I finally figured out a decent story-line. I hope that you like it.
Background:
Moranth examined different vials. They floated past his alien milky white eyes. Eyes absent pupils. The serpentine face tentacles cover his beak-like mouth. Obviously Moranth is a Mindflayer. Items float around the lab with a little telekinetic help.
Three male orcs sit in chairs. They blithely stair of into the distance.
Since the creation of his Brain Feeder(A large brain sitting in a large glass jar, and it grows, and he eats it), Moranth then became a druid.
The Sect of Mother's Womb were convinced of the mindflayer's value. Moranth gave them his thrall scorpions, which could enthrall any sentient species. It was hard to capture compliant orcs otherwise. The Sect of Mother's Womb wanted new bloodlines of human and orc. Moranth could help them a great deal in those regards as well.
The mindflayer floats to the first chair. A floating needle tattoos one orc with a large blue dot. The next receives a yellow dot. The last, Sprout's father, received a red dot.
-------------------------------------
Sprout grew up as a warrior. She was trained by the sect in both mind and body. Her childhood was challenging, but she grew in power and character. She would often go to Moranth's lab. While Moranth's identity was obfuscated behind a curtains drawn between them, He helped the young half-orc to use her psionic powers.
Years later, Moranth made one last statement to Sprout before she left. "I cannot teach your mind more than I have, But I believe one of my friends can. Go to Arcanix. Find a elf named Transloter Listromo in the college there. He will open your mind further."
Her half-breed race was hated most places. They were seen as dangerous and uncivilized. Sprout spent years honing her disguise skills to travel, But she's been told that kind of prejudice is absent like with the druids.
It seems that one of my players disappeared. It's not you, MisterLurch. But I'm looking for a replacement character in my game.
You start at a cafe in Arcanix, Aundair. You can order coffee and something to eat. On the first page of this recruitment, you get the character guidelines. You will also get a link to the Eberron Campaign Setting on drive thru if you don't have a copy.
You can create any Eberron character you like. There isn't rolling involved, though, since everyone will get a set number of ability points to distribute among their stats.
So, have fun coming up with characters so I can get the game rolling again!
As the current characters include race-wise, a halfling, half-orc and warforged for races and class-wise, an artificer, (virtuoso bravo) paladin and psychic warrior, I will stay away from those races and classes.
Elton, would a shifter shifter work? That is shifter race and shifter class. :P
Using the shifter (class) abilities towards the character's goal of wanting to know what it felt like to be more like his lycantropic ancestors. So a potential voluntary thematical-restriction placed on the shifter class (as you are allowing the class only with GM discretion).
I have been feeling under the weather today so have not got as much done as I planned on. I still need to read up on both the shifter (race) and shifter (class), as it has been years since I played a shifter (race) and I have never played a shifter (class).
As the current characters include race-wise, a halfling, half-orc and warforged for races and class-wise, an artificer, (virtuoso bravo) paladin and psychic warrior, I will stay away from those races and classes.
Elton, would a shifter shifter work? That is shifter race and shifter class. :P
Using the shifter (class) abilities towards the character's goal of wanting to know what it felt like to be more like his lycantropic ancestors. So a potential voluntary thematical-restriction placed on the shifter class (as you are allowing the class only with GM discretion).
I have been feeling under the weather today so have not got as much done as I planned on. I still need to read up on both the shifter (race) and shifter (class), as it has been years since I played a shifter (race) and I have never played a shifter (class).
As long as you don't cause confusion. I think the concept is sound.
Black Panther was the first big cat to come to mind. I wanted the best jumper (which would be the leopard, not the jaguar)
Leopards are the best climbers of the big cats (and can even drag prey heavier than they are into trees). Tigers are decent climbers too.
Race: Cliffwalk Shifter (+2 Dex and climb speed 20 feet when using her racial shifting ability).
Class: Shifter
Archeytpe: Weretouched (tiger)
Deity (not that he necessarily makes this known): The Traveler (he views The Traveller as being part of The Sovereign Host, so unless someone specifically tries to deduce if he favors one of deities of the pantheon over the other ones, they will not know he reveres one of The Dark Six (though it is the only non-evil deity of The Dark Six). Scimitar is The Traveler's favored weapon and is one of the few weapons shifters (the class) are proficient in...so primary manufactured weapon for my character is decided. :)
Alignment: Neutral.
A potential background idea came from the languages the shifter class adds to the bonus languages list for the racial traits: Aklo....the backstory might be including some dark fey that had the shifter shifter imprisoned (and thus how Aklo was learned, because he was punished if he did not do as they told him and they only spoke to him in Aklo.)
When I browse the traits tomorrow I will be keeping an eye out for ones that gel with the above concept.
Starting Wealth? average for our class?
Would changing the cosmetics of the dire tiger wild shape animal and hybrid forms to 'black panther' dire tiger be okay or would you rather I stick with the standard dire tiger coloration?
I was thinking the character has the same genetic mutation (called melanism) that causes an excess production of the pigment melanin, resulting in a predominantly black coat, which is part of his lycanthropic heritage.
There is black panther tiger which might have went extinct last century.
1st (Lv 1) (shifter feat) Cliffwalk Elite (Climb speed is 30 feet while shifted). Shifting lasts 4 plus Con mod rounds, Shifting 1/day.
2nd (Lv 3) (Shifter feat) Healing Factor (When shifting ends, immediately heal number of hp equal to character level.) Shifting lasts 5 plus Con mod rounds, Shifting 2/day.
3rd (Lv 5) (shifter feat) Extra Shifter Trait (Wildhunt - gain scent while Shifted) Shifting lasts 6 plus Con mod rounds; Shifting 2/day
4th (Lv 7) (shifter feat) Shifter Ferocity (Can stay up while disabled/dying.) Shifting lasts 7 plus Con mod rounds; Shift 3/day
I am very close to finishing my House Lyrandar sorcerer
EltonJ, would you permit me to use the campaign trait 'Looking for Work'? I think it is more appropriate to my background than the Jungle Veteran, and I am looking for a way to get perception as a class skill.
I am very close to finishing my House Lyrandar sorcerer
EltonJ, would you permit me to use the campaign trait 'Looking for Work'? I think it is more appropriate to my background than the Jungle Veteran, and I am looking for a way to get perception as a class skill.
Sithar Hareen
(N male cliffwalk shifter weretouched [tiger] shifter)
Sylvan to Common translation of his name:
cat-friend free-of-shackles
Character Build
Ability Scores:
Shifter Racial adjustment:: +2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Cha
25 Point-Buy: Str 14 (5), Dex 14 (5), Con 14 (5), Int 14 (5), Wis 14 (5), Cha 10 (0)
Str 14 (+2)
Dex 16 (+3)
Con 14 (+2)
Int 12 (+1)
Wis 14 (+1)
Cha 8 (-1)
Race (Cliffwalk Shifter):
Type: Humanoid
Subtype: Shapechanger
]b]Ability Score Adjustments[/b]: +2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Cha
Size: Medium
Base Speed: 30 feet
Shifting (Su): A shifter can tap into her lycanthropic heritage to gain short bursts of physical power. Once per day, a shift can enter a state that is superficially similar to a barbarian's rage. Each shifter has one of six shifter traits - characteristics that manifest themselves when a character is shifting. Each shifter trait provides a +2 bonus to one of the character's physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity or Constitution) and grants some other advantage as well.
Shifting is a free action and lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the shifter's Con modifier. (If a shifter trait or other effect increases the character's Con modifier, use the newly improved modifier.) A shifter can take feats to improve this ability.
Each shifter feat a character takes increases the duration of shifting by 1 round. For every two shifter feats a character takes, the number of times per day she can tap into the ability increases by 1.
Shifting, thought related to and developed from lycanthropy, is neither an affliction nor a curse. It is not passed on by bite or claw attacks, and a shifter can't be cured - shifting is a natural ability for the race.
Low-Light Vision Shifters can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight. torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Racial Skill Bonuses: +2 racial bonus on Balance, Climb and Jump checks --> PF1E skill conversion: +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks.
Automatic Languages: Common
Bonus Languages List: Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Sylvan
Favored Class: Ranger --> PF1E conversion (choose one: shifter)
Shifter Trait (Cliffwalk) (Su): While shifting, a cliffwalk shifter gains a +2 bonus to Dexterity and has a climb speed of 20 feet.
Weretouched Shifter:
Class: Shifter
Archetype: Weretouched
Alignment: Any neutral ==> Neutral
Hit Die: d10.
Starting Wealth: 3d6x10 gp (average 105 gp)
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Fly (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A shifter is proficient with the following weapons: club, dagger, dart, quarterstaff, scimitar, scythe, sickle, shortspear, sling, and spear. She is also proficient with the natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) from the shifter claws class feature and of forms she assumes with wild shape.
Shifters are proficient with light and medium armor but are prohibited from wearing metal armor. A shifter can wear wooden armor that has been altered by the ironwood spell so that it functions as if it were steel. Shifters are proficient with shields (except tower shields) but must use only those crafted from wood.
A shifter who wears prohibited armor or uses a prohibited shield is unable to use her shifter aspect, shifter claws, wild shape, and other shifter supernatural or spell-like abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.
Bonus Languages: A shifter’s bonus language options include Sylvan, the language of woodland creatures, and Aklo, the tongue spoken by certain sinister fey or otherworldly denizens of reaches of the wild rarely explored by humanity. These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of her race.
A shifter speaks Druidic, a secret language known only to druids and shifters, which she learns upon becoming a 1stlevel shifter. Druidic is a free language for a shifter; that is, she knows it in addition to her regular allotment of languages, and it doesn’t take up a language slot. Shifters are forbidden to teach this language to non-druids or non-shifters.
Shifter Aspect (Su): At 1st level, a shifter gains her first aspect—a category of animal to which her body and soul have become supernaturally attuned. She can shift into her aspect’s minor form for a number of minutes per day equal to 3 + her shifter level. The duration need not be consecutive but must be spent in 1-minute increments. Shifting into a minor form is a swift action, while ending the effect is a free action that can be taken only on the shifter’s turn. Until a shifter reaches 9th level and gains the chimeric aspect class feature, she can assume only one minor form at a time. Shifting to a new aspect (or aspects, in the case of chimeric aspects or greater chimeric aspects) ends all minor forms currently manifested. The minor forms of aspects are not polymorph effects, and the shifter does not lose the benefits of a minor form while affected by polymorph effects.
As the shifter gains levels, she gains more aspects; she gains her second aspect at 5th level, a third aspect at 10th level, and a fourth at 15th level. Shifter Claws (Su): At will, a shifter in her natural form can extend her claws as a swift action to use as a weapon. This magical transformation is fueled as much by the shifter’s faith in the natural world as it is by inborn talent. The claws on each hand can be used as a primary natural attack, dealing 1d4 points of piercing and slashing damage (1d3 if she is Small). If she uses one of her claw attacks in concert with a weapon held in the other hand, the claw acts as a secondary natural attack instead.
As the shifter gains levels, the power of her claws increases. At 3rd level, her claws ignore DR/cold iron and DR/silver. At 7th level, her claw damage increases to 1d6 (1d4 if Small). At 11th level, her claw damage increases to 1d8 (1d6 if Small). At 13th level, her claw damage increases to 1d10 (1d8 if Small). At 17th level, the damage die does not increase, but the critical multiplier becomes ×3. Lastly, at 19th level, the claws ignore DR/adamantine and DR/—.
While a shifter uses wild shape to assume her aspect’s major form, her natural attacks gain the same benefits granted by her shifter claws ability. If the form she takes has claw attacks, she can use either the base damage of her shifter claws or the damage of the form’s claws, whichever is greater. If the form does not have claw attacks, she can choose up to two natural attacks that would deal less damage than her shifter claw damage and have those attacks instead deal the same damage as her shifter claws.
Wild Empathy (Ex): A shifter can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions as a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The shifter rolls 1d20 and adds her shifter level and Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the shifter and the animal must be within 30 feet of one another and under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. The shifter can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check.
Aspect (Tiger) Minor Form: You gain a +2 enhancement bonus to your Dexterity score. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level and +6 at 15th level.
Major Form: Your shape changes to that of a dire tiger (Bestiary 265). While in this form, you gain a base speed of 40 feet, low-light vision, scent (30 feet), the grab ability with both your bite and claw attacks, and pounce. At 8th level, you gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks. At 15th level, you gain the rake attack with your back claw attacks (dealing additional damage equal to that of your claw attack).
Weretouch Archetype
Lycanthrope Aspect (Su): At 1st level, a weretouched gains the shifter aspect ability, except the animal aspect chosen is the only animal aspect the weretouched can gain. This alters her other class features, as detailed in each relevant class feature. Otherwise, this ability functions identically to shifter aspect. At 5th level, a weretouched gains DR/silver equal to half her shifter level, to a maximum of DR 10/silver at 20th level. Additionally, a weretouched shifter becomes immune to a lycanthrope’s curse of lycanthropy. This alters shifter aspect and all of its improvements.
Lycanthropic Empathy (Ex): At 1st level, a weretouched gains wild empathy and a +4 bonus on wild empathy checks, but this ability works only on the type of animal she chose for her lycanthrope aspect. This alters wild empathy.
Lycanthropic Wild Shape (Su): At 4th level, when a weretouched uses wild shape, she can assume only the form of an animal of the same type as her lycanthrope aspect. However, instead of assuming a major form, she can assume a hybrid form that mixes the traits of her natural form and the major form of her aspect. While in a hybrid form, she gain a +2 size bonus to her Strength score, a +2 natural armor bonus to her AC, and all of the natural attacks and abilities listed by her major form. A weretouched also counts as being in her natural form for the purpose of determining whether she can extend her shifter claws. A weretouched’s hybrid form is roughly the same size and shape as her natural form, albeit with bestial qualities such as digitigrade legs or shaggy fur, so her equipment does not merge into her new form when she shifts between her natural form and hybrid form. In addition, the size of a weretouched’s hybrid form is the same as the size of her natural form. This otherwise counts as assuming a major form using wild shape. This alters wild shape.
Languages: Common, Druidic, Halfling, Sylvan
Traits:
Basic (social): Beastkin (tigers): Select one specific type of animal (such as wolves or apes). You were raised from infancy by an animal or pack of animals of that type. You learned their ways and have more in common with your beastly kin than members of any humanoid race. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Survival checks and can use speak with animals as a spell-like ability at will to communicate with the type of animal that raised you.
Basic (magic): Hex-Proof: You’ve dealt too often with cruel fey magic, and so gain a +2 bonus on Will saves against hexes and fey creatures’ spells and spell-like abilities.
Sithar's backstory incorporates both the above traits.
Adventuring Skills (6) (4 from class, 1 from Int bonus, 1 from Favored Class bonus)
Acrobatics +9 (+11 while racially shifted or minor form shifted) (+13 while both are in effect) (1 rank, +3 class skill, +3 Dex, +2 racial)
Climb +9 (while racially shifted +19 and has a climb speed of 20 feet) (+11 while minor form shifted) (+21 while both are in effect) (1 rank, +3 class skill, +3 Dex, +2 racial)
Escape Artist +3 (+5 while racially shifted or minor form shifted) (+7 while both are in effect) (+3 Dex)
Perception +6 (1 rank, +3 class, +2 Wis)
Ride +3 (+5 while racially shifted or minor form shifted) (+7 while both are in effect) (+3 Dex)
Stealth +7 (+9 while racially shifted or minor form shifted) (+11 while both are in effect) (1 rank, +3 class, +3 Dex)
Survival +7 (1 rank, +3 class, +2 Wis +1, +1 trait)
Swim +6 (1 rank, +3 class, +2 Str)
Alignment: Neutral
Gear:
Starting Shifter Wealth is 3d6 x 10 gp (average 105 gp). I used the average wealth.
traveler's outfit (-) (5 lbs)
leather armor (10 gp) (15 lbs)
cold iron scimitar (30 gp) (4 lbs) (sheathed to belt on right hip)
2 cold iron daggers (8 gp) (4 lbs) (store in wrist sheaths)
2 wrist sheaths (2 gp) (2 lbs)
sling (-) (-) (kept in satchel of adventurer's sash)
20 sling stones (-) (5 lbs) (kept in two of the six pouches of the adventurer's sash)
adventurer's sash (20 gp) (3 lbs) (left shoulder to right hip)
2 waterproof bags (1 gp) (1 lb) (kept in satchel of adventurer's sash)
7 days trail rations (3.5 gp) (7 lbs) (kept in one of the waterproof bags)
survival kit (5 gp) (4 lbs) (contains flint & steel, mess kit, 2 waterskins, very basic maps showing major landmarks (kept in other waterproof bag), small utility knife)
2 sacks (0.2 gp) (1 lb) (when empty kept in satchel of adventurer's sash)
common cat (0.03 gp) (8 lbs, only applies if in satchel of adventurer's sash or otherwise being carried by Sithar)
1 day poor inn lodging (0.2 gp) (-)
7 days good inn meals (0.5 gp) (-)
Six pouches of adventurer's sash:
chestside pouch closest to right hip:10 sling stones
chestside center of torso pouch: main coin pouch (22 gold, 4 silver, 7 copper)
chestside pouch closest to left shoulder: vials (currently empty)
backside pouch closest to left shoulder: additional silver coins (currently empty)
backside center of torso pouch: additional copper coins (currently empty)
backside pouch closest to right hip: 10 sling stones
Age, height, weight, etc.:
Will have Hero Forge mini made up this week.
Will have other physical details decided on this week.
How my character is a 'black panther' weretiger descendant:
Melanism (what makes certain big cats 'black panthers') is either a dominant gene trait or a recessive gene trait, depending on the cat - dominant for jaguars and recessive for leopards.
I am working with it being a recessive trait for tigers in-game (if that is okay), and my character's parents both passed on the recessive trait of the 'black panther' dire tiger lycanthropes that were progenitors of shifter ancestors of my both his parents' family bloodlines.
The Story of Sithar, Part 1: The Beginning:
None of the shifters of Sithar's tribe had any shifters that manifested black panther tiger stripes for over a century. The tribe views such shifters born with the rare appearance both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because of the rarity of it occurring. A curse because without fail, dark fey from The Twilight Demesne attempt to capture such rare shifter children for nefarious purposes. Such shifters that are captured and raised in captivity by the dark fey become changed by the dark fey influence to become fearsome dark champions that the dark fey enjoy using to slay members of the shifter tribe that they stole the shifter child from.
Such rare shifter children who are not captured and taken by the dark fey grow up with the usual shifter racial abilities as well as the ability to speak with tigers, and are usually inducted into the Wardens of the Wood druidic order.
Sithar did not know his birth name for the first decade of his life (well as an infant he did, but that memory was not retained), as he was captured and taken by dark fey while he was still an infant (nearly 2 years old at the time he was taken).
The Story of Sithar, Part 2: Captured and Caged by Dark Fey:
The dark fey who captured him, kept him in a cage that was next to a caged male tiger cub. The dark fey only spoke to him in Sylvan, and called him ith'reen (shacked child) and called the caged tiger rah'reen (shackled beast).
The dark fey would sometimes move their ith'reen and rah'reen from one location to another part of the Faerie Court and back to different regions of Khorvaire. They would whip both the shifter child and the tiger cub when they failed to respond to the commands the dark fey told them, speaking only Sylvan. In time, the shifter child learned enough of the Sylvan tongue to prevent getting whipped for failing to respond when spoken to. The young tiger was not so lucky. The shifter child developed a rudimentary language he could use with the young tiger that allowed him to translate the Sylvan words the dark fey spoke to the tiger. Each time he did so, both the shifter child and the tiger were rewarded with meat as part of their diet.
Five years after originally being taken, the caged tiger had finished growing. The dark fey decided it was time to test how well the ith'reen and rah'reen worked together. They travelled to the surface of Khorvaire, in The Talenta Plains, and commanded the beastkin child (now 7 years old) to climb onto the tiger's back and to hunt some of the nearby grazing herd animals. During the next several months the dark fey would bring their slaves back to the surface of The Talenta Plains to practice their stalking and hunting.
The Story of Sithar, Part 3: Rescued by House Jorasco in the Talenta Plains:
Rumours spread of a naked child riding a tiger that would sometimes be glimpsed about once a month. Holy Uldra tasked some of the halflings of her tribe to seek out and find the child and bring him to her. While the halflings of Holy Uldra's tribe searched for the child, halflings of House Jorasco found the child (now 8 years old). They fought and scattered the dark fey that appeared when they rode near to the child. The shifter child told his tiger friend not to attack. Fortunately one of the halflings in the group is fluent in Sylvan and could communicate with the child. A few of the halflings decided to escort the child to the Eldeen Reaches, to find out if any of the shifter tribes there had a child matching the child's unusual skin and fur pattern that was taken by dark fey.
During the time it took them to travel to The Eldeen Reaches, the halflings taught the child Common and their own Halfling tongue. Before they left the Talenta Plains, the child insisted the tiger stay with him. When the group were getting close to the large town of Vulyar in southern Karrnath, the tiger told his shifter friend he wanted to stay in the Plains where there was plenty of game and to find a mate. Saddened to part ways with the only friend he has known during his life, he told his tiger friend he had chosen a name for himself, Kithar Hareen (cat-friend free-of-shackles) and the tiger liked the free-of-shackles name and told Kithar he could call him Hareen. Kithar told Hareen he would return when he was older and find him. Then the halflings witnessed the child and tiger hug each other, before continuing on their journey to The Eldeen Reaches.
The Story of Sithar, Part 4: A Year in Wolf's Paw:
Sithar and the halflings traveled to The Eldeen Reaches, and the halflings brought young Sithar (now 9 years old) to Wolf's Paw, a small community of shifters. The leader of the thorp, Slara, thanked the halflings of House Jorasco for returning the child to them. Slara sent out word throughout the Eldeen Reaches for any parents who had a child taken who would be eight years old now. The local druid of Wolf's Paw, Lorgan, who has ties with the Wardens of the Wood druidic order, having discovering Sithar's talent to communicate with tigers, attempted to train him in the ways of druid.
As much as Sithar tried, he could not tap into tapping the magic of the natural world to cast spells, though had the ability to shift his hands into claws as often as he wanted, something that is rare among their race. Another unusual trait of Sithar's was that when shifted more of his body he could easily climb trees (and the sides of the buildings of the farming community). With such abilities Sithar possessed, Lorgan knew that Sithar was not just of the shifter race, but also had the abilities of a shifter, and with making sure Sithar understood the ramifications of not keeping the secrets of the druidic language to himself, taught Sithar the language of the druids.
Sithar had lived in Wolf's Paw for a year when news of him had reached his parents, who had traveled to Wolf's Paw to bring their son home. Sitthar (now 10 years old) wanted to stay in Wolf's Paw and to continue his training with Lorgan. Lorgan told him Sithar that he had taught him all he could. After saying his farewells to the friends he had made in Wolf's Paw, Sithar went home to join his tribe in the southwestern plains of The Eldeen Reaches.
The Story of Sithar, Part 5: Finally back home with her tribe:
Sithar lived a relatively peaceful life with his tribe for five years, earning to one day travel back to the Talenta Plains to find Hareen.He had decided to keep the name he kept for himself instead of going by the name his parents named him. His parents understood how important this was to him and did as he wished. Sometimes others of the tribe would call him by his birth name, Caldair (a Halfling name that means 'curious playful one').
Sithar (now 15) told his parents he wanted to travel to the Taletha Plains to look for his tiger friend. His parents, knowing their son was determined, asked him to first travel to Varna to buy weapons that will make him more capable of dealing with any dark fey that might try to recapture him and his tiger friend.
Sithar, with his traveling gear, said his farewells to his parents, made his way first to Wolf's Paw to visit his friends there, then made his way to Varna and with the coin his parents had given him, purchased his cold iron weapons and wrist sheaths for the daggers. Before he left Varna, he befriended an alley cat, which followed him out the city and continued to follow him. Unlike with his tiger friend, Hareen, and other tigers that Lorgan had him test his speak with animals with, he could not communicate as easily with the alley cat.
Sithar decided that part of his journey to The Talentha Plains he would visit some of the interesting sites that were along the way, or would not be much of a detour to visit. From Varna he travelled along the shoreline of Lake Gailfor and stopped in Passage to check out the lightning rail station, before continuing on to visit the coastal village of Arcanix, known for its floating towers of wizardry.
After taking in the view of the floating towers as he approached the town, he decided to pay for some lodging at an inn for the night and take the day to explore the village.
After securing his lodging for the day and enjoying a hot meal, he takes a walk around the village with his tiny feline companion. SIthar walks into a cafe and orders himself a hot apple cider with cinnamon.
The cat, still outside, stalks a mouse it sees in the shrubbery along the side of the cafe.
It's pretty interesting .. focused on abberations and with a definite lovecraftian theme to the enemies. I GM'ed most of the first book before my group collapsed...
A change in the route halflings took to bring Sithar to the Eldeen Reaches. They did not travel north to Karnnath, but rather west through Cyre (which was before Cyre was devastated).
Timeline of Sithar's life:
958 YK: The Eldeen Reaches declares itself an independent nation under the protection of the Wardens of the Wood and the guidance of the Great Druid Oalian.
980 YK: Queen Aurala's reign of Aundair begins.
982 YK: Caldair (Sithar) is born into a nomadic shifter tribe that roams the western plains of the Eldeen Reaches.
984 YK: During the week of the year Lammania (The Twilight Forest) becomes coterminous with Eberron, dark fey kidnap Caldair and a tiger cub and bring both of them to Lammania, where they keep the child and cub caged beside each other for the next five years.
986 YK: A trio of hags known as the Daughters of Sora Kell invade western Breland with an army of trolls, ogres, and gnolls.
987 YK: Unable to confront both the monsters and fight its opponents in the Last War, King Boranel pulls settlers back and seals off the land west of the Graywall Mountains. The Daughters of Sora Kell declare the sovereignty of the nation of Droaam.
989 YK: With the tiger fully-grown and bonded with the shifter child (now 7 years old), during the week of the year that Lammania is coterminous with Eberron, the dark fey take their magically-bounded minions to the Talenta Plains, where they command the child to ride the tiger and hunt some of the smaller grazing dinosaurs of the plains. They travel back and forth from Lammania and the Talentha Plains for the week. The dark fey return with the child and tiger to Lammania before the coterminous week ends. The start of the rumours of a naked child riding a tiger starts to spread throughout the land, coming to the attention of Holy Uldra, who tasks some of the halflings of her tribe to find the child and bring him to her. After six months of no sightings of the child and the tiger Holy Uldra ceases her search to find the child and tiger.
990 YK: During the week that Lammania is coterminous with Eberron, the dark fey once again bring the child (now 8 years old) and tiger to the Talenta Plains to practice their tandem combat skills against grazing dinosaur herds.. House Jorasco halflings travelling north from Gatherhold encounter the child, tiger and the dark fey controlling them. The halflings slay the dark fey, which frees the child and tiger from their malevolent control. A few of the halflings are tasked with bringing the child and his animal friend to the Eldeen Reaches. The small group veers westward to travel through Cyre. While travelling through Cyre, they see tigers in the northern plains of Cyre. The tiger lets his shifter friend know he wants to stay and be with the tigers (of the northern plains of Cyre). The child chooses his name, Sithar Hareen (cat-friend free-of-chains), and the cat takes the name Hareen. The halflings witness the child and tiger hug each other, before continuing on their journey.
990-991 YK: The halflings House of Jorasco standing lets them travel through the nations still embroiled in the Last War without being harassed. As the halflings did not want to risk taking the shifter through Thrane, where The Silver Flame's power is the greatest, who were responsible for the Silver Crusade that attempted to genocide the child's race, they traveled through Breland to Lake Galifar and hired Captain Notak Ninefiger to give them passage across Lake Galifar to Cree. From Cree they traveled north to Wolf's Paw. The route they take to get Sithar to Wolf's Paw is as follows: Metrol (Cyre), Starilaskur (Breland), Xandrar (Breland), passage across Lake Galifar on the ship Smooth Sailing to Cree, than traveled north to Wolf's Paw.
991 YK: Sithar (age 9) arrives in Wolf's Paw. He lives there for a year, training under Lorgan.
992 YK: Sithar's parents, after hearing about the return of a child who could be their son, travel to Wolf's Paw and are reunited with their lost child. They bring Sithar (now 10) back home to their their nomadic shifter tribe that roams the western plains of the Eldeen Reaches.
992 to 997: Sithar is back home with his nomadic shifter tribe of the western plains of the Eldeen Reaches, kept safe with the other children during the occasional skirmishes the shift tribe has with the occasional demons that come eastward out of the Demon Wastes or the gnolls, ogres and trolls that ventured northwards from Droaam into the western plains of the Eldeen Reaches.
993 YK: Jaela Daran (age 6) assumes the power of the Keeper of the Silver Flame.
994 YK: Cyre is destroyed and becomes The Mournland.
994 or 995 YK: Upon hearing about the destruction of Cyre, Sithar becomes worried about the fate of his tiger friend, Hareen. He told his parents he had to make sure his friend was safe. His parents forbade him from leaving the tribe, as well as pointing out the dangers of travelling throughout the human lands with the Last War still going on.
996 YK: The Treaty of Thronehold officially ends the Last War. The treaty officially recognizes the nations of Aundair, Breland, Thrane, Karrnath, the Talenta Plains, Zilargo, Q'barra, the Lhazaar Principalities, the Mror Holds, the Eldeen Reaches, Darguun, and Valenar.
996 YK: The treaty further commands House Cannith to destroy the creation forges (the devices used to create warforged). Remaining warforged are granted the rights of sentient beings.
996 YK: The Tribunal of Thronehold is established by the treaty with jurisdiction over prosecuting war crimes conducted during the worst offenses of the Last War—including ten magistrates from all signatory nations save Q'barra and Valenar.
996 or 997: Upon hearing the Last War had ended, Sithar asked his parents for their blessing for him to travel to look for his tiger friend. They refused, telling him he was still a child and it was unsafe for him to travel alone.
998: A raiding party of gnolls from Droaam came across the shifter tribe. A wounded gnoll got past the defensive circle the shifter warriors had formed around their young, and Sithar (now 16) used his innate racial and class shifter abilities to slay the gnoll before it could harm any of the children. This earned Sithar warrior status in the tribe, meaning he was no longer bound by his parent's orders. Knowling they could not prevent their son from leaving to search for his friend, they equipped him and gave him coin to purchase cold iron weapons in Varna.
Sithar's loyalties are to Hareen (though he has not found his tiger friend yet), his parents, his tribe, Lorgan, the thorp of Wolf's Paw and House Jorasco halflings who freed him from captivity and escorted him to the Eldeen Reaches, and the cat that started to follow him around since he was in Varna.
@Jeren: A suggestion for a possible pre-campaign start connection between our PCs.
Would you like to have been one of the House Jorasco halflings in the group that found Sithar and fought the dark fey that freed him and his tiger friend from their control? It occured 8 years ago (990 YK) north on the Talenta Plains north of Gatherhold, and east of Metrol of Cyre. Depending on Jeren's age at the time, he might have been a child. It could have also timed up with the time Jeren came of age, and was one of the halflings that escorted the shifter child to the Eldeen Reaches, and Jeren could have disembarked from the ship in Lake Galifan at Passage, to head to whichever part of Aundair he received his training at.
How the dark fey punished him when he did not do what they told him to:
In addition to whipping both the boy and tiger when they did not do as they were told, the dark fey would sometimes lather one of the boy's limbs in honey, then release a jar of bullet ants onto the honey-lathered limb. The dark fey did not gather the ants back up until they had consumed the honey of the boy's limb or the boy had passed out from the pain.
The dark fey theatened that the tiger would have honey poured on it if the boy attempted to swipe the honey or ants from himself. The child, not wanting his tiger friend to experience the agonizing pain, always endured the pain for as long as he could before passing out from the pain.
I have updated his profile to include the updated conditions while he was caged by the dark fey (and the drawback and extra trait gained as part of it).
Is Sithar's timeline good for what he was doing the Last War?
I left the specific type of fey creature(s) that took him and the tiger cub open so you could choose which type of fey creature(s) took them. Let me know if you want me to come up with the specifics of the fey creatures instead.
I have updated his profile to include the updated conditions while he was caged by the dark fey (and the drawback and extra trait gained as part of it).
Is Sithar's timeline good for what he was doing the Last War?
I left the specific type of fey creature(s) that took him and the tiger cub open so you could choose which type of fey creature(s) took them. Let me know if you want me to come up with the specifics of the fey creatures instead.
Okay, I'll look for something Unseelie in my books.
Sithar's loyalties are to Hareen (though he has not found his tiger friend yet), his parents, his tribe, Lorgan, the thorp of Wolf's Paw and House Jorasco halflings who freed him from captivity and escorted him to the Eldeen Reaches, and the cat that started to follow him around since he was in Varna.
@Jeren: A suggestion for a possible pre-campaign start connection between our PCs.
Would you like to have been one of the House Jorasco halflings in the group that found Sithar and fought the dark fey that freed him and his tiger friend from their control? It occured 8 years ago (990 YK) north on the Talenta Plains north of Gatherhold, and east of Metrol of Cyre. Depending on Jeren's age at the time, he might have been a child. It could have also timed up with the time Jeren came of age, and was one of the halflings that escorted the shifter child to the Eldeen Reaches, and Jeren could have disembarked from the ship in Lake Galifan at Passage, to head to whichever part of Aundair he received his training at.
Sure why not. Give me a few days and i'll think about something.
@ GM: In the orignal recruitment the PCs were in Passage. For the reopening you stated the new PCs are in Arcanix. Are both correct, or are the new PCs starting in Passage as well?
@GM: Have you decided on which unseelie kidnapped and kept Sithar and his tiger friend caged for the six years?
@Jeren: Have you decided on how Jeren was involved in the rescue of Sithar and the tiger from the dark fey? Was Jeren only part of the initial (larger) group of Jorasco halflings that saved the shifter child and tiger or was Jeren part of the small group of Jorasco halflings that escorted the shifter boy to the Eldeen Reaches? If yes to the latter, did you want to add any specific significant encounters while the group was traveling through Breland? Vathirond-Starilaskur-Hateril-Xandrar-lake passage on Smooth Sailing -Cree-Wolf's Paw (halflings then make their way back - possibly Wolf's Paw-Varna-Passage- to whereever Jeren was trained in Aundair).
I have decided for a yes.
He was involved in the rescue and why not in the escort too?
That could have been one of his first missions and tests to proove himself, where he went with his mentor.
@ GM: In the orignal recruitment the PCs were in Passage. For the reopening you stated the new PCs are in Arcanix. Are both correct, or are the new PCs starting in Passage as well?
Sorry, everyone is in Passage. :)
Quote:
@GM: Have you decided on which unseelie kidnapped and kept Sithar and his tiger friend caged for the six years?
I haven't decided, because I've been busy. I was thinking spriggans did it.
Spriggans work. They get their muted satisfaction making the shifter children and animal cubs they kidnap suffer as they raise them in cages, and more so when they have accomplished their goal of turning them into full-grown dark champions to inflict suffering onto the kin they stole them from.
@Jeren: Aside the original fight with the spriggans to free Sithar and Hareen, would you like to add some encounter with spriggans who were trying to recapture Sithar, while the group was travelling through Breland?
An additional option for encounter(s) while travelling through Breland (south of Thrane, where the Silver Flame's base of Flamekeep is) could be some Puritans of the Silver Flame heard rumours of a group of House Jorasco halflings escorting a shifter or lycanthropic child and decided to seek out and slay the child. The Puritans of the Silver Flame were ones who helped initiate the inquisition against the lycanthropes, and still remain a vocal group within the church of the Silver Flame.
It seems that some of us know each other and some do not. What brings us all to this cafe in Passage at the same time?
Happenstance for Sithar.
As for who, between Jeren and Sithar, recognizes the other one first, Jeren would not recognized Sithar based on his size (as he is no longer a small child) but his distinctive tiger stripes birthmark pattern that are not covered by his attire, would probably instantly bring memories back and quickly deduce Sithar as the child he helped rescue and escort to Wolf's Paw.
@Jeren: Would you prefer to notice Sithar when he walks into the cafe, before he notices you, Sithar notices Jeren first, or to notice each other at the same time?
It seems that some of us know each other and some do not. What brings us all to this cafe in Passage at the same time?
This:
EltonJ wrote:
It's a blustery day. The wind moved like a saw through the trees, as a Low from the Eldeen Bay impacts the nation of Aundair. The low pressure means to bring some rain in the form of Thunderstorms, as it clashes with a High pressure over the village of Passage. Your group is in Passage, and you are enjoying a windy spring day.
Also, your group is one that knows each other. Whether friends or acquaintances, you have to decide. It's noon, and all of you are enjoying lunch in a cafe.
Describe your lunch. And yes, you can include coffee. Coffee is grown in tropical climes -- whether it's Valanar, Breland, or Zilargo.
You can just happen to recognize Jeren by chance as you pass by in the cafè.
