D&D 5E Out of the Abyss OOC

CanadienneBacon · Nov 25, 2015

lowkey13 said:
First, this is my first PbP. So please be kind!

Silly. Of course. Everyone here is a friend. You wait, I'd lay money that after a little while of gaming together you'll call some of us good friends, even. My bad about several of you taking off for Thanksgiving without bringing a PHB; I said I'd post this bad boy on Dec 1, then got hot under the collar to get it rolling early. Ya'll can be reading along here and there and mulling over concepts in your heads until your return. For my part, I will be here and present to answer questions. My spouse is a pastor, so Thanksgiving and Christmas are high holy work weeks in this house; we don't travel anywhere. Our home is where others congregate, and I'm the primary chef, but other than that, I'll be kicking around the site for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Don't try to find me the second week in June, though. That's beach time, baby.

Moving on ... my preference is to play a non-spellcaster.

So far, no one has definitively spoken up for a caster roll. One person made mention to me via PM about possibly playing a caster, but hasn't decided yet what route to take. If we wind up without a spellcaster, that'll be fun. I can make anything work. You guys' job in the here and now is to draft the character that you most want to play. This is to be a long-running game, so it's important to me that everyone have the character they most want.

blah blah blah Haruchai Bloodguard from the Land (Donaldson, if you're familiar with it). blah blah blah

First, I'm kidding about the blahs. Second, I'm thinking about all the games I've DMed, both tabletop and PbP, and I can think of only one monk I've ever seen. And that was for 3.0, The Sunless Citadel. So, yeah, Monk sounds cool. Also, I confess I had to look up Haruchai Bloodguard. And Donaldson. But then I saw Thomas Covenant, and was all, like, ok, I've heard of that. Super grim and gritty, right? Sounds perfect for OotA.

I'll have to start looking at some Forgotten Realms info to better place him in the campaign world.

So this is where I interject that I really don't know squat about the Realms, and Realms knowledge won't feature very often in my game. I mean, I have that big fancy 3.0 FRCS book that many of us have, but I've only ever skimmed a few sections. I certainly never read anything close to even a complete chapter in that bad boy. If anyone's a Realms lover, you're absolutely welcome to draw on your love for and knowledge of the Realms as you draft your character and as we play. I won't be able to keep up with you, and I won't try to do so, but I'm sure I'll benefit from and enjoy your knowledge, particularly if it means it helps you finetune your roleplay. I provide the link to the Realms wiki because it's a resource I occasionally use in-game, and I like the idea of providing as much support to players as possible. I'm certainly no Realms-lore treasure trove, though.

I've never played a monk class in my many years, so I'm fairly excited about this.

Brilliant. This is exactly what I hope to hear at this stage; players who have an idea forming on the fringe of their mind that they're not quite sure how to realize but are stoked about seeing coming to life.

CanadienneBacon · Nov 25, 2015

industrygothica said:
My standard go-to is a dwarf of some sort, usually a fighter or cleric. But the idea of a goblin rogue is intriguing as well. I'm also fond of the prospect of an orc brute, struggling not only with his captors, but with his own morality in fighting alongside "the good guys," rather than just killing them.

Just giving the official stamp of approval to your tentative thoughts (not that you need it at this early stage!)...dwarves always welcome, and the 60' darkvision would be useful in the Underdark. I've already been busy dreaming up ways to riff on and/or play with a party of "I-can-haz-darkvishun" characters.

Love the idea of the orc brute. Morally grey internal struggle? Yes, please. Also, it's super cool to see someone picking up and potentially running with my offer to play a monstrous race. I was hoping at least one of you would bite at that.

CanadienneBacon · Nov 25, 2015

For the record, I was sincere when I stipulated that any alignment, even evil, is acceptable. Everyone here is brilliant, interested in roleplay and backstory, and in having fun. You're all emotionally intelligent peeps, and I for one am stoked to see all manner of delicious characters artfully drawn and skillfully brought to life in the IC.

Yavathol · Nov 25, 2015

CanadienneBacon said:
If you (or anyone else) ends up playing a sorcerer, I'll call for Wild Magic surges following reliance on Tides of Chaos when I think it's cinematic, appropriate, and/or fun to do so, and you feel free to anticipate and provide a roll on the Wild Magic surge table when you feel similarly. If you're asking me whether you can constantly gain advantage by going this route, the answer is an emphatic no. You won't be able to do that. But I think more than one use per long rest of Tides of Chaos is no problem.

Great, that helps, in that it clarifies things. Now really torn between an Aasimar Wild Sorceror and an Air Genasi or Human Deep Stalker Ranger though! If any of the other players have any thoughts or any reservations about wild surges potentially affecting their character, please let me know

It occurs to me that at the moment we don't seem to have any healer types, so taking the ranger would at least allow the group access to Cure Wounds..

lowkey13 · Nov 25, 2015

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CanadienneBacon · Nov 25, 2015

Yavathol said:
Aasimar Wild Sorceror

I'm tempted to do something wicked with the wings.

lowkey13 said:
Should developing the character be a PM thing, on this thread, or elsewhere? For example, I am debating between making the "Haruchai" a standard human, a "variant human" (per the variant human rules) or making it a variant race (per prior builds I found for d20 and 1e, and adapting it pursuant to the alternate races section).

Character development will occur here in the OOC. PM me if you have a particular need for secrecy (because, again, sometimes that's uber fun), but otherwise just plunk down your thoughts here. There are lots of compelling reasons to work collaboratively during character generation (first and foremost, it's awesome fun...a distant second is that it helps players fill in party composition gaps).

Regarding race and class builds, my strong preference is that players stick to the approved source material I've already vetted and listed in the originating post (OP) in this thread. Hunt through that to see if something accommodates your character concept. If, after you've hunted, there is truly nothing that can be made to fit, then we can talk about homebrewing a race or class. I've chosen the approved source material very carefully to ensure it's a reasonably good fit with the campaign.

lowkey13 · Nov 25, 2015

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industrygothica · Nov 25, 2015

lowkey13 said:
I have no need for secrecy- I am an open book! So, here's my initial sketch.

The Haruchai are a proud people, strong of mind and body, incredibly fast. (Insert longer history here). Due to that deal, a single child who wins the combat at age 12 gets sent to the Lords once every 3 years. From then on, he is bound to service. This is the greatest honor for any Haruchai. They serve the Lords completely, training their minds and bodies to be of service, in devotion, and complete warriors. No Haruchai guard has ever failed in service to the lords (etc.)

Brinn (name may change) is a young Haruchai guard (note- original name is Bloodguard) who was attached to a routine guard duty for the High Lord Kelvin. During the hunting expedition-
a. A portal opened from the FR, drawing them in (normally, this plane, like Dark Sun, is removed); or
b. A drow raiding party ambushed them (I couldn't find a FR-similar setting, but if someone else can point me in the right direction, I'll take it, because portals is kind of hand-wavey).

The drow killed off the other Bloodguard with their magic as well as Lord Kelvin, but Brinn was captured as he fell victim to a incapacitating spell.

So ... brief notes from this-

1. Brinn is a LN Monk (moving to the Open Hand selection).
2. Brinn will not use any weapons, including monk weapons. He has been trained to believe in his inherent superiority, and that his body is the only weapon he needs. He may use a weapon in a combat that is lying around as needed, but he will never carry a weapon.
3. Brinn does not like magic. In his homeland/homeplane, natural magic (druids, rangers, hippies) are respected, "god" magic (clerics etc.) is also fine (Lords) but other spell casters are almost always using it for evil or, perhaps, for not good. This has been exacerbated by his capture. He will be suspicious of other spell casters in the group (that's not a veto! just saying he has issues ). The one exception is wild magic, which was revered in his land (I'm borrowing that from the source material). One effect from this is that I will have to work out how he feels about magic items- but his default is to say "no" for his own use.
4. Brinn does not care about material items. Again, if there is a particular goal in mind, he will acquire the money necessary for that particular goal. But otherwise, he has no desire for money other than basic needs.
5. Brinn is fundamentally broken. I will work this into flaws, etc., but the basic issue is that he has been trained to never fail, to give his own life for the Lords, and to follow his own code. He has failed in his duty, he was captured, and he is alone. He continues to follow his oath of service, he continues to be the same stoic jerk, he continues to view everyone else as less than him, but there is an essential rot at his core from that failure (this might be where the portal idea is useful- because if it was a one-time thing, and he is forever cut off, then he will struggle to replace that).

How's that for a start?

... and here I am still trying to decide between dwarf and orc. I suddenly feel like an underachiever.

But yeah... dwarf cleric or orc fighter (or barbarian, depending on my mood when I start counting points).

-IG

lowkey13 · Nov 25, 2015

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industrygothica · Nov 25, 2015

I love point buy. I never thought I'd say that, but it's true. Much more balancing than rolling for stats, IMO. I've never played with feats in 5e either, so I guess I need to do some reading on that. They're optional if I'm not mistaken, correct?

As for monks... Heh, I skipped that chapter. But now I kinda want to play a mage just to piss off your guy!

-IG