Character concepts?

[keftiu]

With this drawing nearer by the day, I'm curious - has anyone started chewing on character ideas for this? I'm eager to see what advice the Player's Guide has for Ancestries; I expect a lot of Humans and Orcs, mostly.

An evil part of me is thinking about an Android who fled west, rejecting all of this technology nonsense outright...

[SOLDIER-1st]

I really like shadowcasters, so maybe an Erutaki aushtrok character.

This would also be a great opportunity to play a snowborn half-elf.

And of course playing a simple Kellid shaman type character (druid or sorcerer) would almost certainly be thematically on point.

Knowing so little about the ap yet I haven't really put a ton of thought into it, but these were the first three that came to mind, and cover a wide variety of bases.

[vagrant-poet]

I think the big draw for me is going to be how the Player's guide and backgrounds tie you to your clan/family.

I'm possibly going to GM this, and might also make the starting party actually a family to really drive home those connections.

[The Raven Black]

Playing Razmir as a teen would be fun.

[keftiu]

The Raven Black wrote:

Playing Razmir as a teen would be fun.

...why is teenage Razmir a neolithic nomad?

[obfuscatingDeity]

As a caveat, I'll never actually be a player in this adventure path, because I'm the forever GM in all of my groups and I'm more than happy with that.

However, if I WERE, I think it would be fun to really lean into the pulpy caveman-y vibes and play a Strength-focused Ranger with the wrestler archetype and a smilodon animal companion to really be able to wrassle all the big critters out there in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords.

[The Raven Black]

keftiu wrote:

The Raven Black wrote:

Playing Razmir as a teen would be fun.

...why is teenage Razmir a neolithic nomad?

I thought he was originally Kellid and mused that he was What if Conan had turned to sorcery rather than swords. Which did sound interesting to play and Quest for the Frozen Flame sounded like the AP closest to Conan in his youth to me.

Edit- Just realized I mixed Razmir and Tar-Baphon. So, more like teen Tar-Baphon. Sorry about my mistake.

[Zapp]

keftiu wrote:

I'm eager to see what advice the Player's Guide has for Ancestries

To be honest I expect the same advice every Player's Guide has given: you can play whatever you want.

(If a Player's Guide would ever tell players they can't play their favorite ancestry-class-background combo, because androids or shoony or druids just don't fit the adventure, I would be shocked to my core.)

Yes, I am sarcastic, but only slightly.

It really **would** be a breath of fresh air if Paizo would ever embrace "less is more" and create an Adventure Path with interesting limitations on race-class combos or whatever.

[The Raven Black]

Not sure it helped sales for the Slithering adventure.

[Deriven Firelion]

Zapp wrote:

keftiu wrote:

I'm eager to see what advice the Player's Guide has for Ancestries

To be honest I expect the same advice every Player's Guide has given: you can play whatever you want.

(If a Player's Guide would ever tell players they can't play their favorite ancestry-class-background combo, because androids or shoony or druids just don't fit the adventure, I would be shocked to my core.)

Yes, I am sarcastic, but only slightly.

It really **would** be a breath of fresh air if Paizo would ever embrace "less is more" and create an Adventure Path with interesting limitations on race-class combos or whatever.

Should be up to the DM to tailor adventures to the group. Players generally want to play whatever they feel like.

I don't understand why some DMs don't practice what they preach asking Paizo to do their work for them when Paizo is clearly designing for a wide audience and a DM should tailor to what they feel like running and what their players will accept.

[The Raven Black]

Not to mention that this kind of experimentation is what they test in adventures before using it in APs.

[Paradozen]

Zapp wrote:

(If a Player's Guide would ever tell players they can't play their favorite ancestry-class-background combo, because androids or shoony or druids just don't fit the adventure, I would be shocked to my core.)

Fortunately, the game has a whole system to help you address this with your group! There's a whole rarity subsystem which GMs can adjust to fit their setting and campaign, so if you don't think there are creative stories about Druids in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords you can make it uncommon or rare and tell the players they'll only be able to branch out into Druid if they find somewhere more appropriate for the class.

[Rysky]

They advise against certain things plenty of times, but Hell's Vengeance and The Slithering are niche for a reason.

Back to the topic, I recently found out that Sekmin had a process to fleshwarp their's into looking human but still being Sekmin for infiltration purposes. So I was thinking one that was transformed and then put in stasis and then all the bad stuff happened and they were forgotten about until recently they got out of their stasis with ammnesia due to a malfunction somewhere.

[Yakman]

Zapp wrote:

keftiu wrote:

I'm eager to see what advice the Player's Guide has for Ancestries

To be honest I expect the same advice every Player's Guide has given: you can play whatever you want.

(If a Player's Guide would ever tell players they can't play their favorite ancestry-class-background combo, because androids or shoony or druids just don't fit the adventure, I would be shocked to my core.)

Yes, I am sarcastic, but only slightly.

It really **would** be a breath of fresh air if Paizo would ever embrace "less is more" and create an Adventure Path with interesting limitations on race-class combos or whatever.

that's the DM's job to some extent.

I would hope that Paizo helps the DM more than they do on occasion, particularly by having stricter guidance in the Players Guides.

Ran into this in my Tyrant's Grasp campaign - it says in the player's guide that Gunslingers and Alchemists are going to have trouble early on because of a lack of shopping opportunities. So what does one of my players do? Builds a gunslinger / alchemist. [well, really he pulled out a concept he'd been working on and used that, and great PC, but he got a bit frustrated with the lack of alchemical stuff and so we dramatically killed him and introduced a more melee-focused replacement PC]

But you live, you learn.

[keftiu]

It might be fun to play an Iruxi character, to introduce a dinosaur-adjacent vibe to the 'caveman' AP.

[Grankless]

While Gunslinger feels like a hard sell for this AP, I've been rotating an inventor in my mind. Not like, Flintstones sticks-and-rocks stuff, but sort of along those lines? I would REALLY need to see what setting info (and backgrounds) the player's guide has before I even thought too much about it.

[UnArcaneElection]

^New class archetype needed: Hannah Barbarian.

[logic_poet]

My first draft of a four-PC party for this one would be:
Human ranger aiming for a Mammoth Lord archetype
Gorum-worshipping snow goblin bard with the warrior muse
a Pulura worshipper oracle with the cosmos mystery and
an arctic elf witch with a snow owl familiar, patron probably winter.

[keftiu]

logic_poet wrote:

My first draft of a four-PC party for this one would be:

Human ranger aiming for a Mammoth Lord archetype
Gorum-worshipping snow goblin bard with the warrior muse
a Pulura worshipper oracle with the cosmos mystery and
an arctic elf witch with a snow owl familiar, patron probably winter.

No place for one of the cool cold weather Catfolk we got a brief writeup of?

[OmegaZ]

-Kellid human barbarian (rage instinct). Its the most on-theme character idea, which means absolutely no one will play it!

-Investigator or alchemist specializing in herbal alchemy, tracking prey, crafting, and the many talents one needs when one is a nomad. Calm and pragmatic because someone has to keep their temper.

-Champion of Iomedae (ex?) from Mendev who has walked away from the crusade after experiencing great loss and is looking for a purpose.

-Bard storyteller from "civilization" who came north to "get the authentic wild, Kellid, rough-and-tumble experience" they've heard about in stories. They broke down sobbing after their third freezing cold night and are still adjusting.

-Half-starved oracle (witch?) who survived being lost in the frozen wilds and survived by being guided by...something. Still a bit touched, but primal/divine magics are damn useful in the wilds.

[thewastedwalrus]

I've been trying to find something to play an ostracized-for-their-appearance chirurgeon alchemist that's actually very kind and helpful while also being incredibly suspicious.

Almost similar to a deep-one hybrid physically, with some sort of long-term ailment that they manage with elixirs crafted from dubious components. Particularly fond of granting boons to others and poisoning blades before battles, mainly focusing on healing during combat proper.

[Ron Lundeen]

Zapp wrote:

It really **would** be a breath of fresh air if Paizo would ever embrace "less is more" and create an Adventure Path with interesting limitations on race-class combos or whatever.

We do that all the time; you're looking at it now.

True, we're unlikely to say, "don't play an android gunslinger"; instead, we give you the themes of the AP so you can play within the themes and find something that excites you. Presenting themes spurs creativity; presenting limitations stifles it. I'd much rather say that Strength of Thousands is "the magic school AP set in a school known for training wizards and druids" than "don't play clerics or bards." Here, we've said this is a caveman/hunter-gatherer themed AP, not "don't play alchemists, gunslingers, or inventors."

That's not to say we never present a story as "No X." Hell's Vengeance was the "no good characters" campaign, and The Slithering was a "no humans" adventure. We've learned from those that the better path is to encourage themes rather than mandate restrictions.

There are always people who enjoy playing against type. They want to be a paladin in the Skull & Shackles AP, or a hobgoblin in the Ironfang Invasion AP, or a barbarian in the Strength of Thousands AP. Telling them they can't play against type doesn't let them enjoy being an outlier; it tells them they can't play at all. We want to avoid telling people they can't play at all--rather, we want the social construct of the table to do that, as the table sees fit.

[Leon Aquilla]

There are a LOT of elves in House Otter. The other three Houses all seem to be Kellid.

[keftiu]

Leon Aquilla wrote:

There are a LOT of elves in House Otter. The other three Houses all seem to be Kellid.

Does it say anything about what they're like?

[Leon Aquilla]

The breakdown is:

House Otter - three elven NPC's, one of whom is head of the house

House Falcon - Kellid

House Musk Ox - led by a dwarf, no other notable NPC's

House Moose - led by a Half-Orc, no other info, but the half orc leader has a kind of mysticism bent

[kayman]

keftiu wrote:

With this drawing nearer by the day, I'm curious - has anyone started chewing on character ideas for this? I'm eager to see what advice the Player's Guide has for Ancestries; I expect a lot of Humans and Orcs, mostly.

An evil part of me is thinking about an Android who fled west, rejecting all of this technology nonsense outright...

DERSU UZALA!!!

Human Cleric / Horizon Walker

[Devastation Bob]

I'm playing a barbarian in Strength of Thousands right now...

Half-elf summoner with a Beast eidolon would be my choice for this one though.

[WWHsmackdown]

It's a good campaign for rangers with animal companions, me thinks.

[Perpdepog]

Speaking of, which of the volumes is going to give the Mammoth Lord-themed animal companions? I'm really hoping rhino makes it in.

[keftiu]

Perpdepog wrote:

Speaking of, which of the volumes is going to give the Mammoth Lord-themed animal companions? I'm really hoping rhino makes it in.

Book 2.

[werewolfpaladin]

Seriously looking at playing a human summoner with a Beast eidolon in a "god caller" vein. Thinking about the Beast eidolon being wolf-themed as some sort of "god of the hunt/pack". Still waiting on some details to be hammered down before I do too much work on the concept.

[keftiu]

werewolfpaladin wrote:

Seriously looking at playing a human summoner with a Beast eidolon in a "god caller" vein. Thinking about the Beast eidolon being wolf-themed as some sort of "god of the hunt/pack". Still waiting on some details to be hammered down before I do too much work on the concept.

Playing a Sakorian god-caller is an /awesome/ fit for this one.

[Yakman]

Yakman wrote:

Zapp wrote:

keftiu wrote:

I'm eager to see what advice the Player's Guide has for Ancestries

To be honest I expect the same advice every Player's Guide has given: you can play whatever you want.

(If a Player's Guide would ever tell players they can't play their favorite ancestry-class-background combo, because androids or shoony or druids just don't fit the adventure, I would be shocked to my core.)

Yes, I am sarcastic, but only slightly.

It really **would** be a breath of fresh air if Paizo would ever embrace "less is more" and create an Adventure Path with interesting limitations on race-class combos or whatever.

that's the DM's job to some extent.

I would hope that Paizo helps the DM more than they do on occasion, particularly by having stricter guidance in the Players Guides.

Ran into this in my Tyrant's Grasp campaign - it says in the player's guide that Gunslingers and Alchemists are going to have trouble early on because of a lack of shopping opportunities. So what does one of my players do? Builds a gunslinger / alchemist. [well, really he pulled out a concept he'd been working on and used that, and great PC, but he got a bit frustrated with the lack of alchemical stuff and so we dramatically killed him and introduced a more melee-focused replacement PC]

But you live, you learn.

as a follow-up that recommendations table in OUTLAWS's player's guide is a great tool.

[werewolfpaladin]

keftiu wrote:

Playing a Sakorian god-caller is an /awesome/ fit for this one.

I feel like it's going to be nice. Our GM is using free archetype as well, so I'm trying to figure out what to flesh it out with.

[keftiu]

Florin Sweyn was born into poverty in the crusader capital of Kenabres, growing into a lanky, morose youth with dim prospects. She swore half-hearted oaths and joined the war effort against the Worldwound not out of any Mendevian patriotism or profound faith, but because no other options appeared to her. When a vrock's talons ripped through her body and cast her into a deep rift, Florin thought it was a fitting end to an ignoble life - thrown away into a dark hole, one of countless slain "low templars."

Fate, it seemed, had other plans.

The young crusader had fallen into the crypt of a dead Sarkorian clan, where the huzuri of their god still laid, dormant. Florin's bloody touch awoke something of the dormant spirit within, who spoke to her soothingly in Hallit words she couldn't understand. She welcomed the apparition in her final moments, and the two forged an impromptu pact: the venomous wolf would be free of its tomb, and Florin would live. With nothing to return to in Mendev, she followed the spirit's instincts west, looking to find new purpose in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords among folk it seemed to consider kin. She misses the taste of proper Mendevian bread, but wants for little else among the Broken Tusk, who she finds infinitely easier to get along with than the soldiers of the Fifth Crusade.

(I've wanted to build a character around the Ex-Crusader Background ever since I saw it, but struggled to put one together until now! The idea of playing an outsider with genuine curiosity and interest in learning Kellid ways is one I'd genuinely enjoy playing. In a perfect world, Florin here would be a 2e Shaman, but I think I'd be content representing her as a Battle Oracle in the meantime.)

EDIT: Playing around on Pathbuilder, I've realized that the Mammoth Lord archetype could even get her a Large wolf to ride on! It would be super fun to have her god become physical like that.

[The Raven Black]

keftiu wrote:

Florin Sweyn was born into poverty in the crusader capital of Kenabres, growing into a lanky, morose youth with dim prospects. She swore half-hearted oaths and joined the war effort against the Worldwound not out of any Mendevian patriotism or profound faith, but because no other options appeared to her. When a vrock's talons ripped through her body and cast her into a deep rift, Florin thought it was a fitting end to an ignoble life - thrown away into a dark hole, one of countless slain "low templars."

Fate, it seemed, had other plans.

The young crusader had fallen into the crypt of a dead Sarkorian clan, where the huzuri of their god still laid, dormant. Florin's bloody touch awoke something of the dormant spirit within, who spoke to her soothingly in Hallit words she couldn't understand. She welcomed the apparition in her final moments, and the two forged an impromptu pact: the venomous wolf would be free of its tomb, and Florin would live. With nothing to return to in Mendev, she followed the spirit's instincts west, looking to find new purpose in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords among folk it seemed to consider kin. She misses the taste of proper Mendevian bread, but wants for little else among the Broken Tusk, who she finds infinitely easier to get along with than the soldiers of the Fifth Crusade.

(I've wanted to build a character around the Ex-Crusader Background ever since I saw it, but struggled to put one together until now! The idea of playing an outsider with genuine curiosity and interest in learning Kellid ways is one I'd genuinely enjoy playing. In a perfect world, Florin here would be a 2e Shaman, but I think I'd be content representing her as a Battle Oracle in the meantime.)

EDIT: Playing around on Pathbuilder, I've realized that the Mammoth Lord archetype could even get her a Large wolf to ride on! It would be super fun to have her god become physical like that.

I like her.

Thought of Summoner or Living Vessel archetype though.

[keftiu]

The Raven Black wrote:

I like her.

Thought of Summoner or Living Vessel archetype though.

Glad you like!

While most god-callers are Summoners, not all of them are, and I… honestly don’t like pet classes enough to play one as-is. Maybe an eventual Synthesist class archetype will change my tune. Living Vessel is a good idea, though!

[AceofMoxen]

Jaya Hemond was a warrior in the crusades. She was captured by demons and her soul and flesh were bound to a Brimowak. She was rescued by the mythic heroes, but the binding could not be undone. She is a constant source of heat and flames. Feeling uncomfortably warm in normal temperatures and looked down upon by her fellow crusaders, Jaya fled to the north to die.

She was found by the broken tusk tribe, who welcomed her after some initial confusion with a "sister cinder." She hasn't told them about her demonic origin yet.

Human Tiefling Elementalist Sorcerer (fire)

[UnArcaneElection]

^Brimowak? Now I've got this vision of this poor sorcerer being bound to a demon with an Elmer Fudd accent . . . .

[Tricord]

OmegaZ wrote:

-Kellid human barbarian (rage instinct). Its the most on-theme character idea, which means absolutely no one will play it!

-Investigator or alchemist specializing in herbal alchemy, tracking prey, crafting, and the many talents one needs when one is a nomad. Calm and pragmatic because someone has to keep their temper.

-Champion of Iomedae (ex?) from Mendev who has walked away from the crusade after experiencing great loss and is looking for a purpose.

-Bard storyteller from "civilization" who came north to "get the authentic wild, Kellid, rough-and-tumble experience" they've heard about in stories. They broke down sobbing after their third freezing cold night and are still adjusting.

-Half-starved oracle (witch?) who survived being lost in the frozen wilds and survived by being guided by...something. Still a bit touched, but primal/divine magics are damn useful in the wilds.

I rolled in as a human barbarian (animal instinct) because I felt that at least someone has to be on theme!

Two other players came in as ex-Mendevian crusaders, and they've been an absolute hoot.

Another is a halfling, total mystery to me so far, but I think has a criminal background that hasn't been revealed yet in the campaign.

[Pavlovian]

So, next Wednesday, me and my party will have a session 0 for this campaign. I have created a Session 0 preparation journal on Foundry and we will discuss the country, the ancestries in it, and the main lore and faiths in the area.

I have made a selection of ancestries that I would like to see:
- humans: Kellid, Erutaki, Tian, Ulfen
- elves: Ilverani
- half-elves: snowcaster elves (Ilverani descendants)
- frost goblins
- catfolk: Mitzkeni
- Frozen Wind Kitsune
- Icerender Kobolds
- Nanut orcs
- Ulfen Leaper ratfolk
- snow may descendant Changelings
- Undine (Rimesoul)
- Beastkin

Other ancestries are allowed but I will try to steer them in the direction of these...

Classes: any, except the Investigator (Player's guide expressly advises against it) and the Inventor and Gunslinger (due to lack of trade/loot/crafting)...

I am excited to find out what my players are going to create!

[Pavlovian]

Pavlovian wrote:

So, next Wednesday, me and my party will have a session 0 for this campaign. I have created a Session 0 preparation journal on Foundry and we will discuss the country, the ancestries in it, and the main lore and faiths in the area.

I have made a selection of ancestries that I would like to see:
- humans: Kellid, Erutaki, Tian, Ulfen
- elves: Ilverani
- half-elves: snowcaster elves (Ilverani descendants)
- frost goblins
- catfolk: Mitzkeni
- Frozen Wind Kitsune
- Icerender Kobolds
- Nanut orcs
- Ulfen Leaper ratfolk
- snow may descendant Changelings
- Undine (Rimesoul)
- Beastkin

Other ancestries are allowed but I will try to steer them in the direction of these...

Classes: any, except the Investigator (Player's guide expressly advises against it) and the Inventor and Gunslinger (due to lack of trade/loot/crafting)...

I am excited to find out what my players are going to create!

So my players have created the following characters:

Renard, a goblin magus (starlit span) who is the product of a bet between two wizards (Can we teach magic to anyone or not?)

Waltherum 'Walt', a Varisian warpriest of Sister Cinder, who fought in the fifth crusade and is also a Songsinger in training.

Cayde Thalen, a bearkin Cavern Elf Barbarian with animal instinct, who fled a haunting, repressed memory of a fiery attack, and now seeks solace with the tusks. His current interest lies in hunting megafauna prey.

Yuki, a frozen field kitsune and his beast Eidolon, Garm, who is a mammoth herder with the Broken Tusk following.

[Unklbuck]

Valen Mettulus a Taldan Minor Nobility Rogue who’s Amorous exploits with a certain High Senator’s daughter has him named “Ambassador to the Mammoth Lords” and effectively exiled. He has been told that if he comes home before he is ca.led home he will be charged with deserting his post and sent to the Salt mines and his family stripped of their rank.
He is an urbane anachronism among the unwashed “barbarians” but is determined to do his duty.
I envision him similar to Antonio Banderas’ character in The 13th Warrior