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Note: Calistril 30th, 656 AR is the current first entry.
In-character campaign journal for my current campaign. It's not my world nor am I the DM for this one so most of this is what I'm learning as we play. Some basic terminology here:
Terra - Name of the homebrew world. Based off Golarion, many of the gods for instance will be familiar to anyone that knows Golarion. Countries, NPCs, and history are quite different on the other hand.
Seiya Zei - Country party is currently traveling in. Eastern influences and based off clans in Legend of the Five Rings. Campaign starts in Dragon Clan lands and of this post is still in that area. Ruled by Empress Pandora, a god walking the land in mortal form, beloved by the great majority of the land. It is worth noting that Seiya Zei also deals harshly with those that intrude on their lands and do not allow outsiders to visit it.
Party:
Arashi Minoko - Traveling swordsman, drunkard, and wanna-be hero. He's the writer of this journal and the character I play. He lost his grandfather at a young age and refused the monastery's strict teachings, leading to running away as a young teenager to adventure and follow in his grandfather's footsteps.
Aiko Minoko - Arashi's younger sister. She was raised in a Shizuru monastery and is touched by the Kami of the land. She's blessed and capable of healing magic and conversing with the spirits. Kind and serene, but with a mischievous streak.
Keisuke Tanamura - An outsider of Seiya Zei, though born there originally. At a young age ended up in a place called Irrisfal where he was raised. Circumstances lead to him traveling back to Seiya Zei He has a sharp mind and is capable of potent arcane magic.
Baoji - Traveling mountain priest raised in a temple. Lost his family and now works at the behest of his master to seek out numerous relics before evil forces get their hands on them. He is a powerful combatant and capable of potent spells to augment himself in combat. Bit of a drunk like Arashi.
Comments and suggestions welcome!
Based on the short description above, this campaign seems to be primarily (or at least originally) set in an Eastern-inspired setting, which I like. I don't know when but I will certainly check this out and post a comment here once I've caught up with all the entries of the journal.
Great job Aleron, I really like the flow and the style of the entries - feels like a proper diary and it effectively conveys Arashi's emotions. And the transformation of Arashi is included and described shrewdly! Based on what I've read thusfar (9th) I would however like to know more about your character's past and background, maybe some reflections?
Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it! The world is very large, but you are correct that the current location of the campaign is very Eastern-inspired. It's been an absolute blast.
I plan to add some earlier entries based on his past as well, though haven't had a chance. I've been busy enough just trying to keep up with the entries for the sessions we've done. Even now I'm behind about two sessions. That said, it's on my list to do some more background posts and memories that Arashi will record from his perspective as well.
The basic summary for background goes like this, till I finish those:
Arashi and Aiko were raised chiefly by their Grandfather, Heiseiku. Even Arashi doesn't really remember their parents, but he heard from his Grandfather they were killed off by bandits before the pair was taken in by him. We're talking roughly 6 to 7 years they were raised by their grandfather or so on a rough guess, when Arashi was 5 to 11 years of age.
Arashi's grandfather was a traveler, drunkard, and wandering swordmaster, long since retired. He never really showed what he was capable of off to the two until the day he was killed by a group of evil mercenaries known as the Sons of Heaven. They were after his grandfather's three swords, three very potent artifacts it turns out (the DM name dropped one as Masamune during that battle).
When the trio were attacked, the grandfather sent Arashi and Aiko running, but not before giving Arashi one of his katanas to try defend themselves with. Arashi even ended up killing one of the bandits that chased after them with that sword, one he carries to this day.
The pair managed to eventually escape and stumble their way over several days to a nearby town. The bandits gave up, not realizing that Arashi actually had one of the grandfather's weapons and figured the children would die lost in the wilderness.
They were half starved when they stumbled into Tenshi Village but ended up getting taken in by the master of the Shizuru monastery there, Master Motaga. While Aiko ended up staying there for many years, it only took a couple before Arashi got sick of the structured life full of rules. While still a young teenager he rebelled and ran from home, traveling the country and becoming an adventurer, dreaming of becoming a wandering swordmaster and hero like his grandfather (also a drunk). He returned to visit his sister every couple years though.
It was during his travels Arashi started to realize his Grandfather was actually well known. The Old Fang nickname he called himself by was actually better known as the Sanguine Fang. Turns out he was what was called a Blade Mystic, which is basically a powerful epic class in the setting. Something Arashi has since decided he wants to become and follow in his grandfather's footsteps.
The campaign really began on one of his trips back (this is detailed in the journal). While Arashi and Aiko were getting caught up and camping by their Grandfather's resting place, the village was attacked by a group of bandits lead by Matsuo, one of the Sons of Heaven members that killed their grandfather. They were seeking a relic the temple guarded. Most of the village was destroyed and dozens of villagers (including Master Motaga) were lost in the attack. This also brought the other members of the party together (Keisuke and Baoji) and set them out to try and stop the Sons of Heaven and recover the relics before they do.
That's the basic background stuff. I'll be adding more reflections from Arashi as I go, especially on his grandfather who shaped him a lot and memories of the travels they had before he was killed.
Updated Pharast 1st and 2nd. Original entries lacked some detail and tried to flesh them out a bit more.
Also added Pharast 12th
Also adjusted the sidebar so it fits a journal better with earlier entries at the top/front.
New entry: Pharast 13th
Also added a page for terminology: Terminology
*edit* Trying to get a bit more caught up, so might be some more entries besides these going up over the remainder of today.
New Entries: Pharast 15th and Pharast 17th
Terminology section updated with some more info.
New entry: Pharast 18th
Journal is now caught up as much as possible. Pharast 18th isn't completely finished as that day was still finishing when we left off. To be completed!
Great stuff again, Aleron.
You introduced Arashi as a drunkard and as I reached the entry for the 11th I thought, where is his alcohol abuse - why hasn't he tried the liquour to halt the transformation ;).
Overall to me Arashi comes off as much much more mature and responsible that you initially described him, Aleron, not really a drunkard and a wannabe hero. Though it's not a bad thing, he is still a very believable character.
The aftermath of the fight with Nash - beautiful.
Working on some updates for this week.
Basically the party got involved in what ended up being a very long series of sessions...all of which was percept-ed to have occurred on Pharast 18th. Been having some issues breaking it up into something easier to read without it being one 5+ page entry. Got some ideas now and we're finally past that part.
Additionally, some of the players have revised their characters which I need to edit into the journal. Usually the core concept stays pretty much the same, but mechanically some stuff changes. The exception to this was Keisuke who has donned many caps while searching for who he is (going from a gun user to melee warrior in the recent few weeks). The GM basically rewrites earlier parts to fit the new builds and since the concepts remain the same for character and personality it usually isn't much of an issue...minus journals like mine that make note of certain abilities or ways they fight.
As for the comments, thanks for passing them on! The journal has a few reasons for being wrote as it is which I'll try elaborate on a bit here. The first is simply that Arashi doesn't really perceive it. You're talking about a guy that since the time he was about 12 his Grandfather was giving him shots of his sake. For him to write about it would be sort of like writing about how you breathed during the day. It's always a part of his day, as if it's a given.
For length of the entries is the other. Some stuff needs to get left out and I suppose I didn't put it across well but at least once or twice a session Arashi and Baoji's drinking comes up. Of more recent the phrase, "I need a drink", has become more and more popular among the two. We try play it up without letting it grow old though so it isn't mentioned that much.
The desire for him to be a hero part has become a larger part of his character, especially as of recent. Ever since the Zenero play especially, he's sort of adopted that as part of his persona and really hams it up sometimes. It especially fit better the more he's learned and remembered of his grandfather and his lessons.
That said, I still think 'wannabe hero' is the most apt. He doesn't see himself fitting that role yet, especially when comparing himself to his grandfather...the one he truly views as a hero in his eyes. He's still a long ways from that. The drunkard part has not been touched on enough perhaps, I agree. He did tone it down a bit since he's traveling with his sister now and sees himself as her guardian to a degree.
Again, thanks for the feedback and would happy to get more.
Pharast 18th Updated and Finished.
Pharast ?th Added.
Pharast ??th Added (Part 2: House of Long Shadows)
Going to add some comments to try help fill in stuff Arashi doesn't cover in the journal as this part was pretty hectic and a lot went on.
- At this point the party is level 3. Princess Nyotei is a first level magus that can do some truly terrifying shocking grasps, but she is also extremely frail too. She has a specialty custom feat that also allows her to use certain technological items which will come up in the next couple entries.
- The House of Long Shadows portion took about 5 sessions that were about 6 to 8 hours each in length. There was a lot of roleplay but also a ton of combats that occurred. This latest entry covers the only rest we got during the time and it was only partial (basically the DM rolled and let us know what we recovered, most casters got so many spell levels, barbarian got so many rounds of rage, etc). Not enough to fill us up to full capacity but it ended up being barely enough to carry us all through.
- During the mage fight, Keisuke was only up due to diehard. He ended up sticking down below trying not to bleed out and repeatedly coup de gracing the Kuwa Oni so it wouldn't get back up while I finished the mage. Miraculously everyone else was able to stabilize during the fight.
- The Whiskey Arashi drank was called Wounded Warrior Whisky. It had 10 'sips' that healed 1d4 hp each. If you imbibed 5 sips at once you got a bonus to one physical stat. if you did 10 you got bonuses to two physical stats (+6 dex and con for him). Or close to that...I misplaced my notes on it unfortunately after that session it was used. The drawback was for every sip you took a cumulative -1 to reflex and initiative due to becoming more and more drunk. I was still in positive on both but barely which amused everyone. He was at about 4 hp when he drank it and it healed him to full which was lucky. Quite possibly the hardest fight we've had and closest to the whole party going down.
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New Entry: Pharast ???th, 656 AR Added (Party 3, House of Long Shadows)
Not as much to comment on this time, but some stuff worth mentioning.
- We really did almost lose all our weapons during the fight against the bronze constructs. Every hit was usually enough to send a regular item into broken. The magic ones fared better but the wakizashi was left 1 hit point from broken.
- Keisuke did spend a hero point to dive and catch Aiko. He reduced the falling damage by 1d6 which ended up actually saving her. So kudos to him for that!
- The ghost was the toughest fight to date and a lot of luck on our side. DM admitted he never expected us to fight it for an extended period. It was a level 8 ghost and mostly due to lucky rolls on my part and Baoji using body guard I was able to avoid most hits (touch attacks at that). The one that slipped through did a corrupting touch of 8d6 or so damage. The total was close to 35 out of my 42 or so hit points. On the bright side, by the time we finished the combat, the DM said we had pounded the ghost into single digit hit points so we could have won in the next round amusingly.
New Poem: 'Kiyoko' Added
Not yet covered in the entries yet, though should be within the next three or four (yeah, I'm a bit behind haha). Since it was fairly easy, figured I'd toss it up now though.
Currently working on getting caught up and finishing the Hall of Long Shadows section which should be another 2 or so entries. Another should be posted before the end of the week anyway.
New Entry: Pharast ????th, 656 AR (Part 4, House of Long Shadows)
One quick thing to comment on.
- Battle against our dopplegangers were old versions of the same characters. Everyone rebuilt at least once to more fitting classes. DM took the old builds and made us fight them, it was a rather unique and fun battle, but quite challenging too.
Long time, no entries. Lot of stuff happened over the last few months with only a few meetings but I'm quite behind all the same.
New Entry: Pharast 28th, 656 AR
Final entry in the House of Long Shadows chapter.
Not too much to comment on this time, either!
- Running into the demonic creature after the boss battle was a bad idea, but at least at the time it seemed like the best option out. We lost two PCs during the fight and they were dead, dead. That said, Keisuke unleashed and was able to beat it more or less single-handedly by the end. We had managed to find what essentially were goblin jumper cables from world of warcraft earlier in the House of Long Shadows, though, and Bogden got lucky on his rolls so he was able to bring them both back (DM showed us the rolls). Lucky for us!
*edit* Journal should be caught up by the end of March again. Expect more entries within the week or so!
New Entry: Pharast 28th, 656 AR (con't)
Arashi and the group had one final twist waiting for them that evening...after all it had been two weeks since they all vanished into the House of Long Shadows. What of Chiyo?!
TWO New Entries!
Okay, I just forgot to post the other, it was actually done and up last week.
The party gets an unexpected invitation and Baoji has a really bad day.
- The shield Baoji lost was something he had saved up for quite awhile. Something like a +1 Bashing Steel Shield or something. We found out the next day it wasn't actually Sho that took it, but...well let's say it becomes a reoccurring pain in our butt.
- This was the first time it was confirmed in game that Arashi's weapon his grandfather gave him was in fact a legacy weapon. The DM had been strongly hinting at it for awhile, though. After learning its name it has become a +1 weapon. A small start, but he derives a great deal of pleasure in seeing us beg him for more information. Also says we'll have to wait till next level to learn more.
New Entry: Pharast 30th, 656 AR
Arashi has a late night visitor and the party finds some trouble is brewing in Haytoma.
- Aiko and Arashi snuck into the Daikitsu temple and tried to sneak to the high priest's chamber (they weren't allowing anyone to see him). It didn't go well, both were almost caught (tripped a paralysis trap on the door) and Arashi ended up badly injured and only escaped due to Aiko's help (and invisibility). Could have went into a bit more detail on that, but this entry already was getting long as a LOT happened that day. Our priorities shifted multiple times suffice to say, especially when we learned the city and temples might be in danger.
Moving delayed some things!
New Entry: Gozran 1st, 656 AR
New Entries Added (8 in Total): Arashi's Journal
An "About the Author" page was also added. Past entries are starting to be updated with images as well as I get them from the DM of the game. Lastly, another player has started a fanpage for the world. It is linked on the page called, "The World of Terra".
Too much to summarize here but long story short the journal is now completely caught up. Characters are currently level 5.
Entries added (in order):
- Gozran 3rd
- Gozran 5th
- Gozran ?
- Gozran ??
- Gozran ???
- Gozran ????
- ?????
- ??????