Hello,
(See HERE for original recruitment page. You will be starting second level, all else the same)
We had a player leave in a relatively new campaign, looking for one, maybe two players.
1) This is a specific homebrew campaign, so please read and make a character that matches the world.
2) I'd also prefer you to be a character that has a reason to be in a far southern undine village
3) There is an NPC that just met the party that is an ifrit swashbuckler who hates the religion of his own people (Volcano). If that interests you, say so in your post and I'll PM you.
Dotting.
It looks like the current players are a female ifrit paladin, a female undine warpriest, and a female undine bard. Is that accurate?
Gonna think for a bit and see what I come up with.
I'd be very interested in putting something together. I like the fact your world looks more about stories and characters than optimising mechanics.
I've had a look at your fluff (I'll look more thoroughly this evening)
Would you be open to an elemental shifter? It's not a deal breaker...
--Yep, Ifrit Paladin, Undine Warpriest, and Undine Bard (Watersinger) is the current group
--I've not read the Shifter extensively or that archetype, but skimming it:
It seems like the entire class boils down to a few pretty limited abilities (a small score increase, and maybe flight, and a 1d6 damage attack) for a few minutes a day, and something like "torrential downpour" or "make some difficult terrain for a little" at much higher levels.
I'm not saying no, but it seems both complicated and weak. Let me know what your plan is for the class, or if you have any alternate ideas.
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Here is the initial crunch for my submission...let me know if this is ok and I will continue, or if not, what I can do to make him fit :-)
Ohkwarikó, The Big Bear
Male oread hunter 2 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 26, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 205)
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 17 (2d8+4)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
Resist acid 5
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft. (15 ft. in armor)
Melee tetsubo +5 (1d10+6/×4)
Ranged sling +2 (1d4+4)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +2)
. . 1/day—magic stone
Hunter Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
. . 1st (3/day)—endure elements, goodberry, lead blades[APG], summon nature's ally I
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, know direction, mending, purify food and drink (DC 12)
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10
Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (tetsubo), Outflank[APG]
Skills Acrobatics -3 (-11 to jump), Climb +4, Craft (woodworking) +5, Handle Animal +4, Heal +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (nature) +4, Linguistics +1, Perception +7, Ride +1, Spellcraft +4, Stealth +2, Survival +7
Languages Common, Ignan, Terran
SQ animal companion (spirit earth elemental named Animal Companion), animal focus (2 minutes/day), nature training, track +1, wild empathy +2
Other Gear lamellar (horn) armor[UC], sling, tetsubo[UC], backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit[UE], pot, spell component pouch, trail rations (5), waterskin, wooden holy symbol, 865 gp, 1 sp
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Special Abilities
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Animal Companion (animal companion (spirit earth elemental named Animal Companion)) (Ex) If no current companion, summon nature's ally spells last 1 min/level but only 1 at a time.
Animal Companion Link (Ex) Handle or push Animal Companion faster, +4 to checks vs. them.
Animal Focus (2 minutes/day) (Su) As a swift action, gain bonuses from emulated animal(s). If no companion, +1 slots.
Bear +2 (Su) When assuming this aspect, gain listed enhancement bonus to Con.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks.
Nature Training (Ex) Hunter levels count as druid/ranger levels for feats, traits, and options to improve animal companions.
Outflank Increase flank bonus by +2 if flanking ally has same feat. If you crit, ally gets an AoO.
Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Can cast spells with a target of "you" on animal companion, as touch spells.
Track +1 Add the listed bonus to Survival checks made to track.
Wild Empathy +2 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
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Animal Companion CR –
Spirit earth elemental (New Paths Compendium Expanded 91)
N Small outsider (earth, elemental, extraplanar)
Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +6
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Defense
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AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (-1 Dex, +7 natural, +1 size)
hp 36 (3d10+6)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3
Immune elemental traits
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft.; earth glide
Melee slam +8 (1d6+4)
Special Attacks earth mastery
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Statistics
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Str 16, Dex 8, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 11
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 14
Feats Outflank[APG], Toughness, Weapon Focus (slam)
Skills Acrobatics +4 (+0 to jump), Climb +7, Knowledge (planes) +5, Perception +6, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +9, Swim +7
Languages Terran
SQ animal focus
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Special Abilities
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Animal Focus (Su) As a swift action, gain bonuses from emulated animal(s).
Burrow (20 feet) You have a Burrow speed.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Earth Glide (Ex) Burrowing leaves no tunnel or hole or evidence of the movement.
Earth Mastery (Ex) +1 to hit, dam, bull rush, and overrun if both self and foe are on ground, -4 if either waterborne or airborne.
Elemental Traits Elementals have many immunities.
Immunity to Bleed You are immune to bleed.
Immunity to Critical Hits You are immune to Critical Hits
Immunity to Flanking You are immune to flanking.
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Immunity to Precision Damage You are immune to Precision Damage
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
Immunity to Stunning You are immune to being stunned.
Outflank Increase flank bonus by +2 if flanking ally has same feat. If you crit, ally gets an AoO.
Tremorsense (60 feet) Sense creatures and objects in contact with ground or water.
--Oread Hunter sounds reasonable! Remember, I need something in your background to justify being near a southern undine village (rejected by your tribe, sent on a mission, or you have relatives here, you were raised here somehow, etc)
(reading your post now, didn't see it before, oops)
The crunch looks fine - I can definitely see that working. Looking forward to seeing what has him in the south.
I'm curious - what does your earth elemental look like?
I think you've put your finger on why I'm struggling with a shifter.
I love the idea of shifting into animals, turning into a bird in a click. The contrast between reasonable person and dangerous other. But as much as I don't want to be mechanics driven, shifters are just... Dull. There's not enough to work with.
The character I have in mind is a Sylph, delicate but deadly. I think they would be, at the offset, quite bitter with the world. Dead god and all! But camaraderie will soften them and once they have something to fight for.... Who knows!
A ranged slayer perhaps? Is there room in your world for an angry bounty hunter? (Not necessarily the archetype, but fluff wise)
The crunch looks fine for Ohkwarikó - I can definitely see that working. Looking forward to seeing what has him in the south (was he born to a tribe, or born tribeless?).
I'm curious - what does your earth elemental look like?
Ah, ok, I get where you are coming from. Here is an idea off the top of my head for fixing the shifter for you:
--Your sylph will just straight up get wildshape, probably for 1 hr / day / level, cut up into 1 hour increments. Since you are a sylph, it will be only birds
--You will start with a limited number of different birds, maybe only 1 or 2 at first, but it will grow
--You would probably get like eagle claws at will, just as something to do if you run out of wildshape?
--And then keep all the small things like wisdom to AC etc
--Aspects, etc etc is gone, the wildshape is basically replacing all of it
Also, I'm wondering if the two of you want to be like a wandering pair abandoned by tribe and god alike (or whatever) - it might make more sense if you have a shared backstory of some kind as you are entering the narrative (I like these character concepts, and I think they fit better as travelers coming into town, rather than having grown up in an undine village)
Thoughts?
And yes, sword-for-hire types could work in this setting, if you want to take your character that way :)
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Works for me! That sounds like just how the shifter should work. I'll get it written up and check back with you to make sure I've got the right idea, obviously.
I like the idea of joint travelers, I don't think my sylph would be the settling down type.
What kind of person is Ohkwarikó? What's his jam? (I'm getting serious Arya and the Hound vibes)
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LOL...well he is not really like either, more like Uncas from Last of the Mohicans. His earth elemental looks like a bear (black more than brown or grizzly) but maybe in time, he will get bigger..lol. I will work on the background, but basically he comes from a large forest where his people live by hunting and gathering. He has a waking dream that sends him south looking for (fill in the blank) that will help his people battle against the dark. On his way, he comes across [name of shifter character] and together they battle some denizens of the dark and forge a bond. They continue south following Ohkwarikó's spirit beast that leads them to the players.
Just a very rough outline, I will refine it, but this gives you an idea of where he has come from and where he is going, I hope!
If this sounds ok, I think the item that Ohkwarikó had a waking dream about would be the the Last Feather of Dryw, the King of Birds. It is unclear whether the Feather is meant to restore Sky, or help against the Dark, or give something back to the race of the sylphs, or something else entirely, but you are sure it is important, and you are sure it is south. Your dream implied this journey could take a long time, and there could be other deeds along the way.
Shifter: Totally up to Louxman what you think of this (could be cynical disbelief and you are simply helping a friend on his quest, or you secretly harbor hope it could make life better, etc)
Also, if you are looking for a list of tribes you can choose for Ohkwarikó :
(found under "Oreads" in Campaign Info tab of Unknown Depths)
MINOR TRIBES (not a complete list)
Starting with the far North Tribe's territory:
--Ambrosia (N): extremely spiritual, given to ingesting herbs, mushrooms, etc as part of ceremonies to connect with Forest and elementals. Many magicians.
(blue, crystalline eye upon silver trunk with roots below black soil, surrounded by red mushroomed eyes)
--Night Shade (N): near the northern tip of forest, hard warriors that fight the Dark of the north. Difficult training from all warriors from a young age.
(dark green spear upon black)
--The Weeping Willows (N): (called grayleaves) funeral rites, tending of grave trees, planting of Graywoods. Respected by the more religious tribes, scoffed at by more militaristic tribes.
(no banner)
--Kudzu (multiple): One of several splinter tribes all calling themselves Kudzu (there is one in the West and East territory as well). Strong family culture towards birth and strength.
(vines in complicated knots, slightly different for each splinter tribe)
To the immediate north of southern Uluru there is a Quiet Elder, then:
--Tall Oaks (unaligned): Famously neutral tribe, never committing to action hastily.
(dark brown below, light brown above)
--Bittercress (unaligned): ancient enemy of Tall Oaks, located east across the Finger rivers.
And to the east of Amatshe, roughly north to south:
--Wyrmwood (E): powerful tribe, beholden to the East Tribe. Strange shamans drink fermented juices of rotten stumps to fuel their illusory magics. Very serious about magic and T’shala
--Bullslayer (E): brutal, strength-based hierarchy, strong emphasis on hunting and becoming stronger by wearing trophies of the dead.
--Thornettle (E): Two separate tribes living in the same area, only allowed to marry from the other tribe (the mother’s tribe determines which tribe you belong to)
--Cedarsmoke (E) (see last page ; lots of info)
The West Tribe has a less traditional structure.
Branch and Root (unaligned): While these are located within West territory, they are not tribes. (monasteries, monks)
Feverfew: (W): Healers, pacifists.
(a golden griot’s staff upon healthy red)
White Spruce (W): protects a frigidly cold region of the north that falls outside the North Tribe's boundaries; due to centuries under this influence, most cannot live in temperate conditions
Is Badhbh (roughly pronounced byvth) an acceptable naame? Since sylph language is Irish I thought it was appropriate to have a name from Irish folklore. It would not be his birth name but a name he has assumed for his travels, given his veneration of his peoples past (see below) I think he would choose something flouncy. Badhbh is a war goddess that takes the form of a crow so...
Badhbh is striving against what he sees as the subversion of the sylphs by, in particularly, the ifrits. This does not manifest against individuals (unless hey are particularly mean) and is actually more a frustration at fellow sylphs for not standing up for themselves and hiding away in cities.
I like the sound of the Unbelievers, not as a formal/official thing, more of a sympathy. How frowned upon are the Unbelievers in polite society, are we talking political differences or forbidden cult?
I also like the Last Feather, I think Badhbh would definitely harbour a hope of returning some pride and power to his people.
How common are The Wings? Would a sort of pilgrimage to map their locations be a reasonable excuse to leave the big city and explore, before finding Ohkwarikó and a better mission?
I guess he's essentially an angry, rebellious young el. Frustrated at the current cultural norms, he idealises the history (mythological or otherwise) of his people.
Interesting name, certainly works for me!
--For the Unbelievers, it really depends on who you talk to, and where. For instance, in the town of Light (where sylph alchemists and mages have gotten a high degree of success, autonomy) the Unbelievers are mostly seen as backwards, superstitious, irrelevant, etc. Whereas if you ask an Inquisitor of the Grand Temple in Hearth, the Unbelievers are "obviously" a dangerous cult whose only purpose is to undermine the superiority of Volcano.
--Interesting question about the Wings - they are fairly uncommon, but they are scattered throughout the entire land, so there's lots of ground to cover. I think a desire to map the locations of Wings in the south is a great idea!
Yep, crunch looks good!
Crunch is done. (Is there an issue with [ooc] tags at the moment? Can't get them working)
-Rehashed Wildshape and dropped Shifter aspect. Let me know if it's not OK. It's the default bird from the shifter class. You mentioned additional forms over time to replace the minor aspect stuff. I assume we can work these out as we go.
-Are you OK if I have the Claws on his feet? Seems to fit the bird aspect better. When not in wildshape form he will flip about using the spear as a pole to spin around etc and mildly scratch people.
-Spent my starting cash on some maybe useful stuff and some ridiculous RP stuff. Ioun stone is probably the weirdest, I think Badhbh would appreciate that random floating stone he bought from that pedlar that time. Let me know if it's not a good fit in your world.
-I'm not fully sure how magic healing works in your world. I don't like buying starter potions tbh. But if the team thinks they are needed I can drop some kit for them.
-I'll finish the fluff and write a stat block for the Wildshape tomorrow.... its gone 1am.
But if the team thinks they are needed I can drop some kit for them.
Speaking for myself, I do have some minor healing capabilities. Whether it's effective enough for the challenges we face, I can't be sure, but I would be leaning toward saying no. So far we've run out of healing quite quickly, but we were also level one. Now that we are level two, we have more hit points and additional spells, as well as sources of healing from Freya, but will it be enough? I can't say. It may be a good idea to pick something up before the game starts just in case. I would also suggest this because so far, our monsters have been blobs of darkness. They are not exactly the most money-rich monsters and have dissipated into nothingness upon death. As a result, so far we've made no wealth as of yet from our triumphs in classic monster-defeating-style.
I've spent most of the day reading, on and off, the gameplay thread so far. It's giving me a strange sense of celeb awe to have the Nempura step out of the story and address me directly.
I've got some bits and bobs I want to fiddle so I'll try to squeeze in some healing.
While I'm here I noticed that Iryani was using background skills, is that available to all?
I think that was a miscommunication that never got resolved. Just use normal skills, but remember every character gets a free +1 skill point per level to put into a relevant background craft, profession, etc (which is just my own small thing)
Taking a deeper look at your character sheet now, but quick answer is - yes, claws on the feet are fine. What kind of claws/talons do they resemble? Crow?
Everything looks good! The grey ioun stone is perfect. (that's what sylphs call them, at any rate).
(and don't worry about buying any healing potions to start with. I will sometimes give out consumables like that if you are doing for a favor for someone, etc)
Badhbh, what do you think about this:
During your wanderings, you and Ohkwarikó briefly stopped at Hearth to resupply before heading south again. You were approached by a wealthy ifrit who wanted to get out of town, immediately. Talking fast, he bought you whatever caught your eye, like the grey ioun stone that started floating around Badhbh's head. He also gave you gold (that explains how you have 2nd level wealth).
(do you have an affinity to shiny things, like a jackdaw, or was this just one particular magic item you wanted?)
So when you are ready to start posting, the two of you will have a temporary agreement with Kapelo to act as his bodyguards, as long as it does not interfere with your own personal missions and oaths.
Reasonable? Not trying to railroad, just trying to figure out together where they are coming from, and why.
I like it!
Liking shiny things is perfect, do you mind if I swap a trait to "coincunning" with that in mind? The stone is attractive to Badhbh because it floats, a rock in the air is a victory for Sky! His first bird form will be a Eurasian Magpie in colouring but a little more fierce in countenance, a bit more of a hawk?
I think I only spent 150gc like the recruitment said. I can spend more if you like...? Level 2 is 1000gc... I could get a whole flock of stones!
Apologies for not getting what I aimed to complete today. Apparently marking exam papers has to take priority, absurd! I'll be up to date tomorrow.
(edit: swapped trait, added fcb to HP, and added "background" skill points)
For now, let's say the rest is in gold, similar to what Ohkwarikó did, since Kapelo gave you a heap of gold as you were leaving town with him.
Yep, swapping that trait is fine.
And no worries, I know RL comes first. I'm happy with the progress that both of you are making!
Ok, here is the start of my character. Need to add background !
I think I'm actually done!
I'm sure there's aspects to Badhbh's character that I've forgotten to write but it should all be there.
I've made some assumptions about when Badhbh and Ohkwarikó met, let me know if I'm off the mark.
Gm, I've added some thoughts about character progress, as much for myself as anything.
I've tried to integrate as much of the (incredibly impressive!) world into my story as I can, I hope it's all appropriate.
How big is the 'world'?
What is the sky like in terms of dark? I know there is a sort of roof, but what would Badhbh experience if he flew up?
--The world (as defined by its borders with the Dark) or "The Land" is a little over 2000 miles at its widest point, and from the northernmost tip of the Nightshade tribe down to the very southern edge of IceFall have been estimated at over 2500 miles.
In my own limited understanding, that would to me sound like if the United States took over Canada (so taller now) but then loses 800 miles of the west coast (so much narrower). They would have comparable land areas, with Volcano's Land being a little over 5 million square miles (just rough estimates)
You can find the overall map in the Campaign Info tab, along with others too.
(answering questions one at a time as I find time)
--The Sky is, in a word, inconsistent. In certain parts of the land, it seems to be higher up, and in certain parts it is much closer. There have been reported deaths over the centuries from sylphs flying as low as 2000 feet in the air, but some have gotten much higher, and survived to perhaps as much as 20,000 feet (though historically, measuring instruments tend to break down at those frigid heights, or from darkspawn attacks)
--So in short, you would never feel a ceiling - inevitably some kind of attack would render you to bits before you got to anything solid. Sky has Fallen, and flying in the open air is not always a safe thing.
And wow, yes, I love the backstory for Badhbh! Everything fits, and it's all very interesting!
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Thank you! And thank you for creating this rich and immersive setting.
I have so many questions about your wonderful world, all in good time.
(Congratulations on your new job btw. I'm a recently qualified secondary Maths teacher in the UK)
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Thank you also...I will try and catch up this weekend and jump into the game. Will also get background finalized. Looking forward to playing in this creative setting!!!
Sounds good! We'll get everything ironed out over the weekend, and I'll let you know when we can get started in Gameplay!
Ohkwarikó, I don't necessarily need the whole background right away, but could I get just a sentence or two about his overall personality? That will help me know how Kapelo will likely be talking to you (I think our scene will start with Kapelo returning to your camp, which is outside of town)
Ohkwarikó and Badhbh, please join us at the Discussion page:
I'll introduce you to the group, we can iron out any small issues on your character sheets (haven't found any yet, going to take one last look at everything today), and figure out how to introduce you to the narrative (should be very soon!)