Greetings. As the title would suggest, I am running a Reign of Winter campaign and one of our players has gone missing and the group and myself would like a replacement PC as opposed to a DMPC. We have currently just concluded book 1. Character will be made at 4th level and will join the group on the way to Whitethrone.
The current group consists of:
Cara, Elf Ranger (Archery)
Geedra, Goblin Witch (Debuffer / Fortune Manipulator)
Asgrid, Dwarf Oracle/Summoner (Healer / Support)
-Grugkt, her eidolon (Currently the Melee Fighter)
Incoming player would be replacing a human bloodrager.
I am no so much interested in completed builds or anything, but rather character ideas in this thread. Race, class, gender, archetype, role, etc. I would ideally prefer a player unfamiliar with the adventure path but that isn't a make or break thing.
Character guidelines:
Race: Any core plus the following featured races - aasimar, tiefling, goblin, hobgoblin, orc, ratfolk, tengu.
Class: No gunslingers. No occult classes or vigilante just because I am unfamiliar with them.
Other than that I'm okay with any Paizo archetypes, spells, feats, and so on. Obviously the group could use a melee fighter but I'm not going to base a decision solely on class. I will ask for my current group's input. Feel free to consult the Reign of Winter's player's guide.
For a general synopsis, the group is out to stop the plot of the current queen of Irrisen, Elvanna, who seeks to cover the world in endless winter. She has somehow subdued or overcome her mother, Baba Yaga, and the PCs have taken on the mantle of the Black Rider, one of Baba Yaga's heralds, in order to find her and put a stop to Elvanna's plans. The adventure path is obviously very winter/cold-centric, and will take the group to Irrisen and beyond.
Your character will have previously met another of Baba Yaga's riders and have had the mantle of the Red Rider passed on to you.
I'll see what ideas people have over the next week or so and see where we fall. Feel free to ask any questions you have.
Sounds neat! This AP might be a good fit for my raised-by-wolves druid. The vignette in the alias was written for a Serpent Skull adventure path, so I'd have to make some adjustments to move him north. Ultimately, since you've asked for a basic concept, I'll just leave this here and you can consider whether a "Princess Mononoke, but a boy" would be a good addition to your group.
I'll read up on your thread to see if I'd need to make some personality tweaks to make sure he doesn't clash.
How about an actual rider? I know Path of War is a hard sell but I thought I'd give it try. I built an interesting character that was a finesse cavalier using the Hussar template on a Warden rather than the actual cavalier class. A lightly armored harrier if you will, eventually using lunge and ride by attack for quick strikes. Fairly effective off the horse too. If that doesn't work I can do a regular cavalier.
The story was that she is the oldest daughter of a soldier turned farmer. He wanted a simpler life after years of combat. However, battle came calling and his sons went in his place. None of them returned. To protect her family she secretly took up riding, the lance and sword. She hid her identity and drove off bandits and evil creatures. Eventually her father found out and, seeing he couldn't dissuade her, taught her everything he knew. I was thinking a miscommunication might lead her to having to face the Red Rider, either now or before the events of the game, and manages to land a glancing blow. She is soundly defeated but left an impression.
How about a Human hexcrafter magus. i'd have to bump him up to level 4 if selected.
I have submitted this character in another reign of winter game, If not selected there I would like to be considered here.
he was in another reign of winter game that fizzled somewhere in book 2 I think.
I would like to submit Gustav Skydda, human sword-and-board caravan guard focused on the 'slash and smash' school of two-weapon fighting.
Full disclosure, I own parts 1 and 2 of this AP, as well as the Campaign setting "Irrisen: Land of Eternal Winter." I have read all three texts but other than geography knowledge (which would make sense for the character), I do not intend to let that knowledge affect the choices I would make for this character.
Thanks!
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OMGosh, I played through Book 1 before our group fell apart! I would *love* the chance to finish.
This profile is now the PFS character that evolved out of that lost opportunity. He even has the Chronicle Sheet for Book 1. He's a melee-focused Paladin (Sacred Servant) of Rowdrosh, the Divine Herdsman.
He's a "warm stranger in a cold land". A Mwangi goat herder who answered his god's call to protect against a greater calamity. When your homeland is a tropical climate, covering the world in winter is certainly something worth fighting!
He's more "anti-chaos" than "anti-evil". In fact, if you're fine with a bit of houseruling, it'd be awesome to change his Detect and Smite Evil to Detect and Smite Chaos.
His primary weapon is a polearm, but he has Catch Off Guard so he can switch to using the handle when he's forced into close combat.
But I guess anything can be changed to fit your Campaign.
HERE is the tent I use for him when I play PFS, if it helps to visualize him =).
How about a slightly mystical Tengu Monk? I played Tychi/Nike in a game before, and enjoyed them. At 4th level, he'd not have Nike with him (unfortunately), but he's a Sohei (Mounted Monk) who uses a Whip-Sword (Urumi).
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Alrighty, so this is probably jumping the gun, but since I stayed home sick today anyways I decided to kill time statting up a 4th level version of Talib using the 18pt buy you suggested:
LG Human Paladin (Sacred Servant) 4
Deity: Rowdrosh
Domain: Travel
18 point buy:
(+7) 15 STR 18 (+2 Human, +1 @ 4th Level)
(+0) 10 DEX 10
(+5) 14 CON 14
(–1) 09 INT 09 (+1 @ 16th Level)
(+2) 12 WIS 12
(+5) 14 CHA 14 (+1 @ 8th/12th Level)
Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +7
AC: 19, Touch: 10, FF: 19
MELEE:
Fauchard Shaft +8 (1d8+12) or
Mwk Elysian Bronze Fauchard +7 (1d10+12/18-20) or
Silver Warhammer +6 (1d8+12/x3) or
Cold Iron Scimitar +6 (1d6+12/18-20)
RANGED:
Javelin +4 (1d6+4) or
Dagger +4 (1d4+4)
RACIAL TRAITS:
Standard (+2 to any Ability Score, Bonus Feat, +1 skill rank/level)
FAVORED CLASS BONUS:
+1 energy resistance to one kind of energy (cold)
FEATS:
1st: Catch Off Guard, Additional Traits
3rd: Power Attack
PLANNED FEATS:
5th: Shield Focus [Buckler]
7th: Unhindering Shield [Buckler]
9th: Improvised Weapon Mastery
11th:Improved Critical [Fauchard]
13th:Toughness
15th:???
17th:???
TRAITS:
(campaign) Restless Wayfarer
(combat) Surprise Weapon
(magic) Magical Knack [Paladin]
(faith) Fate's Favored
SKILLS:
+9 Diplomacy (4 ranks, +2 Cha, +3 Class)
+6 Handle Animal (1 rank, +2 Cha, +3 Class)
+7 Profession[shepherd] (1 rank, +1 Wis, +3 Class, +2 Tool)
–1 Ride (1 rank, +0 Dex, +3 Class, -5 ACP)
+5 Sense Motive (1 rank, +1 Wis, +3 Class)
EQUIPMENT (6000gp):
(~25% WEAPONS)
1314gp Mwk Elysian Bronze Fauchard
102gp Silver Warhammer
40gp Alchemist Fire (x2)
30gp Cold Iron Scimitar
3gp Javelins (x3)
2gp Dagger
(~25% ARMOR)
1650gp Mwk Full Plate
(~25% MAGIC ITEMS)
1500gp Cracked Opalescent White Pyramid Ioun Stone [Fauchard]
(~15% CONSUMABLES)
150gp Scroll of Divine Favor (x6)
150gp Scroll of Bless Weapon (x6)
150gp Scroll of Shield of Faith (x6)
150gp Scroll of Veil of Positive Energy (x6)
150gp Scroll of Longstrider (x6)
(~10% MUNDANE GEAR)
100gp Ivory and Gold Holy Symbol
80gp Climber's Kit
50gp Mwk Backpack
50gp Mwk Tool [Shepherd's Crook]
10gp 50' Silk Rope
5gp Spring Loaded Wrist Sheath
1gp Waterskin
1gp Scroll Tube
1gp Belt Pouch
6sp Bedroll/Blanket
5sp Bandolier
0gp Cold Weather Gear
(COINS)
309 gold
9 silver
The biggest change from my PFS build was a hit to his Intelligence. I also added a couple points to Strength for frontline effectiveness. Coming from an isolated, nomadic, herding lifestyle it's easy to explain and RP having an Intelligence of 9.
This is an Orc Brawler I set up for a Serpent Skull recruitment (but he was an idea I had in my mind for some time). His gist is that he was raised by paladins under a sort of probation, then declared anathema when the one who guaranteed for him Fell, so there are several paladins wishing to strike him down although he hasn't really done anything wrong.
I can easily change the direction he fled, have him run towards Irrisen, and restat him easily if you like the concept.
About me, the RoW game I played fell apart by GM disappearance by the second encounter, so I'm inexperienced about the AP.
I literally just made a melee bard for this game. I'd have to relevel her to 4/reget items but reworking crunch is no big deal at all.
Basically she's an Ulfen arcane duelist bard who specializes in sword and board combat up close. She's from a family of blacksmiths but ran into a witch ritual that terrified her and made her never leave her room and she decided to draw art instead of actually doing her job.
However, her parents were mad at her for not pulling her weight and they kicked her out, so she took up adventuring (because what else are ya' gonna do?) and continuing to scribble drawings in a journal she keeps--she deals with the trauma by obsessing about love and other such things because 'love defeats evil every time' or something like that. This makes her kind of a love freak, but if it's a melee combatant you want she's very good at it.
I've also literally never played in this AP before but I know book 5 is called 'rasputin must die' and thus I am instantly sold on it.
Would you consider Skinwalker? I'd like to create an IR Barbarian, but would like to go ragebred for RP purposes. I have never played this AP.
I've got a concept in mind. The book describes this encroachment of winter as a world wide thing all across Golarion. I would love to throw in some strange outlander from another continent into the regular fantasy fair.
Tareg is a strange looking creature, though probably no stranger then plenty have seen on Golarion. A few can even recognize what he is, failing on only the specifics. A tiefling they call him and an ugly one at that! Large, brutish, his skin entirely red with spikes protruding here and there from his body... Tareg is definitely not the most appealing to look upon.
He wasn't chosen for his looks though. Tareg came from a very distant land because the Winter has been spreading across all of Golarion. Following the advice of a Forest Spirit, a being he calls a Kami, he has traveled across the ocean to find the source of this dreadful magic.
Mechanically he'd be a brutish Unchained Monk, A Tiefling (Oni-Spawn) who went down the path of wisdom to keep control of his evil heritage and found peace and violence down the path! He'll be ugly as sin but have a surprising bit of wit to him. Tareg's focus will be as a melee frontliner, but he'll eventually get a few cool monk tricks.
Well I was not selected in the other recuitment. So I submit kobad here.
Just a note that the character joining doesn't have to be from Irrisen or anywhere in the north and can/will have gotten there by specific means to be decided. It actually fits in a bit more if the character is indeed from a different land and is an outsider to Irrisen.
I didn't include much about crunch and numbers in the original post, but since some have characters already made or had premade ones, I will point out that characters will be built using an 18 point buy, but will get a +2 bonus to any one ability score when all is said and done due to the taking on the mantle of the Red Rider.
@Ferrell - A melee druid is interesting. With the added capability divine support it would probably fit in nicely.
@Zayne - I personally enjoy mounted combat and knight-errant type characters, but unfortunately at least in most of books 2 and 3 mounted combat won't really be much of an option. Lots of inside stuff and dungeon stuff to come. I haven't read beyond Book 3 so I'm unsure as to what follows in that regard.
@Magnus - Actually, not to rain on your parade, but in my first post I forgot to say no Magus in the class restrictions. It is mainly just because I feel they are very clunky in the rules with a lot of the abilities they get.
@Kobad - Though we have two arcane characters already, the group doesn't have much of a straight up blaster, so I don't think a sorcerer would be redundant, though it might soften the group up a bit more.
@Gustav - Sword and board is a good call. Out previous 'tank' was a low-AC Bloodrager so he was taking as many hits as he dished out. Knowledge of book 2 is probably okay as it's the least informative/spoilery of them I think.
@Talib - Paladin would certainly be useful, and being a Mwangi from a tropical region would be a nice outsider addition. I'd be fine with changing '___ evil' stuff to '____ chaos.'
@Tychi - Interesting concept. Monk is fine, and an exotic tengu can still work for this since the PCs can pretty much have come from anywhere.
@Davia - Eh, not sure about merfolk. Just a touch too out there for me.
@Lem - I do like that concept a lot, and a brawler would be cool.
@Katie - Hey, a sword-and-board bard would be cool. The other details fit in and would work well, too.
@Eminem - I would possibly consider skinwalker as it is basically just the assimar/tiefling for therianthropes.
@Arillius - That sounds neat. Like I said, it's fine being from other locations. I like that take on tiefling.
I'll leave this open until March 15 to give the others in the group some time to look it over and share their thoughts. I'll post the chosen recruit a day or two after that and then will PM said person to hash out details. Thanks everyone for your interest, there are some nice ideas out there.
Hmm...I've been wanting to come back into a Pathfinder campaign after a brief fallout, this sounds fun. I do have a few ideas:
-a gnome paladin who will dip a few levels in ninja to advance as a shadowdancer until lv 3, then more into ninja.
-a half-orc alchemist who's pretty much focused on his bombs (will level up straight through)
-some kind of barbarian (maybe a dwarf barbarian who will dip a level or two in ranger)
These are just suggestions, and I may be rusty to the rules, but I'm willing to join.
Alright, here we go...
Male Tiefling (Oni-Spawn) Unchained Monk (Weapon Adept) 4
LG M Outsider (Native)
Init +1; [ b]Senses [/b]Dark Vision 60 ft; Perception +11
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Defense
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AC 18 [20], touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +1 [+3] natural, +5 Monk)
hp 36 (4d10+8)
Fort +5, [ b]Ref [/b]+5, [ b]Will [/b]+6
Resist Cold 5
[] = Barkskin
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft. (50 ft when charging, running or withdrawing)
Melee Sansetsukon +9 (1d10+7/x2)
Full Attack Flurry of Blows
Sansetsukon +7 (1d10+13/x2), Sansetsukon +7 (1d10+13/x2), Extra Ki Attack +7 (1d10+13/x2)
Extra Ki Attack (Cost 1 ki point)
Perfect Strike 4/day
Spell-Like Abilities Barskin (Costs 1 ki point)
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 8
Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 23
Feats Power Attack, Improved Unarmed Attack, Perfect Strike, Dodge, Deflect Arrows, Weapon Focus- Sansetsukon, Snake Style
Traits Restless Wayfarer, Third Eye
Skills Acrobatics +5, Climb +8, Knowledge (Local) +6, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Perception +11, Sense motive +15 (+17 vs compulsion), Stealth +8
Languages Common, Infernal, 2 more to pick
SQ Soul Seer - Deathwatch (Sp)/At Will
Other Gear
Wish list +1 weapon, +2 Wisdom Headband. Not adding since I don't know how much starting gold we get yet.
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Special Abilities
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Soul Seer (Sp) Deathwatch/At Will
Fiendish Sprinter 10ft faster when using Run, Charge and Withdraw
Scaled Skin +1 Natural Armor, Resist 5 Cold
AC Bonus Add Wisdom + 1 to AC, Touch, Flatfooted and CMD
Bonus Feat Dodge, Deflect Arrows
Unarmed Strike Always considers armed, gain Improved Unarmed Strike, Can make attacks with any part of body
Flurry of Blows One additional attack at highest base attack, stacks with effects like haste, Extra Ki attack, etc
Perfect Strike (Ex) Gain Perfect Strike feat, can use 4/day. Roll 2d20 instead of 1d20, use better.
Way of the Weapon Master (Ex) Gain Weapon Focus for one monk weapon as a bonus feat. (Sansetsukon)
Fast Movement 10 ft. enhancement bonus to land speed
Ki Pool (Su) 6/day
Ki Power (Su)
-Barskin (Sp) (Qinggong Power): Spend 1 ki point to cast Barskin on self only. Caster level equal to Monk level.
Still Mind (Ex) +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
Then there's snake style. Now normally snake style is a 'use it when you want' feat, but for the sake of simplicity, unless otherwise stated, I plan on just rolling the sense motive and using it on the first attack targeting Tareg a round. Sometimes I may say 'I'll use it on this specific guys attacks' but I'll keep things simple so you don't need to worry about extra back and forth. Either way, it definitely increases his tankiness as he gains the chance to dodge and or deflect a single attack a round. On top of deflect arrows, he'll by dodging left and right.
Finally you have the Mutant Eye trait. It is a weird trait to be certain and that's one of the reasons why I love it. It also fits perfectly with a Tiefling and an Oni-spawn. Who better to suddenly grow a third eye? It makes his bluff and diplomacy even worse by making him even uglier and more disturbing, but it gives him a bonus to sense motive, particularly to try and figure out if someone is enchanted or under a compulsion effect. Very useful for a guy who usually fights evil spirits that possess people.
He wasn't chosen for his looks though. Tareg came from a very distant land because the Winter has been spreading across all of Golarion. Following the advice of a Forest Spirit, a being he calls a Kami, he has traveled across the ocean to find the source of this dreadful magic.
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If chosen, I would select +2 to Charisma. It's what I picked on the Chronicle Sheet as well.
I read that you're not a PFS member. I can create the event for you and do all the paperwork for you. I'd just need your signature. But that doesn't need to happen until the end of each Book. At that point I'd just snail mail the Chronicle Sheet to you with return postage to make it as easy for you as possible.
Ask your players if any of them are interested in receiving PFS credit and I can include them in the event, too.
I didn't include much about crunch and numbers in the original post, but since some have characters already made or had premade ones, I will point out that characters will be built using an 18 point buy, but will get a +2 bonus to any one ability score when all is said and done due to the taking on the mantle of the Red Rider.
Completely doable. She was originally made with 20 PB, so should I get to crunch I'll just either need to drop her dex from 12 to 10, or her wisdom from 8 to 7.
...That's a far harder call to make than it should have any right to be. (If it matters, 20 PB gave her 16/12/14/10/8/14 before racial modifiers-she is not a typical face character bard by any stretch of the imagination.)
"Unlike the others that have shunned their heritage or tried to put distance between them, he had embraced it. The heritage of the Abyss is writ large across his form and mannerisms, barely hidden under the toughened skin— almost hide— that bore scars from encounters prior. He was standing close enough to reach across the line that separated "man" from "monster", if he so chose. Certainly the pairs of vestigial horns and the way his teeth suggest fangs spoke of his heritage, in ways that he did not have to. How appropriate then, that he has taken the mantle of the Red Rider— were it to have been by force, that would not be unsurprising. It is an uncertain thing, that he seems to oppose the encroachment of winter... Or perhaps he just opposes the encroachment of Winter into a domain that he may consider his.
Could he be demon enough to deny even winter? Or was he man enough to seek the cause and end it?"
- Tiefling(Pitborn) Savage Barbarian
Variant Ability: (DR 2/bludgeoning)
That was the image that I had in my head. Not quite Evil, but it has certainly recently been in his heritage.
@Magnus - Actually, not to rain on your parade, but in my first post I forgot to say no Magus in the class restrictions. It is mainly just because I feel they are very clunky in the rules with a lot of the abilities they get.
Well I guess I'm out, then. Good luck, everyone.
Dotting for interest... quite the quirky group :)
This is Skäne Ingvârssonn; an Ulfen Fighter I played through the 1st book of Reign of Winter in another game. Grim of word and deed, I'd be interested in resurrecting him for another tilt at this AP.
Recruitment requirements were likely different and there is some custom elements to the build, but it'll give you a feel for the character and potential fit for the rest of the party.
Let me know what you reckon - if selected I'll happily tweak elements of the crunch and fluff to suit/reflect the game.
Cheers
BD
I'll get a level appropriate Tychi built and such soon.
If he reaches level 7, would you be ameneable to him using Leadership feat to get a mount follower? Last time I went with a Unicorn named Nike (it was a very fun RP duo).
Thanks for the kind words! Druids can certainly be built in a number of different ways, so I think this could be fun, using both the druid and animal companion as tag-teaming, flanking buddies. The spell selections would mainly be buffing spells to augment Ferrell's and his wolf's fighting prowess. Then at later levels, he'll be able to summon a veritable pack of wolves.
With him being dropped into an AP one book into things, I figure a bit of his development would have already happened. Ferrell's backstory is that he was the son of a druid who disappeared, and was left to be raised by his awakened former animal companion wolf, Greylock, who was now the alpha of a great pack of wolves. He was sent to the human lands to learn of his own kind, but was tricked, trapped and eventually put on display as a "wild child" in a traveling tour of oddities. That's where he got his first name -- Ferrell, or "feral."
He eventually escaped his captivity and attempted to return to his former pack, having a very low opinion of humanity. But there's room in his backstory for some friends, such as the person who helped him escape. How the Red Rider comes into play can be saved for the adventure hooks for the AP. But even though the wolves can get along okay in the winter, they would not be in favor of never having a summer. So he would certainly be interested in stopping the... wait for it... Reign of Winter.
18-Point buy
18 Str = 7pt, +2 Human, +1 4th level
14 Dex = 5pt
13 Con = 3pt
10 Int = 0pt
14 Wis = 5pt
8 Cha =-2pt
Then for the Red Rider +2 boost, I think I might go with +2 Con for a stat array of:
18 Str
14 Dex
15 Con
10 Int
14 Wis
8 Cha
Other abilities as a 4th-level Wolf Shaman Druid:
Wild Empathy (Ex): A wolf shaman can use wild empathy with canines as a full-round action with a +4 bonus.
Totem Transformation (Su): At 2nd level, a wolf shaman may adopt an aspect of the wolf while retaining her normal form. The druid may select from the following bonuses: movement (+20 enhancement bonus to land speed), senses (low-light vision, scent, +4 racial bonus to Survival when tracking by scent), or natural weapons (bite [1d4 plus trip] for a Medium druid, +2 CMB to trip). While using totem transformation, the wolf shaman may speak normally and can cast speak with animals (canines only) at will. Using this ability is a standard action at 2nd level, a move action at 7th level, and a swift action at 12th level. The wolf shaman can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to her druid level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be used in 1-minute increments. This is a polymorph effect and cannot be used while the druid is using another polymorph effect, such as wild shape.
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a druid may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. Thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion, however, still affect her.
Trackless Step (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a druid leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. She may choose to leave a trail if so desired.
Resist Nature's Lure (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a druid gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like and supernatural abilities of fey. This bonus also applies to spells and effects that utilize or target plants, such as blight, entangle, spike growth, and warp wood.
Wild Shape (Su): At 4th level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any Small or Medium animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like the beast shape I spell, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity. The form chosen must be that of an animal with which the druid is familiar.
A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)
Just a bump to be sure the slot is still open.
Kobad is ready as always I know the concerns over his lack of martial ability but a good blaster is also a good choice as well.
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I'll leave this open until March 15 to give the others in the group some time to look it over and share their thoughts. I'll post the chosen recruit a day or two after that and then will PM said person to hash out details. Thanks everyone for your interest, there are some nice ideas out there.
We're still within the timeframe, so no need to worry about that.
@Zayne - I personally enjoy mounted combat and knight-errant type characters, but unfortunately at least in most of books 2 and 3 mounted combat won't really be much of an option. Lots of inside stuff and dungeon stuff to come. I haven't read beyond Book 3 so I'm unsure as to what follows in that regard.
Which is why I pitched Hussar. It's Path of War, and thus third party, but much better off a mount than the cavalier would be. Need to know if that is kosher. Or I could try a sword and board fighter just with a spear rather than a sword. Story would be the same. At that level I could probably do two-weapon fighting with the shield. Thinking light shield and cavalry sword (scimitar).
I have the idea for a Samurai character, actually. Part of one of the retainers of the Amatatsu, he crossed the crown of the world with them, while they were fleeing the Five Storms of Minkai, when he succumbed to the cold and snow of the north and was lost north of Kaalsgard in the land of the linnorm kings.
His body had been found years later, remarkably well-preserved, and taken to a temple where an unknown patron had paid for his resurrection. Brought back much weaker than before, and deprived of his purpose (There's no longer any sign of the Amatatsu family, sans the events of the Jade Regent AP), he worked off his debts to the temple that raised him and now travels about the northlands, hoping to find some kind of new purpose in life.
This is a character I built up to level 7 for another RoW looking for players. I'll have to bring her down levels and stats for this game, but its probably OK to see where she's headed anyway just for selection purposes.
I hesitated even submitting her since you have a summoner and a monster tactician might be redundant, but since I put the work in anyway I'm going to give her a chance. I really like the character concept and have my heart set on getting her into a RoW campaign some day and that means I have to keep trying!
Hey Floe, you found your way over here as well...
I have two ideas for this:
1. Kaze Daizaemon
Class: Monk (Martial Artist), likely with levels of Fighter.
Concept - Kaze is a huge, musclebound 6'6 human male who trained incredibly hard to be the top dog of a fighting dojo, but having grown strong enough to defeat every person who ever challenged him, he grew tired of staying in one place and now travels the lands in search of either someone who can best him or for the proof that he is indeed the strongest bare handed fighter in the world, proven only by physical combat and victory over anything aggressive he crosses paths with. He doesn't know for sure which will come first, but the thrill of the fight is what excites him and although level-headed out of combat, he's interested in finding out what's in store for him and if he truly can conquer all with nothing but his own bare hands.
Focus - Grabs, Bull Rushes, Pinning Manoeuvres, Kicks, Punches and Headbutting. A lot of his feats focused on impeding enemy movement and causing them all kinds of ability damage/bleed and paralysis.
2. Vamoss Lucael
Class: Barbarian with possible Fighter levels.
Concept - Vamoss is based heavily on Guts from Berserk, but is in no way a clone. There are just similarities between him and Kentaro Miura's creation. He's a cold (fitting for the campaign) character who, if shown love and appreciation, is actually a very warm individual. He may seem like he lacks personality at times, but he's hesitant in opening up to those around him and so doesn't say much. His actions speak louder than words, but he has a lot of roleplay potential and after suffering the loss of his entire Mercenary Band, he now just moves from place to place fighting to survive. He lost his eye when a stray arrow caught it after falling down a cliff, while several other arrows caught his left leg, stomach and back. As such, he now has multiple scars across his body to serve as harsh reminders of what he's lost and suffered. The ones who wiped out his band left him to die, thinking the arrows and cliff would kill him. It didn't, but he did suffer broken ribs and a broken leg, which have both now healed.
Focus - He's a powerhouse. His weapon is a Large Greatsword. His AC will be low, but his health high. He'll have some Damage Reduction, but his feats will consist of Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack and his Barbarian Archetype is Titan Mauler. Fighter classes (if any) are likely The Two-handed Fighter.
By 18 his home had been decimated by an overwhelming number of Bandits passing through the region. The only reason Vamoss survived was due to the fact he fell unconscious during battle. He was naturally gifted at fighting and took down 11 people alone, but with so much chaos going on around him it was hard to predict who would strike next and where. To no surprise, he was caught off guard and stabbed in the stomach. As he collapsed to the ground all he could do was watch as those he grew up with and came to accept as family were slaughtered, beheaded and dismembered right in front of him, with their homes torched to the ground. The bodies soon piled up over the next two days as Vamoss lay unconscious, face down in the now cold blood of his loved ones.
When Vamoss came to, his home was little more than ashes and the majority of resources he and those he lived with had gathered over the years were either burnt to the ground or stolen by the Bandits. However, Vamoss took what he could and gathered enough resources to forge a new blade. With that, he went out slaying creatures for food and resources alone. He was lucky if he found shelter to set up a small camp, where he stayed in one place for no more than a couple of days at a time.
He spent the next two years living this way until he crossed paths with a group of what he thought to be Raiders at the time. Little did he know, the ones he crossed paths with were members of the infamous group of Assassins – The band of the Crow. Through some strange turn of events, Vamoss fell into this crowd, with killing becoming all that he knew during his later teen years. He didn’t take pleasure in the killing of others who did him no harm and after a few years, left the Crows, wanting to discover his own life path away from the needless bloodshed of Assassination. That was of course after he took revenge for the people of his youth. Through the Crows, he found the leader responsible, mutilated him out of pure vengeance, satisfaction and entertainment and set fire to the rest of the camp, leaving as the screams of those being burned alive echoed across the land, for this person and his men were the ones who so coldly killed those who were kind to him from birth.
Vamoss made his own way through life from this point, spending the next year alone, wandering and doing the odd jobs for those he crossed paths with, simply to get by. That was of course, until he was caught ambushed along a long narrow path while searching for food one day. Without warning, two men on horseback charged at him, but with his quick reflexes he parried, hacking one of their arms off and slicing the other rider in half. At this point, a woman appeared clad in armour.
She was the commander of the group, second only to their Leader, Luka. Crossing blades with Vamoss was a mistake however, as she too was destined to be defeated. At least until the fight was cut short by Luka’s interruption. He may have been a good looking and somewhat effeminate guy, but he knew how to lead and had the respect of all those that followed him. Clearly, there was more to him than met the eye.
This group of fighters wasn’t exactly a bad group. Vamoss had fought with and alongside worse, and although uncertain of their intentions and honesty to begin with, he soon became one of them, forming bonds as they became his family for the next 8 years, even having intimate relations with the woman he first crossed blades with – Grace.
Their objective was simple – To protect the land and all those who wished for a safer, more peaceful world to live within. They used co-ordinated tactics and strategy to take out camps of Bandits and Raiders known for their wicked ways, using intelligence, quick thinking and overwhelming force to swiftly overpower their opponents, for that was the way of the Cunning Wolves.
Luka once told Vamoss if anyone were to survive, should the Wolves be defeated, it’d be him. He always found Vamoss interesting. He was born from death, surrounded by death and constantly found himself at deaths door and yet he always seemed to dodge death, recovering to a state even stronger than before. Vamoss was a bit of a mystery to him, but a close friend all the same.
Vamoss had certainly felt the effects of death for too long…enough so to leave its mark upon him. Having brushed shoulders with death so frequently, he regularly sensed things that few others did. Hideous monsters and spirits would invade his dreams, disrupting his rest as they spoke to him and at times can be spotted from the corner of his eyes. This has hardened him up enough for very little to phase him for all he’s really known is war, food shortages and how to survive.
Vamoss’ time with the Wolves saw many victories up until recently. Luka often received his intel from survivors of Raider attacks and passing travellers who had trouble with Bandits, Raiders and vile groups of people. The issue was, with so many victories under their belt, word got around and fast.
One day, one of the rival Bandit group members caught sight of the Wolves in conversation with a traveller. It was clear who the Wolves were. Most dressed in Leather, with flag bearer’s carrying the blue and white flag of the Cunning Wolves. Reporting back to his leader, the Bandit on watch was tasked with bringing the traveller back to camp, torturing him for information and then setting up a deceptive trap to catch the Wolves in the act.
For fear of his life, the traveller told them all that they needed to know and begged for his own safety. He begged in vain however, for these Bandits survived by any means necessary. They’d grown accustomed to the taste of human flesh so once he spilled all they needed to know, they hit him over the head, tore him asunder and consumed him.
At nightfall, the Wolves made their move, trekking up a small Cliffside to make their attack on the Bandits camp. Luka commanded Vamoss to take the front while he guarded the rear as they moved through the mountain pass. The camp was in sight when suddenly one of the Wolves fell. As members watched their dead comrade, more arrows flew their way, sticking to them like pinned cushions. The Wolves guarded as best they could, but the Bandits had the high ground, so all they could do was push through to a cave ahead, minimising casualties as best they could.
Laying in wait ahead however, was a group of vicious looking savages. Vamoss was able to take a good few out ahead, but from the rear, Luka was also having trouble. One by one the members of the Wolves fell, until the only ones left standing were Luka and Vamoss. To make things worse, some of the hungrier Bandits began eating the recently slain Wolves raw. Luka and Vamoss had never seen anything quite like it and for once feared for their lives. Keeping strong, they fought even harder, taking more and more men out as fast as they came, for they knew they too would be eaten and that was incentive enough to fight until their very last breath. Through the curtains of crimson madness, Vamoss noticed Grace on the ground, still barely alive, though sadly so did the Bandits.
Vamoss ran to her aid, with Luka guarding him, disarming and wounding all those that approached. Grace was in a bad state but a nearby Bandit thought to worsen her health by plunging his blade through her toned exterior, piercing deep into her soft, vulnerable stomach before Vamoss could reach her. Still breathing, Grace stared lovingly into V’s eyes. Clutching her hand, he shielded her body with his own as Archer’s took aim from behind. Luka was still fighting strong, seemingly exceeding his own bodily physical limitations as he gave his all to protect the last surviving Wolves.
Three arrows suddenly sprung fourth towards Vamoss. One missed while the other two burrowed deep into his back. Taking the pain, Vamoss refused to leave Grace, remaining by her side as she bled out all over the muddied dirt of the ground. Her wounds were fatal and with her dying breath, she kissed Vamoss.
With no time to mourn V knew the score and had no other choice but to leave Grace’s body there. Rising up from the ground, he joined Luka as they battled their way towards an opening passage. As one, each could hold their own, but together, the pair were a force to be reckoned with.
With most enemies defeated on one side, there was only one direction V and Luka could travel and that was further into the mountain. Once through the opening, they dashed through the natural passageways which served as mountainous veins, desperately searching for a way out. It was dark with minimal light to work with, so a lot of their searching was through feel. They knew if they lit a torch the enemy would find them and that was the last thing they wanted.
After some time, they eventually found a way out of the passageway. Leading them to a path that ran along the side of the Cliff, it also seemed they’d put good distance between themselves and the pursuing Bandits. As such they slowed, balancing cautiously around the precarious ledge supporting them. It didn’t take long for them to find a way down from the cliff, but with the relief of their escape route in sight, they failed to notice a couple of Archer’s that had once more found their way to the higher ground.
Caught off guard, Luka took an arrow in the side, abruptly lost footing and fell from the cliff. With two arrows already in his back, Vamoss turned instinctively in an effort to grab his friend and Leaders hand, only to receive two more arrows, one in his side, the second in his left leg. Unable to save his friend, he too careered down the jagged cliff face. Further adding insult to injury, a stray arrow caught V’s right eye as he tumbled to the ground below, blinding him moments before he hit the ground. The impact didn’t help either, for the force instantly dislocated his left arm and shoulder.
Vamoss wasn’t done yet however. Forcing his body to standing position, he looked around for Luka but with no clear sign of him, had to shift priorities to himself. It was apparent the Bandits presumed them dead after the last flurry of arrows as there was no pursuit, but the man was in an incredibly bad way. He trekked for as long as he could stay conscious, shrugging off the lingering and almost unbearable pain, taking short breaks only to bandage up along the way.
Finally finding a shelter that looked as though it hadn’t been visited in a while, his body finally gave way as he slumped to the ground, passed out from sheer exhaustion and blood loss. In his barely live state, his dreams were once again haunted, this time not only by spirits and horrific monstrosities, but also the past memories of his fallen comrades. Bandaged, bloodied and now blinded in one eye, Vamoss slept for two days, Sword still gripped firmly in hand as his body sped his recovery as best it could.
Vamoss would soon be out for blood, just as soon as his natural healing could bring him back from death’s door.
Personality:
Alignment: Neutral
Loves: Companionship
Hates: Betrayal
What brings contentment? – Sword training. It puts his mind to rest.
What brings resentment? – Bullying the weak.
Annoyances – Loud mouths and people who are all talk.
Why is it an annoyance? – People should be true to who they are and true to their own strengths and weaknesses. False strength endangers everyone because when those around them are in need, the weak, dishonourable and loud mouthed are the first to run.
Secret: Used to be a member of the Band of the Crow when killing was all he knew, but left wanting to discover his own life path away from the needless bloodshed of Assassination. He takes no pleasure from killing those who’ve done him no wrong, only relishing in the blood and fury of those who’ve personally gone out of their way to wrong him. For that he is unforgiving and merciless.
Vamoss is mostly cool headed, quiet and somewhat lacking emotion. When pushed, he’s fuelled by rage and rage alone, though depending on how pissed off he is he can still at times, fight with a clear head. It’s all dependent on how threatened he feels and what mood he’s in. He tends to get on fine with most people, but rarely expresses how he’s feeling and takes a very long time to trust, care about and form bonds with others. Problems only tend to occur if trouble finds him, though anger is all he knows at this moment in time, having just lived through his entire family being killed around him.
Killed: Raiders and their leader who invaded his home during his younger years.
Left: Band of the Crows to pave his own way in life.
Seeks: Revenge against the Bandits who wiped out those he came to know and care for over the past 8 years.
Haunted: Vamoss is forever haunted by those he loved most within the Cunning Wolves and as such, regularly has nightmares and can even see his friends as if they were still alive. Perhaps there's more to it than meets the eye, though more likely, it's just that his mind is so fractured, he has trouble differentiating between dreams and reality. He'd also like to think Luka escaped, but in truth, he might not ever know.
Other info:
Vengeance: Losing the Wolves has weighed heavy on Vamoss. This experience has torn him apart and reduced him to a being of primal emotions. Dreams of vengeance are his only comfort.
Schooled: Vamoss learned the basics of fighting at an early age, but only really perfected the art when he became a member of the Cunning Wolves. This is where he learned to truly hone his fighting prowess and understand tactics. This also helped to form him as a person. Luka once considered him Commander to the Wolves, teaching him to fight as part of a unit.
Survival: Having spent his life in the wild, Vamoss learned to abide by the laws of nature and survived by being stronger, faster, and more cunning than the predators that stalk him. He hasn’t ever fought for coin, honour, or principle, only for his life.
Big Game Hunter: With large creatures being the easiest source of food, Vamoss has gotten used to hunting prey larger than himself and has learned how to be quick in sizing up weaknesses in those behemoths who seem to have none.
Nightmare Slayer: From an early age, Vamoss has stood up against some of the most terrifying creatures imaginable, facing off against creatures most people can’t even begin to imagine. He has incredible courage as a result.
Power: Vamoss wants to continue Luka’s dreams of protecting the weak, using his own strengths to accomplish this.
Pride: Vamoss is a proud man. He’s proud of his own accomplishments and won’t allow others to challenge this. If friends do so, even they are considered enemies until they make amends.
The Future: Vamoss’ concerns lie not with the present, but with preparation for the future. He feels he’s living in a troubled time and sees the signs of a coming dark age. His training in the Wolves have taught him to behave cautiously, conservatively, and methodically, though his primal instincts still shine through in the worst situations.
Appearance:
Vamoss stands at a towering 6’3 in height. His build is fairly muscular, well-toned and lean. He now only has one working eye (his left eye) and has black, short hair. He always wears bandages on his forearms to give extra support to his wrists while swinging his huge sword and currently has two open wounds on his back, one in his side and another in his left leg. Additionally, he also has a heavily bruised left arm and shoulder, following his recent fall and the dislocation of these bones. His weapon is six foot long with a blade only about five inches in width with a reinforced cross guard. His Scale Mail armour is made from blackened bone he treated himself, he wears tanned shin high boots, black trousers and a dark brown, leather under garment on his torso. His arms are mostly exposed, but plates of Scale Mail run from his shoulder down his bicep. His armour also protects the front of his neck, where it’s raised up to his chin and offers good protection to his back and chest.
He also has a pocketed leather strap, wrapped diagonally around his torso. On his back to express his association with the Cunning Wolves, he has a muddied brown cape with the head of a snarling wolf at the top of it. Although adorned over his shoulders, the Wolf head is actually the hooded section of his cape and can actually be worn to further intimidate enemies, for it covers his face to the tip of his nose, though the way it’s made still allows for him to see clearly. The wolf head is mostly black with some lighter brown patches and highlights, matching the rest of Vamoss’ attire. The eyes are yellow, with a noticeable scar running vertically across its right eye. It was treated professionally by a Taxidermist working within the Cunning Wolves at the time. The wolf fur also runs down to a point, halfway down his back. Due to the way it was treated, it will forever be preserved.
I was able to play Vamoss in a homebrew setting for about 3 sessions, but other than that he's pretty fresh for me. Kaze on the other hand, I've never played but would very much like to.
Hey Floe, you found your way over here as well...
Yep. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Here is a hybrid ranger Rogue that I loved playing before a PbP died out.
And a brute of a utility character that is good at many things.
Personality example:
Human Barb 1/Rgr 2/Rog 2 HP 41 AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +1 Init +4 Perception +9 Sense Motive +7 Evasion
Marsh takes one of the offered bowls of stew and drinks it up.
"Long an short of it mayor, five dudes summoned this elephant sized chaos monster that can burrow underground pop up through the foundation and smash whomever it wants to a pulp. The thing needs to destroy or consume each of these five dudes to fully turn into whatever it is gonna turn into. It has got three of the five I'm bettin. If the brickmonger fled to his lair, I'm thinkin he's already dead, but if he's hidin in your basement or even worse hidin in the Temple of Pharasma . . . "
Marsh lets the silence sink in as he swirls his drink in his cup staring down at the dark fluid.
"The peasants want into the castle thinkin its the safest place in the village, when they see the castle fall . . . "
He knocks it back in a single swig and slaps the vessel down on the tabletop.
So anyhows, we need to get to one of the livin targets to prevent a full transformation or whatever."
Gonna throw this guy in there: Droguk
He was in a RoW game a while back. Same one as Kobad as a matter of fact. What's up, Kobad?! Long time no see, bud.
He's mechanics need to be updated to your specs, like, big time. Will do that if selected.
Oh, and one final note. If you guys happen to need someone to keep track of treasure or whatnot (like if the guy who left was your loot guy) I always seem to be the loot-tracking guy for any party I'm in so I'd be 100% down for setting up a google drive spreadsheet or something for that too.
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I'm the witch in the game. Just want everyone to know we are exchanging PM's and the DM is going to make a final call soon.
Yes indeed. We are still hashing out some things via PM but I haven't missed the entries since last I posted. Proving to be a tough decision with all of the great submissions, but I will say right now that sign ups are closed with the decision coming tonight or tomorrow morning after some final exchanges with my players.
Thanks everyone for your interest. Looks like if there are any willing GMs out there there's a few groups worth of grand PCs here for a couple of RoW playthroughs.
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I personally think that Kobad and droguk are the perfect pair for this.
having been together already we can easily hash out a story to match the group.
Sorry... just trying to sell my submission a bit.
Gotcha, I was driving cross country from Texas so I didn't get to add some more information on my characters. Out of respect for the closed notice I won't, but I wanted you guys to know that it wasn't due to lack of interest in your game.
Respectfully,
The Goblin
All right, so due to the amount of viable candidates, the group has decided to add two new PCs to the game instead of one, and the final decisions were narrowed down to:
Skäne Ingvârssonn
Katie Rosten
In the end their suggested concepts and such seemed to be the best mesh with the group in the long run so welcome aboard to you two.
As to everyone else, as I stated before, it was a very tough decision with a lot of back and forth. There were a lot of great submissions and hopefully some other games can get made for the presented characters. Best of luck. Skäne and Katie, feel free to head over to the discussion thread and we can go from there.
Oh well someday someone will need a fire wielding blaster for a reign of winter game.