# Malvoisin's War of the Burning Sky PbP



## Malvoisin (Jan 15, 2007)

Hello all! I find myself with some extra time now, and the desire to start up a second Play-by-Post campaign. I've got to say, the more details I see released about E.N. Publishing's 'War of the Burning Sky' campaign saga, the more interested I become. Although I'm not familiar with most of the authors of the adventures, there are definitely some great ideas there. So, is anyone interested in coming on board as a player, and joining me in seeing what this will be like? Even though the first adventure isn't released yet (though it should be soon), I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a 'pre-recruitment' discussion thread, just to see if there's interest.

If you want to know something more about me as a DM, check out my Savage Tide campaign, handily linked below!

See ya!
Malvoisin

Applicants/Interested Persons

Erekose13: Human Shadowcaster OR Human Warblade
Rystil Arden: Human Beguiler OR Human Archivist
Nightbreeze: Human Cleric (Magic Domain) OR Elf Dragon Shaman
kinem: Halfling Wizard OR Halfling Rogue
Hammerhead
Shayuri: Human Scout/Ranger (Wolfrider) OR Human Warlock
stonegod: Knight OR Bard/Rogue/Scoundrel-type
Rhun: Human Spirit Shaman OR Human Psychic Warrior
gavagai: Gnome Sorcerer/Bard (Air Elementalist) OR Elven Ranger (Archer)
Gli'jar: Human Wu-Jen OR Human Barbarian
Verbatim: Half-Orc Favored Soul OR Halfling Illusionist
Toptomcat: Human Monk OR Mad Summoner (Alienist)
Bloodcookie: Paladin OR Wizard/Artist
Thramzorean: Orc Barbarian OR Elf Warmage


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## Erekose13 (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm so in!  I've been very interested in the stuff I've seen from them so far, but with my own Savage Tide just kicking off I didn't see any time in the near future to try this out.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 15, 2007)

This could be interesting--just a heads-up (which you probably know), but be sure to get the whole set now for $34.99 while the special offer lasts.


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## Nightbreeze (Jan 15, 2007)

I would be REALLY interested 
I checked the review and it has really gotten me.


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## kinem (Jan 15, 2007)

I would be interested as well.


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## Hammerhead (Jan 15, 2007)

It does sound like an interesting adventure.


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## Shayuri (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm interested, though time may be tricky here...still, it's starting to look like one or two games I'm in may be puttering out, so...


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> I'm so in!  I've been very interested in the stuff I've seen from them so far, but with my own Savage Tide just kicking off I didn't see any time in the near future to try this out.



Hey, Erekose! Great to see your interest! I want to say good luck with your Savage Tide campaign also, I'm certain you will have a blast with it! Let me know if you ever want to compare notes or anything...



			
				Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> This could be interesting--just a heads-up (which you probably know), but be sure to get the whole set now for $34.99 while the special offer lasts.



Indeed, great advice! Thanks!



			
				Nightbreeze said:
			
		

> I would be REALLY interested
> I checked the review and it has really gotten me.



Yeah, the advance material has sucked me in too! I hope the final products live up to the initial promise.



			
				Shayuri said:
			
		

> I'm interested, though time may be tricky here...still, it's starting to look like one or two games I'm in may be puttering out, so...



C'mon, Shayuri, there's always room for one more!  I'm glad to see you are interested, I felt bad that our Sphinx Queen had to die early on the vine. 

@ALL: Well, it seems that there is enough interest here to officially call this a recruitment drive. Here's how I'd like to do this...

First, I'd like everyone to seriously consider how frequently you can post before officially applying for the game. I really want players who can post several times a week, to keep the game moving at a good clip. Ability to post every day would be ideal.

I need everyone who is interested to post TWO character concepts. By a concept, I just mean a paragraph or two detailing race/class idea, physical description/personality, BRIEF background (remember, the campaign world is pretty generic...use gods of Greyhawk for now with respect to cleric/ other divine casters), and maybe some ideas about how you envision future advancement. The more detail the better. This campaign will be starting with level 1 PCs, and I'll probably take five players. It would be best if each of your concepts would fill a different role within the party.

I'm open to lots of different non-core rules options, but ask first for material published by anyone other than WotC. Also, be prepared to crib anything non-core on your character sheets for ease of reference, in case I don't own the book in question. We won't be using psionics for this game. No evil PCs also. 

Note: I do not want full character sheets right now, I only will ask for those once the players have been selected.

I will probably recruit for about a week, but I may close recruitment early, if many very good submissions come in quickly.

So then...I'm sure I left something out. Feel free to ask questions!

Thanks,
Mal


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## Morrus (Jan 16, 2007)

Malvoisin, since you're the first person to do anything like this, if having a copy of the _Player's Guide_ and/or DM _Campaign Overview _ would help you, drop me an email.  They'll be available for free anyway within a week or so, and the versions I have on my hard drive are just the manuscripts in .rtf format (so no layout, art or maps - but you can download the pretty versions for free in a  week or so), but you may find it useful in helping people set up their characters in advance.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> Malvoisin, since you're the first person to do anything like this, if having a copy of the _Player's Guide_ and/or DM _Campaign Overview _ would help you, drop me an email.  They'll be available for free anyway within a week or so, and the versions I have on my hard drive are just the manuscripts in .rtf format (so no layout, art or maps - but you can download the pretty versions for free in a  week or so), but you may find it useful in helping people set up their characters in advance.



Wow, thanks so much, Morrus!   

E-mail sent! If you have any problems receiving it, my e-mail address is malvoisin2752 (at) yahoo.com

Seriously, this is great! I really appreciate the opportunity for an advance look. I'm sure it will help me kick off this game. Thanks again!    Mal


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## Morrus (Jan 16, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Wow, thanks so much, Morrus!
> 
> E-mail sent! If you have any problems receiving it, my e-mail address is malvoisin2752 (at) yahoo.com
> 
> Seriously, this is great! I really appreciate the opportunity for an advance look. I'm sure it will help me kick off this game. Thanks again!    Mal




Replied with the documents attached.  Enjoy!


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## stonegod (Jan 16, 2007)

Oh, Mal, why must you tempt me w/ even more games?! You fiend!

I assume more time means good news on the home front?


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## Nightbreeze (Jan 16, 2007)

So, I'm in an university college and I have 24/7 access to computers with internet just 30 yards from my room, so I can post everyday with few exceptions. Of course, I usually end up posting at a slower pace, as not everyone can do like me 


As for the concept:

1) A human cleric with two of the spell/magic/runes domain. He is a divine spellcaster that used to live in the Ragesian empire, but he sensed very soon what Leska was up to and managed to escape soon. His intent was to run and hide to the farthest corner at the earth, but when he was travelling across the mountain pass between Ragesia and Shahalesti, he had some mystic experience and realized what a coward he is. From then, his life will have the goal to stop the Scourge and the crazy Leska, and he probably has just arrived in the Gate Pass, when adventure is going to begin. He will have some problems with dangerous situations, as he has yet to overcome his fear of being a coward. Neutral good. High, blond....he could look as a classic defender, if he overcomes his fears.

2) A human druid living in the mountains near Gate Pass. He survives in a damn hostile nature by using his spells and abilities. He is driven by a rage when he hears about the treatment that inquisitors gave to a pacific druidic circle in their empire, and he means to stop this crazyness right now, showing them that nature will always punish those who defile her. His personality is cold and he probably won't hesitate to kill/destroy. True neutral. Not very tall, always wears his old ragged green clothes. He may seem a savage if it wasn't for his eyes, that show great intelligence and wisdom.


The concepts are similar: a divine spellcaster that is driven by the desire to punish the inquisitors. Thoughts, opionons, anything else?


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## Rhun (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey Mal,

You know I'm interested. And you already know my posting frequency and playing style. I'll try to get a couple of character concepts up here in the next couple of days.

Concept 1 - A human spirit shaman, who was raised among a band of tribesman. He is a bit odd, claiming to hear the voices of the spirits, and walking the path that he does guided by those spirits. He is a survivalist, used to dwelling in the wilds. Neutral (Good) in alignment...not because he lacks conviction, but simply because he follows the directions of the voices he hears. (I actually played this character concept in a game of LO's for a bit, but never got a chance to run with it since the game ended prematurely.)

Concept 2 - A human psychic warrior. A mercenary type, he fights because his abilities make him good at fighting, and he can earn good coin doing in doing so. While not a bad guy at heart, his "what's in it for me" attitude sometimes rubs people the wrong way. Hasn't had any formal training, but is rather self taught. Despite his mercantile ambitions, he is driven by the need to improve himself. He strives to develop his body and mind into a perfect combination of fighting prowess.


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## hafrogman (Jan 16, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Oh, Mal, why must you tempt me w/ even more games?! You fiend!




Because he hates us, he does!

I think I'm going to have to resist this one, but I highly recommend Mal as a DM to all considering the game.  I'll be watching this one.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Oh, Mal, why must you tempt me w/ even more games?! You fiend!
> 
> I assume more time means good news on the home front?



It does indeed! I apologize, I should have updated everyone with a status report earlier. But, yes, my wife is doing quite well. The fact of the matter, though, is that my spring semester just started. Ironically, that actually equates to more time for gaming, because I have quite a bit of down time to spend in the computer lab...such as right now.

There you have it.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> Because he hates us, he does!
> 
> I think I'm going to have to resist this one, but I highly recommend Mal as a DM to all considering the game.  I'll be watching this one.



Hey, thanks for the reference hafrogman! I appreciate it.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Hey Mal,
> 
> You know I'm interested. And you already know my posting frequency and playing style. I'll try to get a couple of character concepts up here in the next couple of days.



Yeah, try and get that to me before the big trip to Vegas, will ya??   

Good to see you, Rhun.


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## Shayuri (Jan 16, 2007)

Okay I give! It sounds like this set may actually take place in large enough settings to let me try my idea for a dire wolfrider...though that would come later, of course.

I envision the character as a Scout, possibly a Ranger/Scout that aims for Invisible Blades (that nifty 2 dagger fighting PrC) and Beastmaster (and Natural Bond) to get the necessary druid-equivalent levels to get a dire wolf companion as soon as possible. Then tactics shift to longspear charge, vault off wolf's back while quickdrawing 2 daggers...and fighting alongside wolf buddy! Rragh!

That's one concept. Wilderness warrior, basically.

Er...I'll work up another one too.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Nightbreeze said:
			
		

> So, I'm in an university college and I have 24/7 access to computers with internet just 30 yards from my room, so I can post everyday with few exceptions. Of course, I usually end up posting at a slower pace, as not everyone can do like me
> 
> 
> As for the concept:
> ...



Nightbreeze, these are good concepts, and structured exactly as I was aiming for. I could see these working in the campaign just fine, no problems here. My only concern is that they're both variations on the same theme, which is what I was hoping to avoid by asking each applicant to submit two ideas. This will help me choose the best possible players, without having to compromise party balance (hopefully!)

@ALL: These serve as a good model for your own character ideas, if there was any ambiguity in my request. Also, I recommend that anyone interested in the game check out the War of the Burning Sky campaign page, so that you can infuse a bit of the setting and plot into your concepts, as Nightbreeze has. Just try not to read the spoilery bits, okay?


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> Replied with the documents attached.  Enjoy!



Received!  Thanks so much again, Morrus! You're the best!


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## Nightbreeze (Jan 16, 2007)

Want me to come with some different concept? Just tell me, I can create them as easily as a first level cleric creates water


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## gavagai (Jan 16, 2007)

Hi
Never played on en.world before, but I'd love too as much as I am hyped on the WotBS saga. I have an office job, so I can post contionuously on weekdays at least, and often also on week ends. I'll throw my hat in the ring with two character concepts I came up with:

1) A gnome spontaneous caster, hailing from an isolationist clan more and more at odds with the aggressive and war torn outside world. He has learned to worship the benevolent spirits of air and earth as his family has done for generations, forces of nature which have always been regarded as gentle, yet forceful powers which grant the gnomes there arcane powers. His world is torn asunder as his ancient clan lands are pulled into the conflict, and transformed into the killing ground of one of Coaltongues major wars. His home is destroyed, and his fellow clan members are slain or captured by ruthless mercenaries in Coaltongues service. He flees into a hostile, dangerous world, and is shocked to find a people in constant fear of oppression and war. Also, he is appalled by the blasphemous enslavement of the powers of the spirits of air to this cause of destruction and war by Pilus and others. Driven by a feeling somewhere between vengeance for his clan and loyalty for the spirits of air, and naive about the powers arrayed against him, he vows to undo this great evil ... once he has found the means to do so. Neutral good, could be a Sorcerer / Elemental Savant (Air) or a Bard.

2) An elven ranger from the border wardens of Shahalesti. Son of a minor courtier in the countries capital, he always felt a stranger in the kingdoms capitol, with all its intrigues and politicking, and felt more of a calling towards the simpler life his brethren in other elven realms enjoy. As a child, he was an acquaintance of princess Shalosha, and was deeply hurt when she ridiculed his love for the simple life in the woods. That day, he set out and volunteered to serve as runner, guide and protector on one of the kingdoms borders. But whenever he returned to the border towns of Shahalesti, he felt more and more estranged by the talk about the alliance with Ragesia, and the warlike attitude of the king and, in his view, the entire Shahalesti court. He decides to leave his assignment and travel to the strange lands of Ragesia for himself. He is a loner, and is far better at talking with small badgers and wolves then with elves and humans. Chaotic good, preference for an archer build.

Let me know what you think.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Nightbreeze said:
			
		

> Want me to come with some different concept? Just tell me, I can create them as easily as a first level cleric creates water



It's up to you, but an additional concept that differs more substantially from the other two would increase your odds of acceptance....

So, that's a long way of saying 'Yes, please.'


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

@gavagai: Both very good submissions, thank you very much!   

@ALL: I have updated the first post with a running list of people who have expressed interest in this game, and character ideas submitted so far. I will keep this updated as more character submissions come in.

I am perusing the references Morrus sent me, and they look great! They're only serving to reinforce my desire to run this game. There's so much material, though, that I think I'll just open myself up for questions, rather than try to condense or summarize it here. Don't forget, the player's guide should be available to all within a week or so, anyway.

Keep the submissions coming, folks! Good stuff!


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## stonegod (Jan 16, 2007)

Okay, Mal. I can't resist. So here's a few concept that are totally not insane. Really. I promise.

*Coldan Ciandra* (Knight [PHBII]) Once a fierce knight in the service of the mighty Ragesian Empire, someone or something caused him to betray his former cause, earning him a black mark and exile. Despised at home, thought of as an enemy in Shahalesti, he has found a begrudging home in Gate Pass. They may not like him, but they tolerate him.

Coldan is a melee role, aggro specifically. He's LG, but a sour form of it, and unhappy with his life. He'd take any chance to take a cause that feels right to him, just to feel that void in him. Right now, I see his as staying knight, but who knows?

BTW: You may wish to look are our LEB discussion of the knight if you have any concerns about the class.

*Dorian Bane* (Bard) Optimist. Rogue. Rapscallion. Those were the kinder words that described Dorian Bane, a card sharp and adventurer extraordinaire. Nothing ever seemed to get the Dorian down, and he always had a witticism and a wry smile to go with any situation---though most of the time it was enough to irk whomever he was talking to.

Dorian is some sort of bard/rogue hybrid. Might be some interesting things from Complete Scoundrel in the future, or just from Complete Adventurer. Who knows? His main role would be support and general quipiness.

Oh, and Mal, you do know one of the authors. "O, Wintry Song of Agony" is written by good ole LO.


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## Gli'jar (Jan 16, 2007)

Character Concept 1  (Staying at home with a sick baby in my arms.  I get to be creative)

“How shall a man escape from that which is written; How shall he flee from his destiny?” Master Kai Kaous asked.

Awakening from the vision, mindful of the spirits he made his offering before rising. The vision had shown him that a dark cloud was spreading over the land, moving as night proceeds the waning hours of day. It was heavy and thick, and no light could pierce it, neither could fires be seen across its midst. It was dark as pitch, its depth fathomless. From the depth emerged an army led by bear clad men purging the magics before them. They were followed by a rain of stones and javelins.  The cities of men could not behold their source, neither could they defend themselves or stand against those arts of magic. They broke and those that fled wandered astray in their distress, and no man could find his fellow. In survival, they fell upon each other, their cries akin to the mewling distress of hungered beasts and in this hour their hearts were corrupted. 

The next vision was of the morning, transient and insubstantial. Glory was risen upon the world, and there stood a gathering of a few individuals. Those in the darkness could not see it, for the light of their eyes was gone out and the hope was nebulous at best. Struck blind by the vision, Kai Kaous wept sore, either out of despair or in the understanding that hoped remained. He cried out in his distress.

Standing in the doorway a village girl responded to his call. In his time of pain, the heart of the girl went out to him and there was born to her a son, goodly of mien, and Kai named him Baba’Mal. He consulted the spirits concerning him, and searched the stars for his destiny.  As instructed, he guided Baba’Mal in the mysterious powers of commanding of the elements, spirit forces and the powers of nature.

From his home in the Otdar Mountains, Baba’Mal made his way to Gate Pass. It had been 3 years since his masters death and it was time to leave the relative comfort of the dilapidated cottage. As he traveled through the frigid cold, he was reminded that he was brought into the world out of necessity, and that his training was all that truly mattered. A small bit of magic surrounded him in a nimbus of light before fading giving him respite from the biting cold.  

In the week of traveling to Gate Pass he had learned much from the inns that dotted the road to Gate Pass. His friendly demeanor and good looks opened doors to which his sharp mind could exploit. “The Scourge is advancing, Leska is attempting to cement his control.”, he thought as a bitter blast of air drove back his cloak blowing his long braided hair free of its confines. The long black hair stood contrast against his pale skin and snow covered landscape and hardly protected the young handsome face from the strafing ice shards blown about in the wind, “I must avail myself. There is much to be done.” Pushing himself forward on the well traveled road, Gate Pass soon rose before the steeled blue eyes of the young man.

Baba’Mal, human,  Wu Jen, male, slight build, blue eyes, black hair. Independent, driven, indifferent, naive. Neutral bent. Future advancement possible elementalist focus on metal as element?

Concept 2
‘Thanks for the drink friend.  What was that you were asking, yeah, yeah, listen, you know the saying, “Some for the Glories of This World; and some sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come; Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go, nor heed the rumble of a distant Drum!” Well the second part, it applies to that fella over there. An’ that drum when it’s a beating you will find him frothing and foaming.  Yeah that big brute of a man with the shaved head and tattoos the one you was asking about.  His name, give me a minute, Bassan Thenar if memory is correct.  Mercenary he is, been here for a few weeks looking for employment. Northern tribes that one, don’t know how he got down ere but for the right price he will follow you to lands end.  No worries about turning stag with that one either his word is as good as gold from what I hear. Said he helped some travelers too in the woods, protected and provided for them until they were able to make it to town. He ain’t the sharpest blade in the foundry but his loyalty to his fellows gives him high marks in my books. He had been serving with the guild between Gate Pass and Ragesia up till recently protecting cargo before it became too dangerous, if you get my meaning. You see he comes back to town the other day bearing some grievous wounds and some wayward tralelers. Word is he upset one of them inquisitors helping them travelers, wouldn’t take no lip from the fellow, showed him who the real beast was. Don’t know how much you buy into that screed but he hasn’t been one to confirm of deny it he just smiles that crooked smile of his. He been drinking a bit and by the looks of it he be done eating. Buy him another round an go have your word with em mister, he may bite what you are offering.’

Bassan Thenar, Human, Barbarian (SRD Boar Variant) CG, male, massive, large girth (picture the professional strong men competitions, not wholey define but very large individuals, not very dexterous due to their mass), future davancement ??


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Okay, Mal. I can't resist. So here's a few concept that are totally not insane. Really. I promise.



Mmm-hmm, we'll see about that, won't we?   

Good concepts, stonegod. But then, I expected nothing less. To be honest, I'm rather intrigued about the Knight class, not leery of it as I've seen that some are. 



			
				stonegod said:
			
		

> Oh, and Mal, you do know one of the authors. "O, Wintry Song of Agony" is written by good ole LO.



Ah, yes, I should have remembered that, from the e-mails I exchanged with Fellipe last year. Very interesting indeed...


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Gli'jar said:
			
		

> If you are still looking for recruits I wil post two submissions.  I read up a little and its sounds very interesting.



Absolutely, Gli'jar! I'd love to see what you have in mind.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 16, 2007)

I'll work on full concepts a bit better just wanted to check on sources.

1. Warforged (or dwarf) Warblade
2. whisper gnome shadowcaster

Don't suppose Morrus would let you share that Players Guide with your hopefuls eh?


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> I'll work on full concepts a bit better just wanted to check on sources.
> 
> 1. Warforged (or dwarf) Warblade
> 2. whisper gnome shadowcaster
> ...



My thoughts:

Warforged: I'd take one, but it would be with the understanding that, since this isn't Eberron, there won't be any others. I'd want you to come up with a good background explaining his/her/(its?) unique existence.

Warblade: I don't own Bo9S, so I'd need some serious hand-holding with that. Having said that, I'm inclined to allow it if you're willing to work through my ignorance.

Whisper Gnome and Shadowcaster are fine.

As to your final question, Morrus did specifically ask me not to disseminate the docs whole cloth, so I'd recommend you ask the man himself if he'd be willing to send you a copy.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 16, 2007)

Mal--how will stats work?  I ask because if we're rolling, I need to roll before I come up wih a concept, or I might disappoint myself (for instance, a roll like 18 13 13 13 11 10, limits concepts, as would something like 14 14 14 14 8 8, etc).


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## Erekose13 (Jan 16, 2007)

warforged, I was thinking an unearthed alien artifact or something. not very clear in my head and may drop that idea, but yes I was taking into account that we are not in eberron.

Warblade, i'll pitch it, but I think Shadowcaster would be cooler.  Mouseferatu has been posting his unofficial fixes to his own class. Would you be interested in seeing what he has to say (he is the author)?

Gotcha regarding the PG. It'll be out later this week anyways so no worries.


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## Verbatim (Jan 16, 2007)

Well...if all the cool kids are doing it...

a)Markus Half-hand: Half-orc favored soul. Cast out of his clan lest the others learn that one of their own had began to manifest a power greater than the steel of their spears, he was beaten and left for dead in the snow. Losing three of his fingers on his left hand, the man-child would have lost his life had not the Knights of the Auiline Cross brought him to the relative safety of Gate Pass. Even with his body weakened, his powers continue to manifest and it will only be a matter of time before the half-orc's secret is discovered.

b)Rimpson Bittervine: Halfling Illusionist- Passing himself off as nothing more than a skilled street artist, Rimpson Bittervine has been keeping a quasi-clean pillow under his head and some weak ale in his belly. With the threat of the Inquisitors coming to Gate Pass, Rimpson may have to choose between leaving his Art behind and keeping his skin intact.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 16, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> warforged, I was thinking an unearthed alien artifact or something. not very clear in my head and may drop that idea, but yes I was taking into account that we are not in eberron.
> 
> Warblade, i'll pitch it, but I think Shadowcaster would be cooler.  Mouseferatu has been posting his unofficial fixes to his own class. Would you be interested in seeing what he has to say (he is the author)?
> 
> Gotcha regarding the PG. It'll be out later this week anyways so no worries.



 That's a good idea--I was going to suggest that too--the Shadowcaster benefits greatly from Ari's post-mortem analysis and revisions in that thread.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Mal--how will stats work?  I ask because if we're rolling, I need to roll before I come up wih a concept, or I might disappoint myself (for instance, a roll like 18 13 13 13 11 10, limits concepts, as would something like 14 14 14 14 8 8, etc).



We'll use a 32 point buy. Good question, thanks!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> warforged, I was thinking an unearthed alien artifact or something. not very clear in my head and may drop that idea, but yes I was taking into account that we are not in eberron.
> 
> Warblade, i'll pitch it, but I think Shadowcaster would be cooler.  Mouseferatu has been posting his unofficial fixes to his own class. Would you be interested in seeing what he has to say (he is the author)?



Absolutely, I'd certainly be open to Ari's fixes for the class. I would actually consider such as official errata. Where is this posted, here on ENWorld, or on Ari's site?



			
				Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Gotcha regarding the PG. It'll be out later this week anyways so no worries.



Okay. There a lot of player options presented there, most all of which will be available to you, so we won't actually make character sheets until everyone has had a chance to read through it.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> Well...if all the cool kids are doing it...



Heya, Verbatim, good to see you!

I'll add your concepts to the list at the top of the thread.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 16, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Absolutely, I'd certainly be open to Ari's fixes for the class. I would actually consider such as official errata. Where is this posted, here on ENWorld, or on Ari's site?
> 
> 
> Okay. There a lot of player options presented there, most all of which will be available to you, so we won't actually make character sheets until everyone has had a chance to read through it.



 Hmm--interesting.  Without exposing the text, can you tell us what sort of options?  Do you think they might affect our choice of character by adding flavour to certain concepts? (For instance, I'm thinking that if they add sweet options that fit in with the world, they would likely be more for core-ish combos or OGL stuff, rather than, for instance, Warlocks or Book of Nine Swords classes which are closed content).


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## Shayuri (Jan 16, 2007)

Hmm. Would a warlock be permissible? One of the themes seems to be persecution of magic users, and warlocks seem like they get a double whammy of questionable heritage AND weird magic powers. Yee! Fun.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Hmm--interesting.  Without exposing the text, can you tell us what sort of options?  Do you think they might affect our choice of character by adding flavour to certain concepts? (For instance, I'm thinking that if they add sweet options that fit in with the world, they would likely be more for core-ish combos or OGL stuff, rather than, for instance, Warlocks or Book of Nine Swords classes which are closed content).



Your thinking is right on the money, RA. These options mostly are bonus feats that tie into various groups operating in Gate Pass (nothing uber-powerful, just a couple of small benefits and some added flavor). However, there are also some variant class options for wizards and sorcerers, new spells and magic items...even a new base class: the Commander.

As you've surmised, none of these options are directly designed for non-core WotC properties.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hmm. Would a warlock be permissible? One of the themes seems to be persecution of magic users, and warlocks seem like they get a double whammy of questionable heritage AND weird magic powers. Yee! Fun.



A warlock would certainly be permissible...and, I'm sure, reviled by the Inquisitors. Fun, indeed.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 16, 2007)

Here are Ari's notes: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=184955


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## Malvoisin (Jan 16, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Here are Ari's notes: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=184955



Thank you!


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 17, 2007)

Lessee:

A Human Beguiler who has used her wits and magic to balance on the razor-sharp edge of disaster, moving between Ragesia and Shahalesti under different identites to perform minor missions, transactions, and acts of mischief to capitalise on the warring tensions in a way that leads to both profit for herself and benefiting those who have been hurt most by the war.  Because of a childhood of abuse, she likes to call herself a mercenary and say she is only out for herself, at least when she's being herself and not a cover identity (she'll lie with impunity to stay in character for those), but even this is not really the truth, as in the end, she often winds up going out of her way to help those in need anyway.  In the end, she is a person who shrouds herself in masks beneath masks, and perhaps no living person has seen what lies underneath the deepest one.  As the Inquisition begins to rage out of control, she has become concerned both for her continuing activities and for the safety of her favourite home base and staging ground in Gate Pass.  She's probably Chaotic Neutral with strong Good tendencies, and if the other PCs are good and make an impression on her, she's likely to swing all the way to Good at some point during the game.

A Human Archivist who has been researching the secrets of the gods and the universe ever since he was little and heard stories about them and thought that most of them were rather stupid and contrived.  With his keen intellect and rock-solid intuition, he truly believed that he could unlock the secrets of the universe, and through careful study, he found a cryptic pattern of great power within his texts that connected him to divine power like that given to a Cleric.  He considers the source of this power something he calls 'The Aleph'*, which he admits that he still barely understands.  He wanted to explore religious texts, but had trouble gaining access as himself, so he sometimes masquerades as a priest, often of Boccob because, well, Boccob doesn't care.  However, the increasing Ragesian hostilities began to make it difficult for him to reach some sources he desired, particularly an ancient site said to house a wondrous library* that contained some of the secrets to the mysteries of the universe, and so he began to study the Ragesian Inquisition, wherein he believes he has stumbled upon another mystery entirely, one possibly rife with conspiracy theories, cabals, and ancient secrets.  And of course, he is the only one qualified to solve it.  It'll help those being harmed by the hostilities, and it will hopeful earn the funds and goodwill crucial for his research on 'The Aleph'.  He's true neutral, though more because he considers his research more important than random acts of charity--he still nearly refuses to do Evil unless absolute necessary, he'll definitely do Good things that don't inconvenience him too much, and there are certain cases where he is definitely motivated to go out of his way do Good, but it is based on his own way and not due to being universally benevolent.  Still, that probably means he has Good tendencies as well, at least a bit.

*The Aleph is an allusion to a Borges short story about a point in space that contains all other points, and thus all the answers.

*I don't know if there is a ruins adventure in WotBS, but if so, if you tossed in that library, that could be a neat link.


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## Toptomcat (Jan 17, 2007)

Let's see:

1 A human monk outcast by the brothers of his order.  His approach to achieving enlightenment is more martial than most, and to the pacifistic abbots of his order, he spent an unseemly amount of time in the dojo rather than in meditation.  When he responded to a minor bandit raid on the temple by killing three of the attackers, they banished him to find some wisdom in the wider world.
Thematically, the character will be based on the Japanese martial artist Masutatsu 'Mas' Oyama, founder of Kyokushin karate.
Mechanically, the character will be focused on delivering an ungodly degree of beatdown.  The PHB II 'Decisive Strike' alternative class feature will be used, and some Stone Dragon maneuvers and stances from the Book of Nine Swords may also come into play at later levels.

2 A madman with incredible arcane power. They say I'm wrong, they say I'm crazy. But they're _there_.  Incredible powers beyond space, and time, and sanity, and color, and life, and light.  And the _power_, the sheer arcane _power_ they can grant me!  Normal magic, it all seems so slow and petty now.  The energies _they_ grant respond to my force of will as if the very fabric of the universe were mine to bend. Heh. Hah! HAHAHAHAHAAAAAaaaaaa....! 
Will be played to the absolute hilt. 
Mechanically, he may go Tainted Scholar or Alienist or both, and will mostly be a creature-summoner.  I may ask about a custom feat or two.


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## stonegod (Jan 17, 2007)

Toptomcat said:
			
		

> Mechanically, he may go Tainted Scholar or Alienist or both, and will mostly be a creature-summoner.  I may ask about a custom feat or two.



Heh, heh. 

Mal does not use Taint, so Tainted Scholar won't fly.


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## Toptomcat (Jan 17, 2007)

Alienist works, then.


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## Bloodcookie (Jan 17, 2007)

Terrorizing an oppresive theocracy? I'm there! 

1) A paladin belonging to an obscure order of scholarly knights venerating Boccob, in his role as impartial keeper of knowledge.  They are sworn to defend the free dissemination of all types of learning, and combat those who would suppress or destroy it.  As such, this particular knight sees himself as duty-bound to work against the machinations of the Ragesian Inquisition.  He comes from an isolated monastery in Ragesia, which he and his fellows abandoned shortly after word of Leska’s plan arrived, agreeing to scatter across the land and carry out a guerilla campaign against her servants.

2 - slightly longer, but only because I already had it written up for a character I never got to play ) It could be argued that one of humanity's defining traits is the passion to create,
to build up monuments that will persist long after their architects have passed out
of memory, for no other purpose but to say "I Was." This creative urge is often strongest
amongst practitioners of the arcane arts, perhaps because they possess the capacity to
perform works that far outstrip those of the masses. 

One such individual in whom this spark of ambition has kindled is Thaal Vicengrix. While some who are artistically inclined strive to express their ideas and passions in paint or music, Thaal dreams of one day having his name listed among those of the near-mythic wizards of the past, virtual demigods whose deeds resonate within the artifacts and still-lingering sorceries they left behind. To that end, he has determined to set out in search of the forgotten lore that will serve as the framework upon which his own legend will be erected, as well as the adversaries against whom he must prove his mettle. After all, every hero needs a dragon to slay.

Thaal is perpetually friendly and outgoing, ever-eager to take advantage of an opportunity to expand his horizons. A far cry from the stereotype of the scholarly recluse, he believes that while knowledge is the key to power, it is wasted if the world does not feel its impact.  More than one of Thaal's wizardly acquaintences has warned him that he is teetering on the brink of recklessness and hubris, but Thaal simply dismisses the idea with a laugh; surely they have simply grown over-cautious and complacent in their ivory towers.


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## Rhun (Jan 17, 2007)

Mal, I updated my original post (#14) with my two character concepts.


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## Shayuri (Jan 17, 2007)

(ARGH! I lost my post! Trying again.)

Idea 1

Aridha has lived her life in the wilderness areas outside of Gate Pass, daughter of a druid though she herself follows a different calling. She tended to the woods and mountainside, protecting it from the occasional overzealous trapper or logger, and in turn helping to help find citygoers who were lost, and guiding people through the pass, especially when winters made it dangerous. This life of balance was destroyed when the Ragesian Empire invaded though. Its armies ravaged the natural places; burning and cutting down trees, diverting rivers, and killing her father; forcing Aridha to flee to the city or perish as well. Whatever differences Aridha may have with humankind in general, she now sets it aside for the chance to strike back at Ragesia.
Human Scout/Ranger. Focusing on TWF and Animal Companion Tactics.

Idea 2

Lily was a refugee of a fire that swept through one of the cities in the Ragesian Empire. Taken in by a religious orphanage, she began to evidence unusual, unnatural abilities that one day proved dangerous. Afraid and guilty, Lily left the temple orphanage behind to live a hard life on the streets. When the Scourge came, she was forced to flee and take refuge in the farmlands. Here she bounced from place to place, never able to settle long before being forced to display the strange powers lurking within her...and then once again flee the pounding bootsteps of the oncoming Inquisitors. Finally she fled to Gate Town itself, only to find herself trapped by the Imperial Army. Now, desperate to escape what's become a deathtrap for her, Lily is willing to take just about any risk for the chance to escape the Scourge just one more time...
Human Warlock. 

Thoughts?


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## Gli'jar (Jan 17, 2007)

I'll be updating my original post #27 with character information.  Thanks and if I am missing information or if you need clarification just let me know.


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## Thramzorean (Jan 17, 2007)

Definitely interested but before putting forward concepts I just wanted to check what materials were viable. Can we use Magic of Incarnum? I know nothing of the setting apart from the little I've just gleaned from the sales blurb but I'm guessing psionics might not fit but incarnum should make sense in the campaign. (?) Perhaps a hidden off-shoot (I'd like to run a dwarf soulborn ironsoul forgemaster), or just another magic type to be persecuted, or perhaps actually approved of in its 'proper' forms (i.e. the right alignments) and one of the magic types allowed.


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## kinem (Jan 17, 2007)

1)  Yorn Applebee, a halfling wizard (nonspecialist) who intends to become a very wealthy merchant.  He believes that trade and business benefit society as a whole.  He is lawful neutral, and has a strong sense of honor.  He is estranged from his brother Charlie, who he suspects is a thief, and with whom he has a longstanding rivalry.  They once courted the same woman, who chose neither.

Quote: "One hundred years from now, magic will allow a common man to live like a baron.  And men of vision, like me, will get rich making that happen.  That is, unless a war screws it all up.  I don't plan to let that happen, which is why I study magical fighting techniques."  

or

2)  Charlie Applebee, a halfling rogue who intends to live life to the fullest.  He believes that private property too often fails to benefit society as a whole.  He is chaotic neutral, and often acts on a whim.  He is estranged from his brother Yorn, who suspects he is a thief, and with whom he has a longstanding rivalry.  They once courted the same woman, who chose neither.

Quote: "Ah, isn't this wine great, babe?  This is the life.  But there are dangerous days ahead.  War is coming, and I shouldn't tell you this, but I've been given an important mission to help save people.  I don't mind risking my life, but it would sure be a shame to die without enjoying our last night together to the fullest.  Shall we?"

Edit: Both halflings are native to Gate Pass.


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## Nightbreeze (Jan 17, 2007)

Ok, posting a different character concept. Will see later what to cut, numer 1 or number 2

3) Seenos Dreims, elf dragon shaman (PHBII). He was born in Shahalesti and was the third son of one of the high elven wizards. The most important event in his life was a metting with a silver dragon, named Ateralaxis the Silver Flame. That happened when he was really young and was going to study wizardry according to his family tradition. He met the old dragon when he was coming back home after the first session of 3-year study, and spend several months with him. His family though that he has disappeared and searched him for a while. 

When he came back, whe rejected to return to the wizard's tower, thus losing the favor of his parents. He spend some year over there, but he felt that wasn't his place and left, after gathering his few personal belongings. The only parent that still helped and liked him after the incident was an old aunt.

He regrets his years spent in elven homeland, as he feels that his race is taking a bad road.

Nowdays he is travelling across the mountains and happened in Gate Pass.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 17, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Heh, heh.
> 
> Mal does not use Taint, so Tainted Scholar won't fly.



stonegod knows from experience....  

I just prefer not to needlessly complicate things with a new rules variant that impacts only one character.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 17, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Mal, I updated my original post (#14) with my two character concepts.



Rhun you may have missed the part of post #8 that said we won't be using psionics for this game. 

However...before you go and trash your psychic warrior, I have to say that there are some things in the DMs guide for the game that have me rethinking that stance. Your psychic warrior will receive consideration after all, so please go ahead and leave him as is.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 17, 2007)

Gli'jar said:
			
		

> I'll be updating my original post #27 with character information.  Thanks and if I am missing information or if you need clarification just let me know.



I enjoyed reading the story of Baba'Mal, very much. I think that may just be the very first ever Wu-jen submission I've seen.

Is there anything further you wish to add for your second idea? It certainly need not be as long as the first, but as it is, it doesn't offer much to go on.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 17, 2007)

Thramzorean said:
			
		

> Definitely interested but before putting forward concepts I just wanted to check what materials were viable. Can we use Magic of Incarnum? I know nothing of the setting apart from the little I've just gleaned from the sales blurb but I'm guessing psionics might not fit but incarnum should make sense in the campaign. (?) Perhaps a hidden off-shoot (I'd like to run a dwarf soulborn ironsoul forgemaster), or just another magic type to be persecuted, or perhaps actually approved of in its 'proper' forms (i.e. the right alignments) and one of the magic types allowed.



I'm not averse to the Incarnum stuff, but I want to offer the same caveat as I did earlier for material from the Book of 9 Swords. That is, I don't actually own Magic of Incarnum, so I'd need you to pretty much explain everything to me. If you're comfortable with the degree of hand-holding that would be required, go for it. 

I definitely think that a user of incarnum would be persecuted by the Inquisitors as much as a more traditional user of arcane magic. Perhaps even more so.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 17, 2007)

@ALL: Okay, I've updated post #1 with all the submissions I've received so far. If you see something that looks factually incorrect, please let me know, and I'll correct it.

I want to also say that with so many terrific submissions coming in so quickly, the recruitment drive will definitely not stay open too much longer. If you're considering throwing your hat in the ring, I'd do it pretty soon.


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## stonegod (Jan 17, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> stonegod knows from experience....



I don't know what you mean. Mad Col isn't a mad summoner. He's... crazy guy who also summons.


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## Rhun (Jan 17, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Rhun you may have missed the part of post #8 that said we won't be using psionics for this game.
> 
> However...before you go and trash your psychic warrior, I have to say that there are some things in the DMs guide for the game that have me rethinking that stance. Your psychic warrior will receive consideration after all, so please go ahead and leave him as is.





Thanks, Mal. I did miss that originally, but glad to hear you are rethinking. I think he would be a pretty fun character to play once fleshed out.


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## gavagai (Jan 17, 2007)

Really some very cool concepts here. Malvoisin, I assume all characters are open for refinement once we receive more players information on WotBS?


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## Malvoisin (Jan 17, 2007)

gavagai said:
			
		

> Really some very cool concepts here. Malvoisin, I assume all characters are open for refinement once we receive more players information on WotBS?



Absolutely! These are just basic ideas, mostly meant to define a character's role within the party, if accepted.

Once the players have been chosen, work on character sheets will begin in earnest. The campaign's player's guide should be available to everyone at that time.

This method is a good one, I think, because this way no one has to invest a lot of time making a full character sheet for a game in which they may or may not get accepted.


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## gavagai (Jan 17, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Absolutely! These are just basic ideas, mostly meant to define a character's role within the party, if accepted.
> 
> Once the players have been chosen, work on character sheets will begin in earnest. The campaign's player's guide should be available to everyone at that time.
> 
> This method is a good one, I think, because this way no one has to invest a lot of time making a full character sheet for a game in which they may or may not get accepted.





Sounds great, because I have the feeling that a lot of the background on the website is a bit open to interpretation, and that we will have a different view on the setting once we look into the players guide. (Does it mention gnomes, btw?  )


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## Nightbreeze (Jan 17, 2007)

Ok, Malvoisin, I've chosen...young druid will have to wait until next time


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## Morrus (Jan 17, 2007)

The free Player's Guide is now available for for download.

http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=burningsky


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 17, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> The free Player's Guide is now available for for download.
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=burningsky



 Neat stuff--thanks Morrus!


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## Erekose13 (Jan 17, 2007)

Perfect timing Morrus! Thanks


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## Gli'jar (Jan 17, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> I enjoyed reading the story of Baba'Mal, very much. I think that may just be the very first ever Wu-jen submission I've seen.
> 
> Is there anything further you wish to add for your second idea? It certainly need not be as long as the first, but as it is, it doesn't offer much to go on.




Thanks. I am still working on the second. I have not seen Wu Jen's either. They are rather limited as only one book supports them as opposed to wizard to sorcerer which are supported by multiple books, offering more versatility. I was thinking with the Wu Jen, with you approval and some work, potentially going elementalist but with a variant element, metal.


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## Thramzorean (Jan 18, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> I'm not averse to the Incarnum stuff, but I want to offer the same caveat as I did earlier for material from the Book of 9 Swords. That is, I don't actually own Magic of Incarnum, so I'd need you to pretty much explain everything to me. If you're comfortable with the degree of hand-holding that would be required, go for it.
> 
> I definitely think that a user of incarnum would be persecuted by the Inquisitors as much as a more traditional user of arcane magic. Perhaps even more so.



Hmmm... I'm not adverse to it, but for the incarnate in particular the whole point of the class is its flexibility in being able to swap melds every day which might get tedious for you and me constantly passing over and reviewing information. On the other hand incarnum characters tend to work for the most of the time with a limited number of melds as best suits and they are in no way broken or overpowered and need a lot of filtering. I'll review the player's guide put up

THANK YOU MORRUS!

and see what strikes my fancy. I'd enjoy playing a highly persecuted character, that's not an issue.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 18, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> The free Player's Guide is now available for for download.
> 
> http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=burningsky



I strongly recommend that everyone download this terrific resource!

Thanks again, Morrus!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 18, 2007)

Gli'jar said:
			
		

> Thanks. I am still working on the second. I have not seen Wu Jen's either. They are rather limited as only one book supports them as opposed to wizard to sorcerer which are supported by multiple books, offering more versatility. I was thinking with the Wu Jen, with you approval and some work, potentially going elementalist but with a variant element, metal.



Gli'jar, I'd consider such a thing, but I 'd want to hear more detail from you regarding how said metal variant would work, before signing off on it.

I'll file it under 'maybe'...


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## Malvoisin (Jan 18, 2007)

Hmm, as I look at the submissions I've recieved, it's clear that there will already be enough disappointment to go around, so I'm going to close applications now to new applicants. For those who have expressed interest, but not yet offered full character submissions (Erekose13, Hammerhead, Thramzorean) please try to get those in within the next couple of days if possible. I'd like to make my player selections by the first of next week at the latest...possibly even as soon as this weekend, potentially.

If anyone else on the list wants to expand upon an idea, or offer any additional info, now would be the time.

Thanks!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 18, 2007)

Nightbreeze said:
			
		

> Ok, Malvoisin, I've chosen...young druid will have to wait until next time



Thanks, I've noted such in the first post.


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## Gli'jar (Jan 18, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Gli'jar, I'd consider such a thing, but I 'd want to hear more detail from you regarding how said metal variant would work, before signing off on it.
> 
> I'll file it under 'maybe'...




I am fine by that. If selected we can hash it out, as it stands now I need to think it through further. 

Both character concepts posted.


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## Thramzorean (Jan 18, 2007)

Okay, having reviewed the players guide I can see a couple of more setting iconic types should be interesting / a challenge:

Grok - Male, Orc, Barbarian
Grok is a member of the resistance sent by one of the few orc tribes still outside the Ragesian sphere of influence to help keep this vital neutral trade center open. Not that Grok is that concerned with the political ramifications of his job but he is surprisingly effective working with the local orc related populance (who consider him a bit of a backsticks bumpkin) bolstering their pride and courage with the thought they are not alone in the world fighting what may seem an impossible fight. His distinctive obsidian great axe is well known in military circles - _Hurtzu_ it is nicknamed by Grok and the weapon is quickly passing into folklore.

Ashaliandra  - Male, Elf, Warmage
'Li' as he is called is a sophisticated smooth character whose delicate sensiblities belie his focused dedication to his profession and deadly abilities. Posted in Gate Pass from the elven realm Shahalesti precisely in case of this situation of Ragesia marching to war he now looks forward to using his talents to the full. He has trained with Gabal's school and the citizens of Gate Pass trust him, as much as they would trust any elf, to stand by their side and to do his part in the defence of the City State.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 18, 2007)

I've tried not to read any of the other submissions to avoid drawing on other's idea's. If however I end up sounding like one of the others, I'll come back and modify after I've had a chance to catch on my reading.

1. Taren Darkfyre - male human shadowcaster
Taren is a renegade from Ragesia, specifically Morrus.  The Darkfyre's stood proudly against Emperor Coaltongue as his troups readied for the attack on Morrus, but fell with the rest of the defenders when the Emperor appeared behind their massive defenses in a pillar of flame.  Taren has grown up knowing the oppression of the Ragesian's his whole life.  He has been integrating himself in Morrus for quite some time among the forces of Ragesia, running errands, helping out. All to get closer to someone in real power, while at the same time helping spread propaganda, causing minor inconveniences and the like for the same Tyrants he pretends to help.  

As a renegade Taren fell in with some interesting arcane casters who were hiding in the Morrus underground for fear of the Inquisition. Taren reported to them the positions and numbers of Inquisition and helped the Arcane Underground as he learned from them too. Then Leska came with a whole cadre of high Inquisitors.  Knowing that his luck had run out Taren fled to the one place he thought safe, the fabled mage's haven, Gate Pass.

2. Nabq Zenima - male human warblade
Nabq hails from the distant land of Ostalin. He is a member of a tiny sect called the Students of the Diamond Mind, practicioners of an ancient art of sword play called the Way of the Sword. Nabq seeks, like the other students, to attune his mind to the dreams of the world.  In perfecting his mind, he will attain true control over his body with crystal clarity.  

Currently Nabq is on a pilgramage to the distant city of Gate Pass for their fabled Festival of Dreams.  His path to perfection lead him to question the dreams of others. It is told in the lower cities, like Kistan, that at Gate Pass' Festival of Dreams, the dreams of the city come alive at night.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 18, 2007)

First post updated once more, to reflect most recent submissions. We're waiting only for Hammerhead now. If I don't have anything from him by the weekend, I'll assume he changed his mind, and begin my selection process.

I have a tough job ahead....


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## stonegod (Jan 18, 2007)

You got the chocolates and wine and sent, right?


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## Thramzorean (Jan 18, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> You got the chocolates and wine and sent, right?



Disgraceful scurrilous behavior that I completely disavow any participation of. 

(ahem, just PM an address Malvoisin and it will be Grand Crux and Belgian on the way)


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## Malvoisin (Jan 18, 2007)

You guys trying to fatten me up and get me drunk?

Great....

Keep up the good work!


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## Erekose13 (Jan 19, 2007)

Oh Mal, regarding the Bo9S, should that character be choosen, yes I have no problem talking you through the class and abilities.  The warblade has a very limited number of cool maneuvers to play with (but can use them often and all day long).


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## Verbatim (Jan 19, 2007)

Mal: If picked up for the divine slot, Markus would either be a favored soul of Telchur, god of winter and snow, or a cleric of the same if you prefer. If a cleric, he will have the domains (Cold and Strength) and I would alter his backstory to adjust to his learning of Telchur from another of Telchur's clergy. I would still keep him losing the fingers in the cold as a trial of passage to be fully accepted into the faith and for him to have access to the cold domain. I see his healing spells, either as a Fav Soul or Priest, to be rather unpleasant to receive as they will be delivered with a freezing sensation instead of the warmth of healing one normally thinks of.


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## kinem (Jan 19, 2007)

Thanks Morrus; the PG is good stuff.  It could perhaps have a bit more for rogues.

I added some quotes to my PC proposals.


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## Land Outcast (Jan 19, 2007)

Was just passing by and decided to throw some blessings over Mal's game...


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## Malvoisin (Jan 19, 2007)

Land Outcast said:
			
		

> Was just passing by and decided to throw some blessings over Mal's game...



Thanks, LO! Good to see you!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 20, 2007)

Okay, everyone, it's Saturday, and I still haven't heard anything from Hammerhead, so I'll assume he's dropped out of consideration.

That means it's time for me to dig in and choose the players. It's going to be tough, there are a lot of really viable character ideas. It may take me a couple of days, so look for the selections to be posted by Monday at the latest.

Have a great weekend all!


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## Verbatim (Jan 20, 2007)

Just wanted to wish everyone good luck and once again say I don't envy Mal's task at hand.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

*Players Announced!*

With no further ado, I'd like to welcome the following six players/characters to the game....

Erekose13: Taren Darkfyre, Male Human Shadowcaster
Rystil Arden: Phaedra, Female Human Beguiler
Shayuri: Aridha, Female Human Scout
stonegod: Coldan Ciandra, Male Human Knight
Rhun: ???, Male Human Psychic Warrior
Verbatim: Markus Half-Hand, Male Half-Orc Cleric

As I said before, this was a great group of applicants, with a lot of really interesting character concepts. Best of luck to all those not selected, and thanks so much for your time and interest!   Should the need for an alternate ever crop up, I'll be looking your way.

For those who made the cut, congrats! Let's make this a fun and exciting campaign!

Character creation rules and a Rogue's Gallery thread will be coming down the pike later this evening, or perhaps tomorrow morning.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Yay!  Congratulations to everyone else who made it--there were a whole lot of great concepts there.  I'll start working on Ariadne right away.


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## Verbatim (Jan 22, 2007)

I want to pass on my congrats also and say that I am looking forward to gaming with you all.

Mal: Would it be okay if I did change him from favored soul to straight cleric, or would you prefer the initial concept? Either one is fine, but looking at the flexibility of the spells, I am thinking a straight priest might work better for us all.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I want to pass on my congrats also and say that I am looking forward to gaming with you all.
> 
> Mal: Would it be okay if I did change him from favored soul to straight cleric, or would you prefer the initial concept? Either one is fine, but looking at the flexibility of the spells, I am thinking a straight priest might work better for us all.



I'd be fine with Markus as a cleric as well. I chose him to fill the role of divine caster for the party, so either way works.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

@Rystil Arden and Shayuri:

This may seem like a silly request, but would one of you consider changing the name of your character?

Ariadne and Aridha are just so similar, and I'm in favor of reducing the potential for confusion...  

Thanks!


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## Verbatim (Jan 22, 2007)

Cool. I will switch him to priest and work on the rest of history tonight while waiting for the full guidelines.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> @Rystil Arden and Shayuri:
> 
> This may seem like a silly request, but would one of you consider changing the name of your character?
> 
> ...



 Sure, I came up with the name second, so I'll pick something else.  I'm just happy we have a Scout so I don't have to take Search or Disable Device--Beguilers always run out of skill points.  Hmmm, I was making an allusion with Ariadne, so her sister Phaedra will do.  New name--Phaedra.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Sure, I came up with the name second, so I'll pick something else.  I'm just happy we have a Scout so I don't have to take Search or Disable Device--Beguilers always run out of skill points.



Thanks for the change, RA. I appreciate that.   

Yeah, I was struggling to put together the group without a rogue, but then I realized that a Scout and Beguiler together could reasonably accomplish most of the same things.

edit: Phaedra it is!


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Thanks for the change, RA. I appreciate that.
> 
> Yeah, I was struggling to put together the group without a rogue, but then I realized that a Scout and Beguiler together could reasonably accomplish most of the same things.
> 
> edit: Phaedra it is!



 Yep, we both have Trapfinding, but Beguilers have only 6 + Int skill points to cover a wide variety of skills, so I'm very happy if I don't have to cover those two.  I'll probably eventually have Fae take at least 1 rank in Disable Device so she'll be trained and she can roll the DC 10 check to Aid Another Aridha.


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## stonegod (Jan 22, 2007)

Skippy! Non-crazy and brooding, here I come!

Coldan may try for some of those new "Leader" feats from the Player's Guide, but I think he'll stay Knight over Commander though it looks interesting.

And, yes, I envision him as human as none of the other non-human cultures seemed appropos for Ragesia.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Here's a question--I'm thinking of Civic Minded for Fae, but I'm wondering if it could give Knowledge [Nobility and Royalty] as a class skill instead of Diplomacy, particularly since she already has Diplomacy and the feat seems to be about knowing political leaders and such.  Somehow K[N&R] isn't on the Beguiler list, and I was thinking that Fae would have it to fit in among different social strata.  If not, no big deal and I'll just use Knowledge [Local] for that, I guess.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Oh, also, I know we have 32 PB, but do we get max starting gold, average starting gold, or random starting gold?


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## Shayuri (Jan 22, 2007)

Yay! Thanks, Mal!

My plan is to be Ranger 1 / Scout 1 by 2nd level. The two classes go well together, I think. I'll be happy to take care of the Searching/Disabling, and leave the more social skills to our Beguiler.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Yay! Thanks, Mal!
> 
> My plan is to be Ranger 1 / Scout 1 by 2nd level. The two classes go well together, I think. I'll be happy to take care of the Searching/Disabling, and leave the more social skills to our Beguiler.



 Sure thing--can you do Scout first so you'll have the Trapfinding special and Disable Device skill (it was errataed as a class skill for Scouts) at level 1?  If not, no biggie, but if there are traps in the first adventure, it could be tricky if we two don't cover our party's backs (I'm working on getting the one rank to use the skill and then Civic Minded so I can give you +3 with Aid Another).


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## Shayuri (Jan 22, 2007)

Arr, I'd originally planned to be Ranger first for better combat efficiency, but I see from the list we have plenty of combatitude to start with. Done!


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## Gli'jar (Jan 22, 2007)

Good luck all and if there is any need of an alt keep me in mind.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 22, 2007)

Congrats to all who got in, don't envy Mal that task of picking (I'll be doing the same thing next week for my game).


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## Verbatim (Jan 22, 2007)

With the domains of Strength and Cold, Markus isn't going to be a walking band-aid, but as I see him being more of a buffer/melee priest. With his alignment being CN, I will be taking the healing aspect over harm, to give him the chance to heal on the fly though.

His view point will be pretty stark also, as Telchur isn't the most forgiving of the gods out there..


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## Thramzorean (Jan 22, 2007)

Congrats and have fun all...


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Here's a question--I'm thinking of Civic Minded for Fae, but I'm wondering if it could give Knowledge [Nobility and Royalty] as a class skill instead of Diplomacy, particularly since she already has Diplomacy and the feat seems to be about knowing political leaders and such.  Somehow K[N&R] isn't on the Beguiler list, and I was thinking that Fae would have it to fit in among different social strata.  If not, no big deal and I'll just use Knowledge [Local] for that, I guess.



Sure, I don't see a problem with that. 

Seems Knowledge Nobility/Royalty ought to be a class skill for a beguiler anyway, so that fixes that.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Oh, also, I know we have 32 PB, but do we get max starting gold, average starting gold, or random starting gold?



Max starting gold to purchase equipment, but characters can't start with more than 20 gp in actual coin....spend it or lose it.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> With the domains of Strength and Cold, Markus isn't going to be a walking band-aid, but as I see him being more of a buffer/melee priest. With his alignment being CN, I will be taking the healing aspect over harm, to give him the chance to heal on the fly though.
> 
> His view point will be pretty stark also, as Telchur isn't the most forgiving of the gods out there..



It seems that the overall tone of the campaign is a bit desperate and grim, actually, as befits the central theme of warring nations and political turmoil. I think that will work just fine.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Congrats to all who got in, don't envy Mal that task of picking (I'll be doing the same thing next week for my game).



Yeah, it makes you wish you could expand the party size or offer up another game, just so you don't have to say no to so many eager players....  

More DM's should start up games here.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

The Rogue's Gallery thread is up so you guys can get started on character sheets, or at least mark placeholders if you want.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Hmmm...do the different empires have their own languages, or does everyone just speak Common?


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Hmmm...do the different empires have their own languages, or does everyone just speak Common?



There's no mention that I have seen about different national languages, so I guess that leaves the usual selection of Common and the other racial tongues.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

*Player Character Generation Guidelines*

Okay, briefly, here we go with character creation rules....please don't hesitate to give a shout out if you have questions....

1. Level 1 Characters.
2. No evil alignments.
3. Ability scores generated with 32 point buy method, then adjusted for racial modifiers.
4. Max starting gold per class to buy equipment; no character may begin the game with more than 20 gold pieces in coin (Spend it on stuff!).
5. Please annotate your character sheets with notes for all non-core material. Don't infringe on copyright or anything, but I will frequently be DMing from the computer lab at school, without access to my books. Reminders about the effects of non-core feats, spells, etc., are very helpful.
6. I will consider material from the WotBS player's guide, including Bonus Feats for Gate Pass group affiliations. Please ask if interested...
7. A good physical description is a must, please. I like to be able to visualize your character.
8. Backgrounds are necessary, but need not be extensive. All backgrounds should conclude with the character in Gate Pass, but please leave things relatively open-ended, at least until the first adventure is released.
9. I'll mostly be hand-waving encumbrance rules, so just keep the gear reasonable and all will be well.
10. Maximum hit points at 1st level.
11. Please be sure to include the skills Spot and Listen on your sheets, even if no skill points are put in them.

I'm sure I forgot something, so please ask questions as needed.

Thanks!


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> There's no mention that I have seen about different national languages, so I guess that leaves the usual selection of Common and the other racial tongues.



 Ah, too bad.  Well, Shahalesti has decently-many elves, so Fae should at least take Elven, I suspect.  Probably Orc also for Ragesia.


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## Rhun (Jan 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Rhun: ???, Male Human Psychic Warrior





Thanks, Mal...as mentioned, I've got limited access to the internet until 01/29, but I will try to get as much work done on my PC as I can then before then.  We've still got some time before the game is set to start, though, right?


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## Verbatim (Jan 22, 2007)

I think the sheet is pretty much good to go, but an extra set of eyes are always welcome. After writing his history up, I almost switched him around to having the ability to harm instead of heal, but to keep the party alive longer, opted for the healing route. I am assuming a lot that this will be in an area near the cold, but if it turns out way wrong, I can always alter aspects of the char to fix that problem.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I think the sheet is pretty much good to go, but an extra set of eyes are always welcome. After writing his history up, I almost switched him around to having the ability to harm instead of heal, but to keep the party alive longer, opted for the healing route. I am assuming a lot that this will be in an area near the cold, but if it turns out way wrong, I can always alter aspects of the char to fix that problem.



 Yep, probably smart to stick with channeling positive energy--the inflict wounds spells are some of the worst spells in the game, good-aligned characters won't want undead around, and you're the only party member who can even remotely heal others (we don't even have a secondary healer).  Still, we can make it work, and even if you want to channel negative energy, we can make that work too (but you'll have to prepare cure spells, which is probably a pain for you).


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## Shayuri (Jan 22, 2007)

Once I take a ranger level or two I can use Curesticks. Not sure how I'll square that IC, but it's true.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Once I take a ranger level or two I can use Curesticks. Not sure how I'll square that IC, but it's true.



 That's true--but we'd have to afford one, which is only really a guarantee by level 3.  Still, Curestick + Ranger makes a nice backup healer.  I'm just used to my new face-to-face group (Cleric, Druid, Druid, Bard with CLW, Rogue with UMD )


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Thanks, Mal...as mentioned, I've got limited access to the internet until 01/29, but I will try to get as much work done on my PC as I can then before then.  We've still got some time before the game is set to start, though, right?



Hey, Rhun. The first adventure hasn't even been released yet, so there's plenty of time. My advice: Relax and enjoy your vacation.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 22, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> That's true--but we'd have to afford one, which is only really a guarantee by level 3.  Still, Curestick + Ranger makes a nice backup healer.  I'm just used to my new face-to-face group (Cleric, Druid, Druid, Bard with CLW, Rogue with UMD )



It seems like PbP games never have an abundance of healers, at least in my experience. I'm just thrilled that there is a cleric in the game at all.

My Savage Tide party is relying on stonegod's Archivist with a wand of CLW as pretty much their sole means of healing right now.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> It seems like PbP games never have an abundance of healers, at least in my experience. I'm just thrilled that there is a cleric in the game at all.
> 
> My Savage Tide party is relying on stonegod's Archivist with a wand of CLW as pretty much their sole means of healing right now.



 Heh, if he's anything like my Archivist in Shackled City, he refuses to prepare Cure spells (although Alcyone makes a few scrolls just in case, and admittedly we have a Cleric of Lathander, so Alcyone can get away with being the queen of combat buffs and riding dog charges, despite her 6 Strength ).


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## stonegod (Jan 22, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> My Savage Tide party is relying on stonegod's Archivist with a wand of CLW as pretty much their sole means of healing right now.



It no be my fault that thar party do be more focus'd on the yap'n and not the heal'n. Col do be study'n th'ways of the foul beasties, he do no have time to be focus'd on yer carsed wounds!


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## Verbatim (Jan 22, 2007)

I will be the first to admit that I have never had a problem with playing priests and playing Ayden Wyvernspur in Majin's Lamentation of Lloth game has been one of my best chars ever, RL or PbP. He is for all purposes a bard trapped in the role of a priest and somehow looked upon as the leader of their group, or was until he was plane shifted earlier this year. Only time will tell if I get to play him again..

I know keeping the positive aspect is the way to go, but I have to figure out what made him flip the switch to being a healer instead of harmer somewhere between now and then, but that is neither here nor there all in all.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 22, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> It no be my fault that thar party do be more focus'd on the yap'n and not the heal'n. Col do be study'n th'ways of the foul beasties, he do no have time to be focus'd on yer carsed wounds!



 Similarly, Alcyone doesn't have the spells to waste on simple positive energy transfers.  She's too busy studying the synergistic effects of multiple benedictions and arcane dependencies.  Plus, although admittedly she's sometimes moved to pity by other humans in need (though not those bloody halflings), her heart melts when she sees a poor forgotten construct that just needs a little bit of retooling and love to be good as new (she is thus the proud owner of two malfunctioning Jzadirune constructs named 'Pulvy' and 'Riza' and is storing them in the Temple of Lathander at the moment).


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## stonegod (Jan 23, 2007)

Coldan is done mechanically; still need to flush out the RP elements. Might have him be part of the Gate Pass militia if they would be fit to have him (i.e., trust him enough given his origins).


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## Malvoisin (Jan 23, 2007)

stone, would you mind cribbing Coldan's Shield Ward feat on his char. sheet? Thanks!


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## Erekose13 (Jan 23, 2007)

Taren is all up and ready to go. I've added notes to most everything, though I may add more so that I've got it all there.


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## stonegod (Jan 23, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> stone, would you mind cribbing Coldan's Shield Ward feat on his char. sheet? Thanks!



They're in his Advancement section, but I can move it under abilities easily enough.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 23, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> They're in his Advancement section, but I can move it under abilities easily enough.



Oh, okay, that's fine. I just missed it there. Now that I know where it is, it's not necessary to move it. Thanks!


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## stonegod (Jan 23, 2007)

Coldan's bg and stuff are done. Seems about well adjusted as our half-orc friend. 

Erekose---both Coldan and Taren are from Morrus, though they were on opposite sides in some sense. I put something in his background that it could have been the resistance that caused Coldan's exile which your character may or may not know about. So there is a possibility we may have known each other. Just something for you and Mal to potentially run with.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 24, 2007)

Okay, status check....

Markus, Coldan, and Taren are all done and ready to be reviewed, correct?

Rystil, it looks like Fae is also complete and ready for review is that right? Anything else you want to add?

I will be examining sheets as I have time over the next few days for correctness, so I just want to make sure you four are ready.

Shayuri and Rhun, take your time, we obviously can't start until the adventure is released.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Okay, status check....
> 
> Markus, Coldan, and Taren are all done and ready to be reviewed, correct?
> 
> ...



 She should be good-to-go except maybe for a longer write-up of her backstory.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

Yup Taren is ready, looks like I could do some work with stonegod to bring the two fellow Morrusians together before the start.


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## stonegod (Jan 24, 2007)

Coldan do be r-...err, Coldan is ready, sirrah.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Yup Taren is ready, looks like I could do some work with stonegod to bring the two fellow Morrusians together before the start.



Absolutely, that would be great!


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## Shayuri (Jan 24, 2007)

Aridha's posted. I'll fill in the bg, but it's basically the same as I posted earlier for her concept.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

I've done a bit more fleshing out of her backstory, though I want to keep some of it intentionally vague so she can just be mysterious / I can fill in the blanks with specifics given the adventures.  Feel free to use or ignore the implications I made about Leska


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

Since we have time, do we want to see about weaving more stories together?  Mal, I guess you do not have any indication yet whether we are supposed to start as a typical group already together or just meeting for the first time.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Since we have time, do we want to see about weaving more stories together?  Mal, I guess you do not have any indication yet whether we are supposed to start as a typical group already together or just meeting for the first time.



 I'd assume most 1st-level adventures would not require the party to start as a preformed cohesive group, but that is just a supposition.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

Depends on the author, that Forgotten Forge one did, I had to work out a way to get at least the two of you interested for the others to fall in.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Depends on the author, that Forgotten Forge one did, I had to work out a way to get at least the two of you interested for the others to fall in.



 Hmmm, that's odd, although I heard the Forgotten Forge line of adventures is famous for railroading in general.


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## Verbatim (Jan 24, 2007)

Well if it begins with pulling from the ranks of those among the resistance, or those friendly with said movement, feel free to use Markus in their background as well.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> Since we have time, do we want to see about weaving more stories together?  Mal, I guess you do not have any indication yet whether we are supposed to start as a typical group already together or just meeting for the first time.



You're right, I don't know whether the adventure makes some assumptions along those lines or not. We'll just have to see when the adventure is released.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 24, 2007)

The official release of the GM's Campaign Guide has taken place (NO PEEKING!   ), with indications that the adventure will be released within a couple more days. If The Scouring of Gate Pass does get released by the end of this week, then I would probably try to launch the IC thread by next Monday or Tuesday. Please feel free to discuss any shared b/g elements you wish to have between your characters.

And Rhun, don't worry about it if you can't get your psychic warrior statted up until next week, we'll wait for you. Hope you're enjoying Las Vagas.


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## Rhun (Jan 24, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> And Rhun, don't worry about it if you can't get your psychic warrior statted up until next week, we'll wait for you. Hope you're enjoying Las Vagas.





I appreciate Mal. I'll be back home sometime on Sunday, so hopefully I can have the PC finished the early part of next week!


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Hmmm, that's odd, although I heard the Forgotten Forge line of adventures is famous for railroading in general.




Yes they most definitely are, especially the second one. Its horrible for that (and for not tieing into the overall plot in any way whatsoever).


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## RangerWickett (Jan 24, 2007)

This thread has me very interested. If you have any questions at all about the campaign saga, just ask. I want your game to go as smoothly as possible, and getting feedback will help us know if we made any assumptions or forgot to mention some key things.

For instance, in my original idea, the nation of Morrus had fallen several decades ago, so any people who fought against Ragesia to defend Morrus would be rather old now, if they were humans. But it's easy enough to have the timeline a little different, or to have a character be the child of a Morrusite.

As to the first adventure (which I wrote), I recommended that the easiest start is for the party to be involved in the Gate Pass resistance. They might not all know each other, but they might have been called together to work on a mission.

The adventure is in layout now. I can't guarantee it will be ready before Monday, though.


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## stonegod (Jan 24, 2007)

I love the Internet. 

Coldan was not designed to have been around during the fall of Morrus, but long after, so that isn't a problem for him. Don't know about Erekose's character.


----------



## Morrus (Jan 24, 2007)

I hate having a nation called Morrus in there.


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## Verbatim (Jan 24, 2007)

I know this may be a lame duck question to ask, but where exactly climate wise are we supposed to begin with. For some strange reason, I keep thinking of these as Northern countries, but if they are down in tropical climates, I may need to rework some things..

And with all being in the resistance, I say let the joined b/g ideas begin flowing.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

Long after as well.  Sorry Morrus, it was just too tempting to create a character from there.  Price of fame I guess


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## Verbatim (Jan 24, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> I hate having a nation called Morrus in there.




It is like you have your own little Isreal..


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I know this may be a lame duck question to ask, but where exactly climate wise are we supposed to begin with. For some strange reason, I keep thinking of these as Northern countries, but if they are down in tropical climates, I may need to rework some things..
> 
> And with all being in the resistance, I say let the joined b/g ideas begin flowing.



 Hmm...it looks like only Markus and Fae took an affiliation--did the rest of you realise you get a free bonus feat?  

Markus is already affiliated with the Resistance, but Fae is not.  She has done some work for them before though (she most assuredly worked alone though, since she had been doing Cloak and Dagger antics, espionage, and smuggling), so she could certainly be called by them, but that isn't a very good hook for her.  I don't like to be unhelpful in setting up the adventure, though, so once we get a basic description of the set-up, I will either write a better hook for Fae myself (with Mal's approval) or just bite the hook anyway.  Semi-importantly, the Resistance know her by the name of Naucrate.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Morrus said:
			
		

> I hate having a nation called Morrus in there.



 Actually, I didn't like it either--it just jarred me every time I saw it because I thought of you.  It's the same reason if a player tries to name their Wizard Gandalf, Merlin, Harry Potter, etc, that I quash it.


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## RangerWickett (Jan 24, 2007)

One of you wants to be the daughter of Leska. And her name is Fae? Hooboy, that's gonna get interesting down the road.

A cleric with the cold domain will fit very well.

I admit to feeling a little giddy when I read ". . .he conquered Morrus utterly. . ." Do you prefer Morrusian or Morrusite? I don't know if it'll come up much in the adventures, but I'll use whichever you prefer.

Malvoisin, I totally don't want to get in your way, but if you'd like, email me at RangerWickett@hotmail.com and I can give you some insight into later in the campaign, to help character concepts mesh well from the get go.


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## Verbatim (Jan 24, 2007)

RW: Thanks for letting me know my guy won't look like an odd duck out in the setting, as Telchur is pretty small in the grand deity scheme of things. 

*casting vote for Morrusian*


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> One of you wants to be the daughter of Leska. And her name is Fae? Hooboy, that's gonna get interesting down the road.



 Her name is Phaedra   Does that make a difference?



> I admit to feeling a little giddy when I read ". . .he conquered Morrus utterly. . ."




Admittedly, that part is pretty funny.  At least he didn't say "The invading armies so thoroughly raped and pillaged Morrus, that Morrus was only a shell of its former self."


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

I didn't realize they were bonus feats. None of the skills fit with what I was going to take for the character so I didn't bother. Now that I know, I'll be adding Blade of the Resistance to him and maybe some Sense Motive.

Voting: Morrusian


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> I didn't realize they were bonus feats. None of the skills fit with what I was going to take for the character so I didn't bother. Now that I know, I'll be adding Blade of the Resistance to him and maybe some Sense Motive.
> 
> Voting: Morrusian



 Yeah, none of the feats really did anything to help Fae either, but I figured if it's free, might as well take it (plus Mal was very nice and let me get Kn [Nob and Roy] from Civic Minded).

How about Morrusi or Morruser?  Perhaps Morrish, Morru, or Morr?  Othello, the Morr of Ragesia! 

Morral, Morric, and Morrian aren't bad either.  Just don't do Morran.


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## Verbatim (Jan 24, 2007)

I took Blade of the Resistance initially as Blessed Dreamers gave Kn (Rel) as the bonus skill and as a priest I already had that on the class listing. Also once chosen it gave the idea of the Frost Wardens and the rest blossomed from there.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I took Blade of the Resistance initially as Blessed Dreamers gave Kn (Rel) as the bonus skill and as a priest I already had that on the class listing. Also once chosen it gave the idea of the Frost Wardens and the rest blossomed from there.



 Yeah, Markus doesn't strike me as a happy-go-lucky parade festival guy anyway   Although admittedly, I think Blessed by Dreams is probably the most powerful of the feats beyond the extra skill (except maybe the Thieve's Guild one if you have high Listen and Spot), it just probably doesn't fit well for most of our team, given their demeanours and backstories.


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 24, 2007)

Very true and the more I read our backgrounds, it looks to me like we are a mixture between the Dirty Dozen and the Suicide Squadron, as there is a great deal of shades of gray in our group. Which in the grand scheme of things, will help us in many war time decisions we may make.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

I just realized that we have 3 CN, 1N, and one poor LG knight. Boy is he going to have an interesting time.


----------



## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> I just realized that we have 3 CN, 1N, and one poor LG knight. Boy is he going to have an interesting time.



 Wow, you posted exactly what I was going to say just as I went to post it after checking the RG   Guess this group is _not_ going to be the good influence that spurs Fae to CG then   Poor Coldan--his honour code is not going to help him here.  I wonder if he loses challenge uses if somebody uses Aid Another to boost his attack roll against an opponent--I know he does for flanking.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 24, 2007)

where Fae has good tendencies, Taren has evil tendencies or at least as far as I can push it within the bounds that Mal wants us to not play Evil pcs.


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## stonegod (Jan 24, 2007)

Coldan is LG, but a sour form of it. Its probably like if Batman as LG (which Complete Scoundrel lists him as for some reason). Definitely not Supes form of LG.

Mal: I think the Gate Pass commander feat by RangerWickett might make sense as a militia affiliation feat (and thus a good bonus foot for our kanigit). Thoughts?

+1 Morrusian.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> where Fae has good tendencies, Taren has evil tendencies or at least as far as I can push it within the bounds that Mal wants us to not play Evil pcs.



 That's very underhanded   Well, Fae is a social chameleon, so the way she acts (although not necessarily the way she thinks) will be dictated by the general demeanour of the group.  If everyone was all knights and honour, she'd pretend to be for it as well, at least on the surface (though she would then quickly grow restless).  But if Taren is a bad enough influence (and she'd probably be more interested in paying attention to him than any of the others except perhaps Ari, the Scout), I'm blaming you if she heads towards Evil instead


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## stonegod (Jan 24, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> I wonder if he loses challenge uses if somebody uses Aid Another to boost his attack roll against an opponent--I know he does for flanking.



Nothing RAW. Choosing to flank is a decision on the part of the knight. The code is


			
				PHBII said:
			
		

> The knight's code focuses on fair play: A victory achieved through pure skill is more difficult, and hence wins more glory, than one achieved through trickery or guile.



So aiding another is skillful and not deceitful, thought it is skill on the part of another. Knights are supposed to work well together.


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## stonegod (Jan 24, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Admittedly, that part is pretty funny.  At least he didn't say "The invading armies so thoroughly raped and pillaged Morrus, that Morrus was only a shell of its former self."



Not my fault. I just work with the material I'm given.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Coldan is LG, but a sour form of it. Its probably like if Batman as LG (which Complete Scoundrel lists him as for some reason). Definitely not Supes form of LG.
> 
> Mal: I think the Gate Pass commander feat by RangerWickett might make sense as a militia affiliation feat (and thus a good bonus foot for our kanigit). Thoughts?
> 
> +1 Morrusian.



 The one you linked to was called something else--did you mean for it to give +1 Bardic Music?


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## stonegod (Jan 24, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> The one you linked to was called something else--did you mean for it to give +1 Bardic Music?



Perform as a class skill, and a bonus leader feat performance opens up a swap of one of Coldan's feat for a leader feat. Not that I'm set on that yet, just an idea.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 24, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Perform as a class skill, and a bonus leader feat performance opens up a swap of one of Coldan's feat for a leader feat. Not that I'm set on that yet, just an idea.



 Ah, okay.  It was called Bearer of the Coal Tongue, rather than Gate Pass Commander, so just wanted to make sure.  If you're going Commander feats, that looks like exactly the way to go.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 25, 2007)

Okay updated with Blade of the Resistance and a couple of ranks in Sense Motive. The feat is not much mechanically to Taren, the Thieves' guild one fit better, but background/flavour wise it was smack on so I had to take it.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 25, 2007)

The press release for the GM's guide lists "rules material covering magic items, alternate class abilities, special feats" anything cool we can use?


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 25, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> The press release for the GM's guide lists "rules material covering magic items, alternate class abilities, special feats" anything cool we can use?



 Hmmm...I'm guessing if it didn't make it to the Player's Guide, it is probably for the bad guys though.

Something like:

Hound of Leska
Alternate Paladin Class Feature
Instead of Detect Evil, you can Detect Arcane, which works like Detect Evil but instead detects those who can cast Arcane spells. 

Elite Inquisitor
[General]

Prerequisites: Ability to cast 3nd-level Cleric spells, Must be member of the Ragesian Inquisition handpicked by Leska

Benefit:  When you use Dispel Magic to successfully counter an Arcane spell, the caster is also dazed for 1 round.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> One of you wants to be the daughter of Leska. And her name is Fae? Hooboy, that's gonna get interesting down the road.



Oohhh, cryptic!!   



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Malvoisin, I totally don't want to get in your way, but if you'd like, email me at RangerWickett@hotmail.com and I can give you some insight into later in the campaign, to help character concepts mesh well from the get go.



In the way? Not a chance! I love how you and Morrus have taken an interest in my humble campaign. It just goes to show why I love the community here. 

E-mail is on its way.
Thanks!


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## Erekose13 (Jan 25, 2007)

So, cooperative backgrounds time   What relationships with the resistance do we have?  Taren would be pretty gung ho in the resistance trying to incite them to more and more dangerous tactics.


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## stonegod (Jan 25, 2007)

Coldan has probably not been part of the resistance yet at this time, and may or may not have been approached by them due to his past associations. Not that he is necessarily against them, and could be convinced of their worth depending on how they phrased it ('free your homeland from its corrupted oppressors!').


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## Verbatim (Jan 25, 2007)

Depending on how long Markus has been in Gate Pass, he could either just be starting, or firmly entrenched with the Resistance. He would be lending his assistance when needed, but would prefer the active role to the sit back and heal those paper cuts life.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 25, 2007)

Phaedra has definitely not met any of you through the resistance, but she may well know one or more of you from some other shared event, definitely under an assumed name and in disguise, so it would only be clear to her, if so.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> I didn't realize they were bonus feats. None of the skills fit with what I was going to take for the character so I didn't bother. Now that I know, I'll be adding Blade of the Resistance to him and maybe some Sense Motive.
> 
> Voting: Morrusian



Indeed, bonus feats. Everyone can feel free to take one if desired, but I'd request an appopriate link to your background, justifying its selection.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Yeah, none of the feats really did anything to help Fae either, but I figured if it's free, might as well take it (plus Mal was very nice and let me get Kn [Nob and Roy] from Civic Minded).
> 
> How about Morrusi or Morruser?  Perhaps Morrish, Morru, or Morr?  Othello, the Morr of Ragesia!
> 
> Morral, Morric, and Morrian aren't bad either.  Just don't do Morran.



Please, no Morr...err, more.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> where Fae has good tendencies, Taren has evil tendencies or at least as far as I can push it within the bounds that Mal wants us to not play Evil pcs.



Mostly, I just want to promote OOC harmony. I've seen many role-players that presume their 'evil' PCs will naturally steal from each other, attack each other, and just generally try to screw each other over in various ways. Rarely can players distinguish this IC behavior as role-playing, and so someone takes it personally, and then there's conflict. I don't want that, I'm here to have fun. Dealing with squabbling players is not fun. Hence, my restriction.


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## Erekose13 (Jan 25, 2007)

oh definitely agree with you there. I've had a couple of PCs border on Evil but it was never betrayal/stealing from other pcs or just doing stupid things like slaughtering peasants.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Coldan is LG, but a sour form of it. Its probably like if Batman as LG (which Complete Scoundrel lists him as for some reason). Definitely not Supes form of LG.
> 
> Mal: I think the Gate Pass commander feat by RangerWickett might make sense as a militia affiliation feat (and thus a good bonus foot for our kanigit). Thoughts?



Sure, why not? You can take that one if you'd like, stone.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

Erekose13 said:
			
		

> oh definitely agree with you there. I've had a couple of PCs border on Evil but it was never betrayal/stealing from other pcs or just doing stupid things like slaughtering peasants.



I actually feel very confident that this group of players would not abuse the evil alignment in the afore-mentioned ways, but so many do that I just always outlaw evil PCs from the get-go.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

stonegod, Coldan's sheet looks pretty good, but I did notice that you gave him +4 AC from his armor, but that should be +5 should it not? (Chainmail) Hence, normal and flat-footed ACs of 18?

Also, I'm not 100% sure how much cash Knights are supposed to start with, but I've got Coldan's gear and remaining funds worth around 410 gp total. Is that right?


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## stonegod (Jan 25, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> stonegod, Coldan's sheet looks pretty good, but I did notice that you gave him +4 AC from his armor, but that should be +5 should it not? (Chainmail) Hence, normal and flat-footed ACs of 18?
> 
> Also, I'm not 100% sure how much cash Knights are supposed to start with, but I've got Coldan's gear and remaining funds worth around 410 gp total. Is that right?




Err... 6d4x10 gp = 240 gp starting
morning star = 8gp
longsword = 15gp
dagger = 2gp
shortbow = 30gp
arrows = 1 gp
chainmail = 150gp
heavy shield = 20gp
backback = 2gp
bedroll = 0.1gp
rope = 1gp
waterskin = 1gp
whetstone = 0.02 gp

total = 230.12 gp
left over = 240 - 230.12 = 9.88 gp

I'm not sure where 410 come from.


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## stonegod (Jan 25, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> stonegod, Coldan's sheet looks pretty good, but I did notice that you gave him +4 AC from his armor, but that should be +5 should it not? (Chainmail) Hence, normal and flat-footed ACs of 18?



You're right about the AC. Will correct.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Err... 6d4x10 gp = 240 gp starting
> 
> <snip>
> 
> ...



Agh, I figured out the error.

I'm using a spreadsheet character sheet to evaluate the PCs, and for some reason it was doubling up the cost of his armor and shield. I've got it figured out now, you're right on the money. Sorry bout that.


----------



## Rystil Arden (Jan 25, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Mostly, I just want to promote OOC harmony. I've seen many role-players that presume their 'evil' PCs will naturally steal from each other, attack each other, and just generally try to screw each other over in various ways. Rarely can players distinguish this IC behavior as role-playing, and so someone takes it personally, and then there's conflict. I don't want that, I'm here to have fun. Dealing with squabbling players is not fun. Hence, my restriction.



 Yeah, that's not even necessarily Evil PCs though, so much as a select group of Chaotic Evil or Neutral Evil PCs.  Lawful Evil PCs definitely wouldn't do something like that.  Admittedly, a Chaotic Evil PC probably would if she got a good chance.  I would pretty much never make a PC who would do something like that under normal circumstances.

That said, I did have a Neutral Good PC once in a party of Lawful "Neutral" and Chaotic "Neutral" compatriots who were actually evil, even though the GM wouldn't bump their alignments down.  Despite being forced to adventure with them by a prophecy, she realised that letting them have their hands on vast amounts of gold was probably an Evil act, so when they had her divide the loot (they didn't trust each other), she shorted them all substantially and donated the excess to charities.  I'm sure that won't happen this time though


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

Rystil, by my count, Phaedra has assigned 39 out of a possible 40 skill points. Care to double check that?


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 25, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Rystil, by my count, Phaedra has assigned 39 out of a possible 40 skill points. Care to double check that?



 You're correct--when I moved to rebalance to pick up Kn [Nob & Roy] and remove Hide and Move Silently, I messed up the totals   I guess she'll grab another Knowledge Arcana rank--that'll put her on track for the synergy, which will help fill up the Spellcraft a bit for free.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 25, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> You're correct--when I moved to rebalance to pick up Kn [Nob & Roy] and remove Hide and Move Silently, I messed up the totals   I guess she'll grab another Knowledge Arcana rank--that'll put her on track for the synergy, which will help fill up the Spellcraft a bit for free.



Sounds good.

I know I said I didn't want to make too much of an issue about encumbrance, and I still don't, but I thought I'd point out the upper limit for Fae to have a light load would actually be 33 pounds, not the 43 pounds indicated on your sheet. It's okay with me to leave her as is, but I thought I'd point that out in case it matters to you.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 25, 2007)

That's true--I think I may have based the template on a character with higher strength and not changed it.  Fortunately, she's only carrying 32 lbs in a typical adventuring environment (the armour, rapier, bow, and arrows, plus one outfit she wears which doesn't count against weight, and a few other negligible weight items).  The others she would leave in safe places throughout Gate Pass or carry on a pack animal if it was around.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 26, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> That's true--I think I may have based the template on a character with higher strength and not changed it.  Fortunately, she's only carrying 32 lbs in a typical adventuring environment (the armour, rapier, bow, and arrows, plus one outfit she wears which doesn't count against weight, and a few other negligible weight items).  The others she would leave in safe places throughout Gate Pass or carry on a pack animal if it was around.



Works for me!


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## stonegod (Jan 26, 2007)

Coldan has been updated with the Bearer of the Coal Tongue feat from the Military affiliation; he swapped out Shield Ward for Leadership Performance and swapped his two ranks of Handle Animal for Diplomacy. Though it is cross class, it makes sense for him to have a some training in it.


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## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

Mal: Any good hints came your way on how we could mesh together a little bit more? With our independent streaks running rampant in our histories, I think all we need is a little nudge and we could fill in the blanks.

I was also thinking of dipping into Barb for 1-2 levels max to add in some of his not so repressed rage finally coming to the surface, but wanted to see what you guys thought of the slight weakening it would bring to the group. If we get a CLW, the loss won't be nearly as obvious, as he won't be doing much turning of undead anyway..


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> Mal: Any good hints came your way on how we could mesh together a little bit more? With our independent streaks running rampant in our histories, I think all we need is a little nudge and we could fill in the blanks.
> 
> I was also thinking of dipping into Barb for 1-2 levels max to add in some of his not so repressed rage finally coming to the surface, but wanted to see what you guys thought of the slight weakening it would bring to the group. If we get a CLW, the loss won't be nearly as obvious, as he won't be doing much turning of undead anyway..



 It's actually a massively large weakening--if he goes into Rage, he can't heal, buff, or use wands   Plus he gets all the new spells substantially later for little mechanical (losing two casting levels more than balances the Eldritch Knight PrC, for instance).  In one of my LEW games, they have a half-orc Barbarian/Cleric named Scun, and his lack of new spells was a big deal for them.  

That said, you should do what you think works for the character--it isn't all about mechanics.  It's just a bit scary since we don't have even a secondary healer, especially if this is going to be as hard as the Dungeon APs.  Then again, maybe WotBS will be much easier than the APs, so who knows?


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## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

I guess this is another case of choosing best for party over best for char concept. With his domain of Strength, I just saw it as a natural thing to work in IC, especially as he isn't going to be thinking of healing until the battle is over anyway and he is far more of an offensive minded char than defensive.

Ah well...


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I guess this is another case of choosing best for party over best for char concept. With his domain of Strength, I just saw it as a natural thing to work in IC, especially as he isn't going to be thinking of healing until the battle is over anyway and he is far more of an offensive minded char than defensive.
> 
> Ah well...



 No healing in battle?  Oh dear.  

Should I have Phaedra take Use Magic Device and try to be the combat healer then?  

I've seen my share of warpriest Clerics before, and they are devastatingly powerful with all their self-buffs, but their teammates tend to have less-than-stellar survival rates unless there's another Cleric around.


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## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

I don't doubt that in time he will develop into a tactical healer, but when we begin, he will be kill first and heal those who were strong enough to survive. Although he is not dumb, he has survived more on instinct and following the will of a senior priest until now, just to let you all know where he is coming from.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I don't doubt that in time he will develop into a tactical healer, but when we begin, he will be kill first and heal those who were strong enough to survive. Although he is not dumb, he has survived more on instinct and following the will of a senior priest until now, just to let you all know where he is coming from.



 Ah, cool.  That sounds like an interesting progression.  I'm quite relieved.

I guess I just get afraid when I hear "won't be healing in combat" because I know people in RL and from online stories who have indeed played clerics who refuse to heal in combat no matter what and go grandstanding alone (with no intent to have the character ever change from this)--leading to stories like "Booyah!  Did you guys see that?  I totally soloed the BBEG with Righteous Might and Divine Power."  "That's great Jared.  But while you were doing that, two of the other characters died because nobody would heal them."

I think all of our characters will have an interesting time learning how to become team players rather than solo artists.  Should be lots of fun


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## stonegod (Jan 27, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> I think all of our characters will have an interesting time learning how to become team players rather than solo artists.  Should be lots of fun



And the one team player who is trained to get people to work together has the most incompatible alignment of the group!


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> And the one team player who is trained to get people to work together has the most incompatible alignment of the group!



 Yep --he's going to have to be pretty darned silver-tongued to get Fae to listen--they're one step away from being polar opposites in alignment


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## Shayuri (Jan 27, 2007)

Hee. Just sayin' again...give me a wand of CLW,and I can do some healin' starting level 2.

And while Aridha starts out being soloish, she's a natural for "wolfpack" tactics. Muah!


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Hee. Just sayin' again...give me a wand of CLW,and I can do some healin' starting level 2.
> 
> And while Aridha starts out being soloish, she's a natural for "wolfpack" tactics. Muah!



 Oh, I do tend to forget that 

By the way, did you see the new feat in Complete Scoundrel for Scouts?  Apparently, it gives you an additional +2d6 Skirmish Damage and +2 AC if you manage to move out to twenty feet from your starting position (not that this is easy to do, of course, but that's a big boost).


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

I promise I won't ever brag about killing the BBEG...I will simply let the skin suit I make of it speak for itself..


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I promise I won't ever brag about killing the BBEG...I will simply let the skin suit I make of it speak for itself..



  Now you remind me of the Ranger in our Shackled City game--he has collected the heads of every BBEG we've beaten so far


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## Malvoisin (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> Mal: Any good hints came your way on how we could mesh together a little bit more? With our independent streaks running rampant in our histories, I think all we need is a little nudge and we could fill in the blanks.



So far, no hints along those lines have come in, although I did just ask Ryan about that specifically, so who knows? He may have some ideas he is willing to share. Otherwise, we may just have to wait until the first adventuire is released and see how the adventure begins, and what hooks are offered to make it work.

Erekose: Ryan did suggest that maybe thinking of Gate Pass as a 'safe haven' for arcanists is a bit of a stretch. Although there is the school for war wizards in Gate Pass, that doesn't make it safe. The real safe haven is Sequen, home of The Lyceum.


----------



## Malvoisin (Jan 27, 2007)

I have to say that I really like the mix of character personalities, and I can't wait to see how they will play out IC. I think that a group that has some elements of tension between the various characters could be a lot of fun (again, just so long as everyone stays friendly OOC)  

I can't wait for the adventure to come out...


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Now you remind me of the Ranger in our Shackled City game--he has collected the heads of every BBEG we've beaten so far




I used to have a table top fighter who would keep the blades of his fallen enemies, sort of an "I love me wall"..


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> I have to say that I really like the mix of character personalities, and I can't wait to see how they will play out IC. I think that a group that has some elements of tension between the various characters could be a lot of fun (again, just so long as everyone stays friendly OOC)
> 
> I can't wait for the adventure to come out...




I feel pretty confident that only Coldan and I will come to blows IC, but I also predict that it will be caused by alcohol and that nasty testosterone thing..


----------



## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I feel pretty confident that only Coldan and I will come to blows IC, but I also predict that it will be caused by alcohol and that nasty testosterone thing..



 Heh, no need to worry about coming to blows with Fae--in her mind, if it comes to blows between someone else and her, she's already failed.  Violence is so messy  (but if she can trick two enemies into fighting each other, it is oh so sweet)


----------



## Shayuri (Jan 27, 2007)

Question regarding Aridha...

I had this idea that she has the notion that she was a wolf in a past life...a reincarnated wolf.

In fact, since she grew up with a druid, it may even be true! Hmm...

Anyway, I wanted to make her eyes yellow and lupine...just for kicks.


----------



## Malvoisin (Jan 27, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Question regarding Aridha...
> 
> I had this idea that she has the notion that she was a wolf in a past life...a reincarnated wolf.
> 
> ...



Alrighty, it's okay with me if you want to do that.


----------



## Malvoisin (Jan 27, 2007)

Okay, Ryan was kind enough to get back to me with some further information about the set-up for the first adventure.

Recall the background info...Emperor Coaltongue is dead, Leska has declared war on all magic-users (referred to as The Scourge) to try and establish herself as the next emperor of Ragesia. An army marches for Gate Pass as part of the Scourge, and the leaders of the city have sealed the walls hoping to be spared the wrath of Ragesia.

The resistance has a vital mission for the heroes, to get some inteligence out of the city.

So, some possibilities for the characters' involvement:

1. PC is an established part of the resistance, and cooperates with the mission just to follow orders. A character working with the resistance movement doesn't have to share all of the organization's goals. Maybe they hate Ragesia, or Shahalesti, or both, and just want to keep all the armies out of the city. Maybe there is a grudge against Leska and the Inquisitors. Or, perhaps the character has some loyalty to the city itself, and wants to help protect Gate Pass from invasion.

2. The character may just want to escape from Gate Pass. With the coming of the Scourge, the leaders of Gate Pass have sealed the city walls, preventing anyone from entering or exiting. As the resistance mission involves sneaking out of the city with this military intelligence, characters may just want to ally with the resistance as a means to get out of town.


----------



## Malvoisin (Jan 27, 2007)

Remember also the various power groups in the city....the military, city council, Gabal's school, thieve's guild, or the temples. If you want to have your PC affiliated with any of these, they would certainly all have good reason for supporting the resistance and keeping Gate Pass free of invasion.


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

Markus would be itching at the chance to get back into the open areas again, so him volunteering for the duty just became very easy for me. His desire to work with the resistance would be to keep the areas of the North free from The Scourge.


----------



## stonegod (Jan 27, 2007)

Coldan will be part of the Gate Pass militia, though how trusted is a different story. He'll take up anything that seems like a good cause to fill the void that is his soul.

Did I tell you that Coldan is well adjusted?


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

I wonder if on the road, we can call him Col for short..


----------



## stonegod (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim said:
			
		

> I wonder if on the road, we can call him Col for short..



That's going to get highly confusing, and I might break out in pirate by accident.


----------



## Malvoisin (Jan 27, 2007)

Verbatim, looking at Markus' saves, it appears that he is a point short on his FORT save (Cleric base +2)


----------



## Rhun (Jan 27, 2007)

My vacation is almost over, and I've been trying to keep up with this thread, so I'm hoping by mid-week I can have my PC put together.


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> That's going to get highly confusing, and I might break out in pirate by accident.




And if he gets angry, will one of us say "What's the matter...are you _mad_ Col?"

Sorry..I will play nice and look for the pirate accent when it may appear..


----------



## Verbatim (Jan 27, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Verbatim, looking at Markus' saves, it appears that he is a point short on his FORT save (Cleric base +2)




Rog..will change it asap.


----------



## Erekose13 (Jan 27, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> So far, no hints along those lines have come in, although I did just ask Ryan about that specifically, so who knows? He may have some ideas he is willing to share. Otherwise, we may just have to wait until the first adventuire is released and see how the adventure begins, and what hooks are offered to make it work.
> 
> Erekose: Ryan did suggest that maybe thinking of Gate Pass as a 'safe haven' for arcanists is a bit of a stretch. Although there is the school for war wizards in Gate Pass, that doesn't make it safe. The real safe haven is Sequen, home of The Lyceum.




Okay I'll change it so that he went to Gate Pass because of his resistance contacts, which also fits with the plot hook.


----------



## Rystil Arden (Jan 27, 2007)

Hmmm....



> just to follow orders




Not good--if something seems like orders, you can bet Fae won't bite.  

Here's a few ideas--

1) Fae is the one who actually collected the military intelligence in the first place, so now she needs to get out.  Afraid for her safety if she tries to flee with it alone, she appealed to the resistance in an attempt to find some proxies to fight her battles for her (errhm, I mean some 'brave and stalwart companions for a noble quest').  This is the best idea if it will work.

2) Fae wants this information from the Resistance for her own purposes, and this is the only way she's going to get it.  Since she's already going to be going undercover to get the information, if it gets to the Resistance's desired target, that's an added bonus.  This is not as good as (1) because she won't be as dedicated to the mission once she gets her hands on the info (and she might leave if the info is sealed or we can't read it somehow), but it is better than (3) because there's no chance of her becoming upset later.

3) Since they know she wouldn't follow orders, the Resistance tricked Fae into doing what they want by asking her for advice and basically letting her 'come up with' the same plan they wanted her to follow.  This one is dangerous because it could cause her to turn on the Resistance if she ever finds out.  After all, manipulation of that sort is despicable and unforgivable (yes, she's sometimes a hypocrite )

If all of these are bad, I'll come up with more later, but I'm particularly fond of #1 because it ties in with her history, gives her an excellent reason to be in a group when she usually works solo, and probably has the best chance of transitioning her smoothly into the second adventure, assuming that is based on delivering the info.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 28, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> My vacation is almost over, and I've been trying to keep up with this thread, so I'm hoping by mid-week I can have my PC put together.



Go for it, Rhun!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 28, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> 1) Fae is the one who actually collected the military intelligence in the first place, so now she needs to get out.  Afraid for her safety if she tries to flee with it alone, she appealed to the resistance in an attempt to find some proxies to fight her battles for her (errhm, I mean some 'brave and stalwart companions for a noble quest').  This is the best idea if it will work.



This is interesting, but I'm not sure how plausible it is. I believe Ryan has indicated that there is an important NPC contact who assumes this role.

You indicated in Fae's b/g that she may have already done some jobs for the Resistance. What sort of jobs do you suppose those may have been?


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 28, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> This is interesting, but I'm not sure how plausible it is. I believe Ryan has indicated that there is an important NPC contact who assumes this role.
> 
> You indicated in Fae's b/g that she may have already done some jobs for the Resistance. What sort of jobs do you suppose those may have been?



 Hmm...Unfailingly they would be her trademark jobs that she would normally do on her own, only working tacitly with the resistance--these would be solo jobs where manipulation, espionage, smuggling, and string-pulling from behind the scenes are the order of the day, with Phaedra moving freely and not revealing herself to anyone (and she would be using a cover with the Resistance too).

I guess we should wait to see how feasible it will be when the adventure itself shows up--it may turn out both that it has to be some other NPC who got the info and that it is info Fae wouldn't want to be getting for herself, in which case we'd have to use #3 or I could come up with something else.  I'm sure with better info, I can probably come up with three more


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## Malvoisin (Jan 28, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> I'm sure with better info, I can probably come up with three more



I have complete confidence in you!   

Time will tell...RangerW, when's that adventure going to hit again?

Not that I'm impatient or anything...


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 28, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> I have complete confidence in you!
> 
> Time will tell...RangerW, when's that adventure going to hit again?
> 
> Not that I'm impatient or anything...



 He said Monday, right?


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## Malvoisin (Jan 28, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> He said Monday, right?



I think you're right. Let's hold him to that!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 28, 2007)

Verbatim, 

Javelins do 1d6 damage, not 1d8.

Everything else about Markus' character sheet looks good. Thanks!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 28, 2007)

Shayuri,

How is Aridha's background coming along?

Also, I noticed that she has some ranks in the Craft skill. What specifically is the Craft?

edit: Also, her damage with the dagger should be 1d4+2 (STR bonus)


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## Shayuri (Jan 28, 2007)

Pretty good. I'll post what I've come up with on Sunday, along with some corrections (thanks for that dagger catch ) and see whatch'all think. 

Oh, and the craft skill is Craft Traps. I may or may not stick with it, but it seemed appropos for a hunter...


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## Shayuri (Jan 29, 2007)

Updated!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 29, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> Updated!



Thanks Shayuri. Good background!


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## Malvoisin (Jan 29, 2007)

Erekose, 

Can you break down how you spent Taren's 24 skill points? I added them up, and I figured a total of 25. I'm not sure if I am calculating wrong, or if you spent one too many points.

Also, just a typo, Taren's grapple mod says '11', when it should say '-1'.

Thanks!


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## Erekose13 (Jan 29, 2007)

I'll update the character sheet with ranks and fix the typo. 

EDIT: done


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## stonegod (Jan 31, 2007)

Its heere!


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## Rhun (Jan 31, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Its heere!





Yikes!!! I need to hurry. I've almost got my PCs char sheet put together, but may need another day or two for background and whatnot! Sorry for the delays guys.


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## Malvoisin (Jan 31, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Yikes!!! I need to hurry. I've almost got my PCs char sheet put together, but may need another day or two for background and whatnot! Sorry for the delays guys.



Hey Rhun, not to rush you or anything, but....

HURRY UP!!!!!   

Actually, it will probably take me a day or two to get things organized anyway. But, make no mistake, we'll be kicking off this baby real soon.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 31, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Hey Rhun, not to rush you or anything, but....
> 
> HURRY UP!!!!!
> 
> Actually, it will probably take me a day or two to get things organized anyway. But, make no mistake, we'll be kicking off this baby real soon.



 Can you tell me anything more about the hooks?  Would the one where Fae gathered the intel be inappropriate?


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## Malvoisin (Jan 31, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Can you tell me anything more about the hooks?  Would the one where Fae gathered the intel be inappropriate?



I think it would be inappropriate, because the intel apparently refers to plot points that come later in the adventure, and also it would cause me to have to rework the plot of this adventure quite a bit.

Isn't it possible that Fae might agree to help the Resistance with the mission just for the fun of it? It could be fun to have her start the adventure with the rest of the party thinking she's something/someone entirely different than herself. I'm not sure if you intended her to be that capricious, but it's just a thought...


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## Malvoisin (Jan 31, 2007)

The Scouring of Gate Pass said:
			
		

> *BACKGROUND*
> 
> It is New Year’s Eve, and near midnight on this frigid evening the
> heroes gather in a small condemned tavern in the Free Citystate of Gate Pass.
> ...



Taken directly from the adventure, here is the background info that sets the stage for the opening scene. RA, does that help any in establishing Fae?


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## Rhun (Jan 31, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Hey Rhun, not to rush you or anything, but....
> 
> HURRY UP!!!!!
> 
> Actually, it will probably take me a day or two to get things organized anyway. But, make no mistake, we'll be kicking off this baby real soon.






I'm hurrying, Mal! Don't start without me!!!

I'm on-call tonight, which means I'll spend the night sitting in front of my PC with nothing to do...so I think I should be able to get my character completed by night's end.


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 31, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> I think it would be inappropriate, because the intel apparently refers to plot points that come later in the adventure, and also it would cause me to have to rework the plot of this adventure quite a bit.
> 
> Isn't it possible that Fae might agree to help the Resistance with the mission just for the fun of it? It could be fun to have her start the adventure with the rest of the party thinking she's something/someone entirely different than herself. I'm not sure if you intended her to be that capricious, but it's just a thought...



 I actually thought of that, but it is a very bad idea to depend upon her caprice because we don't want her to leave if it stops being fun (and if she is forced to fight her own battles, it stops being all fun and games).  

What about #2, then?  If the intelligence is a plot point for the next adventure, then having Fae want to learn it for herself is actually not a bad hook--will that work?

Also, I read the background, and this: 







> The
> city leaders are bowing under pressure, and have barred the exit from the
> city, intending to welcome the inquisitors that come with the army, for they
> foolishly hope that the Ragesians will reward their cooperation with
> mercy.



 would mean that Fae has failed to convince the city leaders of their foolishness (in her identity with council connections).  This leads me to some new possible hooks--

#4:  Fae doesn't care about the intel at all.  She just wants to do some recon on the Ragesians so that she can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that they intend to loot and conquer, rather than show mercy.  She is looking to convince the council to support war rather than surrender

#5:  (very dependant on factors that only you will know, but--) I'm guessing based on the description that the Ragesians aren't here yet.  Thus, since every adventure has fights, we're most likely going to be fighting something else.  Choosing the most appropriate of those something-elses, Fae is aligned against the something-else or wants to get the something-else out of the way through manipulation, or by proxy force if necessary

#6:  (my least favourite) Fae is analysing the strength of the Resistance to see if they are worth supporting in the upcoming conflict or whether she needs to bail to Shahalesti, and to do so, she'll need to watch them fight and see what sorts of challengers they can defeat and how easily.  To do this, she would be infiltrating the group just to watch.

#7:  (similar to #2) Fae has been hired by an agent of Shahalesti or someone else who doesn't like the Ragesians to get a copy of the intel for their use.  This is otherwise similar to #2 except that it wasn't Fae's own initiative to read the intel.

I can try to come up with more too


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## Rystil Arden (Jan 31, 2007)

More thoughts--

#8:  A dying young girl in Gate Pass could be saved easily by a medicine made from non-native herbs, but they are inaccessible thanks to the foolish blockade of the city.  Fae secretly decides to help save the girl, but if anyone suggests that those are her motives, she'll threaten to slit their throat.  (this doesn't work if we're supposed to be not coming back to Gate Pass after this adventure unless she can get the herbs sent in somehow)

#9:  (Possibly the one with the highest probability of working with the adventure yet!  I can't even see a possible hitch for this one )  Fae is on a typical job--smuggling, as I mentioned before.  The only trouble is, smuggling the goods to the right place is impossible with the blockades--damn those fools!  Wherever the party is supposed to go is around where she's to deliver the goods.  Searching for any possible option, she stumbles upon the Resistance plan and offers to join (in a cover identity, of course) for the Resistance's offered pay for this mission, in order to kill two birds with one stone (and get some protection too).    


I think #9 may be a winner!


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## Rhun (Feb 1, 2007)

Mal,


Xander Marsh has been posted to the Rogue's Gallery. I couldn't find starting gold for a Psychic Warrior, so I just kind of gave him some stuff. Let me know if you want me to change things.

Also, the background is a bit basic (and I don't even know if goblins and trolls exist in this campaign setting), so let me know if you want more added or want anything changed.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Mal,
> 
> 
> Xander Marsh has been posted to the Rogue's Gallery. I couldn't find starting gold for a Psychic Warrior, so I just kind of gave him some stuff. Let me know if you want me to change things.
> ...



Great, thanks Rhun! I'll look it over and let you know if anything needs to be altered. Goblins and trolls certainly exist in this Campaign, so no problems there.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> More thoughts--
> 
> #8:  A dying young girl in Gate Pass could be saved easily by a medicine made from non-native herbs, but they are inaccessible thanks to the foolish blockade of the city.  Fae secretly decides to help save the girl, but if anyone suggests that those are her motives, she'll threaten to slit their throat.  (this doesn't work if we're supposed to be not coming back to Gate Pass after this adventure unless she can get the herbs sent in somehow)
> 
> ...



#9 is a winner indeed, RA! I don't see any plot complications arising from that, so let's roll with it! Good job!


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

UPDATE:

Here's where we stand with respect to getting this thing rolling.

1. I need to go over Xander, and make sure his character sheet passes inspection.

2. Umm, I think that's it. But, everyone should definitely check out the new OOC page which I started on this morning. It's got some stuff to whet your appetite. Once char sheets are all final, we'll close up this recruiting thread, and move the OOC conversation over there.

IC thread is pending...note that we will start with the meeting at the abandoned pub with the NPC contact for the Resistance, so everybody please make sure you've got your motivation all line out.

I figure IC thread should kick off Friday or Saturday. There's an outside chance for tomorrow, but don't necessarily count on it.


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## Rhun (Feb 1, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> IC thread is pending...note that we will start with the meeting at the abandoned pub with the NPC contact for the Resistance, so everybody please make sure you've got your motivation all line out.





Thinking from Xander's point of view...I assume there is some gold in it for us?


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Thinking from Xander's point of view...I assume there is some gold in it for us?



Actually, no. The adventure departs a bit from the typical 'I'm your patron, do this task and I'll pay you' beginning, so Xander will be disappointed if he's only in it for the money.


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## stonegod (Feb 1, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Actually, no. The adventure departs a bit from the typical 'I'm your patron, do this task and I'll pay you' beginning, so Xander will be disappointed if he's only in it for the money.



Why do something for something so crass as money, anyway?

Revenge and honor are better.


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## Erekose13 (Feb 1, 2007)

revolution baby!


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 1, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> #9 is a winner indeed, RA! I don't see any plot complications arising from that, so let's roll with it! Good job!



Third...Fourth...Fifth...Sixth...Seventh...Eighth...Ninth time's a charm!      

Would you like to work on what she's smuggling to fit it in?  If not, I can invent something wholesale myself.  What she's moving, for whom, payoff, etc.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> Third...Fourth...Fifth...Sixth...Seventh...Eighth...Ninth time's a charm!
> 
> Would you like to work on what she's smuggling to fit it in?  If not, I can invent something wholesale myself.  What she's moving, for whom, payoff, etc.



Nothing immediately springs to mind, so I'm fine with you inventing the details. If I feel like there's anything I'd like to add or modify, I'll surely let you know.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 1, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Nothing immediately springs to mind, so I'm fine with you inventing the details. If I feel like there's anything I'd like to add or modify, I'll surely let you know.



 You're going to let me pick the payoff too?  Hmmm...how about 100,000,000 gold 2,000 gold (I'd imagine smuggling something out with the blockade would be at an extreme premium).  For added cohesiveness to make sure she doesn't go off on a random sidequest, can you tell me exactly where the mysterious 'distant wizard school' in the description will be?  Based on that, I'll manufacture details of the smuggling so that the goods wind up needing to coincidentally go to the same place


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

Rystil Arden said:
			
		

> You're going to let me pick the payoff too?  Hmmm...how about 100,000,000 gold 2,000 gold (I'd imagine smuggling something out with the blockade would be at an extreme premium).  For added cohesiveness to make sure she doesn't go off on a random sidequest, can you tell me exactly where the mysterious 'distant wizard school' in the description will be?  Based on that, I'll manufacture details of the smuggling so that the goods wind up needing to coincidentally go to the same place



Sure, the school in question is the Lyceum, and it's found way down south there in Seaquen, conveniently marked on the map over in the OOC thread.

2000 gp sounds like a reasonable payoff. It will be a little while before she has a chance to collect, anyway.


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## Rystil Arden (Feb 1, 2007)

Ah--I _knew_ she took dwarven for a reason   (Dassen is 28% dwarven).

Okay, so lessee--Fae's Smuggling Plans, Take 1:

[SBLOCK=Fae's Smuggling Plans] Gabal, head of the Gate Pass War Wizard's school, in concert with one or more of the priests of Gate Pass (not sure which are there--what pantheon are we using again?  :crosses fingers for anything but the PH pantheon: ) has tacitly contacted one of Fae's covers for help in smuggling an important discovery--rare Oneirium ore found on a meteorite, which has strange properties related to dreams.  Gabal had originally planned to let the priests study the dream-related properties while he searched for a magical use, but with the Ragesians headed to Gate Pass imminently, including the Inquisition (which drives fear into even the priests of Gate Pass), Gabal realised that the Oneirium would be confiscated for certain, and any attempts to hide it would likely be uncovered and used against him in the mockery the Inquisition calls a 'war-crime trial' for 'dangerous magical insurgents'.  Thus, he arranged to sell the ore to Simeon of the Lyceum for a tidy sum, thus saving the ore from Ragesian hands, getting his own hands clean, and lining his pockets.  The only problem?  Those fools of elders decided to block off all egress from the city, and so no matter how he wanted to get rid of that ore _immediately_, he couldn't get it out of the city.  Ultimately, he offered Fae a sizable 2,000 gold piece commission to do the job for him.  He figures that at worst, she'll fail and at least he won't be caught with the Oneirium himself.  Before agreeing to the task, Fae first ascertained that she wasn't being played--Gabal himself didn't have the money from Simeon yet, and Fae will collect her reward out of that.  Technically, she _could_ claim more than she was offered once she reaches Simeon, but mages have ways of communicating things, so best not to risk it, and besides--she may be capricious and flighty, but once she actually agrees to something, she won't turn her back on that without a good reason.
[/SBLOCK]


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## Rhun (Feb 1, 2007)

stonegod said:
			
		

> Why do something for something so crass as money, anyway?
> 
> Revenge and honor are better.





Revenge and honor are good...but wait, my PC has no honor!  However, he does have a mother and sisters in Gate Pass, so he would volunteer for something if it was toward the end goal of keeping them safe.


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## Malvoisin (Feb 1, 2007)

Motives for Fae and for Xander seem good to me, guys. Thanks!


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## Verbatim (Feb 2, 2007)

Markus has been tasked to assist with the Gate Pass resistance while his brothers to the North muster their strength to bring against the Inquisition. If his time in the city is over, Markus won't shed many tears over it...


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## Malvoisin (Apr 18, 2007)

Let the call go forth! A replacement player is needed to brave the perils of a land struggling with the War of the Burning Sky!

The character to be replaced is a cleric, and was the party's primary healer, so a replacement will need to be able to fill those shoes. Please check the beginning of this thread for all pertinent character creation guidelines. Also, please check out the OOC and IC threads for the game, handily linked in my sig space!

I am hoping for several applicants over the next few days, and I will select the one who seems the best fit for the gaming group.

Please don't send a character sheet at this time, I just want a character concept, along with some ideas as to how the character might hook up with the rest of the party (that way, I know you'll have read up on the game, see?) The Player's Guide for the campaign, avaialble for FREE from ENPublishing, is also a tremendous resource.

Questions? Feel free to give me a shout! Thanks!


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## Rhun (Apr 18, 2007)

Just a bump to let any prospective players know that Mal is a great DM, and that his games are a blast to play in! Get in while you can.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 18, 2007)

Rhun said:
			
		

> Just a bump to let any prospective players know that Mal is a great DM, and that his games are a blast to play in! Get in while you can.



Aww, shucks!


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## Rystil Arden (Apr 18, 2007)

EDIT: I'm dumb--that's already covered!


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## Asmor (Apr 19, 2007)

I'm interested. What's allowed? Noticed you said that you've lost a cleric, I've been interested in playing a favored soul for a while (Complete Divine).

Caveat: I know nothing about the Burning Sky or its campaign setting.


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## stonegod (Apr 19, 2007)

Asmor said:
			
		

> Caveat: I know nothing about the Burning Sky or its campaign setting.



That's what The Player's Guide is all about!


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## Asmor (Apr 19, 2007)

cool, thanks!


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## Gli'jar (Apr 19, 2007)

Since my wu jen or barbarian won't fit the bill I will see about the creation of a cleric.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 19, 2007)

Asmor and Gli'jar, it's great to see your interest! I look forward to what you may come up with, after reviewing the game threads and the Player's Guide!   

And, thanks for posting the link to the Guide, stonegod! Once again, you've got my back.


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 19, 2007)

If theres a place for another char i would like to create a Dwarf ethier for cleric or a berserker. You tell me.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 19, 2007)

Voda Vosa said:
			
		

> If theres a place for another char i would like to create a Dwarf ethier for cleric or a berserker. You tell me.



Voda Vosa,

There is need for one replacement character, and a cleric would be much more useful to the party's needs than a berserker. I'll be accepting concepts from all interested persons for a few days, at least.

Go ahead and submit your concept, I'd love to see it!


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## ethandrew (Apr 20, 2007)

I'm curious who the deities are for the campaign, I've read through the Player's Guide and cannot seem to find note of them.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 20, 2007)

ethandrew said:
			
		

> I'm curious who the deities are for the campaign, I've read through the Player's Guide and cannot seem to find note of them.



Yeah, that's a really good question, especially since we're asking for a cleric here.

The answer is, that it was left up in the air (I'd suspect deliberately so).

The current cleric is one of Telchur, who is kind of an ice deity, and I believe that he is one of the more obscure ones from Greyhawk. 

To be honest, I kind of envisioned this campaign world as being extremely polytheistic. That is to say, I figure it's a mish-mash of gods from different pantheons kind of battling it out for small bits of 'turf' (worshippers). What does that mean for you? Pick a deity. I don't really care where it comes from. Could be Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms, or you could just make it up if you want. Just roleplay the character well, and I'm happy. How's that?


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## Asmor (Apr 20, 2007)

Thanks, I was wondering the same thing (favored souls being explicitly required to worship someone, and all). Any alignment restrictions?


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## Rhun (Apr 20, 2007)

Asmor said:
			
		

> Thanks, I was wondering the same thing (favored souls being explicitly required to worship someone, and all). Any alignment restrictions?





LOL...well, the current party is three Chaotic Neutrals, two Neutrals and one Lawful Good.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 20, 2007)

Asmor said:
			
		

> Thanks, I was wondering the same thing (favored souls being explicitly required to worship someone, and all). Any alignment restrictions?



As Rhun pointed out, we already have a party that's not exactly a bunch of 'heroes.' As long as the character can coexist with the rest of the group, and not wreck the party, I'm pretty wide open.


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 20, 2007)

Saw the post looking for new a new player to take over your cleric spot, and figured I had the space in my schedule since I'm now down to only a couple games.  If you need to check my references... I play currently with stonegod and Rhun in Strahds RTToEE game, and I'm also in stonegod's Ravenloft game.  Hopefully they'll both give me a passing mark.  

Here's my concept:

"Thish Festival of Dreamsh is going to be AWESHOME!  Yeah!  _*hic*_  I'm shure of it!  Shakur hash done everything right to prepare for thish.  He'sh the head priesht, you know.  He leads ush.  I work for him.  _*hic*_  We worship Westral you know... the god of revelry.  And Father Briggsh had made shure that hish duties as Mashter of Ceremonies of thish year's New Year'sh festival are _*hic*_ are _*hic*_ are...

are...

um...

Wha wash I saying?  Don't remember.  Anyway... my name ish Portnoy Frumb.  I'm a religiosh man myshelf.  Or... should I shay religioush gnome.  I'ma gnome.  Portnoy.  Frumb.  Gnome.  I worship Westral... I... REVEL in Westral!  Ha!  Ha ha!  You get it?!?  I REVEL in Westral... caush Westrel ish the god of REVELRY!  Ha ha ha!  I like to revel.  Reveling ish good.  Eshpecially when you have a full bottle of Daer Molignar '53.  Like I do.  I actually have two.  Bottlesh.  Two bottlesh.  One for each hand.  One for each mouth.  No.  Wait... thatsh not right... I don't have two mouth.  One mouth, but I can drink from both bottlesh at the same time!  Caush I worship Westral!  Yeah!  Wooooooo!

*glug* *glug* *glug* *glug*

Okay.  I hear Father Shakur Briggsh calling for ol' Frumb!  The New Year ish here shortly!  And we have to prepare for the parade!  The Parade of Dreamsh!  I'm a parade you know!  No.  Wait... I mean I'm IN the parade.  Our temple to Westral ish leading the parade caush Shakur ish Mashter... so I'm in the--

**KRRAK-KAK-KABOOM!**

AHHHHHH!!  Wha wash that?!?  Wha wash that?!?  Oh sheesh!  Oh shoosh!  WESTRAL!  OH WESTRAL!  Wha... that wash from outshide!  Lemme go outshide... shee whatsh going on.

Uh oh.  The buildingsh are on fire.  Thatsh not good.  Not good at all.  I wonder if I should help...

*"Help! Help me! I'm trapped!" *

Whazzat?  Whosh trapped?

"We don't have time for these distractions, we cannot save everyone along our path. We have a job to do."

"I agree in principle. I won't stop anyone who wants to try in practise though--the rescuer will either be quick, or both will be dead anyway."

"We don't have too. I already told you I'd meet you all. If you have to leave, go. But I can't let this stand."

Hey yoosh!  Whash goin on?  You need shome help?  My name is Portnoy Frumb... I'm a priesht of Westral... god of revelry.  You look like you need shome revelry.  You all look depreshed."

**********

Portnoy Frumb!  Gnome cleric of Westral, God of Revelry (made the name up since I don't know of any gods of revelry from any of the normal campaign sources).  Unless someone knows of a god of revelry, celebration, wine etc. already established, I'll just use a made up one.  Domains of chaos, luck and trickery.  Will also take the Blessed By Dreams bonus feat.  If this character was to continue, he eventually would multiclass into monk before finally taking the Drunken Master prestige class.  But I don't think we'll need to worry about that right now.  

Hope this works for you!


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## Rhun (Apr 20, 2007)

Wow...I am reminded of Father Thwaite, the drunken priest of Dionysus in Costikyan's Cups and Sorcery books. 


And I can vouch for Defcon 1...he is a great roleplayer. I've not had the pleasure of gaming with any of the others who hav eposted their interest yet.


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## Rystil Arden (Apr 20, 2007)

That sounds hilarious--I would be frightened at higher levels when he multiclassed and we were left without level-appropriate combat heals and cleric buffs (and we already don't have a real arcane caster either), but since it's PbP, it'll take a long time to get that far anyway.


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 20, 2007)

Although I mentioned the Drunken Master prestige class just as a lark... I'm under no illusions that the game will ever reach a point where we'd have to concerns ourselves about that eventuality.  You needn't worry... I'd be sticking with cleric levels for quite a while if I got in.


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## stonegod (Apr 20, 2007)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> I play currently with stonegod and Rhun in Strahds RTToEE game, and I'm also in stonegod's Ravenloft game.  Hopefully they'll both give me a passing mark.



DEFCON? No good. He stops running really fun games and is too good as a PC. I hates him!


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 21, 2007)

Exactly what do you mean with "I'll be accepting concepts " since im not a native english speaker im not sure of what that realy means


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## stonegod (Apr 21, 2007)

Voda Vosa said:
			
		

> Exactly what do you mean with "I'll be accepting concepts " since im not a native english speaker im not sure of what that realy means



We currently in need of a replacement character, specifically a healing type. Mal is stating that he is asking for character concepts: A rough background and history of your potential character with their personalities and quirks. This will allow him to decide what characters to choose from.

You can look earlier in this thread for some examples of concepts.


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## Asmor (Apr 21, 2007)

I'll withdraw my candidacy... I don't think I'm good enough of a role player to meet your expectations, or at the very least I don't think I can compete with DEFCON's intro.


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## ethandrew (Apr 21, 2007)

Consider this my formal submission:


Tavarius Deodatus

Cleric of Junia
Goddess of Health and Longevity
Domains: Healing, Renewal

Working as a mere acolyte for most of his life, Tavarius was more than content. The small abbey was his family; it was his home. That is until the Ragesians came. The slaughter of his brothers and sisters was quick and merciless; few survived. Those who did fled, bloodied and detached, torn from their known world and thrust into a war of greed.

Having been in Gate’s Pass for several months, he and what few survivors of Junia’s massacre had taken a stand against Ragesian with the Resistance. Tavarius carries the scars of his lost brethren in his heart and flesh, in the form of a spearhead raking flesh from his neck, rendering speech difficult, his voice raspy.

Once owning long, flowing locks of gold, he shaved his head in remembrance of his fellow followers, and wears a gorget to hide the devastation reigned upon his self. On the night in question, he was meeting his team, an ensemble of mercenaries with him being the medic. The bombs erupted all around, causing chaos and disorder amongst them, until one struck true, killing all but two in the initial blast, Tavarius and a stealthy gnome named Ameliana. With only minor injuries, but pinned by debris, he garnered all his strength in a heaving push to release him from his hellish cage. Hearing the ragged breath of his rogue, he scooped her into his arms as her life left her body.

Exiting the inferno behind, scanning the streets before him strewn with people both frightened and injured, he spies the short white hair of a known resistance associate and carries Ameliana toward her with all the dignity his jaw can manage despite the stream of tears cascading down his blackened cheeks.


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## Voda Vosa (Apr 21, 2007)

Kuroborn Mrin 
Cleric of Moradin (or any dwarf deity)

Kuroborn has always been a curious dwarf. Since he was a mere child, the big eyed dwarf folowed his father everywhere he goes, to the store, to the smithy, and specialy to the temple. The stony halls of the Great temple of Moradin, and the clerics acolytes and devotes in the building, inspire the little Kuroborn a great curiosity. 
When he was a grown up dwarf, able to decide his own destiny, he joined the temple as an Acolyte of Moradin, as he and his father wishes. His mother wasnt so happy for that choice. She knew his son would depart far from home with that kind of profesion.
Kuroborn is uncommonly open minded as a dwarf, he is very curious and is always looking to learn something new. As a result of that he is prety handy and is able to find out solutions for any  given problem.
This cleric is as moust of the dwarf adicted to beer, and theres no other thing that he enjoys more than "a good beer with good friends" as he use to say. 
Kuroborn usualy recalls his fathers frases: "As my old father used to say: Kuroborn my son, theres few things in life better than an axe made by your hand, or a beer brew be yourself"


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## Gli'jar (Apr 21, 2007)

“War ain’t ment to be pretty, but it is a purifying force.”  The large man said as his cigar shifted from one cheek to the other as he gazed over the carnage and began walking towards the epicenter. Although he speaks to no one in particular, he continues on as if addressing an audience, “Like scorched fields.” 

He pauses to lay his hands briefly on an injured young man, addressing both the injured man and his companion “You’ll survive, and you both will be the stronger for it. Purified by fire, you got a purpose now. Stand strong.” He gets up, throws them a few coins and continues on as the youths look on in fascination, “War is like that” he takes his cigar out of his mouth, looks at the burning ember and back at the youths and smiles before turning around and continuing down the street. His voice rises. “It removes the wheat from the chaff so that we got left something stronger. That which doesn’t kill you only serves to make you stronger. It reminds you to breathe, reminds you of life and that you got a purpose.” 

He walks by a heavily injured old man, briefly he looks at the body and the grasping hands looking for some sort of respite from the pain. He moves down to the man and whispers something in his ear. The old man has a resolute look on his face but nods an affirmative. Quickly, two hands grasp the side of the old mans head and quickly twist. A popping sound is heard over the quiet whispers from teh priest. Before getting up he closes the mans eyes and makes a symbol on his forehead. “That which it does not purify, falls by the wayside serves to fertilize for the future crops. Remember no mans dies before his time has come, make a purpose of your life, even in death, purify yourself by the flame and stand up.”

The big man pauses and looks down at the holy symbol that hangs around his neck. Before continuing, he picks it up from his chest, presses it to his head, gazes towards the heavens and drops it before continuing down the burning street, “You go ask them what they want, sure they will cry, sure they will wail but when that is done they will tell you they want.” He stops a woman fleeing with child. He briefly looks at the child and the woman before laying his hand upon her and healing her wounds. After her wounds are healed he lets her go and continues on as if nothing happened. 

“Revenge." He cries loudly before returning to his normal tone "They want a war that will take Ragesia down to avenge their loved ones. They will join the cause where once before they were meek, running like mice. This is not our war, leave us be they once cried.” As he moves towards a dog it releases a protruding limb and runs quickly away, narrowly avoiding the boot aimed at its rear. “Well look where it got’em, dead.  I hate to tell you, but this is your war and unless you poor sods stand up and defend yourself you are all going to be pushing up daisies."

 He stops and stands before a small group of individuals, a grin is worn on his face behind the burning cigar, His dark beard is singed around the edges, "Well what about you poor sods, you got a different look about you. They call me Nom Laki, if you know the name.  Where do you stand?"

Nom Laki, CN Cleric of War, Domains: war, purification (if ok) or fire. Militant, rabble-rouser or if you need a devoted arcane caster my wu jen is still on the table. I can edit as necessary to make a meeting fit in.


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## Malvoisin (Apr 21, 2007)

Right, all....

I'm going to go ahead and end the call for new players for this game. I've already seen some good ideas, and I know I'll be able to choose a good new player.

Since Asmor dropped out, I will choose from the following people (in alphabetical order)...

DEFCON 1
ethandrew
Gli'jar
Voda Vosa

My decision is forthcoming....it may be later today, or further into the weekend, as time permits. Thanks to all four of you for your interest in the game!


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## Malvoisin (Apr 23, 2007)

Well, it's time to make the call....

DEFCON 1, I'd like to welcome you and Portnoy to the game!

A special thanks to the others who posted interesting ideas for the game as well. This decision was not so easy as it may appear to have been, I must say. In the end, I just thought it might be interesting to see how a more light-hearted character idea would do in a game whose backdrop is set in a difficult time of war. Best of luck to you, ethandrew, Gli'jar, and Voda Vosa!

Now, as for you DEFCON, please go ahead and get Portnoy's character sheet posted in the RG thread asap. I'll get it checked over as soon as possible, once it's available. 

Portnoy's debut will be coming shortly, so watch the OOC thread for your cue.

Thanks, and welcome!


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## Rystil Arden (Apr 23, 2007)

Cool--welcome DEFCON!  

Hopefully Markus can heal Cassandra before he goes--I can't believe I forgot to have him heal her after the first fight (she's precipitously close to going under from nonlethal).


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## Malvoisin (Apr 23, 2007)

Yeah, RA, it's a good thing the ol' d6 rolled a one on that one!

But, don't forget that Torrent offered a charge of her CLW wand to anyone who wants...


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## Malvoisin (Apr 23, 2007)

Hey, now that the spot's been filled, let's all 'retire' from this thread again, and take discussion back to the OOC. Thanks!


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## Rystil Arden (Apr 23, 2007)

Malvoisin said:
			
		

> Yeah, RA, it's a good thing the ol' d6 rolled a one on that one!
> 
> But, don't forget that Torrent offered a charge of her CLW wand to anyone who wants...



 Yeah, I just sort of forgot about taking damage until I took that 1 just now.  Cassandra is fairly paranoid and wouldn't have forgotten--no biggy (I hope!)


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## DEFCON 1 (Apr 23, 2007)

Cool beans!  I'll write up a character asap and get it over into the RG thread.

BTW - you didn't mention anything in your request post about how often you wanted posting... but I should mention that I tend to post 1-3 times a day during the week, but rarely over the weekend.  Hopefully that shouldn't be a worry, and I have no problems whatsover with the DM making actions for my characters if we are in the middle of a combat during the weekend and you need to keep the action moving.  That's absolutely a-okay with me.

Portnoy up shortly!


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## Malvoisin (Apr 23, 2007)

DEFCON 1 said:
			
		

> Cool beans!  I'll write up a character asap and get it over into the RG thread.
> 
> BTW - you didn't mention anything in your request post about how often you wanted posting... but I should mention that I tend to post 1-3 times a day during the week, but rarely over the weekend.  Hopefully that shouldn't be a worry, and I have no problems whatsover with the DM making actions for my characters if we are in the middle of a combat during the weekend and you need to keep the action moving.  That's absolutely a-okay with me.
> 
> Portnoy up shortly!



That posting rate will be just fine, DEF. No problems.

Looking forward to Portnoy's sheet...


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