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Setting
The world name is Herald, a distant world in the material plane from Golarion although the deities are the same as the Golarion pantheon. Herald has two continents, Apothel and Elipothel. Both continents are long column like landmasses that reach both the artic and Antarctic circles, yet do not form a ring around the planet. Most of Herald’s history has been uneventful, save for the last few decades. There are also numerous small islands dotted all over the planet, the most important one being Midjourney a large island situated between Apothel to the west and Elipothel to the east.
Apothel is the continent of civilisation, at the far west of the continent stretches from its northern tip to its southern tip the largest mountain range of Herald, the World Wall Mountains. Beyond them there is nothing but desert and sea. To the far south and far north are the savage lands, home to orcs, goblins, ogres, hill giants and worse. Then are the three main nations of Apothel, The Kingdom of Starflame, The Jewelled Republic and the elven forests nations. Humans are by far the most common sentient race of Herald, with orcs, goblins and elves coming close second. Dwarves are uncommon with gnomes and halflings being rare.
The Kingdom of Starflame was a monarchy ruled feudal society of humans. They were devote followers of Iomedae but followed also the other good gods. The land was divided between 64 knights, who ruled the local lands. The Kingdom of Starflame had only 5 cities, the capital, Starflame, situated just south of the centre of the country, Obomon, a mainly mining community turned city in the far west, the walled city of Junkort in the north and the two port cities of Umivil and Nerivil in the east. The Kingdom of Starflame borders to the north with the northern savage lands and to the south with the Jewelled Republic.
The Jewelled Republic is a far larger nation than the Kingdom of Starflame. It is a parliamentary democracy, ruled by merchant politicians. It has 30 cities, though the most important by far being the capital at the heart of the country, known as Pearl-Diamond. Pearl-Diamond is a port city, that surrounds the largest lake of Apothel, feed by at 3 rivers, and that flows eventually into the largest river in Apothel, the entire water system known as the Flowing Sea. To the north of the Jewelled Republic is the Kingdom of Starflame, to the southeast are the elven forest nations and to the south is the southern savage lands.
Elipothel on the other hand is a land consisting mainly of scattered mountains surrounded by dense jungle; here are thousands of tribes of all different types of creatures trying to make a living. There is only one city in all of Elipothel, Urunk, a dwarf and gnome city, birthplace of the airship and handgun, the only place in all of Herald that had such technology. Urunk and Pearl-Diamond had the occasional trade convoy going to each other.
Recent history:
1137- A group of adventurers sets out to a newly discovered island, 6 ships left, but only 2 returned at Umivil and Nerivil. Upon arriving a wealthy merchant from the Jewelled Republic creates the church of the fire god, a month later he is murdered, all his wealth and land is donated to the church of the fire god. Another of the adventurer’s that returns heads to the south and conquers a tribe of hill giants by wrestling their leader in a death match. Soon he starts conquering all the tribes in the south. Ships start to disappear around Nerivil.
1138- a wild plague runs through the cattle of the Kingdom of Starflame, famine runs wild and kills hundreds, one of the knights is killed in battle, all his heirs having previously died in suspicious circumstances leads to the promotion of one of the adventurers, Knight Vernol. Obomon is attacked by an army of zombies; they repel the attack with ease but find that they can no longer reach the older mines which are now infested with undead.
1139- King Frederic VII of Starflame has a vision of the fire god, he changes his name to Sletan, and introduces many radical new laws, militarising the country, outlawing the worship of Iomedae and making the church of the fire god to be the new state religion. All children of the age of 14 must pass a set of tests, those who pass all are forced to join the king’s guard, and those who fail all are placed in special camps. Anyone who wishes to marry must be married in the state church and must have served in the army for 5 years. All heirs to land can only receive it after completing a task set by the king himself. The crown prince is sent off on a suicidal quest with the royal wizard and a few others.
The first attack on a southern city of Jewelled Republic by the new warlord of the south ends after a 2 week siege, only after an army twice the size of the invaders is sent to destroy them, before they arrive the city walls are breached and hundreds are taken captive
1140- The southern warlord disappears from the south. In the Kingdom of Starflame the king appoints a beastly man, known as The Brute, to be his general of the king’s army. The Knight Vernol is promoted to Duke and becomes the bodyguard of the king.
1141- The southern warlord reappears and starts a war with the elven forest nations, his advance seems unstoppable. The Brute is given the order to send the “failures” (children who failed all the tests) to fight the elves to shape them into real warriors, most die.
1143- The war with the elven forest nations ends after about half of the forest is destroyed; hundreds of elves are captured and taken to the Kingdom of Starflame, never to be seen again. A few months after the first Imperial Abominations are made. The southern warlord appears in the north and conquers all the tribes up there.
1145- The first ritual of exaltation is performed, a ceremony for the promotion of the king’s guard to the elite king’s guard, all the original king’s guard are forced to partake in the ritual, those who refused are never seen again. Those who do go on with the ritual are changed somehow. A new law is passed making all the orphans of the country to become initiates of the church of the fire god.
1152- King Sletan takes the entire king’s guard to Elipothel, he divides his country between 4, he gives the west quarter to Duke Vemol, the east quarter to The Brute, the south quarter along with the capital to the church of the fire god and the northern quarter to a group of loyal knights.
1154- It becomes apparent that the southern warlord and The Brute is the same person, he declares war on the Jewelled Republic. He starts calling himself The Living God, and is excommunicated by the church of the fire god.
1156- The church of the fire god is shown to actually be a church of Asmodeus; the paladins of Iomedae declare a crusade against the church of the fire god.
1159- The Living God is killed by a group of heroes, though they all died by his hand, the eastern quarter falls into absolute chaos.
1160- Duke Vermol is exposed to be an undead servant to a lich. Not long after he turns all the citizens of Obomon into undead and starts a war with the loyal knights, the savage lands and the Jewelled Kingdom.
1167- Duke Vermol is killed in battle; the lich flees never to return.
1171- An army of flesh golems rises from the ocean and rampages through Nerivil, past into the south and makes it just outside Pearl-Diamond, leading the force is a colossal mechanical spider. The spider was destroyed but later exploded destroying the northern half of Pearl-Diamond.
1176- King Sletan returns, with a huge army including many devils and a fleet of flying vessels, it becomes apparent that Urunk was destroyed. In a short period of time he destroys the last of the elven forest nations and starts attacking the Jewelled Republic. King Frederic VII of Starflame is freed from his prison by his son and the royal wizard, apparently something the lich had done. King Sletan is defeated by an army of Archons and Angles at Pearl-Diamond, but they warn not to kill him until the church of Asmodeus is undone, Sletan is found to be a doppelganger, and imprisoned. Sletan confesses that Vermol, The Brute, the lich, and a few others including him gained tremendous powers in that island, and that the only way to destroy the church of Asmodeus can be found there.
1177- (Present day) - King Frederic VII of Starflame now ruler of the Jewelled Republic but not of his own kingdom, has asked adventurers to find the weakness of the Asmodean church in that island
Looking for 4-6 players, lv6, 20pt build, core and apg classes only, standard wealth by level, 2 traits (any trait from the apg), full hp at first level, roll for every level after that, re-roll 1s, and you all get 1 hero point!
I'll throw my name into the hat.
Name: Gurthock Fleshmincer
Class: Bard(Arcane Duelist) 6
Alignment: N
Race: Half Orc
Concept: Outcast turned professional adventurer with ambition.
He spent his first few years of life being raised by the tribal shamans, learning by rote the tribes oral history, myths and legends. He was trained in the arts of war, as no orc is worth anything without being able to swing an axe.
Eventually, the pressures of being different from his fellows and his desire to see more beyond the tribe forced him to run away from home with hardly anything of note on his person.
Eventually he made his way north and to the populated cities therein where he was shocked adn awed by the sheer scale of his racial enemies skill. He was also shocked by the amount of brutality life on the streets was like. HE adapted and over the course of some years he managed to cut out a small niche for himself in the city. HE told stories for food and lodging and when money was lacking his skill in blade and spell often found him ways to get everything he needed if not everything he desired. Still, he hungered for more out of life and started committing greater crimes or telling more elaborate stories until one day he ran afoul a group of adventurers.
Being the merciful sort they left him alive. Fascinated by the group he followed them for a time until eventually they took him in as one of their own. Ever since he has spent many years adventuring and has grown quite good at it. Eventually he began to lead his own group of like minded individuals and over time has made a name for himself in the adventuring community as a professional. His lifelong ambition is to raise the funds and manpower necessary to found his own adventuring guild. His experiences have taught him that adventurers need a central organization to call their own and protect them from the various forces that seek to hinder or destroy adventuring groups. He envisions an organization willing to take people from all walks of life willing to work hard to provide a service that the world is often too much in need of. All he neexds is one big break to get that chance....
I'd be interested in trying this out as well.
My character concept is that of an elven wizard, a specialized Controller from the APG. She's lived the majority of her life among humans and on the outskirts of elven society, in part because of her own past haunting her, and in part because she is innately wanderlust- and ennui-prone. Simply put, she can't stay still for very long, and thus has spent her life chasing after the next interesting event to get herself caught up in.
Any preference from anyone on Summoner vs Sorcerer for this group?
With a paladin and an Arcane Duelist bard, I think we're okay on melee types. It's really up to you.
Just in case you want us to roll hp in this thread, I stuck it under a spoiler. My character-sheet is in my profile. Also, how do you handle item creation feats, and more particularly, the attempts to enhance the wizard's bonded item? With an amulet-slot item, do I spend more if I want to enchant it with a headband-slot enchantment (mental prowess, for example)?
It would probably help immensely if someone played a class dedicated to throwing out some actual healing after combat. I'm afraid the paladins lay on hands and any healing i might be forced to take will not be sufficient. As such instead of a sorcerer or summoner why not an oracle? Could claim that the "curse" is the result of injuries undertaken while defending the homelands while still finding a path that fits you.
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Just in case you want us to roll hp in this thread, I stuck it under a spoiler. My character-sheet is in my profile. Also, how do you handle item creation feats, and more particularly, the attempts to enhance the wizard's bonded item? With an amulet-slot item, do I spend more if I want to enchant it with a headband-slot enchantment (mental prowess, for example)?
** spoiler omitted **
I allow for additional enchantment at 75% cost of the enchantment being added, 100% cost for an enchantment of a different slot
If you are still taking ideas, I could put together an inquisitor, a druid or a ranger of whatever race would fit the party best.
I am planning on a half elf barbarian druid, so that makes 3 characters capable of healing; we'll be fine.
sunshadow21 here with the rough draft of my idea. Still working on precise background concept though he comes from the southern savage lands.
Still needs the mechanical things like skills and gear tidied up, but background is up.
->Soporific Lotus
I remade her sheet as a profile.
I gave my paladin mount the feats power attack, improved overrun and charge through working on the assumption that I could use my ride skill to have the horse make an overrun and use its own stats for the CMB roll while I would still be taking my own attack. If that does not sound right I will just change the feats.
Finished and ready for approval. The generator I use makes automatic rolls which are shown near the bottom. If you'd rather I used the roller here I can reroll them
If this is still open I would like to offer Durant a Human monk of the four winds.
Durant was raised and trained in a large monetary complex. It is unlikely that his life would have ever varied from the routine of work and training save that the Third Lotus monastery was located to the south of Pearl-Diamond.
Durant fought against the golems and the spider. He saw his masters fall, He saw his brothers fall. He was one of the few survivors. He does not talk about it.
He spent the years following the battle wandering. He has seen joy and conflict, peace and grief but he has always been alone. When King Frederick's call went out Durant knee it was time to be part of something larger again.
Note. The profile is for a 1st level version. Leveling up as you read this.
~will
ok, Talon and Gurthock look fine, Pernella... from what i can tell from the rules the horse would need those feats to do that, so yea i guess you'll need to change those feats
I apologize if I was not clear but the horse does have those three feats.
Talon should be all ready to go.
Cool thanks for the nod.
So who all is on this bus?
Durant-monk
Pernells-Shining Knight
Talon - Barbarian/druid
Gunthok - Arcane Duelist
Ansha - Wizard
Missing anyone?
So between the bear and the two mounts, I don't think this party is going to be very likely to eagerly dive into too many dungeons with narrow hallways.
Don't forget me! NG Elf Oracle of Nature 6
My stats should all be posted to my profile shortly.
Also, any ruling on whether I can use an Elk instead of a horse or camel for a mount?
~NYpurdy
I'm working on my build. I'm going to be an Elf Oracle of Nature, and I'm looking at the bonded mount revelation. Would you let me trade out the Elf from the kingmaker AP for a horse? They are both CR 1 (FYI)
I would like to trade my mount for an Elf as well. Just kidding,that is the best typo it really made me smile.
Oops, haha.
But in other news my Stats are more or less all done.
Cool thanks for the nod.
So who all is on this bus?Durant-monk
Pernells-Shining Knight
Talon - Barbarian/druid
Gunthok - Arcane Duelist
Ansha - WizardMissing anyone?
Wow we're very melee heavy. At least I won't be lacking flanking buddies.
Funny part is the only other person bothering to pack a ranged weapon is the rather mean and feral looking druid.
It looks like Durant might not yet be done.
I like the idea of an elf riding an elf much better personally. Compared to that sight, even an elk is kinda blah. :)
I like the idea of an elf riding an elf much better personally. Compared to that sight, even an elk is kinda blah. :)
Nah it's not riding it. My Pack Elf is carrying my lunch.
We're having barbecue!
Sorry real life exploded.
Working now.
Typity typity typity
This blog entry on intelligent companion animals seems relevant to our group being that we have three of them. I had assumed that I could just tell my horse what to do and not have to worry about tricks but it seems that is not the case so I bumped up my handle animal skill. Ulgulanoth how are you going to handle our Int six mounts and Int 3 bear? With an Int six it would seem that the mounts would know every trick. Obviously I do not think any of us planned to give them weapons or expected them to talk but can we give them more complicated commands than the basic tricks such as "Guard this cave entrance but flee to our camp if you become seriously wounded"?
http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lc1y#discuss
This blog entry on intelligent companion animals seems relevant to our group being that we have three of them.
By Gruumsh's bloody eyehole is this an adventuring party or a zoo?
You make it sound like there is a discernible difference between the two normally.
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And the game is up the pbp and so is the discussion ; so enjoy while I read up on the animal rules some more, post away role call!
As for the intelligent animal thing, I picture a 3 int bear being able to grasp basic tactics like flanking opponents, trying to avoid being flanked personally, and in general being able to work with other melee combatants to maximum advantage. Over time, he would be able to learn how to take advantage of what ranged allies and spell caster allies can bring to the table, understanding that if he hears a caster start saying certain words, he needs to back up to not get fried by the ball of fire that appears shortly after, etc.; also, he would be able to make limited use of familiar environments. Anything beyond that would generally require skill checks until he learned how to adjust to the new situation.