Okay, finally got it! Meet Lessairus. He's a Nagaji Summoner. For your convnience, I'll post the most relevant things here.
"He."
"Pardon?"
" not it. I found him on the front steps."
"But what shall we do with it- erm . . . him?"
"What do you mean, what we do with all the children that make their way here. Saranrae would not have it otherwise."
"But . . . Fine. You're right. But we should keep him away from the other kids. I can just imagine how horribly they'd treat him. Did this one come with a name?"
"Let's see. There is a card here somewhere. Ah, yes. It says, 'Lessairus.'"
*********
Lessairus wiped his eyes. His fingers came away dry despite the fact that he felt like a river should be pouring from him. Today, Lessairus envied humans their ability to let their sadness flow from their eyes, leaving their bodies. Instead, his just sat in a hard lump in the middle of his stomach.
Lessairus looked down from his window at the coffin where the late Jaeryn Vonstell lay. Jaeryn was one of the few people Lessairus had been able to talk to. And now the coffin lay closed--a crowd surrounding it--a gross mockery of the way Jaeryn was closed off to Lessairus.
The man had been found in his room, his door locked from the inside, his throat torn out. It was a complete mystery, what had happened to him.
Lessairus' hand reached up to his eyes again. It stopped halfway there. Instead, he picked up a plate from the nearby table and began examining it, How could this ever be made right? A crash sounded as the plate smashed against the crates on the far wall. Never, only Jaeryn could make it-- His eyes widened. He remembered the book he'd read--Jaeryn had been so upset about that book. He remembered the passage, Dealings with these devils can grant one of many boons. The passage continued on, warning about how dangerous these deals could be. But Lessairus was sure he could come out ahead, he just had to be careful.
*********
"Yes, I can accomplish what you ask, but--I must ask--it has been over a year since he died. Why now?"
"It was only now that I had fully learned how to-"
"Fine, fine. I see. Let's get on with it. This will cost you dearly, are you willing to pay the price?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"Foolish mortals, always asking the price after. We will extract the price when it's done. Until then, it is none of your concern."
*********
Lessairus sat by the headstone. He began the ritual, a bit of blood, the incantation, Lessairus worked for what seemed like hours, the dark surrounding him. Finally, a crack sounded over the cemetary. The ground in front of him broke open. "It worked," came his startled cry.
Several large creatures broke through the crack at once. The devil who had helped Lessairus appeared next to him, "Cousins," he called out, "Welcome to the Material Plane. Come. Let's feast." Needle sharp teeth clicked together as the creatures broke for Saranrae's temple. The night air began to burn. Lessairus sat, unable to move, too shocked.
A thump on the ground next to him. A hand at the edge of the crack. "Jaeryn?" His mind numb, Lessairus moved to grab the hand. As the short, squat creature climbed out, Lessairus felt a burning in his forhead. He dropped the hand and backed away, preparing to fight. To die. "Come on then."
"Silly human." Lessairus turned around, the devil was still there. "This is the fulfillment of your contract. His soul returned, though in a much distilled form." He waved in the direction of the new creature. "You did well. You have potential, I will see to it my cousins do not hurt you. We may use you again one day."
Lessairus sat, stunned. The new creature--Jaeryn--came over, resting its large hands on Lessairus' shoulders. Lessairus reached up to his eyes. His hands came away dry.
*********
"I can help you with a fresh start, yes. Would it do me any good to ask why you need it? I see. Well, then it will cost."
"Of course. Everything does. What's the price?"
"A simple matter. A favor from you. That I may call upon you at any time later."
"I accept."
Jaeryn: Short and squat with long arms that end in sharp claws, this creature has three sets of horns growing from the top of it's head. His red eyes look out on the world from shaggy grey fur. To complete this creature's strange appearance, there is a glowing rune on the creatures neck.
I also made a picture of each. Here is Lessairus and Jearyn. Normally I do these in color, but the black and white seemed to fit the theme. If you'd like to see these in color, just let me know. It's not hard to change.
For his Eidolon, I see that growing ever more monstrous in appearance (tentacles, multiple heads, eyes, limbs, etc.). The Eidolon will focus on strength and battle--using natural attacks--but will eventually take some spell like abilities.
I'd rather not make anyone read backgrounds greater than 300 words or so, but I've cut it down as best I know how. Sorry for the length.
I've got everything done but equipment, which I can finish tomorrow.
Here's Drago Hane:
Party Role: (Class; Slayer, Archetype; Stygian Slayer) Drago is going to work as a front-line fighter, instead of using a high AC to negate attacks, he'll use stealth, intimidation some magic to attack with surprise or strike quickly and maneuver away. He has a strong tracking ability and, played right should be able to dish out some decent damage.
She needed him because she had no one else. She needed him to protect her, and she taught him all he needed to know about shadows, about anatomy and how to strike fear into someone with so much as a whisper. She needed him to sing the old, brooding songs of her ancestors. From the day of his birth he only once left his mother’s eye. They slept in the same bed and read to one another. He would protect her when an animal was found dead and missing most of its organs and the rabble would come to collect. Mother would stand by and tell Drago what a good, strong boy he had been, scaring off peasants who would have her blood, and in those moments he never felt stronger. She needed him, but he needed her as well.
As he grew older, however, he knew that Mother’s love had made him an outcast. He was a bearded wild-ling, strange unwholesome and dangerous. So fiercely protective of his home that he had isolated himself from the world. It was during those days when he dreamt of traveling to distant cities and speaking to other people and even begrudging Mother’s constant need for him that she died.
It was during one of her favorite dirges, a slow, rumbling verse when she shot up in her chair and a dark line of bile spilled down her clothes, her eyes went white and she was gone.
Drago placed her back into their bed, closed her eyes with his finger tips and finished her dirge.
There she stayed for months until the corpse was black and hideous. There he left her as he gathered his belongings on her mule and went into Ravengro.
Drago knew Mother would have been unhappy with such a burial. She would have wanted to be cremated with incense and an offering without blemish, but he couldn't conceive of lighting the pyre or spilling the blood – it was all too final. No, he wanted her there with him for as long as he could stand her decomposing body.
Yet now just as he is making his way in Ravengro, she has visited him. She pleads with him to sing, to stay with her, to return home. He can’t abide Mother’s obsession, and her now constant haunting.
My last few days have been really busy, as will today, so for now let's say recruitment is extended through until Monday or Tuesday evening, to give people all the time they need, since I won't be around to comment on stuff at the moment.
May I join in? I am thinking Warlock. If I may join in plz let me know.
duke- GMs accepting potential characters from anyone who wants to submit one until monday or tuesday and then picking the six character team that he'll run for. fell free to post the guy you'd like to play (there's a list on the previous page if you want to see what's been proposed so far).
Duke:All right then....
Introducing.....
Gargul Heavenripper. Dhampir Inquisitor
Still working on the stats and stuff.
I'd like to apply with Burnak, the Mountain. He's a Brawler from Caliphas. He's not exactly your typical hero, but the Professor has softened him a little from their friendship in the past few years.
If you click or tap on Gargul Heavenripper's name, find "Profile" and you will see his character sheet.
I've made a few small changes to background. As I said, I didn't necessarily have a "dark" theme in mind when he was created. I think his background leaves room for that though. It will come out more in game play, as opposed to initial set up. Considering how he came by his powers, I can play up the "possessed by evil forces" angle with a fair bit of internal struggle thrown in.
I'm applying with Brogol Stockl, half-orc investigator from Caliphas. Brogol's in need of a new home and some new companions, at least until he's figured out what happened to his master (and Lorrimor's colleague), the mad Doctor Dartengan.
I've thought on this the past couple days, and I feel like maybe my idea didn't pan out quite like it was supposed to, as evidenced by a few more apps since my last review that haven't been even in the neighborhood (Burnak's in particular having the professor just kind of pass by, and his character be completely removed from pretty much anything relevant to the AP). I feel like the best thing to do would be to step back, rethink the idea, and maybe try to go for something more standard in the AP. Especially with the concern I won't be able to pull a balanced party out of the profiles I'm fond of.
So I'm going to say this thread is done, and then come back in a few days with a new recruitment thread. Most likely still for Carrion Crown, and everyone can feel free to reapply then. New thread just means I won't get looked over by the assorted people I'd shot done tonally, since it won't be with the gimmick I had in mind. Thanks, everyone, and I'll probably see you in a few days for another go.
I MAY BE WILLING TO RUN THIS! Sorry for the bold letters, I just want everyone to see it, since the official close post was previous.
In full disclosure, the campaign will allow almost any race/class combination, so long as it seems like it would fit in a gothic horror campaign. The campaign will either be a watered-down gestalt (PCs gain both sets of class abilities and skill lists, but only one of the two sets of statistics, which is to say only the BAB, HD, saves, ect. from ONE of the classes!) or perhaps a standard game, but everyone gains a scaling template or something.
In any case, just let me know who is interested! I rather like many of the PC concepts, so it would likely be a closed recruitment, with only one addition to the applicants. ^_^
As a bit of a side note, the other applicant will likely be applying a fallen Psychopomp of Pharasma, exiled to the material plane as punishment for daring to interfere in the judgement of the dead in the name of mercy. He walks Ustalav in search of meaning in a world that holds none, striking up a friendship with the professor. That's all I know of the applicant's concept at present.
Is that to me or the OP? XD
Nope lol. Horrorshow has closed without selecting anyone, but I'm willing to pick it up, because I love the concept!
will you be using this thread or linking to a new one?
I'd love to join this new game with the same character being considered :3
By all means RVT, take it from here. I'd hate for everyone's effort to go to waste, so you have my blessing to take the reigns.
^ hmm, good, that answers another question I'd though of
Are you going to pick from the concepts as submitted, and then add your building rules, or you want to make changes effective before picking?
And how much are you going to homebrew the AP, since you are thinking on gestalt?
Thanks for your blessings, Horrorshow! ^_^
I will likely put up a new recruitment, because some character creation guidelines will be different. I will also be linking some of my books to Google Docs so everyone can utilize some cool gothic horror material I have (Almost all 3.X Ravenloft books, all of Legendary Games' Gothic Grimoire series, Fat Goblin Games' Shadows Over Vathak, ect.) to make their character fit their vision for it. For legal purposes, the files will be read-only, so if you use one, you'll need to transcribe the relevant material yourself, but that shouldn't be a problem, right?
To answer Juan's points: I will be waiting for people to change stats before selection, but I will be selecting based on fluff. Why? Because several of the books I am putting up for people to look at may spark new ideas and, therefore, their concepts may change. I'm not really changing much in the AP besides making monsters stronger and, in some cases, more numerous. Most APs are, unfortunately, TOO easy to run through anyway, so I would tweak the encounters anyway. And we're not doing a full-on gestalt... it'll be like a, er, pseudo-gestalt, so it won't be ramping up power levels to an 'IT'S OVER 9,000!!!' level, just increasing options in combat.
Also Pura, good news for you: I have the Advanced Bestiary and it has the Daemon-Possessed template! It will need altering a bit, but I can manage. I used to do game design, so have no fear.
I am considering adding madness rules too, as well as giving 'darker magic' the Ravenloft treatment (More powerful with better effects, but oh if it backlashes!). The applicants can vote on these, of course, because they're not necessary.
And lastly, certain material will be added to the AP, such as the modules for CC Legendary Games made, the Carrion Hill module, and a PFS adventure or two set in Ustalav (Any ideas on these?). Does this mean you'll have more loot than a regular PC in the campaign? Yes, but APs often 'underloot' PCs to artificially increase difficulty and why increase the difficulty by gimping PCs loot instead of making enemies deadlier? Exactly lol! ^_^
I will get recruitment up when I get back from the grocery store! ^_^
i'm definitely interested- i look forward to seeing your character creation rules and additional resources.
just to clarify- you're considering keeping application closed so only those who have already applied here are eligible, but we can apply with a different concept? or we have to keep the basic concept the same but we can rework the mechanics? also (if the later), i had submitted 2 concepts because the first wasn't the right kind of horror for what the GM was going for... would I pick which one to develop or how would that work?
thanks.
RVT here!
I believe keeping it semi-closed will be what we go with. That is to say, new applicants can apply, but preference will be given to those who posted on this thread, as well as to my bestie, obviously!
All those who have posted here may apply with another concept as well, but I may select their previous concept if I like it more and they do not explicitly state they are scrapping it. Basically, everyone has a 2 application limit, but I will ultimately only pick one of those, if either. Sound fair?
Nate Lange, are you interested in taking a racial paragon class of some sort as part of the pseudo-gestalt? I have the Lich substitution class from LRGG. I figured since you were interested in a 'seemingly immortal lord of the dead' that would work. And in case you think that is far out that the professor would work with a lich, remember Rudolph Van Richten spoke with Vampires (Vampires killed his family, so the fact he overcame that hatred speaks volumes about what true scholars will do to acquire information!), Werewolves, Ghosts, Demons, ect. to collect information for his tomes... and he was definitely portrayed as a hero.
Almost ready to begin typing up the recruitment! And no, I'm not driving and posting lol.