[pfrpg]

Posting Frequency: I check this site and others obsessively. I have this game, and one that I'm in on L4W, which is slowed due to RL tech issues. I will likely post every day.

Keep in mind two factors:

First, I post at the rate of the players, so if the next person in a combat is late, or one of the group goes off when we're deciding whether to go to the metaphorical castle or the analogous forest, I'll wait a few days for them and then just post. However, I'll keep posting conversationally in OOC; I love that S#!+.

Second, I post at the rate of stuff I have prepared. I've decided not to wing it this time around, so I'm actually going to prepare as many locations as I can. This means that right now I'm scrambling to come up with strange and enticing NPCs and cunning traps & puzzles. I've had games fall apart because I was too lazy, but the Turtledome! GM I'm with is really providing a good example of a dilligent DM (ie: DM = dilligent mastermind).
However, this means that if we go through everything I've got and I'm in the middle of crunch time at work and with exams, I may slow. I'll let you know, though, and I don't see it being much of an issue (as I use this site and such games to procrastinate; ditto coming up with adventure ideas).

stats: if they're too low, I may give you lot a standard array. But we'll see. I just want DM-screwup room, know what I mean?

I was badly torn between a rogue, a bard, and a cleric to offer up for this game. I've had good concepts for all of them rolling around inside my head, but in the end the cleric won out because I had a good background fleshed out for it. Here are the stats I came up with.
STR 10, DEX 16, CON 15, INT 13, WIS 16, CHA 17

My character will be a Cleric of Desna from Varisia, in the region around the city of Kaer Maga. I reworked some of the background I had written for a game that never got off the ground, and expanded it a bit.

Public Background
[SBLOCK]
Keepiru was born and raised in the land of Varisia in the region around Kaer-Maga. His family was nomadic and never spent more than half a year in any one place though they often returned to the wild city to trade. It was here that his old life was destroyed, and a new one created.

Keepiru's parents were never very rich. In fact they scraped by largely by the generous gifts from others in their caravan. His father was ungifted in any skill and resented it. His mother was once a competent dancer but an accident had broken her leg and it had never set properly. His brothers and sisters were still too young to earn much of a living, though they could be counted on to pilfer some extra food from the local villagers they passed. One year was particularly bad for trade. Unseasonably late snowfalls, freak frosts damaging crops, and heavy rains to make roads boggy all contributed to the poor year. His father began to borrow money from others in the caravan in order to make ends meet. Rumors began to circulate among the caravan that "some people" were not pulling their weight and would have to be cut loose to fend for themselves. Knowing exactly who would be the first to go, Keepiru's father became desperate, knowing that if their family was cast out they would eventually starve or be forced to labor as servents to some land baron.

The caravan had returned to Kaer-Maga in hopes of generating enough money to get them through the winter. It was here that Keepiru's father found a way out. He sought out the bloatmages, those dark wizards who thrive off of blood magic, and offered them a trade: His sons life in exchange for enough money to pay off his debts. It didn't take long before he found a cabal of these grossly obese wizards who were willing to deal. He provided them with some of the boy's personal effects as they requested, a lock of hair, an old shirt, and an old wooden cup. The mages gave the father half of the gold and told him to return with the boy while they prepared the ritual.

Keepiru was completely unaware of the danger to his life. He was glad to be back in the wild city where he was free to do whatever he wished. He loved to explore the warren of tunnels and high spires of the ancient ruined fortress. Every now and then he was lucky to find old bits of pottery, cheap jewelry, or oddly carved stones he could sell for a bit of coin.
He was wandering the streets of Kaer-Maga one day when he was nearly stepped on by an enormous, hideous monster. The creature looked like a huge old hag, lanky hair, pebbled skin, yellowed teeth, and long claws. It carried long ropey beads made from twisted hide, tendons, and knotted hair. Its clothes were mostly rags with a curious gaping hole about the chest and abdomen. The creature was a Trollish Soothsayer. It told him it recognized a destiny for him, and proceeded to cut open its own belly. Its entrails spilled out on the pavement while the troll crouched over them. To his continuing horror, the giant stirred the bloody guts with one claw as it read the future in its own entrails. Too terrified and disgusted to run, Keepiru stood by while his future was foretold by the creature. It told him of the obscene rituals the blood magi were preparing for him and his father's complicity in the vile act. With one gore flecked claw, it pointed vaguely northwest and told him that the only way to survive was to flee.

So he did.

Unable to return to his caravan without being aprehended by his traitorous father, he had to flee with only the clothes on his back. He was sustained only by luck, and a little divine intervention. Every night he dreamed of a great feast of his favorite foods, and every morning he woke satited as if he had had a full meal. It was enough to keep him going. Along the way he took shelter in a shrine in the center of a calm, still wood when he met a traveler. The man spoke of dreams, of his travels, of the freedom to choose, and of the wonderous places he had been guided to by his goddess.

Two years of dangerous travel through the wilderness brought Keepiru to this road. He had traveled with the man for a time, before he felt he was led upon another path. He knows he cannot return to the south, for his dreams are sometimes filled with visions of bloated, evil figures seeking him with blood slick hands. He would continue traveling to the northwest, as the trollish seer divined for him, until he finds his freedom and his destiny.
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fireinthedust said:

Posting Frequency...

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Sounds good. I'll get to work on my concept ASAP. So far I'm interested in Summoner, have a possible Paladin or Cavalier idea, and have the name Half-Jack Jingle swimming around in my mind. When I get something concrete I'll post more.

Selc, that is an awesome background.

Selc: great@! and good stats, too (two +3s is reasonable, frankly).
Varisieans always remind me of gypsies, or at least the Vistani-style travellers.
[sblock=musings on troll]That Troll Seer must have been supernatural to the extreme; I imagine weepy-white orbs for eyes, and unlike other trolls it most certainly wore some kind of clothing. Perhaps a large cloak of rancid animal fur, or perhaps a main of long black hair; a girdle of swamp-greened cloth as a kilt, or perhaps a belt woven of knotted human hair tied around its waist above where it gutted itself. Even a blackened wood staff, heavy and hard like iron, would not be out of character.
For certain, though, when it did so it would have been hobbled by the experience: falling to hands and knees, perhaps holding our hero's wrist in its grip, while it read the signs and shuddered with the torment of doing so.
While it certainly helped you (or so we think) there was an air of foul secrets in its craft. "Eldritch" is the word I'd use, or "arcane" in its older form (ie: forgotten, old, secret), rather than "magic" in a happy sense.
EDIT: just double-checked on the clothes. I really like the hole in its rags.[/sblock]


Was it a swamp Troll (well known to associate with dark magical places), or a Scrag (oft servants of sea hags), perhaps smelling of brine and rotting fish?

It'd be good to know what you were up to for the levels between then and now. Unless the group has a good feeling about starting at a lower level...?

It sounds like you could have been to one of those big cities in the RotRL AP, like Korvosa (I think)?

Going Summoner, I think.
STR 11, DEX 11, CON 15, INT 14, WIS 6, CHA 17 Liking the look of SelcSilverhand's stat rolls, though.

Is there room for one more? I could make a rogue for the party.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I'll work on it a bit more with those suggestions and figure out what he was doing for those other two years.

I'm happy with starting at 6th, it gives me enough room to develop his theme without getting high enough where he would have too many options and would be getting pretty powerful.

I've got a question about the starting wealth.

Equipment: Let's start with basic stuff. I'll distribute magic later, and if you kids can find it, and survive to claim it, that's great. Keep it simple. Standard gold for 6th level, roll for it.

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do you want us to use the chart Character Wealth by Level
or do you want us to use Table: Starting Character Wealth?

Attached is the first draft of my character background.

[sblock=Public History]Sir Angus De Gaunt is the great grandchild of George De Gaunt, the dragon slayer. After slaying the red dragon Ajandigon and taking his horde, George was awarded a patent of nobility by the Taldor prince. As instructed by his prince, Lord george built a keep in the Taldor borderlands, where he controlled the incursion of monsters and bandits across the border.

Unfortunately his children and grandchildren were not as dedicated as their sire and followed the rest of the Taldor nobility into decadence. Thus, by the time that Angus was born, there was nothing left of George's fortune except a crumbling keep and a mountain of debts.

Even as a child, Angus was discussed by the behaviour of his relatives and as soon as he was old enough, he left home and joined the Taldor military academy as an officer cadet. While Angus proved to be a doughty fighter, his tactical, strategic and leadership abilities left a lot to be desired and it eventually became evident, even to Angus, that he would never received his commission. Faced with being reduced to the ranks, Angus resigned from the academy and decided to become a mercenary.

Angus's one and only commission with a mercenary army was a complete and unmitigated disaster. Taking a position with a petty Taldor noble as a junior lieutenant, Angus was assigned the task of capturing and holding an enemy manor houses until relieved. Because he was so green, Angus actually followed the advice of his Sergeant and the first part of the task went off without an hitch and very little bloodshed. The second part was also successful, with Angus and his men holding off two counter attacks. Unfortunately, the army's high command were nowhere near as successful. Their grasp of strategy was even worse than Angus' and the eventual relief column consisted of a large enemy force, lead by the noble's head on a Pike. Angus had refused to slaughter the prisoners that were captured during the initial attack and so he was able to negotiate free passage for him and is men.

Mindful, of his battle experience, Angus has spent the last 10 years has a caravan guard, travelling the length and breath of both Avistan and Casmaron.[/sblock]
Also, in line with the following

Stats: Hmmm... Invisible Castle only roll 4d6, drop the lowest; AND if you want to use the same numbers as another player, you can (example: everyone rolls 1s, except marty, who rolls three 18s; everyone can take his rolls).

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can I use either SelcSilverhand's or GlassEye's stats as

STR 17, DEX 16, CON 16, INT 10, WIS 15, CHA 13

or

STR 17, DEX 14, CON 15, INT 6, WIS 11, CHA 11

If not, no problems. I'll stick to my rolled one.

GandalfMithrandir: Um, yeah. I didn't accept anyone, technically, so there's room for five.


Wealth: huh. oookeee-doke. (reads the two links) ...I really like the conversion of coin vs. items list. If you want to use that rather than just coins, that's... kinda cool! (you get paid in saffron from now on, I say!)

That said, I think starting wealth is good enough, but let's make it 2000gp each.

If your group wants to pitch in together for a wagon, that's 10gp from everyone in the party to cover the mule and the wagon, and the food/fuel. Also you'll need to buy supplies, like food and drink, and winter clothes.

Aside: I'm really enjoying the new rules! I want to build some monsters/NPCs!!!
Did you see the new Mystic Theurge? That's just cool. I also like how the assassin isn't a sorcerer this time around, but more like the guy from Assassin's Creed.

Okay, let's see some more characters. We've got a Varisian Desnite, and someone who may or may not play a Rogue or a Summoner. We've got room for some more, folks!

I'm a big fan of the PF rules. One of the things I liked about the assassin was that anyone could become one, not just rogues. I actually tried to build a Mystic Theruge for my regular gaming group. I was fixed on playing a sorcerer with the fire elemental bloodline, then I was going to mix in an Oracle (from the new beta classes) with the fire foci. The downside was that it takes a lot longer to get started down that path compared to a wizard/cleric. I may still try to make it happen I think, I actually have to pick a route next time we level.

2,000gp sounds great to me, I just wanted to make sure I had enough for my armor, two weapons, and some other misc adventuring gear.