4730 is the last year of the Age of Lost Omens. For the last 22 years, intrepid bands of heroes have been sojourning to every corner of creation to slay the supernatural monsters that threaten humanity, put lost god-kings back to rest, settle succession claims in ice-locked lands, depose oni dictators, stop tyrants from returning, and halt the advancement of armies of monsters. While many brave souls were lost in the effort, Aroden's disappearance seems only to have made mankind stronger. The world is becoming a safer place, and the time of adventurers is coming to an end. Where there are still bands of hobgoblins or cloistered liches or a coven of hags, they are being beaten back by the encroachment of civilization and at the sword-point of heroes. It is the dawn of a new Age - the Age of Progress. In pursuit of this new Age, bands of settlers seeking virgin lands venture into the last unconquered territory in the Inner Sea Region - the River Kingdoms land known as the Stolen Lands. Steamboats and coal trains convey brave settlers to the unsettled, wild border and they sojourn in, hoping to set up homesteads and create something new away from the stiff strictures of the old kingdoms of Cheliax, Taldor, Ustalav and Kyonin.
One such group travels from Brevoy. Borne aloft by news of the successful town of Varnhold and the wonderfully beautiful land of the mountains, the group sets forth to travel into the Nomen Heights and settle somewhere nearby, build homesteads and forge a new life for themselves.
In addition to the PCs, this will mean a caravan of a few dozen ranchers, farmers, hunters, and other assorted hopefuls looking for a new life.
I personally am in love with the Kingmaker campaign. Of course, I'm not the only one that sees some problems with the way that it was written, and some years ago I set forth to write a revision for it. I ran this campaign for my F2F group, and I consider it to have been a great success. After some further revision (nothing is created perfectly the first time!), I'm ready to run it again on PbP. If it goes well, it will be the only GMing project I intend to take on until it finishes.
The first part of the adventure is a remixed version of the Kingmaker adventure path, set about 15 years after the current time in Paizo's continuum. In this new world, I assume most or all of the Adventure Paths to have been completed by one party or another, in effect removing most of the world's great supernatural threats. Because the world is safer, the population has experienced a surge and there has been a Renaissance of technological innovation. Consider the world's technology level to be post-industrial revolution in great urban cities and more like the American Wild West at the tail end of the 19th century in "the boonies". Guns are commonplace. Transportation has seen a great revolution with steam boats and coal-firing trains connecting far-flung areas. Magic makes some of these things even more convenient than they are in the real world - magically-reinforced materials need less maintenance than traditional materials and energy generation is even easier than in the real world. Who needs oil to generate electricity when you can bind a lightning elemental, after all?
The remixed adventure that I have cobbled together takes material from Chapters 2, 3, and 5 of the Kingmaker adventure path and sets them in a new order, with setting changes according to the new technology level. This adventure will see PCs defeating both monsters of the ancient past and monsters that are decidedly modern, as well as creatures that toe the line. Players familiar with the setting and with the AP will recognize many things, but many things will be new.
This campaign will also be mythic, although with a limited number of tiers and with a number of nerfs to keep the impact of the mythic powers both epic and and not-game-breaking. The Player Characters in this game are destined, in one way or another, to become great leaders of mortal life. The mythic ruleset allows Player Characters to stand apart from the chaff of commoners even with a limited number of tiers. Your players will have the power, and should have the will, to change society according to their beliefs.
I am looking for six players, one for each mythic path. This is both for mechanical and for fluff reasons. At the forefront of a society, the mythic heirophant might champion the excision of long-running and ignorant superstition while the mythic archmage might build and staff universities of scientific learning and the mythic guardian might create the world's first modern police force. I also like to see balanced parties, obviously, and a party where each person is predestined to fulfill a given role is one that works better together.
This is how I see the roles of each mythic path:
Archmage: Arcane casting ability, battlefield control, elemental damage, magical travel, magical social manipulation
Champion: Martial offensive ability, damage-dealing, combat maneuvers, defeating foes
Guardian: Martial defensive ability, damage prevention, area control, personal survivability
Heirophant: Divine casting ability, healing, resource restoration, divination, terrain manipulation
Marshal: Party leadership, altering turn order, party buffs, secondary support of other roles
Trickster: Depriving enemies of their strengths, skill mastery, subterfuge, reconnaissance
Please make it clear which path you will be pursuing.
While I am looking for players familiar with Golarion's setting, I am more than willing to help players who are not familiar with the setting fit their characters into the world. As such, I am really more accurately looking for characters who fit well into the world. In the spirit of that, I won't be accepting refluffing of traits, archetypes, feats, etc. If you want to use setting-specific material, embrace it! You want to play an Agent of the Grave? Tell me about your character's membership in the Whispering Way! You want to use Thunder and Fang style? Tell me about your character's native Shoanti tribe!
To elaborate on that, I would like your character's crunch and your character's fluff to be well-integrated. Ideally, I get as much information about your character from looking at their statblock as I do from reading their backstory.
Crunch Requirements
We are starting at 4th-level. As 4th-level characters, they have some experience and some talent that goes beyond average accomplishments. A 4th-level ranger is probably the best hunter in their small town. A 4th-level wizard might be a low-ranking novice of a major spellcasting guild. A 4th-level cleric might be the head priest of a small town, or they might be simply an apprentice in a larger city's cathedral. Why is your character 4th-level?
1. You may use any Paizo-published material, as well as any material from Dreamscarred Press, Kobold Press, or Rogue Genius games. As an exception to this rule you may not use third-party races, and you also may not use planetouched races such as the aasimar, undine, ganzi, tiefling, or sylph.
2. To generate ability scores, roll 4d6 six times. Subtract the smallest dice from each pool. If your total result is less than a 15-point buy or has a score in it that is less than 6, you may re-roll the entire set until you get an adequate set.
3. Wealth will be generated with the aid of Automatic Bonus Progression, the rule from Unchained which grants the "Big 6" items to characters for free as they level up. Wealth for a 4th-level character thusly is 3,000gp. 4th-level characters get +1 armor and weapon attunement and a +1 resistance bonus to saving throws for free from ABP.
4. You may play any alignment of your choice, with the following two caveats: Your character must plausibly be both a leader of men and must plausibly be a team player who gets along with her teammates. An a@&$%$! of any alignment will probably not be tolerated by anybody for too long.
5. Choose two traits. Campaign traits are not required for this campaign. You may choose a drawback and an additional trait, but please choose traits which illuminate more about your character over traits which are simply there as placeholders.
6. Characters in this campaign get Max hit points. Your characters are pinnacles of their chosen professions. As such, they are survivable.
7. We will be using background skills in this campaign. Combat Stamina comes free with one fighter level, and can be chosen as a feat by other characters. If you wish to play a rogue, a barbarian, or a summoner, the unchained variant is mandatory.
Fluff Requirements
1. I want to see a description of your character's appearance. How do they dress? What facial expression are you likely to see if you glance at them? How do they carry themselves? How do they want to be perceived?
2. I want to see a description of your character's personality. What are their core motivations? What are their most important moral beliefs? What are their flaws, their quirks? Do they have any important favorite things or hobbies?
3. I want to see a narrative backstory which answers the following: Where was your character raised? What was their upbringing like? Where did they learn their class' skills? Is your character religious? How did that come about? If your character is not from Brevoy or the Stolen Lands, why did they travel there?
4. What is your character's position in society? By nature, most adventurers are outcasts in one way or another. However, these characters will be at the forefront of their society. As such, they must begin by being part of it. Is your character a farmer? A local priest? An itenerant minster?
5. If they survive, your character will realize their destiny and ascend to something greater than a mortal hero. What is it that gives them that destiny? Perhaps they perfectly embody a leadership-related concept. Perhaps they're the child of a diety. Perhaps they're a mad science experiment. Perhaps they were trained by one of the heroes who saved the world. Perhaps you, the player, don't know! That's okay too.
For now, I am not setting an end date. Maybe there won't be any interest, and maybe there will. Once I start seeing concepts, I'll set a selection date.
Thanks for your time!
Ohhhh.... A pseudo-steampunk Kingmaker? With Mythic?
Darn it. I keep trying to get myself to play fewer casters, but I do like the idea of playing a science-magic kind of person (akin to Nikolai Tesla), exploring the laws of magic.
Actually.... I have just the alias for this. Be right back.
Ha ha! I made this ages ago. Maybe it's time to put it to some use? Anyway, let's see how my luck goes.
Hmmm. Well, that is definitely a Caster array. And 27 points? Not bad at all. Let me google some stuff and figure out what exactly I'm building.
Oh god I don't usually get this fortunate with stat rolls. Definitely gives some neat options for concepts though.
Pseudo-steampunk Kingmaker? Sounds like a great chance to put a Gunslinger together!
Looks like a good stat spread. I'd love to play a Mysterious Stranger gunslinger who could perhaps serve as either a Sheriff or a new ruler.
That being said, the only concrete idea I have for this character right now is that I'd love to take the Marshal mythic path.
16/13/12/11/11/10. 17 PB and very SAD. We shall see.
I've given it some thought, and I think I've settled on giving the Warpriest class and Hierophant mythic path a try.
- Less than 15 point buy, Reroll:
- Less than 15 point buy And less than 6, Reroll:
- Less than 15 point buy, Reroll:
- Less than 15 point buy, Reroll:
- 20 point buy, finally.
Thanks, Dice Gods!
As some people know me and my preferences on the forums, I, of course, since 3rd PP Rogue Genius classes are allowed, I will be submitting a godling (mighty), human most likely. Champion mythic path.
Good to see this interest, folks. I'd like to add another thing to consider adding to your background. I wasn't sure it needed to be said, since it's a core Kingmaker conceit, but here it is:
what is your PC looking for in the Stolen Lands? For most commonfolk, what they're looking for is enough land to farm, some livestock to breed, and some miles in between them and the gub'ment or their past. What's your character's reason?
Do let me know if anyone has any questions or needs any kind of clarification.
This loooks like a great place for that gun-toting Eldritch Archer Magus I keep wanting to play. Given that Magi are the archetypal gish class, I don’t know that he’ll fit neatly into any of the six Mythic paths. Even if we’re ‘officially’ representing one Path, could we take the dual path Mythic feat?
This loooks like a great place for that gun-toting Eldritch Archer Magus I keep wanting to play. Given that Magi are the archetypal gish class, I don’t know that he’ll fit neatly into any of the six Mythic paths. Even if we’re ‘officially’ representing one Path, could we take the dual path Mythic feat?
Of course!
I think traditional magi, with their burst damage-dealing potential, are best-suited for the Champion Path. Certain archetypes also lend themselves to heavy-armor-wearing and abjuration-casting Guardians, but I'm sure there's many ways to build a character that I haven't thought of.
I'm currently part of a 'ye olde Kingmaker' campaign and I am wondering if your campaign differs enough from the AP as written so that if I sign up, I won't be ruining either of the campaigns for myself. If that makes sense?
Anything 19th century'ish resonates with me and before I got through reading your opening post I already got quite a few character concepts floating through my head.
If your answer is that the campaigns differ enough so that partaking won't ruin either, I'll roll up a stat line and put together a cleric of sorts :)
Very interested in this! Always wanted to play Kingmaker and never had a chance, and I do love me some 3pp.
Welp, thats a reroll.
Much better! I've got a few ideas bouncing around, so I'll get back to this as soon as I settle on one.
I can deffinetly work with this. Steampunk kingmaker sounds AWSOME!
So I'm thinking of Playing a druid and going the Hierophant route. I've been wanting to try the druidic Herbalism alt option and Kingmaker feels like an excellent opportunity for it, especially if we have down time. I've also been wanting to play a Gathlain so unless you have anything against them I'll be putting something together as soon as I can.
@chunky - I'm happy to accept a maybe submission, as long as you let me know before the submission date whether you're in or you're out.
@Solicitor - I can confidently say that it is quite different from normal Kingmaker. I believe 'remix' is an acceptable term. There are many elements which I have stolen, but none are in the same order or take exactly the same form as normal Kingmaker.
@Fenris - I got nothing against gathlain... As long as its clear that your character is not a human. Entire creature type changes are a big deal.
Trace Maru
Human,
Male,
Medium size
5'11
Str. 10
Dex. 15
Con. 12
Int. 15
Wis. 10
Cha. 15
HP: 36
Bab: +3
Cmb: +3
CMD: 16
AC. 10+7+2+1= 20
Touch. 13
Flat footed. 17
Oracle Level 4,
- Curse: Lame
- Mystery: Battle
1. Skill at arms
2. Weapon Mastery- Long spear
Feats:
Alertness
Combat reflexes
(B)Weapon Focus- Long spear
Dodge
Spells:
Caster level 4th,
Dc. 12+ level
0th: 6 known
Light
Create water
Detect Magic
Spark
Stabilize
Detect Poison
1st: 7/day
Enlarge Person
Cure Light wounds
Bless
Bless water
Align Weapon
Sanctuary
2nd: 4/day
Fog cloud
Cure moderate wounds
Bulls Strength
Suspicious: Trace, like most of the inhabitants of the isle of Hermea, had never wanted for much. But that didn't mean that all was well within the isle itself. He found himself the target of a conspiracy of lies and his good nature was taken advantage of from his friends and family. It was after a great deal of contemplation that he began to wonder if there was more he just wasn't seeing here.
Exile: Years after discovering and honing his divine battle prowess, Trace found himself unable to sit and remain within the confines of the island. He needed to do more, so he petitioned the enlightened council to leave the island. They were not pleased that he wanted to go but he would not be denied the chance to see the less perfect world beyond.
Fluff Requirements
1. Trace has wavy brown hair that juts out wildly over his head. His face is smooth and flanked by immaculately groomed mutton chops and his eyes are dark brown. He dresses primarily in red shirts with opposing light blue slacks or trousers. He Prefers to also wear a white cloak on the outside. He generally wears a suspicious neutral expression with an upraised eyebrow. He carries himself with an air of methodical contemplation and he wants to be seen as thinking through things.
2. Trace has been burned before by those he trusted to mentor and direct his actions and his necessity to maintain some semblance of assured control to himself is absolute. He wants to help others become better and he believes that the world can be brought forward into a more perfect semblance of itself under his guidance. He will never actively force anyone into a situation where they must do something that he himself would never willingly do. He wants to believe people, perhaps a little too much and if someone insists they are doing things the best way, he'll let them. He likes to fiddle with science and historical debates from time to time, coming up with "What if..." scenarios. He's always been enamored with historical battle and the more romantic pull for well dressed soldiers fighting with each other. After a battle, he tends to take some sort of trophy from those he defeats. Or if not in a serious fight, he likes to wager something to make everyone more eager.
3. Trace was born and raised on the "Utopian" isle of Hermea. His upbringing was one of ease with regards to needs but his birth had been difficult and he suffered from an accident early on which limited his overall mobility growing up, but it also seemed to trigger his ability to cast magic. While he was among the more perfect members, he wasn't as perfect. This made him have to fight for his place and fighting was seen as a valid way to earn one's place on the island.
After years of honing his skills and mock fights, Trace began to want more. He saw how small and confined the Glorious Endeavor was and he believed he could expand it's boundaries. What better place to expand than a new country who's laws have yet to be written. Despite his powers, Trace was never particularly religious, in fact he found science to be more welcoming and intuitive. He just assumed his powers were due to his proximity with Mengkare, although he could not understand the battle lust.
4. Trace started as many youngsters do, as someone who was always fascinated to hear tales of bravery, war, and romance before dreaming of such things. When he heard others speak of tales from long ago he became fascinated with the world gone by and began to peruse books in his leisure hours when word of mouth could not suffice. Eventually he started spending more and more time in the libraries of of Hermea until eventually he'd become something of an amateur and eventual expert on the histories of the world and of different locales that come with it.
5. Trace takes his identity as part of the Glorious Endeavor with pride. He sees himself at the forefront of its expansion and although he dare not say it aloud, eventually he believes he will surpass even the mighty gold dragon Mengkare in his desires. For while the dragon holds to his plateau by limiting the population with great care, he does not allow it to grow. Which is where Trace will expand.
only a 12 point buy so reroll.
Now that's more like it.
Guess I should read the mythic rules.
- 6
- 7
- 15
- 9
- 15
Okay, that first set makes my eyes hurt. Assuming a 6 gives +4 points just like a 7, this is a 6 point stat array, haha. Here's attempt numbero two.
- 14
- 11
- 17
- 14
- 10
That comes down to a whoopin' 23 point build and will have to do: 17/14/14/11/10/9
10, 11, 13, 13, 15, 11.
Unless I'm mistaken, that's a 15 point buy on the nose. Can I reroll, or did I miss the option by 1 point?
Looks awesome!
:11
:7
:14
:16
:16
:17
Not a bad stat array. The seven could bite but low scores can be fun.
Not sure what I'll make but the setting looks awesome.
I was going to ask about firearms but it seems Paul D Jackson beat me to the punch.
@Trace Maru - Looks good to start, but I don't believe you're quite finished. I don't think that I've ever seen a Hermean character!
I believe that you've forgotten your racial modifier to ability scores and the +1 to any ability score that all characters receive at level 4. You are also missing skills, equipment, and traits.
I noticed that Trace has high Dexterity, but also two feats invested in using the longspear. Just checking - you know the longspear is not a finesseable weapon, right?
What mythic path is Trace intending to pursue?
4. What is your character's position in society?
5. If they survive, your character will realize their destiny and ascend to something greater than a mortal hero. What is it that gives them that destiny?
You have not answered these questions to my satisfaction. "Is interested in learning about history" is not really a position. Is your character a historian? If so, where do they work?
Being from Hermea certainly helps, but it is not enough to grant a mythic destiny. If it was, all characters from Hermea would be mythic. What is it that makes your character truly unique?
- - - -
@Paul D Jackson - 1) You are free to write your version of any events from the year 4708 to the year 4730. However, you are not free to invent a tribe from whole cloth - I would prefer that you use one of the existing tribes. The Sklar-Quah is probably the most fitting for a group of conquered horselords. While playing a disenfranchised Shoanti is very fitting for this game, I'd like to see some motivation for why people moved up to the Cinderlands and took their land. The Cinderlands is already a s&@@ty desert and the Shoanti were already pushed out of their normal (nice, fertile) homelands around Korvosa, after all.
2) No, you won't be starting with a mythic tier. You will earn the tier in-game.
3) We will be using the guns everywhere variant.
- - -
@Ouachitonian - Unfortunately, you must keep that stat array.
- - -
Everyone - with concepts popping up, I'll be setting an end date on this recruitment of Friday, January 18th. Again, thanks for your time.
Hmm, this err, turned out a bit larger than I intended it. There is still a bit of wealth unspent so I might adjust things a little, but posting what I have now at least.
GM, if you want clarification on something, if I missed something due to an oversight, feel free to let me know. I have tried to tie decisions about skills / feats to who she is, and/or background but shoot me a PM or let me know if I haven't been clear or concise enough.
Ishana Tamanna
Female half-elf arcanist (brown-fur transmuter) 4 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 8, 77)
CG Medium humanoid (elf, human)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +0
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 enhancement)
hp 32 (4d6+8)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4; +2 racial bonus vs. transmutation spells and spell-like effects
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 dagger +5 (1d4+3/19-20)
Special Attacks arcane reservoir (6/11), arcanist exploit (potent magic[ACG]), consume spells, hardened fists
Arcanist (Brown-Fur Transmuter) Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +9)
2nd (3/day)—burst of radiance (DC 17)
1st (6/day)—color spray (DC 16), grease, mage armor
0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 15, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 9, Cha 17
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Eldritch Heritage[UM], Eschew Materials, Skill Focus (Disguise), Spell Focus (conjuration)
Traits calistrian courtesan, seeker
Skills Bluff +10 (+11 vs. humanoids), Diplomacy +10 (+11 to gather information, +11 vs. humanoids), Disguise +13, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Knowledge (history) +12, Knowledge (local) +12, Knowledge (nature) +12, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Knowledge (religion) +12, Perception +0, Sense Motive +0
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Elven, First Speech, Hallit, Sylvan
SQ elf blood, illustrious urbanite, perfect, powerful change +2
Other Gear dagger, handy haversack, sleeves of many garments[UE], arcanist starting spellbook, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, ink, inkpen, mess kit[UE], pot, soap, spell component pouch, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 777 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Reservoir +2 DC or CL (11/day) (Su) Pool of points fuel exploits, or can expend to add +2 CL or DC while cast spell.
Consume Spells (3/day) (Su) As a move action, expend a spell slot to add its spell levels to arcane reservoir.
Elf Blood Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Hardened Fists (6 rounds/day) (Su) Natural unarmed or claw attacks deal damage as if one size category larger.
Illustrious Urbanite You may leave buildings & structures undamaged when casting spells of the chosen school.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Perfect +1 to bluff and diplomacy vs. humanoids and +2 vs. transmutation spells.
Powerful Change +2 (Su) Spend 1 reservoir point to bolster ability score gain from transmutation spell.
Spell Focus (Conjuration) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Most children know their birthplace, or even their birthday, but Ishana knew none of those things. Found on the doorstep of an elven temple in Kyonin as a newborn, Ishana grew up as an orphan, not knowing who any of her parents were, or even why she had been left alone.
Like many elves, Ishana possessed strong arcane power, even as a young child. Her branch of magic was a little different than the norm however, combining innate power from her unknown bloodline, but her magic also responded to magical study, where a traditional wizard’s strengths might lie, giving Ishana a little of both worlds. Ishana instinctively knew how to wield her unique style of magic, sometimes better than her peers, something that caused no small amount of envy. As someone who lacked parents, as well as her half human, half elf heritage, she was frequently the target of some minor bullying, occasionally cruelly teased that she must have been an accident or unwanted child. These insults always distressed Ishana, and she frequently petitions the priests and priestesses of the temple for divination's, but unfortunately nothing turned up.
In the absence of any guardians, Ishana grew up in the temple, calling it a ‘home’ of sorts. Life in the temple was fairly pleasant. As a centre of religious worship, Ishana ended up learning quite a bit about the various religions in the area, their customs and duties, and indeed, would help out in the temple wherever she could, but otherwise worked to understand her magical strength, hoping it could shed some light on her parentage. Unfortunately, this did come with its own set of problems.
As very little was known about how exactly Ishana’s style of magic worked, her arcane tutors would frequently push Ishana into adopting the ‘right’ way of using magic. Particularly horrible teachers would even set lower benchmarks for success due to her half human heritage despite Ishana being fairly skilful for her age. Being rather headstrong, Ishana always resisted this, subscribing to the view that flexibility and an open mind were far more important than sticking to tried and true traditions. Some teachers were even worse however, and would give condescending smiles whenever she achieved something, as if it was some miracle she could handle the most basic of spells. One day, after a long argument with a particularly irksome tutor the day previously, Ishana skipped her tutoring and instead attempted to take martial combat lessons, purely to spite her teacher. She learnt that wasn’t particularly good at swinging bits of metal around (lack of practise and skill made her pathetic with anything bigger than a dagger) but it was the principal behind it – that she could (and would) do anything she could set her mind to.
Whenever the bullying or unrealistic expectations became too much, Ishana would adopt a disguise and slip away into the vast forests, watching the wildlife and nature around her. She liked transmutation magic for its ability to turn something into something else, and longed to be like the nature loving druids who could transform into anything they set their mind to. Once, she had even asked an old elder who had druid magic if he would teach her, but apparently she lacked the proper mind-set – and regardless, divine nature magic did not come easily to her.
As time wore on, and her arguments with her tutors grew more common, Ishana began to realise that she wouldn’t quite fit in where she was. She didn’t want to conform to anyone’s expectations, and in fact hated doing so. She wanted to be free, changeable, to forge new paths and new branches of magic, a forward thinking focus. She heard that the Stolen Lands were being settled, and decided that working alongside such settlers, with an eye on the future and positive change would be a definite improvement (albeit a challenge) that she could look forward to. Despite trying to be sociable, Ishana lacked friends, so when she made the decision, it was an easy choice to make. She took a moment to bid farewell to the temple that had sheltered her for much of her early life, and then she set up towards an uncertain future.
Ishana is an olive skinned, half-elf of medium height and build, with long flowing brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. While some arcane students preferred to stay indoors and study, Ishana split her time indoors and out, leaving her skin lightly tanned, and her build being slim, but slightly muscular, due in no small part to her time spent rolling around in the dirt trying (and failing) to learn swordplay. Ishana loathes armour, finding it heavy and restrictive, but also shuns long flowing robes and being absolutely impractical. Therefore, she tends to favour light, tighter fighting clothing (being slightly better for combat and travelling in the wilds) that isn’t overly movement restricting. She isn’t above putting on something a little more daring, such as something more fashionable on occasion, but finds such things rather few and far between. She wears standard boots for footwear, and usually forgoes any jewellery. Her hair she likewise keeps unbound, again, hating keeping it tied up.
Above all else, Ishana wants to be different. She wants to stand out. Some might call it shallow, but Ishana merely wants to celebrate differences rather than hide them. She could show up to a high society event in something scandalous, or she could equally wear a dress in the forest. She does temper this desire with practicality in all her choices regarding appearance, but the aim is to be different and to celebrate that. Sometimes it gets too much for her, and she defaults back to ‘blend in’ disguises if she has had enough and wants to avoid people, but otherwise she tries to be as daring as possible. She is however, respectful of people’s customs, and tries to avoid be rude for the sake of rudeness.
Despite wanting to stand out, Ishana is still respectful of other people’s customs, and usually takes care not to offend others in her choice of appearance. She is always polite, and tries to carry herself elegantly at all times, and has mastered the art of a quick and easy smile to set concerns at ease.
In terms of core motivations, Ishana hates tradition, and loves change. She likes creativity and freedom, and to be expressive. It’s precisely this fact that drew her to transmutation magic as well as her unusual branch of transmutation magic she is working on (ie her ability at higher levels, which lets her defy the norm and polymorph other people in addition to just herself). She wants to go to the Stolen Lands to both start fresh and orchestrate change. She will (in future) want to set up a school for arcanists to learn about their magical talents, as well as for anyone wanting to learn her style of transmutation magic.
Unfortunately, Ishana does have a few significant flaws. Somewhat ironically for a person that loves disguise, Ishana still focuses on superficial appearance. Her desire to stand out means she is more likely to portray herself as someone attractive rather than ugly when using disguise magic, and always attempts to show poise or bearing of someone of a higher upper class than usual. This isn’t a rule per say, but takes conscious effort for her to break this pattern. Quite why she struggles with this is difficult to say, but probably has something to do with being an orphan, without parents she feels the need to play a role more superior to herself which ironically doesn’t make her all that different. Ishana also has a passionate temper. Someone forcing her into a stereotype or pigeonholing her in some way immediately earns her ire (and probably a desire to show them up / prove them wrong at earliest opportunity).
In terms of any eccentricities, Ishana is a huge history buff. Her fascination with her own bloodline means that she is an expert in lineages, lines of succession, significant historical events, and so on. She would (at some stage) want to build a library of some description once the Stolen Lands are settled, as part of her thirst for knowledge, but its mostly been driven up until now by a desire to learn her parentage, something she has utterly failed at.
In looking at where Ishana fits in society, she fits into some sort of awkward category between a historian/library/scientist. She is an arcane caster, but is very individualistic and therefore wouldn’t have much of a guild connection. Likewise she loves nature but would be a terrible scout, being rather unobservant. Growing up in a religious temple, she knows rather a bit about deities, customs and duties, and yet possesses to divine spark of her own. Eventually, she will look to transition her knowledge into leadership, and/or diplomatic relations but at this early stage, she isn’t quite there yet.
Ishana will take the Archmage Mythic Path, and I foresee her mythic power coming from her bloodline. Quite where that bloodline fits in, I haven’t quite decided yet as her unknown parentage means she has a large number of possible opportunities as to how exactly her bloodline ties into her mythic power. I rather like the child of deity angle as a possible option since it would explain why Ishana has been utterly unsuccessful about learning about who her parents were, but seeing as Ishana has no idea who her mother or father is / are or what happened to them (or even why she was abandoned) there is a lot of flexibility. I’m hoping that her quest for answers (and repercussions) unfolds over the course of Ishana’s life, as it’s driven quite a lot of her decisions and personality up until now.
@Paul D Jackson - No, I'm not planning on changing anything about the mythic ability Partial Transformation.
I'm stealing my mythic nerfs from the GM of a mythic game I'm playing in - some of hers will be making it into the game.
The biggest ones are that you can only spend mythic power on one thing at a time and that mythic power only regenerates at a rate of one per day. The mythic power cost of some abilities will also be increased.
The goal is to still allow you to accomplish the same amazing feats as a base mythic character, but not as often.
@ginjaninja - Ishana looks good, thank you! You've more or less given me everything I need about her. How old is she? What deity was the temple she was raised in dedicated to? Her "Calistrian Courtesan" trait suggests to me that it was a temple of Calistria and that she was an escort, but there's nothing in her backstory that mentions that.
Ugh, knew I forgot something obvious.
So, she's about early 20's at this point. Young enough to be overly idealistic perhaps, but experienced enough to handle situations entirely on her own. Call it 21 if you want an exact age.
As for deity, it was a temple of Calistria where she was raised. I probably should have explicitly mentioned it, but truthfully, I didn't really want it to be a large part of her backstory at present. If that changes in the future due to a mythic ascension - excellent, but right now, she is more about being a transmutating arcanist obsessed with change than a Calistrian Escort which is probably why I skimmed over it more than maybe I should have.
I'm still trying to see if there is a more flavorful deity that fits better but Calistria ticks most of the boxes at present (Major Elven Deity, Chaotic, Trickery Angle etc).
As always, any further questions, any detail whatsoever you want me to explain, or flesh out, I'm happy to help.
Thinking of making a Trickster path Eclipse (Akashic roguelike class from DSP), just confirming Akashic is on the table as a lesser known product of DSP?
ginjaninja - Sounds good, thank you :)
Thinking of making a Trickster path Eclipse (Akashic roguelike class from DSP), just confirming Akashic is on the table as a lesser known product of DSP?
I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with that class. The Akashic Mysteries book only seems to contain three classes, none of which are named Eclipse. Can you point me in the direction of what you're talking about?
Ahh my bad, I just realised that it is from a book for Akashic published by Lost Spheres Publishing.
The class itself can be found here. I'm happy to look elsewhere if it's not acceptable to you, but I thing I have some nice ideas of where to go with the character. Obviously up to you.
Ah yes, sorry for the rough draft build, I'd just barely managed to complete Trace before the end of my shift at work this morning. I've finished working out a great deal of his missing character sheet.
For Trace's stats, I've gone for rounding out his character rather than focusing anything. His stats were 10, 15, 11, 15, 8, and 15. I put his racial +2 to his wisdom to make it 10 and the +1 to his constitution for 12.
Yes, I am aware that a longspear is not a finessable weapon, that was not my intent here. Combat Reflexes is a good enough feat on its own that having it with a decently high dexterity justifies its use and works best with reach. The average strength score is workable given the spells I've got. Dodge is just for added survival and the start of a solid feat chain.
For his mythic path I was definitely thinking of the Marshal path in order to inspire those to follow him into creating a nation where the greatest of potentials can be reached.
I have added to Trace's story now.
4.) His position in the society was a seeker. He was to find and attempt to recruit unique humans who were exemplary members of their race and offer them a chance to join the coveted locale of the island. He now uses his training and position to do so for Brevoy.
5.) Trace was chosen as a representative of the dragon Mengkare and infused with his divine power in order to awaken to something greater within himself. The power granted by the Dragon is likely conditional upon him continuing his quest to become a King and continue the efforts of the Glorious Endeavor.
Spheres of Power is not on the list of available materials, sorry.
Super cool concept - I’ve always wanted to play in a kingmaker campaign!
Here goes nothing:
Stat 1: - 1 = 11
Stat 2: - 1 = 12
Stat 3: - 1 = 10
Stat 4: - 1 = 15
Stat 5: - 2 = 13
Stat 6: - 1 = 13
Which puts me at a 16 point by, so I guess this is it!
Just clarifying, it's not a Spheres of Power class, it's just on that wiki was it also has a bunch of other 3pp stuff on there. If you aren't interested in it regardless, I can look elsewhere.
Okay. It may still have some spelling errors, but I'd like to submit for the Champion Mythic slot, Juventis Axilla-Cailean, godling son of Cayden Cailean, eager to forge a new life with his mother in the River Kingdoms! Feel free to critique and I'll answer any questions about my submission, making any change that are needed.
Fortibus favet.
I would like to apply with a divine character, a cleric of Erastil or Desna. A supporting caster, concentrating on buffing her companion, a rock to lean the party to.
For multiclassing: Do you intend to use the base rules or the Fractional Base Bonuses option?
Presently, I am building an Android Aegis/Bard with a vested interest in exploration.
@Trace - Thanks for the added detail. Sounds great, I consider you complete.
@Alpaca - Sorry, I'm not familiar enough that that material to allow it.
@TheWaskally - I've read it over, and it looks complete. I haven't done a thorough mechanical audit but I believe you're all good.
@Hotaru - thanks for asking - we should use the Fractional Bonuses system.
What an incredibly interesting campaign! I'll try to write up a concept tomorrow.
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Here is our first roster. I am including dots which have expressed some interest in something as well as completed submissions, but I am not including dots which have given no information, because the purpose of the roster is to inform people who are still making characters :) If I forget you, please let me know! I shall make a new one every day or two to keep track of everyone.
Archmage: Ishana Tamanna (half-elf brown-fur transmuter)
Champion: Juventis Axilla-Cailean (human (Chelish) mighty godling)
Guardian:
Heirophant:
Marshal: Trace Maru (human (Hermean) oracle of battle)
Trickster:
Interested Dots:
- Helikon (a cleric of Desna or Erastil)
- Daedalus (something science-y archmage?)
- Dragoncat (warpriest heirophant)
- Hotaru of the Society (android bard/aegis)
- Fenris105 (a gathlain druid)
- Ouachitonian (a eldritch archer magus)
- chunky04 (a gnome investigator Trickster)
- Paul D Jackson (a Guardian druid)
I'm working on a Unchained Monk for the Trickster opening. I'll have it up soon.
I thought Ishana put herself down for the Trickster path?