Too dangerous to live amongst the good people of Talingarde, they dragged you in chains before a magistrate and condemned you. They sent you to the worst prison in the land and there they forever marked you. They held you down and branded you with a runic F. You are forsaken. You won’t be at Branderscar Prison for long. Branderscar is only a holding pen. In three days – justice comes. In three days – everything ends.
What a pity. If only there was a way out of this stinking rat-hole. If only there was a way to escape. If only…
No. No one has ever escaped from Branderscar Prison. This is where your story ends.
Way of the Wicked is an adventure path from Fire Mountain games where you play a group of evil characters, sentenced to death by the self-righteous and "noble", but you're given a chance to escape your fate and take up arms under a force serving the Prince of Hell, to fight back against the city that has wronged you, to burn it to cinders and reforge a new order from amidst the ashes of their glory.
However, I'd like to run it a little differently, as something higher-powered. A gestalt version of Way of the Wicked, allowing for more versatile and unique villains, who will strive to be mightier than the average henchman. Not that your opponents won't also be gestalt; even a lowly 1st level prison guard will be more capable than usual, and beasts will be mighty. High power doesn't mean "easy" to me. It'll be tough, especially when you run across a major encounter where the gestalt has been chosen with care and your enemies rebuilt to provide a real challenge, but your hard-fought victories will make your revenge all the greater. I feel that high power should require a challenge to match, and despite what looks to be an advantage, you are going to be put through the wringer.
Talingarde is the most virtuous, peaceful, noble nation in the world today. This land is ruled by King Markadian V called the Brave of House Darius. He has only one heir – the beautiful princess Bellinda. This benevolent monarchy is heavily intertwined with the hurch of Mitra, the Shining Lord.
You are from Talingarde. This is your home. You have lived here your entire life. And if they gave you half a chance, you would have your revenge on all of them.
Who is Mitra?
Mitra, the so-called Shining Lord, is the god of the sun, bravery, honor, justice, charity and other such pusillanimous rubbish. The Church of Mitra is the preeminent religion of Talingarde these days. The Knights of the Alerion, the elite warriors of Talingarde, are a Mitran order. The monks of St. Macarius, who travel the land healing the sick and the helping the needy, are also a Mitran order. The House of Darius, the royal family of Talingarde, are devout followers of Mitra. It wasn’t always this way. Before the Darians took over, Talingarde worshipped an entire pantheon of deities.
Preeminent among those deities was Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, Lord of Ambition and Order. Now it is forbidden to worship Asmodeus. To do so is to be condemned. The Mitrans destroyed all the Asmodean temples and burned his books and priests. There are no followers of Asmodeus anymore in Talingarde – at least none you know of. Devout Mitrans will not say the name Asmodeus. He is simply “The Fallen” or “The Enemy”.
How did they catch me?
You tell me. You must pick a crime (there is a list provided below) that you were condemned for. They are only two requirements – you got caught and you really did it. It’s not surprising that the Talireans (the people of Talingarde) caught you, though. Talingarde is a fiercely lawful and good society. Crime (especially heinous crime like yours) is not tolerated.
Begin at level 1
Gestalt
25 point buy
All core races are playable, as well as the following: Aasimar, Catfolk, Changeling, Dhampir, Fetchling, Kitsune, Orc, and Tiefling.
-Aasimar should not be a choice made lightly, as beings of divine heritage, there should be some elements of a fall from grace in your character concept.
-Both Aasimar and Tieflings may choose freely from the variant ability tables for any option except for those that grant +2 to an ability score. You may also roll for your ability, and if you do indeed roll for the +2 then you can keep it. Tieflings do not need the Fiendish Heritage feat to do this because it's b~@+@~%+ that they need one but Aasimar don't.
Only Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil alignments are possible. All alignment restrictions on classes other than Antipaladin have been lifted for this purpose.
-Antipaladins are Lawful Evil instead of Chaotic Evil, and all applicable class features are changed as necessary.
Only Lawful Evil gods may be worshipped by any divine character. Very early into the AP your characters will be swearing their lives to the service of Asmodeus, so they should not hold faith in gods other than devils, who all pay lipservice in one way or another to the Prince of Darkness.
All classes except for Paladin, and all archetypes are allowed. This includes the Occult Adventures playtest classes, but be aware of the risks that come in the event of errata/heavy changes in the finished product, and of course playing a class that does not have much in the way of feat or equipment support yet.
-The book has a few suggestions for where to go, crunch-wise. While not necessary by any means, the book mentions the Assassin prestige class, Anti-Paladin, Sorcerers of the Infernal bloodline, a focus on devils for summoner characters, Alchemists, and Necromancy specialists. Feel free to make characters that don't have these if you wish, it's not a requirement or something I'll be taking into account when making my choices. But if you were curious about what works or may have some goodies in store, it'd be these.
-Archetypes that fit the flavour and "evil" theme of the campaign, such as those dealing with shadows or undead, are also good directions to consider.
-Classes possessing a bonded object, familiar, animal companion, or the like begin play without these things; animals were either slain during your arrest, or escaped and must be sought out/replaced. No penalty will be imposed for this replacement. All classes with prepared spellcasting will begin play with a day's worth of spells memorized.
Two additional skill points per level, representing villains' generally greater aptitude.
One free bonus feat at 1st level for much the same reason.
Two traits, as well as a Crime Trait chosen from the list below.
0 starting gold, and you begin with nothing but the rags on your bag.
The books also have steps that allow characters to eventually become vampires or liches. For vampirism in particular, it's a feat chain that can be started at first level to end at ninth. If you're interested in that, the information will be given and worked out. Lichdom is a much later-game, resource-oriented process, so no need for that right now. In addition, because we're playing gestalt you may sacrifice one class level at level 1 to gain the Lycanthrope template. From second level onward you will gain levels as normal, but with Lycanthrope as similar to a one-level dip.
Material from any Paizo book where applicable (obviously nothing from Mythic) is acceptable.
3rd party material will be on a case-by-case basis. No Godlings or archetype packages material. I also don't like introducing things that introduce whole systems, so Psionics and Path of War are not allowed. I'm a lot more open to self-contained classes, archetypes, feats, spells, etc.
Prerequisites: You must be bitten by a vampire.
Benefits: You gain darkvision 30 ft. and the alertness feat, however your Constitution score is lowered by two permanently.
This list of twenty crimes is not intended to be comprehensive. Feel free to invent your own crime, punishment and benefit (with the GM’s approval of course). Besides simplying choosing a crime, you should also consider how the crime was done. Was this a well-planned criminal enterprise or a crime of passion? Did you do it alone or did you have accomplices? Was this the first time you did this crime or are you a repeat offender? Answering these questions will help flesh out your character’s background. This has been said before, but it bears repeating. Your character actually perpetrated this crime. You may have done it for what seemed like noble reasons. You may have gotten entangled in this criminal enterprise unwillingly. But there is no doubt that you are guilty. You have not been sentenced to the worse prison in Talingarde unjustly. You are here because you deserve to be.
Arson: You have willfully started a fire that destroyed property. To be sent to Branderscar, you didn’t start just a minor little trash fire. Your act of arson threatened a major town, city, church or castle and likely cost someone their life. You’ll be punished for your crime by facing the fire yourself.
Punishment: Death by burning
Benefit:Whenever you score a critical hit with a fire attack, you receive a +2 fire damage bonus to your damage roll. This bonus is a trait bonus.
Attempted Murder: You tried to kill someone and botched the job. To be sent to Branderscar Prison, you did not try to kill just anyone. You likely assaulted someone of great importance and prominence.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus to Intimidate checks, and Intimidate is always a class skill for you.
Blasphemy:
Either you have defamed the great god Mitra or you have been found guilty of worshipping one of the forbidden deities (who preeminent among them is Asmodeus).
Punishment: Death by burning
Benefit: +2 trait bonus to Knowledge (religion) and Knowledge (religion) is always a class skill for you.
Consorting with the Dark Powers (Witchcraft):
You have been found guilty of summoning an evil outsider. Likely you were captured by the famed witch hunter Sir Balin of Karfeld. The last thing he said to you was, “May Mitra have mercy upon your wretched, damned soul.” If only you could get a chance at revenge!
Punishment: Death by burning
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (planes) and Knowledge (arcana) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.
Desecration: You have violated one of the churchs, cathedrals or holy shrines of the great god Mitra. To be sent to Branderscar this was no minor act of vandalism. Instead you have done something flagrant and spectacular to dishonor the Shining Lord.
Punishment: Death by burning
Benefit: You receive +1 trait bonus on all saving throws against divine spells.
Desertion: You have deserted from the Talirean military and been recaptured. To get sent to Branderscar this was not some minor or routine dereliction of duty. Instead, you abandoned your post during a time of crisis -- perhaps battle or while defending the Watch Wall. Regardless of the exact circumstances, your laziness and cowardness must have caused loss of life.
Punishment: Death by hanging
Benefit: You receive one bonus skill point per level that must be spent on the Profession (Soldier) skill. Profession (Soldier) is always a class skill for you.
Dueling unto Death: You have engaged in a duel to the death and mortally wounded an opponent. The opponent was honorable enough to say nothing before he expired. Alas that his family or companions was nowhere near so honorable. Dueling was once common in Talingarde before the House of Darius came to power. The House of Barca all but encouraged duels of honor. Now, dueling of any sort is punished severely. Dueling to the death is a sure way to be sent to Branderscar Prison.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus to Fortitude saves
Extortion: You have defrauded money from someone by holding information of their wrongdoing over their heads. To end up in Branderscar, this was no minor act of merely threatening to expose someone. Instead you ave attempted extortion against someone of great prominence and for exorbitant stakes.
Punishment: Life at hard labor in the salt mines
Benefit: You receive a +2 trait bonus to Intimidate checks, and Intimidate is always a class skill for you.
Forgery: You have forged documents issued either by the crown or by the Church of Mitra. Alas, that your forgery while competent was not entirely undetectable. To be sent to Branderscar, this was no minor finagling of paperwork. This forged document could have cost lives, undermined the reputation of the Church or endangered the security of the realm.
Punishment: Life at hard labor in the salt mines
Benefit: You gain a +3 trait bonus to Linguistics skill checks to commit forgery and Linguistics is always a class skill for you.
Fraud: You tried to bilk someone out of their cash. To end up in Brandescar Prison, this was no petty con job or penny ante racket. Instead, you brazenly tried to defraud someone important of a huge sum of money. And it almost worked too!
Punishment: Life at hard labor in the salt mines
Benefit: You receive a +2 trait bonus to Bluff checks and Bluff is always a class kill for you.
Grave Robbery: It is forbidden by sacred law to dishonor a corpse after it is been sealed in its tomb by a clergy of the Mitran faith. Some may not honor this ban: necromancers, golem crafters, self-styled scientists, and alchemists delving into
the forbidden secrets of life and death. These ghouls can expect no mercy from the Talirean Magistrates. And by sending you to Branderscar Prison, you have receive none.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to confirm critical hits.
Heresy:You have denied the supremacy of Mitra and been condemned for it. For this to be a crime, you were not content to keep your heresy to yourself. You tried to sway others. Likely you were captured by the famed witch hunter Sir Balin of Karfeld. The last thing he said to you was: “Mitra may forgive you yet for your lies. Talingarde will not.” If only you could get a chance at revenge!
Punishment: Death by burning.
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus on all saving throws against divine spells.
High Theft: You had a foolproof plan to steal some great treasure. Alas, the scheme had a fatal flaw and went horribly awry. To be sent to Branderscar prison, this was no ordinary robbery attempt. You tried to steal something of great value or religious significance.
Punishment: Life at hard labor in the salt mines
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to Reflex saves.
High Treason: You have willfully worked to bring down the current Monarch of Talingarde -- the beloved King Markadian V called the Brave of House Darius. To be successfully tried for High Treason you have done more than merely dislike the king, you did something tangible to undermine his rule. Alas, that you failed at your plot and are now headed to Branderscar Prison. Treason is the only crime that is still punished by the gruesome ritual of being drawn and quartered. Your stay at Branderscar will be brief.
Punishment: Death by drawing and quartering
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to Will saves.
Kidnapping: You have abducted someone perhaps to ransom them or do unspeakable things to them. Unfortunately, you were caught and your victim was rescued (if they weren’t rescued -- you would be guilty of murder instead). To be sent to Branderscar Prison, you must have abducted someone of great importance or in a particularly gruesome manner.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to both Disarm and Grapple attempts.
Murder: You have killed without just cause and been condemned for it. To be sent to Branderscar Prison, this was no typical killing but a particularly savage and unforgiveable act. You may also have killed someone with powerful friends. Note: You are not allowed to have killed someone in the royal family of Talingarde. You may have tried (his would instead be High Treason -- see above) but ultimately they are too well protected.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You deal 1 additional point of damage when flanking a foe. This additional damage is a trait bonus.
Piracy: You have been caught in the act of piracy on the high seas. This is a rare crime these days since Markadian I called the Victorious burned the last major pirate fleet to threaten these isles. Still the crime is punished harshly. Likely you are the sole survivor of your ship.
Punishment: Death by hanging
Benefit: You may select either Bluff or Intimidate. The selected skill receives a +2 trait bonus and is always a class skill for you.
Sedition: You have attempted to covertly stir up rebellion against your rightful sovereign. This differs from high treason in that you attempted to convince others to make war against Talingarde instead of taking direct action yourself. A subtle difference to be sure. But it is the difference between receiving the swift justice of the axe instead of the slow suffering upon the rack.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to Bluff checks and Bluff is always a class skill for you. Further if you ever take the Leadership feat, you gain a +1 trait bonus to your Leadership score.
Slave-Taking: Slavery is illegal in Talingarde and a very rare crime. Still, once in a great while, slavers from the mainland will foolishly make an incursion into Talirean protected territories. When they are captured alive they are always made an example of.
Punishment: Death by beheading
Benefit: You receive a +1 trait bonus to both Disarm and Grapple attempts.
Slave Trading: Slavery is legal in other parts of the world and it can be tempting to the most decadent of Talingarde’s nobility to acquire a “souvenir” when traveling abroad or to purchase the object of their desire from a less reputable merchant. However you ended up trading slaves in Talingarde, you were caught red handed and now you will lose more than simply your freedom. Punishment: Death by beheading Benefit: You receive one bonus skill point per level that must be spent on the Appraise skill. The Appraise skill is always a class skill for you.
I feel it's important to explain exactly what I'm looking for, in terms of characters. Evil campaigns can go in a few different directions, and I would very much like to avoid sociopathic power fantasy or murder-happy psychopaths who only care about bloodshed or killing. I like principled villains, people who do what they do because they believe it's what's right. People crushed beneath the heel of a Mitran regime and want to change the world to fit their vision of it. They can be tragic or noble or any number of things, but they shouldn't be The Joker. Being a team player is also huge; don't steal from the party or do anything stupid and reckless. Your character should be able to get along with the rest of the party fine. Also please no rapists. Despite the potential for mature themes let's just forget that rape is a thing altogether and not go there.
Also, your character has to be the kind of person who would, at least in a matter of life-or-death, choose to follow Asmodeus. As I said above about the worship of gods, you'll be swearing your lives to Asmodeus, and it's not a voluntary decision. If you have a character in mind either too loyal to another god to think otherwise, or aggressively committed to not swearing fealty to any god, then either change them or come up with something else, because it won't live past the second chapter.
I'll take a party of four and leave recruitment open probably for a week.
Interested!
Dot
Question: How would you feel about a Summoner (Master Summoner archetype - less Eidolon and more temporary battle buddies) with an evil-themed summoning list? This'd be generated from the official bestiaries, of course, with every effort made to ensure a similar number of creatures at the same CRs as the official list has. I'm pondering something like a deal with Hell where the character has the right to - within reasonable limits - call up infernal servants without the usual long bargaining process.
Making a tiefling monk//fighter, rolling for abilities and such
Here is the crunch for Bane88's character. I have a rough background I'm working on and it revolves around a concept I've always wanted to try. Striving to be a member of the Order of the First Sword. So a question pertaining to that, can I count the sacred weapon of Asmodeus, the longsword, to my "monk" weapons so I can use perfect strike etc.
@Rednal: I'd say no, for a couple reasons. One is that you would never be able to summon anything under any circumstances without blowing your cover--and that's a fair part of the AP--and the other is that the bargaining process seems like something that isn't particularly negotiable.
@Sicarrius: Asmodeus's weapon is the Mace. If you take a single level of Cleric, you can grab the Crusader's Flurry feat, which will add it to your list.
If you are ok with someone playing who is also running it then I will work on this guy here, I would love to get a chance to be one of the villains. Will be a Ninja/Ranger who will become a vampire. It is of course no problem at all for me to keep ap knowledge from spoiling things.
I'm interested.
My character would be Zolthan (Fire Wizard 1), a Tiefling whose grandfather would have been Belial the archduke according to his mother (she would have had a half-fiend lover). He was raised in Westcrown, Cheliax. His red skin and horns were a clear sign of his devilish heritage yet he never showed any innate magic. He decided instead to focus his energies into studying magic, fire magic to be precise in order to acquire magic, power and influence to eventually impress Belial, his grandfather, hoping that he would welcome him with open arms as his real kin. He worships Belial and Asmodeus. He joined the Pathfinder Society and managed to get enough wealth and influence to be able to retire in a country house in Talingarde. In his later years, he had a young halfling slave, bought from Gnolls. She managed to escape the house and vowed to get her revenge. Some time later, he was arrested for Slave Trading.
@Alexander: I never understood the appeal of powergaming like that, so go for it.
@Andros: It's gestalt, so what would the other half of the build be?
@Kayne: I guess I could allow elemental folk on the requirement they're able to pass as human, either with visual traits being hidden or an investment in the Disguise skill.
After reading a bit about Gestalt (never knew what it was before), I guess it would make sense with my backstory to be a Fire Wizard/Fiendish Vessel Cleric.
Very interested. Right now I'm thinking a dhampir antipaladin/swashbuckler that'll be looking to fully take on his vampiric heritage. I'll post in once I have more.
Dotting for interest with a preliminary Sniper Rogue/Musket Master Gunslinger.
I'm a bit curious... it's implied by the setting information that nobody worships Asmodeus, does that mean the PCs cannot start out worshiping him either? What about the other archdevils, infernal dukes, malebranche, and the whore queens? (I have a character concept that might work well for a character who worships Eiseth or Ardad Lili.)
PCs totally can worship Asmodeus. He used to be a fairly popular god in Talingarde, but the current regime is very devoutly Mitran and worship of Asmodeus, or really anyone but Mitra, has been outlawed. A character can definitely start out worshipping whomever they wish (within the "must be LE" restriction I posted above, so the Whore Queens are definitely on the table), but would be wise to keep it secret, lest Blasphemy or Heresy be the reason they were sent to Branderscar.
Thank you! And yeah, I figured my character would probably be guilty of half the crimes on the list, but Forgery was the one that 'broke the camel's back' and got her sent to Branderscar. (I have a fun story thought up behind that.)
Definitely interested. I'm playing this AP currently (in book 4 or 5) but never got to experience the first book, nor the first half of the second, and the game is a bit RP-lite (it's in real time over Roll20 and Skype. Playing tomorrow, actually.), so I'd love to be in one where I have a bit more time to interact with the characters and such.
Quick question on 3rd party stuff. You said no Psionics because you didn't want to learn a new system, but would you be all right with the non-Manifester classes? Namely Aegis (creates a suit of armor with various special abilities) or Soulknife (creates a magic weapon out of mental energy. Works kinda like a Black Blade Magus but with no casting and more modularity)? And some of the associated Feats, on a case-by-case.
If no, something involving an Alchemist might be pretty rad. Perhaps a Vivisectionist, caught for Grave Robbing. Not sure what the second class would be.
It isn't the learning of a new system, it's the introduction of one. Adding skills and elements that the other players didn't necessarily agree to and aren't really set to utilize in any way. On top of it, I don't intend to use any Psionic classes when rewriting and rebalancing, which would leave potentially a single PC as the lone user in the world of any of these abilities. So, just easiest altogether to not allow them.
Ima bite I rather like gestalt and it seems like the holidays ate up a lot of my games.
Going for something a bit odd,
human sorcerer/fighter(dex)
Meet Lillith, sorcerer and dexterous fighter
Lillith
Female human fighter 1/sorcerer 1
LE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 30 ft.; Perception +2
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Defense
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AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 10 (HD 1d10)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +2
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Bloodline Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . 7/day—corrupting touch (1 round)
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . 1st (4/day)—charm person (DC 18), mage armor
. . 0 (at will)—daze (DC 14), detect magic, message, resistance
. . Bloodline Infernal
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Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 18
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Alertness, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Mobility, The Bitten, Weapon Focus (nodachi)
Traits domineering, grave robbery
Skills Bluff +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (engineering) +4, Perception +2, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +4
Languages Common
SQ bloodline arcana (+2 DC for charm spells)
Other Gear 0 gp
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Special Abilities
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Bloodline Arcana: Infernal (Ex) +2 to save DCs from spells of the Charm subschool.
Corrupting Touch (1 rds, 7/day) (Sp) As a standard action, touch shakes foe and they radiate evil for 1 round.
Darkvision (30 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Domineering (Charm Person) DC of selected spell increases by 1.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Grave Robbery +1 trait bonus to confirm critical hits
Mobility +4 to AC vs. AoO provoked by moving out of or through a threatened area.
The Bitten You have been bitten by a vampire and infected with the curse of undeath.
If there is space still, I would be interested in playing. Not sure yet what my gestalt would be. Probably Inquisitor of Asmodeus/Slayer or Rogue.
I would like to submit Ankova Schwarz, Slayer/Warpriest of Eiseth, for consideration. She's remarkably lucky to be 'merely' sentenced to the salt mines, as she has committed far more heinous crimes than those she was found guilty of by the magistrate in Ghastenhall.
(stats and background in profile)
I have returned. Here is a submission for Alexander the Bitten. A Ninja/Ranger that will be the 'skills' guy of the party. Stats are in the profile but not completely decided on a few things yet. Are drawbacks allowed?
Also since Ninja, hopefully there will be the chance to get new 'eastern' weapons? Namely the Wakizashi that are his weapon focus and will hopefully be two weapon fought.
Alexander lay there unable to move as the guards reached the cemetary. He could hear them entering the crypt even as the blood loss was causing him to lose consciousness. It was hard to keep his eyes open. Damn you Evena. He had been betrayed. Stabbed in the back. Or rather, bitten in the neck to be more exact. He had not closed his eyes long before he could hear they had found him. "Is he alive? Priest! Restore him to us so we may have answers." There must have been a Mitran cleric with them. Soon there was muttering, "Waste the holy lords healing on one of these they say. It will give us answers they say." Soon there was power flowing into him sealing up his wounds. They musn't have noticed the bites on his neck for all of the blood. "We don't need to ask any questions. Isn't it obvious? His friend betrayed him, sliced his neck open and escaped with the holy relics! Leaving this one here to slow us down. There are several tunnels leading out of here. Tell your men to go after it." Alex could see now. Soldiers and a man in robes stood around him. Several were ordered to search the tunnels for tracks and find the other man. Then the commander pulled him to his feet and questioned him. "Who was with you in this? Why did they leave you behind to die?" He wanted to answer and say that a vampire named Evena had forced him here. The only thing that came out of his mouth though was, "There is no one else. Just me." He pointed to his dagger that lay in the blood, "I accidentally cut myself. There are no relics missing from the tombs tonight. Everything missing I took previously." The cleric frowned, perhaps doubting but the commander either believed him or didn't care. The soldiers came back saying they could find no tracks or evidence of anyone else here. "Finally we have found the dirty little grave robber that has plagued us for almost a month. You were careful but not careful enough." The soldiers bound him and took him away. "The penalty for you will be a beheading." His trial was quick. Before the week was up he was sentenced and heading for Branderscar to await his penalty. The compulsion on his mind had still not worn off and he could not break it. He could still feel the vampire presence in him mind every now and then. As if checking on him to make sure that he was not causing any trouble. The compulsion held for him, for even though implicating himself was leading to his destruction, telling them the true story would not change any of that and he knew it. A lucky circumstance for the vampire.
He had fallen in with her not out of choice but by being forced to serve her. He had been part of a group tasked with killing her. They had been unprepared for her strength. She had torn apart each of them and left him for last. It seemed only on a whim she had changed her mind when regarding him. His asthetics pleased her and she kept him dominated. She was after several holy objects that she said she could corrupt. Use their power to strengthen herself further. She discovered their location and used his skills to infiltrate during the day. The first few items were easy. Minor magical things. But then she got bold and they started on the tombs and crypts of holy families. This of course caught the attention of the Mitrans and brought about his capture.
Perhaps if he had not been dominated and this was the only thing he had done then he would be allowed to make ammends as he was not in control of his own actions. The truth was that he hated Mitra just as much as the vampire who slew his fellow assassins. He did not consider stealing from Mitra to be a crime and did it almost willingly. His family came from an old line of worshippers of Asmodeus. They followed a dark and ancient path originating in another land. Theirs was one of the only families in talinguade to practise this art. Hudnreds of years ago his clan had almost been destroyed and they had been forced to flee across the ocean. They vowed to one day return and exact vengeance but recently the kingdom of Talinguarde had been whittling them down also. With a vampire threatening them and Mitrans on every side they could hardly survive. In an attempt to gain some breathing room they went after the vampire. Lured into her lair they were destroyed 1 by 1. He remains the last. Female and male alike dead. If he had his blade now and his own mind to do it he would restore what little honour they had with Seppuku. But the soldiers had raided his home after he freely gave them the location. All was lost and the last of the Torov ninjas would die by beheading. A most dishonourable death. They would be the lowest of status in the next life certainly.
Curse Mitra. Curse you Evena. Curse Talinguarde.
Alexander stands at 6 feet tall, with grey eyes and black hair. An angular face shows much training, hard work and no excess. His whole life he has known nothing but hardship. He has followed the ninja way every day, never allowed to relax, never allowed to sleep but with one eye open and a blade beside him. He cares only for honour, for himself and his family. Everything he does or would do is for his name. He conducts himself according to his ways. Religiously carries out all their rituals. Their worship of Asmodeus has never been more than a deep respect and admiration. Perhaps if they had been more faithful the family would have prospered more.
He is trained to blend in. To seem like just another average nobody. This helped him avoid capture for so long. He knows the right things to say, the right ways to do things to avoid notice.
Alexander? If we both get chosen. We can put our stories together? I too took grave robber.
We both have Bitten as a feat. Both human. Both have a weapon focus in an asian weapon type :)
@GM i still need to spend 1 skill point. I miss counted =^^=
With a party of only four i'm not sure that is likely but if it happens we could discover some way we are connected in game I reckon for sure.
How do you feel about the doing the underworld thing and being a lycanthrope that becomes a vampire.
Dotting, very interested.
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I already have a character built for gestalt WotW
It does use a 3rd party warlock update, but if that's not allowed, I could easily swap it to antipaladin.
So black blooded bones oracle/warlock or antipaladin, either way he's a necromancer going for the vampire
Ironically enough though, the antipaladin has the less evil backstory.
@Jarred: Yeah, you can run that. Might be interesting to see how that turns out.
@varathiel: No space has been claimed because I'm taking applications for about a week and then choosing, so go for it.
@Alexander: Drawbacks are allowed. My ruling on eastern weapons would probably be that they are available in certain specialty shops in Talingarde or through other assorted channels, but not the sorts of things you can walk into any store to get. Sources that may come under a lot more scrutiny if you gain a certain measure of infamy and are the only person in town who seems to be swinging those sorts of weapons around.
@Ashe: One, the other, or neither.
@Wade: I'd allow Warlock.
Cool, thanks for the reply.
I plan to have her backstory up before the end of the week. For some odd reason i really like this character and she hasnt even been created yet... well. We'll see how her story goes
@Lord Foul: I don't really pick characters by the elevator pitch, but I'd be okay with people submitting two different characters if they have a lot of ideas floating around.
I've never played in a wotw game, but really like the idea and just how differnt it could be game wise and role playing wise.
I wrote Embry up for a carrion crown game, the basic idea is going to stay the same but I may change him to vivisectionist/slayer going down the vamprie route (I was going to take mummification - but flavour it more to the vampire side) But you offer the chance to turn vampire now so I will take that up.
I'm really excited about this I'll make sure to get everything at least basics done by tomorrow.
Edit- since the sneak attack wouldn't stack I may go ranger instead.
Dotting for extreme interest! I love WotW!
I have this idea for a fetchling antipaladin/rogue who does two weapon fighting. I'll start getting some numbers and background ideas going.
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Cool, I'll post a build and backstory for the vivisectionist in a bit,
Would it be ok if he has a construct (class feature) and his weapon in the armory? It's important for trait selection but that's about it.
Both characters are healers, but the oracle is better at healing undead which is a concern in this game, at least late game.
Actually...I'd kinda love to be an Antipaladin/Monk or something.
A Reverse Champion of Irori.
Hm. Why would he be imprisoned.
Perhaps a combination of blasphemy and murder. An Asmodean assassin, sent to kill a member of the church? A failure, of course.
Hrm. I like the Asmodean assassin concept but not the hugest fan of the Antipaladin as a class.
Perhaps a Sacred Fist Warpriest/Slayer. Slayer's one of my favorite classes.
Or just straight up Fighter. Take the Vampire Feats too. Never actually played a full Fighter.
@Lord Foul: Explain the situation and we can see about working in it, but as the book stands there's no "you go into a room and find all your confiscated stuff" room in the book.
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Well for one if I had a masterwork cold iron hammer (there's a numerian regional trait that gives one to you) why would they randomly destroy it?
The same could be said of a robotic servant, but I suppose they could see that one as a threat of some kind, and it might be put in the
Edit: which reminds me, I was in a game that died when the DM just suddenly stopped posting, we made it
Alrighty I settled on a Daemon spawn tiefling slayer/hexcrafter magus.
Ima just roll for whatever thingy I get for fiendish heritage not taking the feat.
DOT FOR INTEREST