
Errigal DiMidio: A half-elf fighter(and rogue if he lives long enough) with skills in languages, trap finding/disabling and general dungeoneering. His preferred weapon in a fight is the scorpion whip.
Background:
Errigal was born the bastard son of a powerful slave merchant of the Inner Sea. The human Ramsus DiMidio is his father. His mother was one of Ramsus' servants, an elven woman named Amalia.
As soon as he was able, Errigal was enlisted to help man the slave ship crews of Ramsus as they plied the Inner Sea. Errigal grew strong and hearty, learning how to sail a ship and how to weild a whip.
In between ship raids at port in Sothis, Errigal was given the best schooling available and he grew interested in ancient civilizations and ruins, imagining himself delving into trap laden tombs and enriching himself in the process.
During his study times, a halfling slave named Riss befriended Errigal and this friendship changed Errigal's outlook on life. From then on, Errigal found the idea of slavery repulsive and Errigal grew depressed. Finally, Errigal helped free Riss from his life of slavery and ran off to start a new life in the River Kingdoms - far from his father's vengeful eye and ready to enjoy life and follow his dreams.
Buckwell Burrowholm
C/N Male Gnome
Oracle of Flames
As a child Buckwell always had a fascination with fire. He would stare for hours at the flames in the families hearth. This fascination soon took a destructive turn and he was constantly gvetting into trouble around the village.
One day Bucky and a group of friends broke into an abandoned building scheduled for demolition. The boys started a small fire in the building and kept adding more and more wood until the fire grew out of control.
The other children ran out of the building but Buckwell stood transfixed by the growing conflagration. Soon it was too late for him to escape. As the building began to collapse Buckwell became trapped when a flaming beam crashed down on top of him crushing his leg and pinning him to the ground.
Rescuers soon arrived and lifted the burning log off the trapped boy. Miracuosly, except for a broken leg, Buckwell was unhurt. Taken to the Sarenrae temple the local priest was mystified when no amount of healing, magical or mundane, would repair the broken limb.
The head priest of the temple believed that, due to his unlikely survival in the burning building, Buckwell had somehow been touched by the Goddess. In exchange for no charges being brought against him the temple agreed to accept responsibility for him and to train Buckwell for the priesthood. It soon became apparent that although Buckwell was learning to control his powers that the source of those powers were not the same as the other priests.
As Buckwell studied at the temple he soon learned how to develope and strengthen his powers, even developing the ability to breathe fire. Recently Bucky has become bored with studying at the temple and is longing to get out and explore the world around him.
I like this one will submit a ranger if that's cool
Missed the edit deadline by two minutes.
Ama Freewater:
Sometimes it is just the aesthetic of something that draws someone in, and captures their attention for all time. While he had not been especially single-minded as a child, he can still remember the ring of steel on steel as he watched a man seemingly stop a sword with his bare fist. Awestruck, he later approached the man with the inquisitiveness of a child, to ask how he managed such a feat. In the moment that he would later realize crystallized his life, the man revealed the most beautifully wrought objects he had ever seen.
A blacksmith's son, he did not recognize the metal or the make, and commented such to the man, expounding a bit on how he knew. The man chuckled, impressed that someone so young would know so much, and gave him one of his own.
'One of an older pair I have had since I was little older than you', he had replied, placing the object into Ama's hands. "I keep the pair simply for sentimental value, but perhaps it is right that I pass one on."
Metal held secrets, he knew. So he set himself towards understanding the single knuckle that had been given to him, and found more than he ever knew. Encouraged, he continued, and that path has led him to where he was currently.
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Alright, we've had a rush of interest since I first posted this, so I'm going to start putting up what everyone has pitched to me along with a one line summary if its more than just a class or race. I figure this will help others, seeing what is already being bounced around, as well as serving as notes for me.
Bilbo Bang-Bang: Halfling Ranger(open to gnome and cavalier)- Rich kid with anti-slavery bent, firearms marksmen and skirmisher.
ZebulonXenos: Ranger(to be fleshed out later)
Jadd: Kellid Barbarian from Numeria(to be expanded upon)
Wilhem: Dwarven Fighter- Two handed weapons(detailed later)
Wolf-Sark: Dwarven Oracle(battle)- Gruff and combat focused
BraxtheSage: Human Paladin(willing to play arcane)- Rich youth shipwrecked, taken in by Church of Kurgess, seeks to encourage moral growth.
Eric Tillemans: Half-elf Fighter/rogue- Served on slave ships developing a skill with the whip, befriended a slave and left the old life.
Vanulf Wulfson: Gnome Oracle(flames)- Overbuilt a fire, saved by clerics of Sarenrae and taken in, obvious powers are not like theirs.
Fatty: Ranger(to be fleshed out)
Adrian Granberg: Wizard(or other arcane)
Me'mori: Human Monk- Blacksmith son, saw a man training with single knuckle and became interested. Given a pair he has trained single mindedly.
Possible tie-in between my halfling, Eric's reformed slaver, and return to morals paladin could be interesting from a story development standpoint. Especially since the the elf's buddy was a halfling, perhaps a relative.
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Sorry, I missed the time to edit my original post.
Here is the first draft of my character idea. Basics are human female, fighter, polearm master. Speaking of which, if my character is accepted, would you allow the Fauchard from the Classic Horror's Revised book? I can provide the stats if you don't have it.
One night, while I was travelling along a caravan route in the River Kingdoms, the night swiftly approached and I found myself standing at a crossroads. At first I thought I was alone but a campfire was already burning brightly as I rounded the corner of a hill. At this campfire was a cloaked and hooded figure, their camp already setup with tent and a roasting spit that held several rabbits on its ends. Obviously this was a person of long campaigning who had grown accustomed to living in the wilds of this world. With a deep breath I stepped up to this person with a hand on my sword hilt. At first the stranger didn’t seem to notice me at all. Merely staring into the fire pit, this person was obviously deep in thought over some matter that deeply troubled him (her?).
However, without any indication that the person had noticed me at all, an oddly shaped spear was pointed in my direction in the blink of an eye.
“State your intentions Sir, friend or foe?”
The voice that emanated from that hood was steady, with a soft lilting accent to it that indicated knowledge in the Elven languages, and most distinctly feminine.
Keeping my hands on my sword hilt I responded with the same weary tone, “I am neither, merely a travelling bard of these lands. I would very much like the warmth of a good fire this night. I have my own rations and will not strain your hospitality, should you give it.”
The woman nodded her head and set the strange spear down, “A bard huh? You may sit, and spare your rations, there is rabbit enough here for two.”
Letting go of my sword, I sat myself down on a cold soft patch of dirt near the fire and pulled out my notebook, “Perhaps you would like to tell me your story? That spear you carry is passing strange, surely there is a story behind it?”
The woman pulled back her hood, revealing a cascade of light blonde hair braided down to her shoulders in the back and two smaller braids framing her face. Her eyes were a dark blue that seemed to glow faintly by the firelight. A long jagged scar ran up her left cheek, connecting to a bundle of scar tissue at the temple of her eye. The scar stretched as she smiled at me, it was slightly unsettling to see such an otherwise beautiful woman with such a deformity, but it did not detract from her appearance too greatly. Her shoulders and arms were well corded with muscle and she had the build of a woman martially trained.
“You want to hear a story huh? One about my spear?” and she laughed as she picked up the spear again, holding it in her lap, “Have I got a story for you. Dragon’s Delve; that is the inscription I found on this spear. A place rumored to be wondrous and filled with treasure. But make no mistake, it is not a place of peace and love, they say it’s an endless maze of twisting corridors and damp caves, that it’s dangerous. That only a fool would search for something of value there. Then, perhaps I am a fool. But do not be fooled by what Dragon’s Delve appears to be. There is a legend that many people tell.”
Here the woman paused for a moment as she picked turned the rabbits on the spit.
“The legend of Dragon’s Delve. My father would always go on about the Delve, even with his dying breath. Amazing magical artifacts, infinite wealth, fame, power, and women. So you can understand why some little child who hears the stories would grow up wishing to see this place. Well, I have been travelling towards there these past few months. And I am nearly there. I can feel the place calling to me. This spear wishes to return to its home, and I will take it there and learn why it exists and why it was taken from Dragon’s Delve.”
I found myself enthralled by this woman’s tale, so much so that I had forgotten to write it down as I was hearing it.
“That is quite the tale Miss. I do hope it ends well for you. Are the rabbits done? Listening to your story has worked up quite an appetite for me.”
The woman laughed again as she pulled the rabbits off the spit, handing me one of the cooked meats to begin eating, “Yes they are done. Perhaps you would join me in heading down to Dragon’s Delve? I am sure there are many tales that would interest a man such as you.”
Shaking my head, I responded, “I am afraid not, my road takes me on other paths. The dark caverns of the world are not for me to record. But I would dearly love to hear of your adventures in this Dragon’s Delve if we should ever meet again.”
After a short time eating and conversing on other matters the woman stood up and moved towards her tent, weariness was writ large on her features as she turned with one last look at me.
“If you should be gone before I wake up tomorrow, then I bid you well wishes and a long life.”
Jimble Tricklegear
Gnome Cavalier (order of the dragon)
Summary
A gnome cavalry member got caught in dimensional rift taking him from a roughly civil war-ish level of gearpunk technology world and deposited him in the Glorian reality.
Rides a clockwork war dog or ostrich, created by a cleric of Brigh, which acts an avatar for fallen mount’s soul (for flavor stats need not be different from beastiary ), uses firearms, lance(with standard), and sabre (scimitar) .
Learned of the “Bleaching” that afflicts gnomes of Glorian and now seeks to stave off the wasting by teaching gnomes about his “advanced engineering/tech” equipment.
I would be happy to use this guy in place of the ranger in order to open up the class for someone else.
Once I realized this was set in the River Kingdoms, I actually realized I had an old concept I could tweak. As an added bonus it's one of those characters I really wanted to play but that seems to be cursed.
Karth Maheto
Half-Orc Ranger ('switch hitter'; in combat he fires a few arrows to soften things up then switches to a greatsword. Or maybe a hammer. Something two-handed, anyway.)
Karth was born to inauspicious circumstances, and his earliest memories are of a Kellid man he called his father. This man, Barek, was a hunter, trapper, and when opportune, a river pirate. He plied these trades between Sevenarches and Daggermark in the River Kingdoms, assisted by a band of low men and women Karth knew as his 'neighbors', and were the closest thing he had to a family.
His youth was spent learning to hunt, trap, and eventually take up bow and blade against the denizens of the area, be they animal, magical beast, fey, or man. As he grew older, he would occasionally be pressed into joining raids on caravans. Sometimes, between his own intimidating mien and the heavily armed band, these confrontations ended with minimal bloodshed. When things went poorly, however, it always left a terrible lump in his stomach. This lack of guts brought both pity and scorn from his family.
Barek made known in no uncertain terms that Karth would ship up or ship out, and the half-orc chose the latter. He has since put his talents as a woodsman, scout, and guard to use for the same people he once waylaid, trying to figure out where to go from here.
Motivation for entering the dungeon would probably be a bit more mercenary, but I wanted to play up a bit of him feeling he needs to atone for his 'family's' sins, so it might become more altruistic given time.
The League had beat them there. The camp was destroyed and there were dead sprawled about everywhere. All of Kend’s kinsmen who were not on the raid were with the ancestors, the clan’s future was dead. The Nightfangs had paid for their rashness. Two weeks before the war party of sixty had set out to avenge one of their own, killed by a Technic sorcerer. In their minds they believed that the time had come to show the League that they had no true power over the tribes. But in their rashness they ambushed the enemy’s camp the same night they came across it. There was not one, but four of the League there, and the metal men who did their bidding. The battle was vicious, and though the Nightfangs overcame the guards, one of the sorcerers escaped. While they attacked they had tried to hide their clan affiliation but it seemed the magicians had mystical means to identify them.
After the dead were gifted to the funeral pyres the Chief called for everyone to gather, there were important matters to discuss. Kend as young as he was kept out of the ensuing debate, the senior warriors were torn. All wanted vengeance, most knew that the survivors didn’t have the power to even inconvenience the League, and a few did not care. But Kend observed as the Chief talked sense into his fellow clansmen and the plans for retribution were cut down one by one with the Chiefs wisdom and logic. Eventually the Chief stood before all the remaining Nightfangs and spoke;
“We all grieve for our fallen brethren, we all want to strike down those who are responsible for their deaths, and we all know we do not have the strength. Here in these lands the League holds too much power, so we must go abroad. We will find the strength we need in weapons, allies, and artifacts and build our power so that we can punish the League for what they have done. Ten winters from now we will gather here with all the might we have acquired and then challenge the sorcerers that think they have already won. Brothers, embrace the darkness’s shelter and let the night grant you strength.”
The Nightfangs went separate ways, towards each of the compass points. Kend joined the warriors heading south into the River Kingdoms, but upon crossing the border set off alone. Just like all the rest, he vowed to grow stronger and come back with all he could. After two years of roaming, working as a going from job to job, the realization came that the tedium of a job could not bring about the rewards he sought. Stories he had heard in taverns implied there were great hoards of treasure and magic items just waiting for adventurer’s to take scattered everywhere about the world, if they could overcome the hazards. The closest known place, Dragon’s Delve, promised to be a challenge. For if the monsters and hazards were still there, then so might be a reward worth his time.
Level 1 Barbarian(Superstitious) to start out, heading towards the Prestige Class Shadow Dancer. Might throw a level or two of fighter into the mix.
I was wondering if I could use the Alternate Racial trait Heart of the Fields from the human section of the APG?
I am liking the dynamic that could be created amongst several of the pitched characters. Even if I don't get picked up this round, I think that there will be a good mesh of backgrounds here. A lot of reformed criminals and change off heart stories. If there are too many characters from wealthy families, I will change the back story on my halfling to something that jives a bit more with the military side of things to explain having a gun early on.
Here is the full back story for my abolitionist,John Brown-esque Halfling skirmisher.
As the years wore on Regi became less enthused by philosophy and more intrigued by engineering as it pertained to the royal gun works. One of Regi’s most supportive professors had always been the gnome Tazzle Broomsthich, head of gunsmith’s guild. Regi often accompanied Tazzle to remote woodland test sites, as the dean was always rather nervous about gnomes and their inventions. With Regi’s natural agility, knack for shooting, and excellent field craft he was always happy to assist Tazzle with any new firearm he might be tinkering with.
Reports of slavers roaming the hills had begun to filter about the school, but the pair paid little attention to such things as there were always “reports” of this or that threat being nearby. As was the norm for their field test they mounted up Regi’s hulking bull mastiff, Stanley and road out into the country side. While Tazzle prepared what he called “cartridges” for testing Regi ventured out to forage for some fresh mushrooms for the soup pot.
It was not long before Regi heard the loud boom of gunpowder. “That gnome is going kill himself one of these days” he thought to himself, remembering Tazzle’s blackened face the last time they were out. Expecting to find his friend sooty and laughing, Regi headed back toward camp. As he neared he noticed the forest was near silent. The icy hand of concern gripped is heart as he took a more cautious approach.
Easing up to a large oak, Regi peered out into the clearing which held their camp. Instead of seeing his friend he found the body of an ogre. After becoming certain no threats remained in the area, Regi ventured forth searching the area for any clue as to what may come of his dear friend and mentor. Moving toward the ogre, Regi could still see the smoke rising from cavern Tazzle’s bullet had carved in its forehead. “Guess you cartridges worked” he chuckled aloud. Upon completing his search of the area Regi found Tazzle’s rifle lying nearby and information connecting the ogre to the band of slavers that had been reported in the area. Gathering up his gear, Regi mounted Stanley and head toward the location marked on the ogre’s map, a place called Dragon’s Delve.
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I'm definitely enjoying reading all the backgrounds and seeing the ways they have potential to tie together myself. We're only two days in and I've had a lot of great submissions so far. Over the next couple days I'll likely ask some of you questions about different aspects of your characters about things that I might just find interesting or tie better into the delve.
My updated list of submissions is below:
Kiradia: Human Fighter- Pole-arm fighter, guarded but friendly. Following her father's stories and an inscription on her favored weapon.
Bilbo Bang-Bang: Halfling Ranger(open to gnome and cavalier)- Rich kid with anti-slavery bent, firearms marksmen and skirmisher. Searching for his lost master with evidence he's been taken to the delve.
ZebulonXenos: Ranger(mixed weapons)- Born to bandits, learned trapping and raiding but didn't have the stomach for the latter. Seeking to earn coin but hoping to atone.
Jadd: Human Barbarian(superstitious)- Lost almost all his tribe but a few warriors. Remaining tribe split up to gather strength and treasures that would allow them vengeance.
Wilhem: Dwarven Fighter- Two handed weapons(detailed later)
Wolf-Sark: Dwarven Oracle(battle)- Gruff and combat focused
BraxtheSage: Human Paladin(hospitaler)(willing to play arcane)- Rich youth shipwrecked, taken in by Church of Kurgess, seeks to encourage moral growth.
Eric Tillemans: Half-elf Fighter/rogue- Served on slave ships developing a skill with the whip, befriended a slave and left the old life.
Vanulf Wulfson: Gnome Oracle(flames)- Overbuilt a fire, saved by clerics of Sarenrae and taken in, obvious powers are not like theirs.
Fatty: Ranger(to be fleshed out)
Adrian Granberg: Wizard(or other arcane)
Me'mori: Human Monk- Blacksmith son, saw a man training with single knuckle and became interested. Given a pair he has trained single mindedly.
Actually, it looks like there are tons of great submissions, so I'll bow out. Enjoy, everyone!
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Zeldin Tarr is a human sorcerer. He is a character that I very much liked playing in an earlier pbp and has been tweaked to work here. For what it is worth I can provide a reference from my former GM that I not only posted regularly but worked well with others. :)
In contrast to the great care he seems to take in decorating his body; his clothing seems to have function as its first directive. He tends toward things that allow easy movement. The spear is his weapon of choice.
He is intensely curious, and interested in the habits and attitudes of others. He can appear aloof, but once he has decided you are a friend he will stop at nothing to aid you.
Zeldin does not know who his parents are/were. His early memories are of being raised in an orphanage. As he approached puberty he found that when he was in a state of emotion, either good or bad, unnatural things would happen near him. Often times electricity would discharge from his body. The staff was very understanding and even had someone try to help him understand what was going on, but Zeldin did not want to understand. He wanted to fit in, and have friends. This "episodes" grew in frequency and intensity and culminated in severely hurting another teen at the orphanage. (In fact, it was the occasion of his first kiss. He had a spontaneous discharge from his lips that badly burned the girl he was with.)
Ashamed at his lack of self control, and worried that he would be severely punished for what he had done, he got the girl help and then grabbed his limited belongings and fled.
Zeldin lived for nearly 10 years on the streets or edges of civilization, begging, and doing odd jobs. He tried at all times to avoid connections with others, because he did not want to harm anyone else. When people started getting close to him emotionally, he would simply move on.
His running brought eventually brought him to the town of Brindenford. He was about 25 and tired of running and hiding. He stopped trying to suppress the magic in his blood and decided to try to control it instead. To this end, he brought his meager savings to a retired wizard named Piven, and asked to be trained. Piven had foreseen the contact with Zeldin and accepted him as an apprentice despite being several years older than even the most senior of his apprentices. His first duties were menial and were used to teach obedience. Zeldin cooked and cleaned, and while he chaffed at being told what to do, he was also grateful for a chance to finally learn about his magic.
Something happened between those two. Piven, who generally had little patience for his young apprentices, and Zeldin who kept everyone at arms length found that they had made a sound friendship.
After several years of basic support tasks, Piven began trying to teach him from a spell book. Zeldin had already found short cuts to much of what his master was trying to teach him. Other things he could understand mechanically, but struggled to actually do. Piven watched the frustration of his student and determined that he would likely never be a wizard, and that while he had taught Zeldin self control and self respect, he would not be able to teach him about his gift.
Finally Piven came to Zeldin and told him about the Dragon's Delve, and suggested that he might best learn to use his power by the practical application the dungeon offered. It would be a chance for Zeldin to put his skills to use. To start him off correctly, Piven had saved Zeldin's "admission fee" from his apprenticeship, and added to it money that he would have paid to have the menial work done, and then some money further, simply in honor of their friendship. This purse was Zeldin's, to start him out right in his new life.
Tarlane, please feel free to use Piven, the girl Zeldin burned (maybe she is carrying a torch, maybe she wants revenge) or even his parent(s) to further the story.
Thank you for your consideration. A full character will be ready for your inspection within 2 hours. If there are any character tweaks you would like to see I am open to that as well.
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Thank you for the heads up, Hogarth and it was good to see you again.
Sigil, I definitely enjoyed the background and the detail you put into it. The only change I would make to it is a really minor cosmetic one and that is changing the wizard's name from Pither to Piven. Thats simply because I already have an NPC who fits what you were looking for very closely and its much easier to change the name here than in the spots he is referenced in my notes for the future.
Sigil, Notes on Piven
I'm planning on going through all of the people who have submitted backgrounds today and make some notes like this to fit them into their arrival in the area a bit more fully. I know I put up a flood of information, but there is always so much more and hopefully using some of it can make everyone feel they have a place there even if as new arrivals.
Tarlane, I am glad you approve. References to Pither have been changed to Piven, though I must remark on the coincidence of us choosing such similar names.
A full character is up now, with the exception of a shopping trip.
One question
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Zeldin,
I don't have any problem with the change you proposed, both energy types seem equally rare and defended against and it definitely fits with a bronze dragon bloodline.
And the similarity in the names is actually why I asked you to change it, if they were quite different whenever I hit the name in my notes I'd automatically change it in my head, but with them being so close I would have always been mixing the two up.
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Alright, I think I've drummed up a few questions and feedback for all the characters that have submitted back stories so far. A lot of these are really good so I'm looking for ways that people fit with each other, the area and the dungeon itself to try and help narrow it down a little bit. Its going to be hard to trim down the roster.
Bilbo Bang-Bang
We may need to sort things out location-wise for your backstory as well, Alkenstar is in the Mana Waste near the Mwangi Expanse, which means that not only is it -really- far away but its also across an ocean from the River Kingdoms. Slavers going that far to collect hostages doesn't make much sense, but it could be made to fit if your parents sent you to one of the closer by universities. Taldor has one of the biggest schools in the world in Oppara and you could have met the gnome there. You could even have been feasably working with him out of the River Kingdoms since it is much more lawless there and explosions are much less likely to bring down some sort of government body.
BraxtheSage
Also, picking Kurgess as your god is very interesting since there is a temple devoted to him in the town(one of the largest), though it is mostly focused on his aspects of Strength and Competition. If you think it would be some connection to this that would have brought you here we can develop that.
Eric Tillemans
He saved his friend from slavery but is his mother still a servant? Does he have any connection to her still or would that risk the wrath of his father?
Vanulf Wulfson
If he isn't from the town what is it that brought him here? Either way, what would motivate him to tackle the Delve? Money, fame, knowledge, ect?
Me'mori
Kiradia
Her father spoke of the riches, fame, power and artifacts that fill the dungeon, what is it that attracts her to explore it?
Where did her father come by the knowledge and the spear? Was he an adventurer who had entered the Delve and survived? A collector of legends? Simply someone who came by the spear somehow and thought to learn of its namesake?
Where is she from originally? Was she part of a military there, an adventurer, or did she learn her skills from her father?
ZebulonXenos
He has obviously covered a lot of the River Kingdoms in his career, is this his first time in Brindenford? Does he already know his way around the city and if so, would the locals possibly know him as a brigand or as a guard/woodsman?
He chose to leave, but how does his father feel about the departure? Is he hurt or might there be conflict if they crossed paths again?
Jadd
You chose superstitious as a template for Kend, is this because of his tribes reliance on darkness and the mechanical aspects of the traits, or because of some genuine superstitions he holds?
How has coming from Numeria colored your characters views? He obviously hates the League but does he distrust technology in general?
Is his plan to amass all the power he can in the time he has, or will there be a point where risk isn't worth the reward? In other words, does your character have an end goal in mind or will he keep looking for more even as the dangers increase to where he may have to worry he won't return to bring the prizes to his clan? Your character seems to have something driving him that is more important than his own life but he needs to survive to complete it. Its a very interesting contrast, I just am curious if there is a point where he would feel he had what his people needed.
Sigil
Do you have any idea where Zeldin may have come from originally? Is he relatively local or did his wanderings take him from another kingdom?
He obviously doesn't know his parents, but have you given any consideration to how his bloodline came to be? Is there a dragon somewhere far back in his ancestory? Were his parents powerful sorcerors of their own right? What happened to them that he was adopted?
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Thank you for considering my character further. I hope I have answered your questions accurately and if you have any more to ask please let me know.
You did a lot with your characters backstory to tie her to the Delve already, so most of my questions are about her history.
Her father spoke of the riches, fame, power and artifacts that fill the dungeon, what is it that attracts her to explore it?
I believe this character would be attracted to the dungeon simply because of the spear and the stories. Having grown up always hearing about Dragon’s Devle it would hold a special place in her heart that would be hard to ignore. It would feel like destiny to her to go back to the place that made her father locally famous. She would be following in her father’s footsteps. In much the same way many people do before they learn to develop their own purpose in life.
Where did her father come by the knowledge and the spear? Was he an adventurer who had entered the Delve and survived? A collector of legends? Simply someone who came by the spear somehow and thought to learn of its namesake?
Her father would be a local legend among his village. Having been an adventurer in his youth and going down to the top most layers of Dragon’s Delve, he was a vagabond and sell sword. Legends of the riches and power hidden inside the Delve drove him there. But all he really found was horror and death, and the spear. He doesn’t remember much of his time in the Delve, except in nightmares, and now runs the local militia of his village, a veteran campaigner past his prime.
Where is she from originally? Was she part of a military there, an adventurer, or did she learn her skills from her father?
My character would be from forest hamlet near Mivon, where she played among the rolling logs of the river and learned how to wield the spear from her father. Serving for a short time in his militia, eventually reaching a level of command over a small squadron of the militia, and participating in the goblin raids on this village at the age of seventeen where she prevented the goblins from burning down several buildings along the market road.
She decided to leave after her father finally opened up about his experiences in Dragon’s Delve, and wants to find out for herself what is really in the Delve.
What aspect of exploring civilizations drew Errigal's attention during his studies? The treasure, the fame, the knowledge?
Orginally Errgial was interested in plundering ancient ruins and tombs for the wealth it would bring him, but as he delved into his studies he found the practices of ancient civilizations extremely interesting and found himself wondering what sort of knowledge he could gain from exploring those ancient places.
Errigal also feels that people in a position of power exploit others, so will feel no guilt whatsoever when plundering a dead lord's tomb.
He saved his friend from slavery but is his mother still a servant? Does he have any connection to her still or would that risk the wrath of his father?
Errigal's mother was traded off to another powerful merchant when Errigal was very young, so he was raised by nanny's and his trainers and teachers. Until recently, Errigal hadn't put much thought to what happened to his mother. But now that Errigal has had more time to ponder the rights and wrongs of life, he has wondered what she was like and what became of her.
I worked up these answers to your questions. Let me know if you would like to see any additional changes.
Being a ranger Quigley has never really been at home except for when he is out adventuring. The idea of being a prosperous herdsman has never really settled very well with him,nor has the idea of working for brokerage houses. Not that having a place to call home is anything to turn one's nose up at as he loves a warm hearth as much as the next halfling, it just happens he kind find this feeling of home around a camp fire as well as he could any other place.
If we find my mentor is still alive and are able to rescue him, we can set up shop near the Delve and continue our research into advancing the power of firearms. Prior to this we had no feedback on what effects our weapons really had on varying creatures short of what we hunted in wilds we frequented. By reporting back after an adventure we will have hard data to continue on with and adjust our prototypes as needed. This also allows us access to sages at the school and ties back into the college aspect of his backstory,( I like this approach as it will allow for the adjustment of my firearms in terms of damage, capacity, and feat selection over time allowing me to keep pace with an archer or crossbowman or the same rank.)
If the mentor falls, then we have an excellent vengence is mine story with Quigley carrying on his master's work and making all pay with their lives. This approach will focus more on fleshing out the freedom fighter trait and the favored enemy selection. I guess it will depend on how dark we want this halfling to get, lol. Scientist or "Punisher." We could even provide a bit of both of these approaches and give them time develop the halflings skills in crafting the devices and using them and then have someone whack the gnome opening up a murder mystery perhaps. No matter which way we choose to go I am confident we can find a reason to stay in the area.
Now for the point of origin. I have no problem with moving to a closer location. I do not have the campaign setting and didn't realize I just said I would follow tracks from the North Pole to the lower edge of Chile, lol. I am more than happy to be located anywhere this character would make sense orginating from. I might need a little geographical assistance, but after that I will tailor it to suit the story no problem.
** spoiler omitted **
I could see this character getting along well with the abolistionist feelings of my halfling.
These spoiler buttons sure are keeping everything nice and neat.
The superstitious template represents a distrust for magic, mechanically keener senses, and being always on edge and ready for action. To be blunt I was planning on diving head first into Shadow Dancer at 6th level which means at 7th level I will already have darkvision, whereas 7 levels of superstitious Barbarian is just at lowlight… so mechanically when I do reach 10th level barbarian(probably around level 14 or 15) yes my darkvision will be 120 instead of the 90 if the class progression were reversed, but I am fine with 90 if you would prefer it.
As for whether or not there will be a point at which he believes he has enough power…he might consider it if he could march to Numeria alone and destroy the Technic League, their automatons, and the Black Sovereign and his legions without the rest of his tribe… but he would still wait till the appointed time so his kinsmen could join in. The truth is he cannot rely upon any of his kinsmen to be successful(or even alive) several years now, some may not have even made it out of Numeria. No matter what he wants to believe, the world was dangerous enough when he had his brothers at his side. They split up to increase their chances of finding some true power, in doing so they no longer have each other to rely upon.
As far as how he will be interacting with the party, he is no fool to attempt Dragon’s Delve on his own, so he will do his best for those he in turn relies upon. Arcane casters will be distrusted until he gets to know them better, at which time they will join the ranks of the rest of the party as potential recruits/allies for his ultimate goal(I am sure everyone will have plenty of chances to demonstrate their abilities in Kend’s eyes). This does not mean he will be looking at the rest of the party as pawns(maybe initially they will be considered expendable, he has a strong will to survive), I’m sure he will make some great friends among them. Another reason not to bow out early after obtaining power is as long as his friends are delving deeper, whatever their reason he will stand beside them(besides, there might be even more wealth and powerful artifacts in those depths).
I had envisioned Buckwell as causing trouble in his home community, a nearby gnomish settlement, and being sent to Brindenford as much as for his own protection as to learn how to control his inner fire, so to speak. I would say that he's been in town for maybe a year or so. People in town probably know him to be somewhat different from the other priets of Sarenrae but may not know the circumstances behind his arrival there.
I think that his insatiable gnomish curiousity would lead him to explore the Delve more than any thoughts of fame, wealth, power. as he grows older there's going to be the need of new experinces to help stave off the Bleaching and exploring Dragon's Delve could provide years of excitment. More of a "Because it's there" vibe than anything else.
Tarlene, do you need an updated background from us or just the input we give in our answers to your questions? I also forgot to put in the answers that if we ended up saving the mentor and did the experimental firearms thing it would be interesting to have a random firearm adaptation for testing making the main body kind of modular. I'll write a full description of the weapon if you are at all interested in this bit.
Thank you. Zeldin is a character I am very fond of. He was my first attempt at an arcane caster. Usually I end up with a paladin.
Do you have any idea where Zeldin may have come from originally? Is he relatively local or did his wanderings take him from another kingdom?
He obviously doesn't know his parents, but have you given any consideration to how his bloodline came to be? Is there a dragon somewhere far back in his ancestory? Were his parents powerful sorcerors of their own right? What happened to them that he was adopted?
Zeldin's father was a professor of mathematics at Torvin Academy in Galt. He personally knew Hosetter, and supported the idea of a break from Chelexian rule. No one could have imagined the nightmare that was about to take place. Five years after printing the treasonous tract On Government Hosetter was executed in Edme.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Zeldin's father moved to Isarn, in the hope that it would not have been touched by the ravages of the Red Revolution. That hope was shattered upon arrival. He changed his name and tried to stay out of trouble.
It was in Isarn that he met Zeldin's mother. The pair moved outside of the city and found themselves with a very new occupation; outfitting escaping artists and nobles bound for Gralton. After some time the fact that they were aiding refuges came to light and a mob came in the night and took Zeldin's father out of the home. His last act of kindness to his wife and unborn child was to hide them in a secret place he had fashioned under the floorboard.
Zeldin's mother hid for as long as she could stand it under the boards and then ironically without travel provisions for herself (these had been looted by the mob) she began the trip to Gralton. Progress was slow and the trip had some horrifying episodes, but the worst was the swamp fever she contracted.
Arriving in Gralton in early winter, burning up with fever and frostbitten all at once, she gave birth. Within hours of delivering the small boy she died. In her fever delerium the mid-wives heard Zeldin Tarr over and over again and thus the boy was named.
You know the thumbnail of his life, but he has never traveled beyond the River Kingdoms. The longest he has been anywhere since fleeing the Gralton orphanage was staying for several years in Liberthane.
The story of the blood in Zeldin's veins is thus: A thousand years ago (though generations have been using the same time line so the actual date is very suspect) a many great grandmother of Zeldin came upon a gravely wounded dragon. The dragon, near death was pursued by a group of the undead. As they prepared to finish her, Zeldins relation stepped in and saved the dragon's life.
Zeldins ancestor was not trained in the ways of combat and infact was merely seeking to bring some food home to her children (the foodstuff changes with the telling and family favorites). This bravery greatly impacted the dragon who was more than a dragon, this dragon was a herald for the Empyreal Lord Valani. The dragons time as a herald was nearly finished and she was on her way back to see her children and those thoughts had made her careless and thus she was ambushed by the undead. The irony of Zeldin's great grandmother nearly giving up the chance to see her children again in an effort to aid this bronze dragon to see hers forged a bound between them.
Praying to Valani, the dragon asked if there was a way for their blood to be united, that forever more there would be a kinship between their children and a bond to look out for each other. The dragon hoped there would be a way for the families to be close through the ages, but had no guess at how close they would end up being. In his benevolence, Valani put some of the dragons essence into the woman and into her children. There the blood rests until it is needed. Sometimes for several generations in a row and at other times missing many generations.
Though Zeldin does not know it. He is the last of that line and thus the blood burns very strong in him. He always felt like he was different. He does not have the slightest idea how very right he is.
One final note that at least for character that are from the River Kingdoms, it is very possible that Zeldin met them in his travels.
Answers:
Your character seems focused on self-improvement through devotion to the single knuckle. How would that bring him to Brindenford and the Delve? Is he a local, having met the monk who was a passing adventurer? Is it happenstance that he found himself in this area roaming and looking for new ways to test himself and grow? Did he come to the dungeon purposefully hoping to find something?
He is, in fact a local. Of many of the forms of self-improvement he uses, he feels he will be surpassing them soon. The dungeon is certainly one of the easiest ways to test himself, and of all the things that are rumored to be found in the dungeon, it is possible that he will find something that will benefit him. As a blacksmith's son, he had heard the saying "place your faith in your steel, and it will serve you well."
He has since come to realize that it is not in the object that faith should be placed, but in the wielder. However, that needs to be proved, and to prove it, it must be tested.
Aie, my response to Question 3 got long (due to quite a bit of establishing background), so I split my response into two spoiler-chunks.
I imagine it's a combination of the duldrums and a feeling that, maybe, he can put his talents to better use (though he probably wouldn't consciously acknowledge this yet). A more comfortable budget never hurt anyone, either, so money is probably the point he actually uses to convince himself. Early on, he'll probably be a bit conflicted, thinking he's left a profession where he was making up for past wrongs to adventure for selfish reasons.
Daggermark and Sevenarches are both on the western end of the River Kingdoms, and that would be the area he knows best (though it's likely he hasn't been there since parting with his 'family'). The more central or east Brindenford is, the more likely it is he's spent significant time there, but I'm sure he's been there a time or two as it is on a trade route. He probably knows the highlights (taverns, stores/smiths, and anywhere caravaneers might be looking for a hired hand). And, of course, the Delve.
What the locals know him as likely depends on the length of their memory and again their proximity to Daggermark. He was never highly active as a bandit (more below), but there were certainly survivors, even large bands, if they surrendered, who might be able to recognize him. Ultimately, though, he is better-known (though hardly reknowned) throughout the majority of the Kingdoms as simply a quiet, tough, and capable woodsman and guide.
Here is probably as good a place as any to note that Karth has probably been at this for a couple of years, whereas the time period he was being expected to join in his father's activities was longer, but less active. His childhood (at least prior to his teenage years) probably saw minimal banditry.
(note: this bit is mostly about Barek himself, but it eventually actually gets to the question)
Now, Barek. This is a subject I hadn't put much thought into 'til you asked. I'm honestly not even sure if Barek is Karth's real father; he may well have been a foundling. That detail is largely unimportant except that it might speak to the man's character. I imagine that in any case, Barek was on the run from something at the time, and raising Karth in the woods was a product of happenstance more than choice. In fact, having read up on the Kellid, I'm leaning towards Barek having adopted Karth after having come across the scene of a slaughter. Undecided as to whether Karth himself knows this.
Though Karth was certainly fed, clothed, and taught his trade, I imagine there was a degree of emotional neglect. To this day I imagine Karth has no idea if his father ever actually loved him or if he was raised out of a sense of duty or simply because, whatever his morals (or lack thereof), Barek couldn't just let the child die. Being a half-orc, remanding him into someone else's care probably wasn't a stellar option either.
While I'm sure Barek was never an upstanding citizen (especially as he hailed from Numeria originally), his nature warped over the years from more of a stoic survivalist to a greedy, even cruel bandit as he realized it was a simple thing for the strong to take from the weak, and now, at least, he was amongst the strong.
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Now, as I've touched on above, Karth was never too keen on the whole raiding thing, and he was usually coerced or pressured into it. He believed more in his father's earlier years, honest work to provide for yourself, while his father was going for an easier way. (A gamist note, Barek is probably a Barbarian, somewhat explaining why he prefers force-of-arms). From Barek's point of view, Karth wasn't pulling his weight in this new operation. No doubt Karth was providing via hunting, trapping, etc., but that just wasn't good enough (anymore).
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Thus, we finally got to the question itself; if Barek and Karth crossed paths, they would most likely nod and pass like two ships in the night. Barek sees Karth's leaving, at best, as a respectable decision to not engage in this sort of life, and at worst, similar to someone defaulting on a debt (all those years of raising him). Karth sees his father's actions as reprehensible, but at the moment, at least, would rather escape from it than deal with the internal conflict of loyalty to his parent and loyalty to his ideals.
Now, if the meeting is star-crossed (Barek is actively plundering), there could be active, even bloody conflict, as neither man is well-equipped nor prone to resolve such disputes verbally.
As a side note, I really do enjoy this sort of thing (being asked by the GM to expand on background stuff). I wish more PbP GMs would do it.
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Bilbo mentioned not having the campaign setting, but fortunately Paizo put up a map on one of their blogs so it is available. Sadly, its not as hi-resolution as the full size map so can be a big fuzzy to read but hopefully this will help anyone who isn't quite sure where everything is located.
Bilbo
I really appreciate the additional background information and feedback everyone has given me. Everyone I asked questions of has done a great job responding so quickly and the additional details have done a lot to give a better idea of each of your posting styles, possible party dynamics(as well as possible party conflicts) and reasons your characters would be here and stay here.
I haven't heard from any new interests(or heard back from those who posted an initial interest but didn't expand upon it) so I think when I hear back from Brax with his final answers sometime today I am going to take that time to narrow things down to the party I am going to run with. Any of your characters would make a good alternate so I'll definitely keep you all in mind should we need one, but unless I am going to run two instances of the dungeon(which is tempting with how many good entries I have) I need to whittle down the list and sooner seems easier and more fair than later.
With that said, for some if not all of us, its a holiday weekend coming up and I know that means lots of travel and family and in general much less computer time. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving. The holiday isn't going to affect my schedule at all, so I'll be around to answer any questions people might have just like normal.
Once I get a roster up tonight, I'll set us up a discussion thread we can use for OOC chatter and should have a first post up describing the Lost Shepherd tavern shortly after. Since only fools, deadmen and legends(all are the first, most become the second) enter the Dragon's Delve alone, the Lost Shepherd has become an unofficial gathering place for adventurers to meet and find others who are looking to share the danger and wealth the dungeon offers. Doing an old school dungeon, it just feels right offering up the old trope of starting things off in a tavern.
Once I get up that first post, feel free to introduce your characters, chat with each other and NPCs. You can hop in to this before your characters are all fully built and approved since it will just be a bit of social RP. When everyone is done with their characters and they have met and decided to set out, we can start the RP proper, I'm assuming it will be sometime after the holiday weekend.
Thanks again everyone.