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Link to Last Light of a Dark Future recruitment thread
So far it looks like the consensus is all-or-nothing; I think we're just waiting to hear from Daen. I'm going to apologize in advance for the wall of text; I'm just trying to jump start the discussion so we can figure it our quickly. We stand a better shot if we don't hold up the recruitment longer than the DM was intending.
*I'm all for Rataji jumping in.
*I imagine it's been a year or two since we finished training at the Bonewatch, so maybe two to four years since The Last Vigil? This is a new DM, so it seems best if we ignore DMRaven's plans for what would have happened. I'm thinking we finished training and were sent out as Knights and any interesting adventures we might have had are mostly directly after the Bonewatch.
*As for Allie, I'd prefer it if her fate was left vague in case the DM wants to use her as an NPC or if something happens and she might perhaps join the party later. MIA, presumed dead maybe?
*Assuming this is some time after training, there are different ways we can play this:
Scenario One: we all finished training, we're all Knights. Other details to be filled in.
Scenario Two: Zohruk got caught sneaking around but Grimold got away. Zohrok is cut and does his own thing, the rest of us are Knights. We can figure out how Zohruk gets back in later, if we decide we like this scenario best.
Scenario Three: Both Zohruk and Grimold were caught and cut, Daen and Kassie finish and become Knights. Zohruk and Grimold do their own thing in the interim but return to aid in the Bright Crusade and end up joining a unit being headed by Daen and Kassie.
Scenario Four: ???
If Zoh got cut, he could have picked me up somewhere. I do not think I was trained as a knight, though you could talk me into it... I'm thinking of coming in as a heavens oracle. I also like to play bards, but you appear to be short of divine casters.
You and Zohruk seem to have a thing going, so that could work. Alternatively, especially if you like Sarenrae, perhaps Allie could have met you some time after leaving the Bonewatch. Just a thought.
Zohruk hit it off with Rataji big time. Similar senses of humor...
I think that we should also figure out how to format our joint submission to highlight a brief group history, personalities and what we bring as a group to the table.
We should also probably declare if we're open to a sixth unaligned player if the GM wants a six person group.
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Yeah, I think if anyone leaves the group for a time, it should be Zoh. Grimold had that whole "become a knight or prison" thing going that might make it tough for the gang to get back together.
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Agreed,... I'd go for either just Zoh gets kicked or that no-one does. Or, to split the difference, he was sent on a secret misssion at some point and being booted was a ruse?
Anyway,... I like the idea of keeping Allies' fate a little vague. MIA, presumed dead sounds good. Kassie might believe that she's still alive where higher-ups think she's dead. Maybe, If Rataji's up for it, she could know be a lead?
What kind of lead? Can you clarify? I like the idea of Zoh being booted as a ruse.
What kind of lead? Can you clarify? I like the idea of Zoh being booted as a ruse.
Depends on what your background is,....?
Zohruk the Outlander. If he was sent on a secret mission, it's best if that happened at least after the first phase of training so that we knew him for more than a couple of weeks.
Rataji, as far as being a lead to Eilidh, it could be anything that had you cross paths with her. Just spitballing here, but maybe she was posted in the country your character is from. Maybe you were allies. You could have come to join the Bright Crusade in honor of her, or maybe you were looking for her and hoping she would be in Vigil. Your relationship with her wouldn't have to be related to the Knights, either. She was a Saerenite; maybe she abdicated her post and went off on a holy mission she felt took precedence over her duty as a Knight.
What if finding 'Taj was my mission? What could you be a lead to? And whatever it is, I think Zohruk isn't keen about it.
What can you tell us about Taj? Race? Nationality? Class?... It might help get the creative juices flowing.
Taj and Zoh were putting together a package deal for a different game when this came up, so I'm rethinking her. Bear with me a moment while I brainstorm:
Taj has a quirky sense of humor, a strong will and tendency to bad puns. Taj is half-elf, with the human side something that would be exotic for Last Wall. I haven't decided on what that is, but she's noticeably darker than the rest of the population, I was thinking Vudrani or even polyglot. She was born in the port of Greengold in the isolationist country of Kyonin. Dad was some sort of attache with one of the embassies that negotiates trade deals. Now he's like risen to a full scale ambassador. Mom... mom's an elf, and embarassed by Rataji's existence.
Classwise, Taj is an oracle. I was thinking Heavens Mystery, with Spirit Guide Archetype for versatility. Flavorwise, Taj has been blessed (cursed) by the spirits of her ancestors. They're all there. Her crusty auntie Sourface (real name Manju, but no one calls her that) who had a gift for healing, her crazy nudist uncle who loved to be one with nature, the creepy grandmother who was a medium and consorted with the dead, the bright shining Shivaji, who could summon flames from his hands and believed that he's god's gift to women. She's got a gift for hearing everyone in her family who's passed to the other side, and they won't shut up and leave her alone. Each day, she picks which spirit is going to aid her -- while listening to the rest bicker in her head. It drives her crazy. Interestingly enough, it's only the human side that she hears.
Mechanically, spirit guide oracles get shaman spirits and a hex from their wandering spirit. This means that they can each day select a different ability to emphasize. Their spells change with the spirit, as does the key ability. Heavens spirit offers a free 30 foot teleport for each ally. Flame spirit can let you see through mist, or cause enemies to be vulnerable to those flame spells you're slinging around. Nature can allow you to really wreak havoc on consstructs. Life allows you to do healing stuff, but Rataji is too low level to get the channel that the life spirit can offer. In other words, if you have some idea of what you're heading into, it can give you a bit more flexibility to deal with it.
As for the curse... Zoh and I were debating that. Right now, we're looking at haunted (very thematic) and tongues (also sort of thematic). Haunted has the disadvantage that one cannot ever use a haversack for lovely move action drawing of wands and scrolls. But it could fit right in with how I see the bickering multitude working. The other curse we were considering is Tongues, and Zoh said he'd happily consider taking a point in lingusitics to be able to talk with me in combat.
Now for why I'm here. Realizing that Dad was some sort of ambassador, maybe he got reassigned... Was he doing something with the orc tribes? Did things go terribly wrong? Was Zoh (and possibly Allie) assigned to get my father or myself out of there?
I admit, it's all kind of thin still and not anywhere near as detailed as I like for character backstory, but I think this may be a bit of a start. Give me a day or two, and it will be much better.
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Other mechanics: With as many bonus feats as we're getting, I'm considering taking up archery since you have a lot of people who fight up close and personal. Revelations that I would be taking would be Awesome Display (for super-duper colorspray) and Moonlit Bridge (because moonlit bridges are wonderful.)
Does this help?
Hmm aka Rataji
Taj, where's Alkenstar relative to where you're from? What if Grask Uldeth is trying to buy up guns, and my job was to infiltrate back into Urgir to stop him...?
EDIT: or Grask tried to hold you and yours hostage, and I was tasked with the rescue...
I'd have to look at the map. But small unaligned countries (think Switzerland) are called in to help negotiate treaty deals all the time. I like both of those ideas, actually.
Awesome, see if you can make one of those work. And yes, I am still down with Bonded Mind. :-)
So when Zohruk disappeared one day to go on this mission, were the others told anything? The truth? A cover story about his discharge? A "Shut up and MYOB?"
Both the Mwangi Expanse and Alkenstar are in Garund... In fact, they border each other. And the Aspis Consortium is there, and they'd sell guns. Polyglot it is.
Huh. Taj's dad is not a nice a person.
Taj and I are working on an idea, where her father was trying to work out a trade deal to sell guns to Grask Uldeth. Zoh was sent into Urgir to stop the deal, and she came back to Vigil with him after.
If her dad wanted to sell guns to the orcs, he's just as crazy as the rest of her dead family members :P
Insanity does not run in my family. It gallops.
Haunted has the disadvantage that one cannot ever use a haversack for lovely move action drawing of wands and scrolls.
Wands are "Weapon-like" and can be placed at the ready and drawn with a move action, or part of a move when >+1BAB. Daen will have craft Wand, so getting decent healing for our money will be available, as well as other useful spamming spells.
Scrolls, yeah, no handy haversack bonus for you on that one.
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Insanity does not run in my family. It gallops.
It ran me down like a herd of aurochs...
EDIT: WIP edit to my statblock, still needs tons o' gear.
Taj and Zoh are working on their story. At this point, does it even make a difference whether or not Zohruk was kicked out or not? I think it comes down to Zohruk's preference.
In any case, it seems that the rest of us definitely finished training and became Knights. So, separate assignments or did we serve together?
Separately, considering our application hinges on being a cohesive group, we should talk combat tactics. All of the scrubs are more than capable in melee combat, and I assume we'll at least have some ranged weapon skills. Daen has some combat magic, and Rataji will have divine magic. We don't have much utility magic and we don't have a ranged specialist. Zohruk could potentially fill our stealth specialty. Daen, Kassie, what are your thoughts? We don't seem to have a tank or a typical knight in armor. I could build Grimold for front-line tanking if need be.
I like the idea of Zoh being a knight. It gives Taj more reason to hang with the rest of you.
I will invest feats in a long bow, point blank and precise shot. I'm not going to be the greatest archer, but I can help out. Super-duper color spray is pretty good against things with minds. Plants and insects -- not so much. I would have come in as a bard, but it seemed like divine was the bigger hole in your group's composition. Do you want me to put a trait into UMD for utility scrolls, wands etc?
Also, I've got access to the Solar Wind discipline, which targets ranged weaponry. During TLV, I intended that mostly for thrown daggers, but it works just as well for bows. With the extra feats, I might be able to spare one or two to improve my ranged capabilities. Rataji, if you don't see your character as an archer, don't feel obligated to do so. I think all of us could stand to put one stray point in UMD.
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No I don't think I was kicked out, I think I was just "off on assignment" and came back with an unusual souvenir...
Zoh will be a stealthy skirmisher type, but I plan on taking more levels of Warder, which should make me a bit tougher in a fight, too (is "heavy skirmisher" a thing? :-)
The party dynamic the DM seems to be going for is that of a strike force trying to penetrate deep into enemy territory to change the fate of the war. We're more commandos, less typical army. To that end, Zohruk definitely strikes me as our terrain expert, at least while we're in Belkzen.
Daen is focusing on front line combat as well as utility. That's where the wands and scrolls come in. He'll actually be able to craft both, and has a +11 UMD right now from what I've figured, so that's good for him. He'll be able to make scrolls for emergencies from the Magus list and also have wands for spamming spells and such. CL 5 Wand of Shocking Grasp? Yes please. 375 GP wands of CLW or Infernal Healing, yeah, that's right. We should be good on a budget, and he could make most of them in one night away from a laboratory. While Daen isn't bad with a bow (oddly enough Arcane Pool works on ranged weapons) his default will likely be a Wand of Magic Missile, possibly higher CL for extra goodness.
One thing I wanted to mention to Taj,
As long as we have people with good Perceptions, Survival and we cover the knowledges well, I think we'll do alright as far as skills go. The weird thing is that we're all dex based. All of us. Should we run into a strength based challenge, we might be hosed.
As far as story goes, I think we can just assume that Raven's story was made complete though our characters. After that we would have been seen as exactly what Grimold described, a crack Strike Force, good at a variety of things. It's possible that we just returned from a mission, I think that one from Ustalav would be nice, perhaps tracking down an intelligent undead spy or something, like a zombie lord.
As far as story goes, I think we can just assume that Raven's story was made complete though our characters. After that we would have been seen as exactly what Grimold described, a crack Strike Force, good at a variety of things. It's possible that we just returned from a mission, I...
The bolded part worries me. From DMRaven's penultimate post lays out the direction he was taking, and it results in a severely-diminished Knights of Ozem, a huge attack on the Bonewatch, and heavy ties to the Bloodstones of Arazni (some of which were located at the Bonewatch).
Now, it's a really cool plot, but assuming it as canon in our characters' past forces our new DM to accommodate it, which they might not be so keen on doing. This DM seems to have a pretty clear idea of what's going on, and it's very likely that the canon future of TLV conflicts with our party's past during The Bright Crusade. In my head, we've got a divergent plotline that probably doesn't include anything that exciting taking place at the Bonewatch while we were scrubs in this timeline.
I'm very supportive of a prior campaign in Ustalav. Grimold could have gone undercover as Sczarni! Also, I'm in favor of Daen as squad captain. He was number one in the class when TLV ended, and we're going to need somebody to give orders.
I'm keeping my Keaton Mask, and I'm going to have it enchanted. Any suggestions?
Taj will have all knowledges as class skills. Tell me which ones you want me to put points into. I was going to have a skill focus in Knowledge Planes.
If you don't need an archer, I may not invest in that. Usually I like to cover bases so that I can always have something to do in combat. I think that Heavens will require a high charisma, but the point buy cost is so prohibitive I might scale it back a bit. I can be UMD queen if you'd like, and the mnemonic vestment is great for clerical utility spells.
You don't need a maxed out 18 or 20 in your primary casting stat. The extra point doesn't actually come in that handy in my experience, and taking a lower score helps you boost your other scores for more evenness.
I have a free teamwork feat and an ability that lets me grant it to others a limited number of times per day. If anybody sees a good one, let me know.
I don't think we have to necessarily have all of what DMR intended for us as "official canon," do we? We can gloss over it some, yadda yadda, despite Fisk's best efforts we all got made fledgling Knights of Ozem. Right after "the Ustalav job", I disappeared for a couple weeks, and I swear, I am not going back to Urgir again. They can't make me!!!
Edit: when I get a bonus teamwork feat, I think at Warder 3, I was thinking Outflank...
We don't currently have anybody handling traps. Do we consider this to be a problem worth solving? There are plenty of ways to get trapfinding, and I'm willing to do so if we deem it necessary. EDIT: I can get trapfinding as a rogue via a trait, and our DM has given us an extra trait at start. Problem solved. DOUBLE EDIT: Ninja'd by Zohruk.
Zohruk, I am very much in favor of handling things that way, yes.
I generally start with a 17 in the casting stat at level one (including the racial +2.) But APB is throwing me off here, since I can't purchase a charisma item to get it to 20 at level 5. I guess it's just an eighteen. :)
I have traps covered, and could even ditch the rake archetype if we need that much more coverage on that.
Alright, I think I'm closing in on my finished build. I burned those tasty extra feats for the basic archery line, so Grimold is a niche-plugger at this point. He can do basic combat well, isn't hampered by going unarmed, and can fight well at range. Is anybody planning on taking combat maneuver feats?
The bolded part worries me. From DMRaven's penultimate post lays out the direction he was taking, and it results in a severely-diminished Knights of Ozem, a huge attack on the Bonewatch, and heavy ties to the Bloodstones of Arazni (some of which were located at the Bonewatch).
I was thinking a lightened version of it, like The Knights weren't that weakened, the attack may have incited the crusade, and the bloodstones were fakes, would also suit our purposes without having to hamper what the new DM is thinking.
Daen was going to go with combat maneuvers before we quit, but I've taken him into more regular magus areas, with wands and scrolls added on top. I suppose I could pick up Wondrous Item too, if we needed stuff, but we might just have a bunch of treasure anyhow, and the ABP will keep us relevant.
Daen currently has... Arcana, Dungeoneering, Planes and Nobility. Nobility isn't a class skill and I just put one point in it, so it's a 4. If you have bunches of skill points, you can take planes and I'll just reallocate, since i don't have all mine maxed out.
Grimold has 1 point in History and 2 in Religion, but that's hardly specializing. I might shore up the History with the extra trait.
Wow,... lots of posts since I was last here!. Anyway, Kassie's rebuilt, but I can make changes if anyone thinks its necessary. Basically she's a face/ Melee DPS build.
She's got +7 in Know: local and Know: nobility
Have taken both Improved disarm and Improved feint
Zoh and I wrote up a detailed version of our first meeting, and then Zoh wrote up a much shorter summary:
Zohruk had a mission in Urgir, prevent an arms deal between a Garundi ambassador and Grask Uldeth. The ambassador’s daughter ended up being part of the terms of the deal, which made Zohruk decide to disrupt the deal by making off with the girl. The effort to get her to believe him resulted in her magics causing the two of them to become mentally linked, and they subsequently made their escape back to Vigil.
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Feel free to ask more details. I'll try to have a more detailed version in my backstory. So here's my question for all of you. When in the timeline are we after Zoh comes back with his "souvenir?" Do we start up when Zoh and I show up in Vigil, giving all of you a chance to introduce yourselves through the newcomer? Or do we start up later, after Taj has been integrated? I'm voting for the first, but I'll go with whatever you suggest.
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@Daen: Rataji does not have tons of skill points. But since she has all languages as class skills she's willing to fill in group gaps. I only went with Knowledge Planes for the skill focus because it's a skill with high DCs. I can pick another knowledge skill to pump if people want me to do so.
I don't think we've discussed this, are we open to having a sixth member if the DM want someone besides the group of us? Personally, I think I'm okay with it.
I haven't looked back at the other thread yet today, when are we going to tell him we're ready?
Also Taj, to answer your question, I think our return to Vigil should have been very recent a matter of days at most.
I'd be open to a sixth if the GM wants one. I'm happy to abide by group decision here. My role will be face / caster. I'm thinking ranged backup, depending on how feats shake out. It's too bad that ancient lorekeeper does not stack with Spirit Guide... I'll see what I can do to coordinate spells with Daen as much as possible. I'm also looking at picking up a familiar with hands to help get those scrolls out. The only one I know is really time sensitive is Breath of Life.
Okay, gang. What are the requirements to be a civilian attache to your elite strike force? When would I have needed to take an oath? Would I be allowed to take an oath? And yes, I like the idea of it being recent. It'll be very interesting to see the reaction of the ever suspicious Daen to the newcomer in their midst. Grimold and Kassie's reactions will prove interesting too.
Zoh, I asked this in the doc, but I probably should ask this here. How long is the trip from Urgir to Vigil?
Question to the group: Do we want to pitch in on two wands of infernal healing? As group purchases? I noticed that Daen used that spell in Vigil without issue, and I can cast it as well. What about a group purchase of first aid gloves?
Alternative idea: If you don't need me to be an archer... I could be a flagbearer. Would that be worthwhile to you?
The wands are probably a good idea. I never saw the gloves before I looked them up just now; are they considered a good deal? Seem like an "In case of emergency, break sapphires" sort of affair.
I think having you do archery/ranged support will work out just fine, but your call.
It's cheaper than Raise dead. The other option is a scroll of breath of life, but it's hard to get out in time. Unless there's an objection, I'm going for a monkey familiar. They're cute and they have hands that can dig in a backpack...
So their use is literally the last line before raise dead? Sounds reasonable to me.
Okay, I'm not seeing Religion or Nature. Should I skip my skill focus to one of these?
Okay, I'm not seeing Religion or Nature. Should I skip my skill focus to one of these?
I forget, what's it on now?
It was on planes. I've shifted it to nature.
I've put a no-spirit starter stat block in my profile. Feel free to critique if needed.
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"Would've been nice to have someone on the Ustalav job who actually knew something about undead, I'm just saying."
(mimics Grimold as he glares) "It's just zombies, Zohruk. Sprinkle some holy water and call it a day..."
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I'm maxing Religion.
TLV players, remember to nix the custom TLV campaign trait.
We've got cash to burn, buying healing is a good idea. It seems weird that we'd have to use Infernal Healing, but that's the world we live in, I guess.
If the DM wants us to have six players in our party, then we'll have to accept somebody else. If it's a choice between having another player or not playing at all, the question resolves itself.
Should we collaborate on a single piece of narrative exposition to submit, or do we each do our own thing and basically submit as separate but related characters? I think a uniform submission format would at least make things easier on the DM, which only helps our chances.
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The story thus far:
Daen, Kassie, Allie, Grimold, and Zohruk successfully completed their training at the Bonewatch, which culminated in a comprehensive final trial. Only by successfully foiling a fake plot culminating in a mock attack on the Bonewatch did they prove their worth and ascend to Knighthood. As a unit, they were sent to Ustalav to aid in the ongoing mission to uncover and foil all plots threatening Lastwall, especially those that would seek to free the Whispering Tyrant.
During their time in Ustalav, Allie went missing and Zohruk was recalled for reasons unknown. Mere months later, the remaining three would be called back to Vigil. something drastic has shifted the ancient lines of battle on the Belkzen front, presenting new threats - and new opportunities.
The new assignment affords the team a reunion with Zohruk, who introduces them to Rataji, a civilian asset to replace their missing comrade. With a new ally in tow, the squad makes haste for the Belkzen frontier. What new threats lie ahead of them in the blood-soaked badlands? Will they be able to turn the tide of war? And will they ever discover the truth about Eilidh's disappearance? Only time will tell. This is their story. This is... The Bright Crusade.
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Here's a draft of a submission format. It's just a thought, open to any changes suggested.
Name:
Race:
Class: