I'm interested, this sounds fun and I like core...what ate your build instructions (ability points, traits, etc)
Hi! I'm quite interested in this, as I love aquatic Campaigns (Skull and Shackles is amongst my favorites). I'm going to go ahead and roll the 1d4 to lower my character's Charisma by the result and raise their Intelligence.
Alright! I should have a character built soon. Will post as soon as possible.
Probably going to build a god wizard... Maybe a Cannon sorcerer. We'll see.
So how lenient would you be the...arcane part. I have a character, that fits well into any seafaring game and even more so on the island you described. He's a swashbuckler/Waves Oracle though. Probably 3/17 at the end. Here's the backstory.
"Oy. This yer stop ain't it Wave Walker?" a dwarf sailor shouted up at the rigging. A dwarf sailor. Alexander Drake still got a kick out of that. It wasn't unheard of but it was certainly extremely rare. But given their stout forms, the dwarf made an excellent pilot. He'd seen the shorter man stand firm in the worst of weather and not so much as slide when rogue waves crashed over the side. They even lowered the wheel so he could see better. Alex was up in the rigging, eyes to the side where the coast lay. He didn't need to be there since he was paying his way but he showed a level of competence at least equal to the surrounding sailors and was thus left to his own devices. He favored the rigging as a place to rest as it gave him a wonderful view of the sea, something he never tired of, even considering what it did to his home.
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For generations his family had lived on a small island as fishermen and women. They were part of a small community that lead very simple lives of peace and prosperity granted by the bountiful sea all around them. They took only what they needed and they prayed everyday to Gozreh for protection and calm weather. But Dagon would have none of that. Out of that very sea they relied upon came an enemy they couldn't defend against. Sahuagin. They came from the water by the hundreds, intent on wiping out the little town and offering its populous to their dark sea god. In the confusion, Alex got separated from his family and trapped behind enemy lines. He could see no way to get to the town's walls without revealing himself to the amphibious invaders so he stayed silent and in hiding. As he tried to make his way from the docks and around the furious fighting near the town walls until he saw something in the water. Thinking it another Sahuagin he ducked behind a barrel and waited. He waited for what felt like an hour but nothing happened. He peered around the barrel very slowly to see if the cost was clear.
At the edge of one of the docks he saw a pair of glowing blue eyes starring back at him. His heart leapt into his throat for he thought he had been spotted by one of the sea creatures. But it wasn't a Sahuagin. In fact he felt very silly for thinking something so beautiful could be one of those sea devils. It looked like a girl with green hair and very exotic features. She waved at him to come closer while looking around nervously. She appeared to be just as panicked as he was. Seeing the same fear in her eyes settled his own a bit and he crawled over as silently as possible. As he did she ducked down into the water, continuing to wave him forward. He had been warned about beautiful women pulling sailors to their death in the ocean and for a moment he paused. But seeing him stop, she grew more fearful, panicked even. Her eyes pleaded with him. Begged for help. And he couldn't resist. He slowly lowed himself into the water and ducked under the dock just as more Sahuagin rushed past. Keeping her head just underwater, they both waited for the water devils to pass. When they did she raised her head above the water and starred into his eyes as if thinking very hard about what to do. He got lost in those large, expressive eyes and found he couldn't turn away. They were deep sea blue and sparkled like a gem just beneath the waves on a clear beach. Fear, confusion, sadness, pain. He saw much in them and his heart skipped a few beats.
Without warning she grabbed both sides of his neck and closed those wonderful eyes. He could see her lips move in some strange tongue and a power radiate into him. Before he could appreciate the rest of her face there was a sharp pain were she touched him. He flinched reflexively and put a hand to his neck. He expected blood but found something odd. Gills. She had given him gills. He starred at her in shock, trying to figure out what was going on. But before he could voice his confusion, she grabbed him and pulled him under and away into the ocean. He held his breath for a moment out of instinct, then realized that was silly too. He had gills now. Breathing underwater would forever be the oddest sensation he would ever know. But once he got past the initial shock he noticed the rest of her. She was decidedly not human. Her entire lower half seemed to be that of a fish, a wahoo to be exact (he was a fisherman's son), with silver and blue scales that made it look like she had stripes. And though the scales stopped around her waste, stripes continued up to her...he blushed and decided not to continue. She was one of the reclusive merfolk he had heard about. Well, she wasn't being reclusive now. In fact she seemed to be leading him somewhere. They went around the better part of the island to the stony cliffs on the other side. She then dove, dragging him along, and entered an underwater cave. After fallowing its twisting passages for a minute they stopped. She turned to him, her expression earnest, and put a finger over her mouth for quiet. He nodded and followed as she swam slowly to breach the surface.
They came out under a low ceiling in a tunnel. It opened a few feet away into a large cavern. She glided towards the opening silently and he followed as best he could. She pointed up and just barely stuck her head out and up. He followed suit and noticed a glow coming from near the ceiling. The flickering of a fire he guessed. But that wasn't all that was in this cavern. The first hint he had that Sahuagin were here was the awful stench of rotten fish. It assaulted his senses like a physical force. Then he saw a clawed hand grasp the edge of the ledge 20ft above them, where the flickering fire was coming from. Out of fear he flinched back and caused a small splash. He prayed it didn't hear. He didn't pray hard enough.
A snarl sounded from above and a scaly, tooth filled face looked over. It was met with a bolt made of ice right through the eye. Alex didn't even see her move before she was out in the open, her hand raised and another bolt sailing up to strike another of sea demons. In response two jumped into the water and another hurled a spear. The spear missed but the other two closed in. They didn't even see the human hiding in the tunnel behind them as the engaged the merwoman. She fought back every bit as furiously as they pressed. Being the faster swimmer, she darted back and forth striking at the Sahuagin with a slender blade of ice but eventually they began to coordinate their attacks and drive her into a corner.
Alex hadn't moved. He couldn't. What could a fisherman's son do against these creatures? Why had they attacked? Why did she even bring him here?
To break the circle.
The voice resounded with in his head. It sounded strained, like just talking took and enormous toll. Like whoever it belonged to was fading away even as they spoke. Like it was coming from above him. He looked up to see the Sahuagin taking aim. Once they had her cornered she wouldn't last much longer. He turned back to the fish woman, and for a brief moment their eyes locked. He saw his own fear mirrored in her eyes. But she was fighting. She was doing something. To save him and his people. He knew it somehow. But what was he doing? Cowering in the dark and about to watch a brave woman die.
He reached up out of the water and grabbed at the rock with shaking hands. The climb was hard but not impossible. But it certainly would have been for someone with a fish tail for legs. He tried to be as quite as possible so as to not tip off the Sahuagin above him. Thankfully for him the creature seemed to be intent on his target. They finally got her cornered just as he reached the top. The Sahuagin snarled and reared back to throw. But just as it was about to release, Alex reached up and grabbed its webbed foot and pulled with all his strength. It wasn't much after the climb but it came at the worst time for the creature. It stumbled forward and couldn't catch its balance. The throw went wide and the Sahuagin splashed into the water below.
Alex scrambled to the top only to be hit with a wave of heat. He squinted at the sudden bright light. Through his fingers he saw a ring of fire around a prone figure. Was this the circle the voice mentioned? He paused too long in curiousity and heard a cry of pain from behind. He turned to see the merfolk woman behind a stalagtite, fending off a Sahuagin, and streaming ribbons of blood. One of the amphibians still menaced her but the other two were closing in on him. He didn't have long.
Break the circle.
The voice spoke again. And even though its owner was closer, it sounded even further away than before. He looked at the fire. Even from several feet away it made his throat dry. And as he scooted closer he could feel it sap his strength. What was he supposed to do? How could he put out such an inferno? And who could possibly survive being in that ring?
Acting on instinct he took off his soaked shirt and held it in front of him to block the heat. And before he could think twice he charged forward. The intense heat blistered any exposed skin as he approached. But he gritted through the pain and threw the shirt over the fire. Without it protecting his face he was blinded by the light and and searing heat. He fell back, crying out in pain as his face and chest were burned. But thankfully his shirt was still wet enough to not be immediately consumed. It broke the circle for only a second. But it was enough. Blessed, cool water sprayed over him as the Sahuagin crested the ledge. It hit them with enough force to blow them back into the opposite wall with bone crushing force. In its wake stood a beautiful woman in a thin shawl of some milky white material. With a wave of her hand the flames disappeared.
Alex writhed in pain on the ground as she approached. He barely held onto consciousness through the agony. Every breath burned his lungs like the fire burned the rest of his body. But somehow, through the delirium of pain he managed to say two words. "Help...her." The woman in the shawl nodded. She leaned down to him, her hair brushing along his blackened skin. Even though he shouldn't have been able to feel it, it was mercifully cool. She placed a kiss on his forehead, and the pain retreated. He sighed in relief and then darkness took him.
Alex woke up on a beach near his home. His family and many others had somehow survived the assault. When he returned to them he found out that the Sahuagin had gained the town wall and forced the people to retreat to higher ground. Just as things seemed bleak, the ocean itself rose up and swallowed almost the whole island. It washed away everything. The Sahuagin. The town. The boats. Everything. But at least most of its people were alive. The waters apparently stopped just short of them. After all the damage, few could return to their livelihood. And even if they could, the seas had grown stagnant. The Sahuagin had done something to it. Ruined it. Life refused to go near it. Alex returned to the cave once to see if either of the aquatic women had returned but there was nothing. He knew they were responsible for saving the island's people. He never got the chance to thank them.
After his family left, Alex decided go on a journey. Both to find the female merfolk that saved him and learn of the powers he had been granted since. After the ordeal he found he had several new abilities, not the least of which was the ability to walk on water. It was very useful to the captain of the first ship he joined. The sea supported his home and allowed them to leave in peace. It tried to kill them. Then it saved them. It was a fickle mistress. One that deserved respect.
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"Yeah. Thanks captain. You sure this is the place?" Alex said from his perch. He swung down from the rigging with practiced ease and grabbed the pack by the railing.
"Last place I heard about sea people. What do ye want with them anyway? Trying ta find people that don't want to be found. They'd drown ya just as soon look at ya anyway."
Alex just smiled and leaped over the edge, landing on the water as if it was solid ground. "I owe one my life. And intend to say thank you."
Sounds like a fun campaign. I don't have much experience with casters but have been interested in playing them more, so could be a good fit for a beginner group.
I have had a couple of concepts in mind for a stormborn sorcerer recently (would require approval of an APG bloodline), but they all revolve around being mostly blasty, but with some control/utility. Character-wise, would be flashy and stubborn, with an unusual ease in bad weather and penchant for risk-taking. Called to the sea and driven by wanderlust.
thinking human or half-elf, stats would go 18 to cha, 16 dex, 14 con, 12 int, 10 str, 8 wis (the low wis is sub-optimal, of course, but might fit the concept better). not sure what bonus feat would be best - spell focus (evocation) could be a good mechanical fit.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments (especially if it helps refine the concept) and I'll see if I can get the details hashed out.
Oh yeah.
Perfect. Don't want any negatives so I'll probably take that out of the 18 and bring up the 8.
DM LordBiBo: Question about the 1d4 attribute option -- do we have to assign the numbers to stats before the roll?
Oh. Oops. Got excited and skimmed too much. Never really built a caster. Never found them all that interesting. Especially wizards. Not too much customization. So maybe a sorcerer.
I'm going to bow out. I have a crunch ready, but I'm afraid I'm not satisfied with any backstory I've come up with. Best of luck to the rest!