8 years ago, the world ended... [4e]

[SarahRequiem]

The story

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8 years ago, the world ended... Nobody saw it coming, there was no sign announcing these events. But that night, everything changed. First, it was the earthquakes that ravaged the lands and cracked the earth open. Flames erupted from these cracks, filling the sky with black smoke and raining burning ashes as far as my elven eyes could see. Within a week of these events, the trees died, the lakes and river dried out, and wild animals, driven to madness, attacked everything on sight.
/------------------------------------------------------/
I fled to a human city, as many of my brothers and sisters did, but just as we started feeling safe again, "they" came out... Dark creatures that crawled out from these scars left all over the lands. There were so many of them that I could've swore shadows were eating away what was left... These creatures came in all at once, killing everything in their path. those who tried to fight back did not see morning again. Those who fled... well... The mostly ended the same way. A few individuals managed to survive this massacre by hiding beneath the city or behind sturdy locked doors.

Some still had faith in this world, but if you ask me; That's how the world ended...
/------------------------------------------------------/
Over the next few years, survivors banded togheter, living in fortified underground bases, scavaging the cities for anything useful. Water could still be found underground with you were lucky enough to find a spring. Life was not easy, but we were alive...
/------------------------------------------------------/
3 years ago, something else came up... One of my brothers had been injured, 2 others killed and the rest of his team was taken away. He was attacked by tieflings, a whole band of them weilding new weapons that could shoot eldritch flames. They killed the older ones and took the younger ones away. We could not think of any reason that would happen. unfortunately, these Tiefling hunters came back over and over again. Sometimes after a week, sometime after a month. But they kept coming back, killing more and taking others away.

The day came that I was the only one left alone... so I decided to leave my lair and find a way to stop this....
/------------------------------------------------------/
*pages missing*
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That's it, I found it! In the ruins of an ancient temple, I found a book that can save the world! Somewhere in the mountains, far the the north, there is something that can bring life back to the world. Unfortunately, the dark creatures found me and no matter how many I killed, more kept coming. I grabbed the book and decided to run for it, but in my haste, I stupidly fell into a trap I had spotted on my way in.... The fall was painful... I'd say 60 feet.. maybe more... but my leg is broken and moving havent been an option...
/------------------------------------------------------/
I've been here for a week... I have nothing to eat... nothing to drink...
/------------------------------------------------------/

Welcome to my D&D game. if you read the story above, you probably have a good idea of what kind of world I will be running. The world reached its peak and then it was the end.

The PCs will be part of a small band of survivors fighting for their life in a dead world. Ressources are rare, dark creatures and hunting anything alive during the night, and these mysterious tiefling hunters are taking away your friends one by one as the weeks go by. But just recently, someone in your band found the journal of an elf who died not so long ago. This jounral talks about a way to save this world and bring life back to the land.

I'm looking to start the game with about 4 PC. I will probably take the 4 first applications, but I may choose a different PC if I really love the concept.

For the game itself

Starting level: 2
Attributes: point buy 25
Starting Gold: 100gp

Races and classes;
anything from the Players handbook, player's guide to forgotten realms, artificer, warforged, gnolls.
Tieflings are very badly viewed by most at this point, while dragonborn are usually slaughtered on sight. Humans seem to have be the favored target of the "hunters", but they take anyone away, never to be seen again.

other stuff;

The hunters created a new weapon, the Eldritch cannon. To keep it simple, think of a large gun that fire magic.

Eldritch Cannon (superior ranged weapon)
Proficiency bonus +2
Damage 1d12
Range: 10/20
cost: 100gp
type: Arcane

Players are welcome to create new feat, powers, or rituals. I will review them and then either accept or reject them.

please post you character concept and character sheet here.

if you have any question, feel free to ask. I will add more information later.


Characters:

Lukas, Drow Rogue (atanatotatos)
Limitz Oakstaff, Human Wizard (Voda Vosa)
Tragar Hunderstanner, Dwarven Artificer (Stonegod)
Solaris Corthollion , Elven Ranger (Renau1g)
Benedict, Half-Elf Paladin (Zweischneid)

so, I guess we have our team. I'll give you guys a few days to finalise your characters, or change anything you want. (actually, its mostly to give me time to work my stuff some more :P but shhhh, its a secret)

if you guys want to discuss about how your characters met each others and other details like that, that's the time. But you just need to remember that you will start togheter, so maybe you spent some years togheter, or maybe just a few days. It will start in an underground hideout under a large city, regrouping only 2 dozens of survivors or so only.

[Atanatotatos]

I'd be very interested in this game!
Also, seeing you're willing to accept homebrewed feats,i'd have one in mind:
"agile athlete" (lame name I know): you add your dexterity modifier to athetics checks in place of your strenght modifier. In addition, you get a +2 feat bonus to athletics checks.
Doesn't look unbalanced to me...
Also, I'd like to play a drow. Will you use them like in the MM or modify them a bit? Here's Lukas:

Lukas, Drow Rogue 2

Str 10
Dex 19 (+2 Elf)
Con 14
Int 9
Wis 12
Cha 16 (+2 Drow)

AC 17
For 13
Ref 17
Will 14

HP: 31
Healing surges/day: 8

Init: +7
Senses: darkvision perception:17 insight:12
Speed:6

Languages:Common, Elven
Alignment: Unaligned
Patron Deity: none

Racial features: +2 Stealth and Intimidate
Lolthouched
Trance

Class features: Rogue tactics(Artful dodger)
Weapon talent
First strike
Sneak attack +2d6

Skills (*trained):
Acrobatics* +13
Arcana +0
Athletics* +6
Bluff* +9
Diplomacy +4
Dungeoneering +2
Endurance +3
Heal +2
History +0
Insight +2
Intimidate +6
Nature +2
Perception* +7
Religion +0
Stealth* +12
Streetwise +4
Thievery* +10

Feats: Skill Focus: Acrobatics
Quick draw

Basic Attack: Melee dagger +5 dmg 1d4+0
Ranged dagger +9 dmg 1d4+4 rng 5/10
Powers:
-at will: Piercing strike
Sky flourish

-encounter:Cloud of darkness/darkfire
King's castle

-daily: Blinding barrage

-utility: Fleeting ghost

Item daily:

Equipment:
Backpack (2 gp)
Bedroll (1 sp)
Flint and steel (1 gp)
Pouch belt (1 gp)
Rope (1 gp)
Waterskin (1 gp)
Rations(2 days) (1 gp)
18 Daggers (20 gp)
Leather armor (25 gp)
Thieve's tool (20 gp)
Crossbow (25 gp)
5 crossbow darts (5 gp)


Will:
Deft strike: dex vs ref
Sky flourish: dmg W+dex+cha
Fleeting ghost: move your speed without a penalty to stealth checks

Encounter:
Cloud of Darkness: (minor)burst one. blocks line of sight. all creature within blinded.(except you)
Darkfire: (minor) rng 10; cha+2 vs ref; target can't benefit from invisibility or concealment;grants combat advantage to all
King's castle: 2W+dex vs ref, switch places with willing adjacent ally

Daily:
Blinding barrage:close blast 3; dex vs AC; 2w+dex to each enemy, targets blinded. (miss=half damage, no blind)


Lukas is a drow. That is, his appearance is that of a drow. He was sold as a slave when he was too young to remember.He lived among humans till he was good enough to escape. His body shows the signs of slavery as scars from lashing. His name isn't drow, either. He does not remember his age, though he should be fairly young for a drow. Lukas is a tall drow with the usal lavander eyes, silvery hair and obsidian skin, though his style is certainly not drow-ish. His hair is short and messy, almost spikey, save for a long, thin tail on the back of his head. He bears numerous earrings and a small ring at the end of his right eyebrow. He made several tatoos on his skin, too.
Life hasn't been gentle with Lukas, and he's not gentle with life. He's a ruthless survivalist, exploiting with friends, cruel with enemies. He's not very strong, but very good with a dagger, and he hides many of those on his leather shirt, under a loose cotton shirt he uses mostly to disguise his (too) many weapons. Lukas is an accomplished liar and, when the ladies don't run at his looks, quite the womanizer. Great is his talent in acrobatics. And theft, naturally. But that's a given.

[renau1g]

I'd love to play an elven ranger. I'll put the app together in the morning.

[Voda Vosa]

Well count me in for this one! seems like my kind of game just reading the story. The custom powers etc blew my head off =P I have some powers. I was thinking in a human wizard, if you see him fit.

Limitz Oakstaff

As a studious man, Limitz went to the wizard academy in his hometown. There he spend most of his youth years, learning the secrets of the arcane, of The Art.
He traveled to humans cities, meet strange people, made some friends and fight some monsters and the sort of things a traveling mage usually does. He did all this things like there would be a tomorrow. But one day there was not.
Hellfire sprouting from the earth, acid rains, carving the flesh, monsters and chaos everywhere, dead and decay, despair and agony, filling every inch of soil.
It was too much for Limitz head to handle. It happened so fast, so damn quick... His mind twisted and retrograde. He became like a rat: always sacred, always thinking a big ugly giant orc in miniature will came to take his soul. "My soul! My, my own! You.... You are that little orc! You wont take it away! Its mine! Where did I left that staff? Surely the orc took it too!" he mumbles when he finds someone he does not know. The next thing he does it using his spells to try to control the newcomer.
Limitz lived alone, in a dark cave, made with the use of the art, wearing the rags of his onces beatuful tunic. He uses his magic wildly with no restrain.
Recently he was discovered by a group of survivors. After some initial frictions, the mad man decided they were not giant soul stealer orcs and decided to join them. They said something about fixing the world, and Limitz felt that was the only way to make the orc banish, and this time, for ever.

Ill have the sheet soon enough

[SarahRequiem]

I see what you did there :P

[Atanatotatos]

my precioussssssss

[Voda Vosa]

I have two feats to propose.

Overwhelming intelligence: Requ: 17 INT: It adds a +1 to your attack and damage rolls in powers using intelligence

Elemental Focus: +2 damage with selected element.

[stonegod]

Tragar Hunderstanner
Male Dwarf Artificer 2
Initiative +1; Senses Low-light Vision; Perception +7
HP 34; Bloodied 17; Healing Surge 8 (minor action); Surges Per Day 12
AC 16; Fort 15, Ref 14, Will 13
Saves +5 vs. poison
Speed 5
Action Points 1
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Warhammer (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+4 vs AC; 1d10+1 damage.
Throwing hammer (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
Range 5/10; +4 vs AC; 1d6+1 damage.
Thundering Armor (standard; at-will) ✦ Arcane, Implement, Thunder
Range 10. One ally gains +1 power bonus to AC until end of Tragar's next turn.
Secondary Attack: +3 vs. Fortitude. One creature adjacent to primary target takes 1d6+3 thunder damage and is pushed 1 away from primary target.
Aggravating Force (standard; at-will) ✦ Arcane, Force, Weapon
Range 5/10. +5 vs. AC. 1d6+3 force damage. Until end of Tragar's next turn, the next attack against the target from one ally gains a +2 power bonus to attack.
Spike Wire (standard; encounter) ✦ Arcane, Force, Weapon
Burst 1 within 5/10. +5 vs. Fortitude, 1d6+3 force damage and attacks against target gain +2 bonus to damage until end of Tragar's next turn.
Caustic Rampart (standard; daily) ✦ Acid, Arcane, Conjuration, Implement
Wall 5 within 10 squares. Wall is up to 5 squares long and two squares high; wall lasts until the end of Tragar's next turn (Sustain minor). Any creature in or adjacent to the wall at the start of their turn takes 1d6+3 acid damage. The wall is difficult terrain and its squares are lightly obscured.
Healing Infusion (Restorative Formula) (minor; twice-per encounter) ✦ Arcane, Healing
Burst 5 (Tragar or one ally in burst). Target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit points. Usable only once per round.
Healing Infusion (Curative Admixture) (minor; twice-per encounter) ✦ Arcane
Burst 5. Tragar and each ally in burst can spend a healing surge to gain 4 temporary hit points.
Repair Object (minor; encounter) ✦ Arcane, Healing
Touched item regains 8 hit points if it has more than 0 hit points.
Restorative Infusion (standard; daily) ✦ Arcane
Range 10. Tragar or one ally gains 20 temporary hit points; as a minor action, target can transwer any number of temporary hit points to an ally within 5 squares.
Arcane Replenishment
Can recharge a magic item's daily power during a short rest; the item can be up to 5th level. This ability can be used once per day plus one per milestone, but only once per item per day.
Dwarven Resilience
Dwarven Weapon Proficiency
Stand Your Ground
Forced movement is reduced by one; saving throw to resist being knocked prone.
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Alignment Unaligned; Languages Common, Dwarven
Str 13 (+1) Dex 10 (+0) Con 17 (+3)
Int 17 (+3) Wis 13 (+1) Cha 8 (-1)
Arcana +9*, Dungeoneering +9*, Endurance +6, History +9*, Perception +7*, Thievery +6*
* Trained Skill
Feats: Durable, Weapon Proficiency (Eldritch Cannon)
Rituals: Make Whole, Tenser's Floating Disk
Gear Leather Armor, Warhammer, Throwing Hammer, Backpack, Bedroll, Belt Pouch, Flint and Steel, Ritual Book + Components (Tenser's Floating Disc), Rod, Rope (50 ft.), 2 Sunrods, Thieves' Tools, Trail Rations (10 days), Waterskin; 1gp

Wouldn't do that if I were ya. Once saw one of those hunters try it. Ended up blowing his head right off. Trust me, I at least know what I'm doing.

Background
Tragar was part of a large human community where many of the Hunderstanner clan had settled. He was an magical craftsman by trade like most of his clan, providing fine magical and mundane services. It was his family that was responsible for the Seven Chimes of Tashilik, truth be told.

Then the world ended.

What followed was a dark time. Tragar references it obliquely during his many tales, but generally refuses to answer direct questions about it. Putting things together, its clear he lost a lot---friends, family, a beloved pet. But his mind and body seem strong, evidenced by the fact he survived alone for nigh seven years. With the hunters, that survival has been a bit more difficult, so he's banded together with others he's found to try to stay alive.

Personality and Appearance
Tragar is a dwarf confident in one thing: His ability to survive. The end of the world killed a lot of people, but not Tragar. His city died, his companions died, even his dog died, but he didn't. You know why? Because he always had the right plan at the right time for the right reason. Dwarven ingenuity and his knack for understanding things: With those two thing, you can't keep a Hunderstanner down.

Since Tragar is confident he knows best, he isn't shy about sharing his opinion. He'll listen to others, but he'll usually shake his head and state he'll be surprised if it works. If it does, all the better, but it didn't mean he was wrong, of course. He'll huff off any suggestions otherwise.

However, underneath all the gruffness is one simple fact: Tragar is lonely. He survived almost seven years alone. He doesn't want to have to do it again.

Tragar is a middle-aged dwarf whose large mustache (dominating his beard) and hair has gone prematurely white. His eyes are a piercing deep sky blue. Other than his heavily modified gun, the rest of his workman outfit---much beaten up---clearly identifies his arcane craftsman bent.

Quirks
Tragar has a lot of stories, most of them ending badly for the protagonists. They're usually folks that didn't listen to him. Its a shame, really.

Somehow, Tragar got a hold of one of them hunter cannons. He's spent a lot of time modifying his baby. Its almost an obsession. He even talks to it. Its got a name too: Dogmeat; he'll won't admit it was the name of his last beloved dog. Loneliness will do that to you.

[Atanatotatos]

Originally Posted by Voda Vosa

I have two feats to propose.

Overwhelming intelligence: Requ: 17 INT: It adds a +1 to your attack and damage rolls in powers using intelligence

Elemental Focus: +2 damage with selected element.

Man, the DM may like them, but I thin you should take a look at the core feats for an idea of what's a balanced feat...

[Voda Vosa]

For the first I think the prerequisites are high enough, but may be it would be more balanced adding the +1 only to the attack rolls?
For the second, well I don't see it unbalanced. There are other feats that allow you to add +1 dmg to, for example, acid and cold. I don't see why not to focus it giving a +2 since there are a narrow repertoir of spells to use with just one typ of damage.

Sheet:

Spoiler:

Ability scores
Str 08
Dex 14
Con 16
Int 18 (+2 Human)
Wis 14
Cha 08

AC: 14 (15 with staff)

Defenses
For: 15
Ref: 14
Will: 18

HP: 28
HS: 8

Initiative: +3
Senses:
Perception:11
Insight:11

Speed:6

Languages:Common, Elven

Alignment: Unaligned

Patron Deity: none

Racial features:
Human defense bonus
Extra feat
Extra trained skill
Extra at will power

Class features:
Arcane implements Mastery (staff),
Cantrips,
Ritual casting,
Spellbook.


Skills (trained):
Arcana +9
Insight+6
History +9
Nature +9
Dungeoneering +6

Feats:
Expanded spellbook,
Elemental focus (Cold)

Basic Attack: Melee staff +2 1d8 dmg


Powers (3/1/2/1)
Cantrips: ghost sound, light, mage hand, and prestidigitatio
At-will powers: Magic Missile, Thunderwave, Ray of frost.
Encounter Powers: Incy terrain
Daily Powers: Sleep, Freezing could

Rituals:
Comprehend language
Make Whole
Silence


Equipment:
Wizard Staff 5 gp
Backpack 2 gp
Bedroll 1 sp
Spellbook
Pouch belt 1 gp
Rope 1 gp
Waterskin 1 gp
Rations(10 days) 5 gp
CL components 10 gp
Silence components 30 gp
MW components 30 gp
GP left: 4

[SarahRequiem]

awesome concepts guys. I like what I read.

Voda. I'm not too sure about your feats.

Overwhelming intelligence gives a bonus that only 1 feat gives; Hellfireblood. which is a racial feat. those are supposed to be better than normal feats. But +1 to attack & damage to every attack based on intelligence (ie; all wizard's) seems a bit much for heroic level.

as for Elemental focus, it basically offers the same benifit as any of those elemental feats (dark fury, burning blizzard, etc) give at paragon level.

but since I'm pretty open about that stuff, I'd accept this:

you gain +1 to attack and damage with one element, that you select when you take this feat. Basically, a mix of both feat you suggested

[SarahRequiem]

also, I'm pretty sure you can't lower your basic scores, only improve them. so you can only have 1 8. all others are 10 or more.

[stonegod]

Updated Tragar: World ended 8 years ago, so Tragar would have had to have been alone longer....

[Walking Dad]

Is their still a slot open? Would an artificer makes sense in this kind of setting, or will be only meager opportunity for techno-babble.

Or if you don't mind a second striker:

Morgran, the infernal dwarf warlock.

Selling souls in the search of revenge for his dead clan.

Maybe some new necromantic inspired warlock powers (enslaved souls or souls of his ancestors. I will post something soon.

[Voda Vosa]

Originally Posted by SarahRequiem

awesome concepts guys. I like what I read.

Voda. I'm not too sure about your feats.

Overwhelming intelligence gives a bonus that only 1 feat gives; Hellfireblood. which is a racial feat. those are supposed to be better than normal feats. But +1 to attack & damage to every attack based on intelligence (ie; all wizard's) seems a bit much for heroic level.

as for Elemental focus, it basically offers the same benifit as any of those elemental feats (dark fury, burning blizzard, etc) give at paragon level.

but since I'm pretty open about that stuff, I'd accept this:

you gain +1 to attack and damage with one element, that you select when you take this feat. Basically, a mix of both feat you suggested

It seems fair enough.

About the ability scores I have the image that you could lower your 10s. May be Im wrong, but I just think I saw a 9 in the point table.