I was thinking that Jacob would've started at either Absalom or somewhere in the south of Andoran. Probably leaning towards the former if a few other people are starting there as well. Would make sense if we crossed paths before if we're from similar cities and the like.
I know I'm still lagging behind on adventure stories, but I've been putting something together for a bit. I'm just going to be out for a bit, but I'll post it later today or tonight. It may not be such a grand epic as the Tale of Sir Orrin, but I feel like it would be Jacob's claim to fame outside of his shops. Here's a hint, it takes place at the Crown of the World.
No worries Ace. I have not posted any adventures either. It will take me some time as having lived for so long I want quality experiences that fit her character and background.
Yar!
I'm pretty sure the majority of backgrounds will be an ongoing process. As tumbler suggested/implied earlier, flashbacks and/or simply talking about past events in character can be another way to explore and flesh out backgrounds.
Heck, even if your character isn't that old (I think Sir Orrin is young for level 25 at 45 years old, but he's had an intense, combat centered background), the shear number of experiences and adventures it takes to get to level 2 is staggering. At least, in my personal experience, it takes many many many adventures to get from level 1 to 20+ and beyond.
As for the awkwardness of the few rare moments when my lance/banner is on my back instead of in hand, I expect it would be something like a mix of the extra encumbrance of a soldier wearing a a fully loaded rucksack and still fighting (I've heard numbers ranging from 20 lbs to 95, though that is all dependent on what they need for a particular mission, plus their trained to handle that - Sir Orrin's lance is only 5 lbs, but long) mixed with the awkwardness of not knowing how you fit in certain places, like Gandalf trying to navigate Bilbo's home and hitting his hear every few moments, except it'll be a pole scrapping the ceiling instead of his head. On that note, it shouldn't cause too much of a problem even then because Sir Orrin is only 2' 10" tall. A lance designed for someone that sized when strapped to their back would make them probably closer to normal human sized, probably a bit taller. Sir Orrin prefers to always have it in hand though, and while mounted on a 3' tall at the shoulders dinosaur means he's probably fairly used to having to maneuver his lance through areas that Medium sized creatures have to be careful navigating through. But should it happen that he needs to fight with sword instead of lance, this will allow him to do so with about the same level of potential (and potentially hilarious) awkwardness, depending on the environment, of course. (I can imaging at least once getting stopped in my tracks from accidentally impaling a low ceiling and getting stuck, at least in the past. At this level I hope that years of experience, both life and combat, has given Sir Orrin a bit better spacial awareness than when he was green).
~P
Aren't you glad that lances in d20 don't break when they hit something and can be immediately used the next round?
Yar!
Aren't you glad that lances in d20 don't break when they hit something and can be immediately used the next round?
Yes.
Unequivocally, yes. (though I also made it adamantine and gave it the impervious enchantment as well, just for good measure)
^_^
~P
Pirate, that is something interesting you bring up about adventures. Because it seems to me like one long, overarching adventure could span much more than a few bad guy of the week encounters. One man's adventure is another man's event. Even then, what's to measure scale? You could work years just to deliver a message or save the world in a single afternoon depending on circumstances.
Still behind on mine, though. Working on some details, hope to have it available soon.
Yar.
Rereading my post, that should have read "the shear number of experiences and adventures it takes to get to level 20 is staggering.", not "...level 2 is..."
:/
*facepalm*
Like I said, that's completely based on my experiences of things. In the Kingmaker AP, you can literally spend years between events, whereas in others things can be "go-go-go" all the time, going from level 1 to 18 in a matter of weeks (in game). Most AP's only go up to level 15-18 over 6 books, and each book is often considered an "adventure" as well (though not always). Most of Sir Orrin's background is based on actual adventures I've gone on with the same character with my RL group, bringing him from level 1 to just past 20, which also took about 2 years of gaming every week IRL, and covering all of those various events and adventures.
Just saying, there can be quite a lot behind 25 levels. ^_^
~P
Well, I for one would be thrilled to be intertwined in your backstories and apart of your adventurers :)
Since I have pretty much settled on being Acediamonds younger brother (if you are fine with it of course!), I could see plenty of opportunities for Ralph to be tagging along and being apart of the adventurers.
Mostly I have been focusing on trying to get crunch done so I havent really looked at backgrounds and backstories yet (I havent had my guy up and running nearly as long as you yet ^-^).
Speaking of which, I have 2 NPC ideas that I would be incorporating into my background and possibly yours if you are interested.
The first is Archemagi Fezzwick, the mage responsible for creating the Giant Rod and all the specialized mundane gear that Ralph would need (a cup would need to be made of adamantine and have TWO castings of hardening from a 20th level caster just to have a chance of surviving and even then I think I could break it...). As such he would be a good friend of the two brothers to be willing to work so closely with them to create such specialized equipment.
The second one is an adamantine golem (with lots of templates most likely) that has it out for Ralph. You dont go around breaking all the things that Ralph does and not attract the ire of somebody important! I figure that this golem would have been sent to destroy Ralph by the god of machines/items/artifacts or something. The thing about him is his indestructibility and the fact that it would probably be the only construct that could come back for round 2 with ralph :P I picture him as a reoccurring villain that we can beat into the ground numerous times and still have to deal with him later XD
Are you willing to work with me in creating him?
I've always had a hard time creating constructs, I feel like it's easier to build characters from scratch than to assemble all the parts of a construct into something usable. So sorry, I'm gonna need to sit back on helping make that one.
Also, Gobo, would you want Ralph to be involved in Jacob's adventure?
The lack of campaign development from the DM's side worries me. Part of the reason I backed out of the last thread was because Herald did not have a very good track record with the other game he was running.
I'm here. It seemed to me like you guys wanted some time to work on backstories, so I backed off a bit.
Ralph: Your adamantine golem sounds a little like an inevitable to me. You are a force for chaos and destruction, so I can see the inevitables deciding you are worth getting rid of.
Well, seems like my adventure isn't quite as large as Ore's, but I'll tell you, it was pretty damn scary for me at the time. So, let's see, it was up north. Way north. Crown of the World north. High up in the mountains, too. See a few of us were investigating some disappearances from the Path of Aganhei. I personally remember crafting a good portion of stock that went missing from that trade path, so you could bet I was going to figure out what the hell happened to the lot of it.
Rounded up a few volunteers from the shops to mount an expedition. When we made it up to the path, it didn't exactly seem like it was the usual bandit attack. Some of the supply was scattered about, as was a good deal of blood. Of course, we figured some sort of monster got in touch with them. Thought it was most likely a couple of remorhazes or maybe a white dragon as a worst case scenario, even though a dragon would've probably picked up some of that loot.
Unfortunately, we had used a scroll to teleport us up to the path when the delivery party failed to check in with me via Sending. We figured we'd find our couriers, get our loot, and get on with the whole thing. We didn't take into account that our supply bag would suddenly sprout a hole along the way. So there we were, out in the cold mountain pass short on food and supplies. Real lucky break, huh? Luckily enough, I decided to bring my haversack which had a few rations and a heatstone. Kept us good for the first night, but as we kept following the couriers' tracks, we had started to feel more and more hungry. Couldn't have been more than two, maybe three days, but I remember there was just the most deep seated hunger in the lot of us. Though I guess that's going to make a lot more sense real soon.
That night as we were crowding around the stone for warmth, Ralph turned to me and pointed out what he thought was a shooting star. And another. And another. But they were wrong. Very very wrong. And worse yet, they were coming closer.
I'm not sure if any of you have ever found yourself without food in cold mountain areas for a long time, but I'll tell you that I'll never do that sort of thing again. The horror stories they tell are sometimes true. And you'll never know if you'll be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with not but you, your brother, and some barely combat trained employees as horrible creatures with taught skin, twisted antlers, and burnt stubs for legs descend from the sky. Especially if those figures happen to be wearing the tattered clothes you remember your couriers had. We did manage to survive that night, but since then I certainly made sure to take the proper precautions when going anywhere. It's not easy you forget a night spent fighting off the wendigo.
((Let me know what you think, guys, hope you like it.))
I'm here. It seemed to me like you guys wanted some time to work on backstories, so I backed off a bit.
Thank you for the timely response. I was just checking, though I probably should have been less rude about it. My apologies.
No problem. Every time I've tried to play in an online game it has died due to the GM, so I understand your frustration.
Good to hear you're familiar with that, then. It's a good indication that the game won't die immediately.
I've put in a request to be made the Game Master of the original game. As soon as that gets done, I am ready whenever you guys are.
Yar!
That is all sorts of awesome! While some of the details of Sir Orrin's backstory and pre-game interactions with other characters need to be fleshed out and added to Sir Orrin's sheet, I feel like I'm ready to begin nonetheless. Also, a very big
:D
~P
What P said. I think this is going to be a fun game, can't wait to play it.
Yar!
*ahem*
That is all.
*dances awkwardly when he thinks no one is looking*
~P
So I hqve gotten my guy further along and closer to being finished and I have a rare problem. I have too many feats! Currently I have around 4-5 feat slots filled but unneeded (for example, I have both stunning and dazing Assault). You guys got any good ideas on what I could take?
In case others missed it, we have how opened the gameplay thread. There is a link two posts up, I believe.
Just saw this. Maybe you could take some of the critical feats? Maybe some feats that improve combat maneuvers?
Sorry, we're actually just starting. And I think that tumbler mentioned CDL would be the last person that could fit. If you want to ask him if he could fit, maybe try a PM, but I think in total we're already pushing six characters if I recall right.