GM, would you allow the Branded Oracle curse?
Sorry about having asked, I know you said no pluses allowed, but since you 'banned' my roll, I thought I could just try :P No problem with it.
It's ok then if I pick 48: Weapon of Awe 1/day?
How about the saving an important person's life? Are you ok with that? That would give Markus some concretion in the city, as well - a district where to live and some people to know.
Doomed Hero: Branded is third party, so it's out.
Markus: Sure, that's a fine ability. Just a matter of wanting to keep the ability as somewhere in the neighborhood of what it replaces, and flight/ability score boosts seem a bit much in that regard. As far as saving someone, long as it was from nefarious forces, that someone is indeed important, and it's in a manner that says you know your s$%*, then sure, that'd work.
Doomed Hero: Branded is third party, so it's out.
No problem. I was hoping for a fire-themed curse. Guess I'll go with Blackened and not be a weapon-combatant.
Here's Doomed Hero's submission. I've yet to finish his equipment but everything else is there.
Zach is an Oracle of Saranrae from a long line of monster-hunters. The Ravencour family is kinda like Golarion's version of the Belmont clan. He's a former soldier of Lastwall with a strong devotion to duty. He rose through the ranks as the medic for a scout unit, so he has sharp eyes, a light step, and a knack for keeping his squad alive.
Due to his damaged hands he's not much good with weapons, but he's compensated by learning how to throw a pretty good punch.
In terms of Party Role, Zach is primarily a support caster, but he can make a good backup for nearly any role. He can move with the scouts, talk along with the party face, fight next to the frontliners, all while burst-healing to keep everyone at full fighting strength.
Zach is designed to be an excellent team player and should be able to fit in with any kind of party makeup.
Please let me know what you think. All the details are in the alias.
Unfortunately I think I'm going to be backing out of this one.
Hmm... yes, I think I have an idea for this. Backstory is vague in my mind at this point in time, but will have something to do with a spirit haunting his family. I have an idea for how he'll work in the party but I need to see if it works out before I say anything about it.
EDIT: Actually, demons seem like they'll work better for a backstory. I'm making a brawler who focuses on grabbing style and firearms. Because I like the thought of mixing up unarmed strikes and gunshots.
Josh.Ingle here with my submission, Jack Ironwood. The backstory just kind of ran away with me, so his goal is to capture, attempt to redeem, and if that proves impossible kill his parents, who are a dynamic Paladin-turned-Antipaladin dynamic duo. Because demons are freaky but there's something to be said about them turning humans from paragons of virtue to exemplars of chaos. He's going to be providing a little ranged support and some well-placed grappling/pinning for the group.
Mechanics also finished. I think it is mostly done, I'll be adding some more things as I think of them.
Damon reporting for duty! just putting finishing touches on em
Very nearly done here. I mostly just need to finish up my spells and gear. A couple of questions to help me round things out:
1) This one got passed over before, I think: Would you allow Breadth of Experience? It's technically restricted to dwarves, gnomes, and elves, but I think that's mostly just an artifact of those being the core races that lived more than a century.
2) What's your feelings on those with Craft Item feats making use of those feats for their own gear? For the moment, I've purchased as if unable to do so, but I'd be more than happy to have some money freed up. (First thing I'll be making given the time/money available is a Blessed Book, for reasons that will become clear during the next question.)
3) Those of us who need to spend money to learn new spells (stupid spellbooks) - can we do so freely, or is there a limit on how many spells we can already know? This is a pretty important question for me, as Lyj's nature means he basically learns every spell he thinks could possibly ever be of any use given sufficient time and money. It gets expensive quick. I've only done so for a few spells right now, but will probably add more given the go-ahead. Also, for however many spells I should be getting, should I pay standard fees for borrowing spellbooks, generally half again what it costs to write it into said book?
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Lyj, are you sticking to the Lawful Evil thing, or you just forgot to change it?
In case you are, let me know, please. You know, this is a supposedly Good party, and there might be some Paladins who might not want to spend the whole campaign attuning.
Edit: Spooky, forgot to ask. In this Group Initiative, is Improved Initiative any less important? I'm not sure how about how does it work, if it's a "everyone together" thing I might exchange II for any other feat (e.g. Iron Will).
Just forgot to change it. That said, I really doubt Lyj and any paladins will get along terribly well in any case - which would, of course, be highly amusing for the players.
I have put together a singular accomplishment as well as a goal. let me know if you would like anything else
@Thecooldudenextdoor: Missing the personal motivations bit.
@Zachariah: Everything looks to be in place.
@Jack: Lacking in description and the personality run-down, and I'm hoping that's not your finished character sheet, but otherwise everything looks fine.
@Lyj: I agree with you on the count of Breadth of Experience, and will allow you to take it. As for crafting, I like the book's suggestion of allowing you to exceed WBL by 25%, increasing if you take further crafting feats. So I will permit it, as long as you switch around your shopping such that the total value of everything is beneath 13,125 GP. You can learn as many spells through money as you wish, and yes that's standard fees.
@Markus: It's "group" in a more complicated sense than just party turn/enemy turn. I divide initiative up into brackets based on the rolls; for the first turn, anyone who rolled higher than the enemies may move, then the enemies move. Then, the people who rolled lower than the enemies moved, but so can the people who rolled higher than the enemies, as they're the next in queue. Enemies will, in the majoriy of encounters, work off a single initiative count together for simplicity and pace's sake.Then, once the whole party has move,d which is 1.5 turns, I roll for the enemies again, and everyone moves once more. This way, in an ideal world each turn takes 24 hours, rather than peoples' individual schedules drawing combat out for longer as we wait for everyone to roll in sequence. In practice, people who roll high might end up with an extra couple turns as time goes on depending on posting and how things go, but it's just a neater way of keeping the game pace moving. But having an Initiative is still rather important as far as getting ahead of enemies goes.
@Amarantha: Thing you misunderstood the accomplishment thing a bit; it's not necessarily an "anything you'd be famous for" thing, but something that would make you specifically notable to someone looking to put together a band of monster hunters.
Great! Now all that's left to do is finish up my gear. Thanks.
Updated with appearance and explanation on his "motivations"
Here's most of the submission package for Erasmus Ames. Originally he was submitted as a joint package with another character. If anybody is interested in playing a character with history in northern Garund, contact me and we can work on integrating. If not, Raz will be solo (and it's assumed that his original partner, Baqir Iskandar the Water Kineticist, perished in the alluded-to adventure; in-and-of-itself, I could add that into the plot hooks.)
Spooky GM, how grandiose or realistic should these personal goals be? Is searching for the Bloodstones of Arazni too much?
Erasmus "Raz" Ames, human Gunslinger (Pistolero) 5
Wanted: Alive
Crimes: Conspiracy, Nighthawking, Disturbing the Peace
Reward: 5000 gp
Notes: Suspect was last seen fleeing north into the Mana Wastes following the Urstradi River. Considered to be armed and dangerous.
Erasmus Ames was never bothered by the corruption in the Shieldmarshalls. He took his bribes the same as anybody else, looked the other way for the right people the same as anybody else, neglected unimportant details the same as anybody else. It was just an ugly word for the grease on the cogs that kept the Clockwork City running smoothly, and his polished badge and oiled six-guns didn't shine any less for it. After all, the hours were long, the Wastes were brutal, and justice doesn't come cheap in the City of Smog. Greasy palms and greasy guns are what kept the mutants at bay and everybody knew it, so it didn't bother 'ol Raz one bit. That is, until the day he found himself on the wrong side of it.
Maybe it was political, maybe it was personal, but Erasmus Ames didn't stick around long enough to find out. He high-tailed it out of the Grand Duchy out into the Spellscar just as fast as his horse could take him. The snipers on the wall didn't even waste their ammo trying to pick him off; everybody knew that a lone rider, ill-equipped and unprotected, was as good as dead out in the Wastes - if they were lucky. If not - well, the life of a mutant is never very long anyway.
At least, that's what they thought. For his part, that's what Raz thought too, until he stumbled across one of the ruins. The Wastes were littered with them, the last remains of thousand-year-old cities blasted off the face of the planet during Nex and Geb's pissing contest of magical holocaust. Teams of outriders came through every so often and cleared the mutants out of them ahead of trade caravans traveling through the desert. Raz was familiar with the ruins, having cleared some of them out himself (and finding some trinkets to line his pockets with beside). But off the main highways you were taking your chances. It was a lucky break for Mr. Ames; there was no better time for taking chances. He rode that luck all the way through the desert, escaping on the other side into Nex. He worked his way north, guarding caravans all the way through Nex and Katapesh. He took a liking to Katapesh; a man like him could find a lot of work and make a lot of coin. He took a liking to the pesh, too, and found many ways to spend a lot of coin. Too many ways and too much coin. Plagued by debt and pesh nightmares, he took a desperate job, signing on to guard some whackjob scholarly expedition following some phony map out to some secret forgotten ruin in Osirion.
Sometimes looks can be deceiving. That was only the first lesson Raz learned on that expedition. He also learned that 'guard' translates roughly as 'expendable trap fodder' in Osiriani, to always bring a mirror into the tomb with you, that his shiny badge makes a surprisingly good mirror, and to never take an artifact without leaving a sandbag in its place. But the most important lesson of all, the one rule to hold to above all others, is that, when it comes to mummies, shoot first and ask questions never. Aim for the head, always make sure to double-tap, and burn the remains for good measure.
It didn't take long to become disillusioned with the treasure-hunting scene in Osirion. The thing about 'scholarly expeditions' is that the most dangerous jobs always seem to pay the least. Mr. Ames was used to putting his life in danger for petty monetary compensation, but the only thing worse than mutants are mummies. One close call too many and he finally decided he was done with 'guard' work. He was ready to get out of Osirion, with the 'scholars' and the 'collectors' ruining things for solid, honest adventure capitalists like himself. But he'd need a partner if he was ever going to strike it rich. Foreign lands and foreign tombs call for good friends to have your back. There was only one man that Erasmus Ames knew he could trust, and he'd always given Raz a frosty welcome.
From the moment they met, Baqir Iskandar and Erasmus Ames were doomed to make history. It would be the history of desperate fools, bad ideas, and success that comes at too high a price. Geb was a bad idea, possibly the worst ever, and it had been his. They escaped with their lives, but they would live with the scars. There aren't many terrors worse than pesh nightmares, but forbidden knowledge is one helluva drug.
Almost forgot my Aasamar trait.
Well that's cool. Short duration Holy enhancement to wielded melee, which fists count as. Very fitting for my walking positive energy bomb.
Just forgot to change it. That said, I really doubt Lyj and any paladins will get along terribly well in any case - which would, of course, be highly amusing for the players.
I don't mind not getting along well with anyone, but that is one thing and a very different one is constantly violating the "don't associate with Evil characters" rule. That said, Markus is not the jerkiest of Paladins unless you willingly put a member of the group in peril.
@Erasmus: Maybe something relatively achievable in some capacity. Whether a plot hook or just something they can be working toward one way or another, but something that could be realized. Bloodstones of Arazni might be a little too off-theme for us to really end up happening upon them at any point. Obviously he can have whatever pipe dream heist he could imagine as something he'd love to do, but also something a little more grounded and realistic on the list too.
Not all Hellknights are Evil, they're a Lawful organisation. Nowhere have I found that LG Paladins work with LE Hellknights and don't need attunement.
It's difficult for a Paladin with Detect Evil at will not to know someone with whom you share some living is Evil.
Plus, I had read a bit of your background and found that you qualified your PC as being "non malicious" (which works fine for me), s I supposed you just forgot to change his alignment. I asked, though, to be sure, and my remark was intended to remind everyone that the GM specifically asked for non-Evil characters (which happens to make sense), in case anyone didn't bother to check that part of the character creation rules.
It's not finished, but I figured I'd throw out what I had. Still working things out.
@Amarantha: Thing you misunderstood the accomplishment thing a bit; it's not necessarily an "anything you'd be famous for" thing, but something that would make you specifically notable to someone looking to put together a band of monster hunters.
I did misunderstand you. I would like to stick with the missionary and establishing them in other lands. Let me think on this
It's difficult for a Paladin with Detect Evil at will not to know someone with whom you share some living is Evil.
Lead lined armor
Angelskin undershirtWand of Undetectable Alignment (50 days worth of no alignment-ness)
Or, in an undead-themed game, the Paladin in question could just agree to take [url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/oathbound-paladin/oath-against-undeath]Oath Against Undeath[/url (which is actually are a really good trade. Free ghost touch armor is incredible).
There's really no reason this has to turn into a tug of war between alignments. As players, we can work out any kinks that come up.
It's difficult for a Paladin with Detect Evil at will not to know someone with whom you share some living is Evil.
Lead lined armor
Angelskin undershirt
Wand of Undetectable Alignment (50 days worth of no alignment-ness)Or, in an undead-themed game, the Paladin in question could just agree to take [url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/oathbound-paladin/oath-against-undeath]Oath Against Undeath[/url (which is actually are a really good trade. Free ghost touch armor is incredible).
There's really no reason this has to turn into a tug of war between alignments. As players, we can work out any kinks that come up.
Yeah, whatever :)
I don't know why do I even bother.
@Markus: He asked me about approving his evil character earlier in the thread and said that if I didn't approve of LE in his circumstance that he would bump up to LN, which I agreed would be the better situation. So, it's not down to anyone not reading anything, he just made a mistake on converting a character he'd already had from a Carrion Crown game. Lyj will be a Lawful Neutral character for this game if chosen. The exchange is back on the first page.
Spirtualist is a fascinating but odd class, I am having a bit of a rough time putting one together.
Spirtualist is a fascinating but odd class, I am having a bit of a rough time putting one together.
I feel the same way about them. Really interesting class. The only one I've actually played was inspired by the Shadow Man from Princess and the Frog. Very voodoo inspired. His own shadow was his Phantom.
In the early levels, a combat-oriented Phantom is extremely powerful, but somewhere between 3rd and 5th level they peter off fast. At that point it's better to retrain them into some kind of scout/skill based companion.
Personally, I think the Shadowdancer probably should have been re-worked as a Spiritualist archetype.
@Markus: He asked me about approving his evil character earlier in the thread
Yup, I had read that.
and said that if I didn't approve of LE in his circumstance that he would bump up to LN, which I agreed would be the better situation.
Yup, I had read that also.
So, it's not down to anyone not reading anything
That was meant for any other, in the future.
he just made a mistake on converting a character he'd already had from a Carrion Crown game.
That's what I thought, I just wanted to be sure in case you two talked and decided otherwise.
Lyj will be a Lawful Neutral character for this game if chosen. The exchange is back on the first page.
I have absolutely no problem with that.
I have absolutely no problem either with Lyj being LE if he warns us. I might seem a jerk to you all, but I see this only fair.Sorry if I didn't explain myself properly, but it was never my intention to say what one can or cannot play, but rather the contrary: with my assumption that everyone would be Good or Neutral, I chose a Paladin, but if anyone's going to be Evil, I'd like to know, because then I'd rather change the Paladin to any other thing. I don't see the problem in this.
Me, I'm just glad to hear about the crafting feats and spells. =)
Seeing as I have two crafting feats (Scribe Scroll and Craft Wondrous Item), does that mean I jump up higher than 13,125 for a limit, or would you rather leave that ceiling there (totally reasonable to do so, just trying to be clear).
In fact, now I think about it, it would only ever be reasonable to increase the ceiling if a significant chunk of my gold would be spent in scrolls. Which, actually, it will, but...hm. I'm not sure what my point there was.
Also, something that amused me - if I were playing the LE Lyj, my drawback would totally be Power-Hungry.
Just posting with the character I'm submitting. It's not quite done yet, but it's a start. I'm also happy about item crafting being allowed. Makes it easier to start with a revolver :)
I have been reminded why I rarely play prepared spellcasters. Hoo-ee, that took forever. Anyway, I believe my crunch is finally complete, though I'm still tinkering here and there. A few minor details may change as I get wishy-washy, but the basics ought to remain the same.
Oh, wait, one more little question - I still have a few open language slots, and I was wondering if there are any particular dialects that might make sense for this future Golarion.
Are we using downtime rules? I considered spending a little gold on my shop "Steel Panacea" and run a business as we play.
Are we using downtime rules? I considered spending a little gold on my shop "Steel Panacea" and run a business as we play.
Erk - if this is a thing, I will proceed to immediately drive myself mad creating my downtime plans.
Are we using downtime rules? I considered spending a little gold on my shop "Steel Panacea" and run a business as we play.
This seems like a nice idea. If Spookey approves, the shop could be a nice meeting point/HQ for the PCs.
@Daniel: In the earlier days of the campaign there won't be significant amounts of downtime, but since the game is mostly centered out of one city, you'll naturally have time that you can do what you wish with.
@Lyj: Still pretty much the same; Absalom's makeup hasn't really changed, proportionately speaking, it's just a lot bigger. As far as Scribe Scroll, let's say that boosts it up to 33%. So now you're looking at 13,965 as your cap.
Yeah, rerolls are fair on duplicates.
Here is my kineticist, mostly done, but I may tweak some things, as needed, and maybe add more "meat" to the background. (I kept most dialogue and some things glossed over)
@Daniel: In the earlier days of the campaign there won't be significant amounts of downtime, but since the game is mostly centered out of one city, you'll naturally have time that you can do what you wish with.
@Lyj: Still pretty much the same; Absalom's makeup hasn't really changed, proportionately speaking, it's just a lot bigger. As far as Scribe Scroll, let's say that boosts it up to 33%. So now you're looking at 13,965 as your cap.
Cool cool. The extra cash will pretty much just go into my reserve fund - at the moment, I have 500 gold in diamond dust (hard to go wrong with crafting materials) and about 1400 gold in petty cash - which I'm dead certain I will spend pretty much immediately when I have access to level 3 spells. I may cave in and get myself a Ring of Sustenance, but I doubt it; I really need to try and save up for that Blessed Book, or I am going to waste so much gold on writing spells down.
As for downtime: As a character who's been living in Absalom for some time, should I set aside some cash for lodging/furnishing purposes, or not worry about it?
By the by, sorry about all the weird detail questions; these are things my brain can't help but dwell on when a character takes up residence in my head.
Okay GM, I've reworked Raz a little bit. This time around, Mr. Ames is traveling alone. Baqir met his end in Geb and the Blood Lords are using his reanimated corpse to hunt Raz down. Wracked with pesh nightmares and tormented by forbidden knowledge, Raz is looking for a chance to escape the mistakes of his past. He doesn't yet know what a new life looks like for him. Maybe he'll try his hand at law enforcement again, doing it clean this time. Maybe he'll run a business making and selling firearms, or get into the antiquities racket. Whatever it is, he'll find out once he gets there.
Marius' background is finally done. A Dhampir Magus, holy knight of Nethys.
Marius eventually realized that he was different. He had grown up in the Temple of Nethys for all his life, never knowing his mother or father. The priests and mages of the temple cared for him and lead his education, both mundane and magical. When Marius questioned the priests about his heritage, the Archmage came to to teach Marius about Vampires, Dhampirs, death, and life. Marius learned he was something special, a half-vampire. The mages and priests had never seen one up close. The Archmage explained that he could teach the mages and priests so much about how magic affects the undead. Marius agreed. Knowledge, especially magical knowledge was a basic tenant of Nethys and if he could help them learn more about magic, he would do it.
Little did Marius know what was in store for him. The Archmage ordered his studies to grow tenfold. The boy had talent in arcane arts and the mages pressed him hard, forcing his child’s mind to grow up quickly. He trained for years in the magical arts, learning arcane spell structure, how to control mystical energy, and how it interacted with the divine. Marius was also the subject of study too. The priests tested how spells interacted with his undead lineage, crafting cure spells to see how he was harmed by them. His concentration and skills were tested in consecrated areas to see how he handled the sheer divinity of the place. Marius was alternately starved and then fed blood and flesh to test his cravings. Years turned into decades. Many times Marius cried himself to sleep. He begged the mages to stop. Stop hurting him, stop testing him, stop forcing him to use magic, and finally he begged him to stop healing him. But they didn’t. The Church continued to learned much about necromancy and how magic affects the Dhampirs.
Marius’ salvation came from magic and faith. Marius returned one day from his trials to find two scrolls and a note under his pillow. Marius’ training easily allowed him to see a scroll of Expeditious Retreat and Invisibility. The note simply read, “Free yourself.” Marius read both scrolls and stepped out into a hallway covered in a dense fog. Marius ran along the corridors, trying to find a way out. Soon, he found himself on a high outer wall with shouts closing in around him. Marius looked down at the ground 100 feet below, littered with rocks. He closed his eyes and leaped. He heard a voice speak to him. “Good. Have faith in the magic.” Much to his surprise, Marius fell through the illusion, softly landing on his feet. A half-elf in armor stood nearby. He cast a spell and two horses suddenly appeared. “Let’s go,” he said. “Or stay and let the Archmage find you.” Marius climbed onto the Phantom Steed and the two galloped off.
The man’s name was Kyle Solomon, but he was not an ordinary knight. He was a Holy Knight of Nethys able to use magic as well as the sword. He was a member of a small sect of arcane knights. The knights saw the encroaching threat of the darkness and sought to fight it. This was a same threat the Temple mages saw, but where the mages wanted to use Marius to learn how to fight the undead, Kyle and his companions saw Marius as a powerful brother who could fight the darkness with them. Marius served the knights as a squire at first, learning how to fight and use arms and armor. Then he was welcomed into their order and taught how to blend magic and steel.
For the next few decades, Marius fought. He fought to forget his childhood, and he fought for his fellow knights. He still held to the tenants of Nethys, but he began to see how some magic would consume others if left unchecked. The light and the dark needed to be in balance, just as Nethys was. Too much of one and the other would suffer. As the world seemed to be slowly led into the darkness, it was their job to drive back the darkness enough to for the light to recover. They lost many knights along the way, brave souls who gave everything to destroy the undead tide. While Marius felt he had found acceptance, however, he knew he was always expected to make up for his heritage. He had to be the weapon against the darkness because he was born of that darkness.
As many evils as they fought, it was bound to happen, but it was destiny for it to be a vampire. A small group of knights led by Kyle and Marius investigated a series of killings in a small village. They soon find a vampire at the heart of it. He slaughtered half the knights immediately. Wounded, Kyle had a plan, but he needed to tell Marius something first. They were half-brothers. His mother was Evelyn, a priestess of Nethys who was captured and eventually killed by a vampire. But she was pregnant with Marius and the vampire’s taint turned Marius into a Dhampir. Kyle continued, shaking Marius even more with his next secret. The Archmage who presided over his tortuous childhood was John Solomon, their grandfather. He had only seen his daughter’s death in Marius’ life. Before Kyle can say much more, however, the vampire attacked and Kyle finished his plan. With the knights scattered from the attack, the vampire fed on Kyle, giving the other time to regroup and attack. Kyle strained to hold the vampire to him allowing Marius and the others to kill the beast. Unfortunately, when they finish, Kyle was dead and beginning to rise as a vampire himself. Marius takes it upon himself to kill his brother, holding the newly undead ma's head under running water until the former knight is completely destroyed.
Afterwards, Marius left to live on his own. As the years passed, however, he knew the darkness was growing and the balance of magic continued to be in danger. The half-vampire would need to rejoin the fight.
Marius is a smaller man, owing to the severe abuse he faced as he grew up in the temple. His skin is a pale gray, mixed with a dark blue bruise-type color. He wears his light auburn hair short, and he typically is wearing a set of silvery mithril chainmail. The preternaturally graceful man has faced decades of abuse and his spirit broken many times. Half-dead in body, he still believes in the salvation of magic. The darkness needs to be brought back into balance.
Family is unexplored for Marius. Having a branch of the Solomon family in Absolom would force him to confront what his own family has done to him.
Yay, I'm finally done! This took me a while, but I'm happy with the outcome.
Shove Ajit in vat of goo,
Make him drink your witch's brew,
Freeze him 'till his toes turn blue
They beat Ajit 'till his head spin
They think Ajit could never win
But Ajit think and Ajit plot
As he lay upon his humble cot
Aha, thinks he! He can escape
This dreary, dreadful, awful place
He'll punch them while their backs are turned
They hurt Ajit, and Ajit learned
Down with master! Ajit shall kill
The man whose tests make Ajit ill
He shall escape this forsaken place
Push master smack down on his face
They said Ajit a dumb baboon
But his victory shall be sung of soon
That monkey saw, that monkey do
Ajit triumph over all of you!
Ajit is a vanaran monk who was raised from birth to be a cult's test subject and eventual sacrifice in a laboratory hidden deep under Absalom. His only hope for a better life came from the bits and pieces of conversations he picked up from members of the cult as they went through with their daily business. When he first heard that there was a world above the laboratory, he made it his goal in life to make it up to the world above the ground.
Ajit went about this goal through the simple powers of observation. He had forever to observe the cultists, learn how they defended themselves from his attacks and what route they themselves took to reach the overworld that they called “Absalom.” Finally, after years of torment, Ajit jumped the cultist who had commanded his experiments as he was pulled out of his cell for testing the final time. A few quick punches and a kick to the back of the human’s neck left the cultist dead in seconds. He was able to sneak through several corridors without notice after he had gone through with the deed, and reached the door to the mysterious “overworld” at last. The wooden door itself was simple and plain. It seemed far too plain to hold the entirety of the world beyond its smooth face. Ajit, shaking ever so slightly, wrapped his tail around the door handle and pushed it open. He was greeted by a dimly lit brick alley. Was he still inside? How was the alley lit without a ceiling and lights?
That was when Ajit looked up.
Towering above him, beyond stone buildings and columns of smoke, was the most beautiful of any ceilings Ajit had ever seen. Above the city, above life itself, was a carpet of tiny glowing candles surrounding their vast mother: their moon. The great white orb seemingly smiled down upon Ajit, embracing him in her tender swaths of light.
That was how Ajit was able to make it through his first night in the terrifying vastness of city: knowing that his beautiful moon protected him with her loving, comforting aura.
Several months later:
Ajit’s life in Absalom had been difficult for the first few days, though it all changed when a group of petty street thieves took Ajit under their wing. When one of the members of the group saw Ajit hiding in their hideout’s attic, they nearly panicked and killed Ajit, but ended up realizing that the simian humanoid was unarmed and seemed to speak very broken Common. The thief who found him, Rathaal, was an elven man who was second in command of the small band. He saw that the strange monkey creature could be an asset to their operation if properly trained. Ajit seemed to have enough common sense and agility to make a fine thief, and already was adept in unarmed combat. Ajit’s ability to fight with a very small, concealable weapon, or no weapon at all for that matter, made him perfect to send into a crowd unnoticed- save for the issue of his tail and fur. Thus, Rathaal found it fit to send Ajit on tasks at night while heavily disguised in a hooded cloak and clothed from head to toe. Ajit preferred it that way, anyway- he was most comfortable when he could be under the light of his beautiful moon instead of out in the blinding light of the sun.
Ajit, though he steals from the masses, has in no way bad intentions. He barely even realizes that what he is doing is generally considered wrong. While Rathaal has made it very clear that Ajit must not be seen performing his duties, Ajit is too socially stunted due to his years in isolation to realize that his victims see his stealing as anything more than a game. Even within the thieves’ hideout, he’s known as a kleptomaniac. He needs something to keep his whirring mind occupied, and since he’s been taught to steal, that’s what he does. Whenever an object goes missing, everyone knows who to ask about it first- Ajit. Ajit would never hide the fact that he’s stolen something, either. He’s a bad liar and steals from his comrades as a game, not with any malicious intent.
Ajit is fiercely loyal to the elf who saved his life. While he is completely free from any sort of personal moral code, he will take Rathaal’s every word as law, and will go to extreme measures to make Rathaal proud, and to a lesser extent, make his fellow thieves proud. He’ll act like this toward any living soul who shows him kindness. While the number of kind souls who Ajit’s encountered is pathetically small, he would gladly serve anyone who is kind to him. This quality, however, can lead to some very poor judgement on Ajit’s part. He would never suspect negative intentions from anyone who has been kind to him in the past, and will continue to trust their every word until they perform a heinous deed to prove him otherwise. This trusting nature comes from inside Ajit himself. Ajit tends to be very clingy to certain people, constantly trying to play with them (whether they want to or not) and make them as happy as possible. Ajit thinks that because his kindness means genuine attachment to someone that no one else could ever perform a kind deed for another reason.
Ajit is almost always occupied with his career as a thief, and doesn't want to think of much else, but still occasionally takes time to himself to ponder his own life, especially his time as a prisoner to the cult. While he can't even conceptualize taking revenge against them, his boundless curiosity keeps him on his toes, always keeping his ears open for any little scrap of information on them. This is Ajit's plot hook. This is why he would become tangled up in a vast web of secret organizations and terrible danger. Ajit wants to know why his life unfolded as it did. His curiosity of his own true beginnings would haunt him to the day of his death until quelled by knowledge of what this organization was and what it was for.
And maybe, just maybe, for once in his life Ajit wouldn't be the bystander, the one being acted upon. Over the course of this campaign, Ajit could learn to take action, stop being passive, develop wants and desires and a passion to put down the cult who hurt him if only to stop others from going through his years of torture. Right now, Ajit wants answers, not revenge. Later on, maybe he'll discover that he can end the cult, but for reasons other than that of vengeance- maybe he'll work for their destruction simply because it's the right thing to do.
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Other possible, very general plot hooks for Ajit include issues with his compulsive kleptomaniacal habits and how it guides his interactions with the people of Absalom (read: getting in trouble with the law), issues within his band of thieves, and his trusting nature getting the better of him.
About the thieves' base of operations:
While Rathaal is highly respected by Ajit, he's only the second in command and is the face of the thieves. The real head honcho of the band is a shifty, antisocial human rogue who is good at his work and incredible with numbers. This man, who goes by Jake, keeps a close eye on each thief living within the hideout and can calculate exactly how much wealth each member of the band must contribute each month in order to keep the once abandoned storehouse running smoothly. His philosophy is strict yet simple: pay your dues and keep the peace, and you have a place to live. Jake won't tolerate fighting between members of his house and will call his trained fighting dogs on anyone who breaks the peace. Considering that Jake has ruthlessly torn out the throat of one of his more troublemaking men in the past, not one of the house members would ever dare to question his authority.
Though Jake rules with an iron fist and keeps mostly to himself, Ajit, Rathall, and the other thieves have a merry time in their small corner of Absalom. Over their meals of ill-gotten food, talk is constant and spirits are bright. Most of the members of the storehouse's tiny community of fifteen, give or take a few, haven't had pleasant lives and have turned to petty thievery as a last resort, but that doesn't mean that they can't act as each other's family in times of need. Many have formed such close bonds that they would give their shirts off their backs for one another.
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The last thing that I want to talk about are my reasonings for my character's crunch-y choices. These choices were not only made with combat in mind, but also with Ajit in mind. Ajit is the kind of fighter who would rely on the environment around him to protect himself from harm's way, and only really likes fighting with his hands or with improvised weapons (hence the throw anything feat). Spring Attack also fit into the idea of Ajit being a fleet-footed, unpredictable fighter, allowing him to make attacks and immediately leap away. Even Ajit's ki power, Empty Body, caters to his quick, explorative urges. If he gets into too bad of a pickle, he can simply vanish to the Ethereal plane and run through a solid brick wall to safety. Plus, he doesn't mind knowing what's behind certain locked doors. Ajit's criminal trait is obvious in its origin, and Keeper of the Veil comes from his constant need to hide his true identity. His sheer and utter loyalty to his friends seems like it would really qualify him for the Helpful trait. He's just that devoted to pleasing others. Lastly, his bonus languages come from his life experiences: Alko was used by members of his cult, and he made an effort to learn Elven to leave cheeky notes for Rathaal.
Ajit's Myth Weavers character sheet can be found by clicking HERE.