Bo9S-themed homebrew gestalt game -- now recruiting!

[Zurai]

For Maas' background, what other deities are there in the setting? I don't think he would be a devout Astresian, but he does have a little religion in him. Other than that, I was thinking of him as a Miyamoto Musashi-like figure, except skipping the troublemaker early years and going straight to the insanely focused swordfighter/philosopher stage. Let me ruminate on it a bit.

 

[Autumn]

Other deities... the first thing to note is that as far as Astresians are concerned the answer is 'none'. Astres is the only true god.

Since the Astresians are pretty dominant, that means there are no other major religions on Valis. Nothing much above the level of a cult, except for paganism. The Elemental Courts all technically have a right to their traditional spiritual beliefs and practices by the terms of their treaties with the Astresians, but that's really a formality since the Elemental Courts don't have any traditional spiritual beliefs or practices; genies are not religious by nature.

But the good news is that I'm very happy to work with you to create a cult that would suit Maas; just give me as much or as little detail as you like and I'll do my best to fit it in, should be no problem.

Did you see my earlier questions on his relations with the Air Courts?

 

[Zurai]

But the good news is that I'm very happy to work with you to create a cult that would suit Maas; just give me as much or as little detail as you like and I'll do my best to fit it in, should be no problem.

Did you see my earlier questions on his relations with the Air Courts?

These two things are kind of intertwined in the proto-background I have going for Maas. I think that he would have ties in his past to the Air Courts, but would either have forsaken them or been driven out for some reason. This could be tied into his interest in the arcane as well. Maybe a very small cult of arcanists (no priests at all) inside the Air Court that teach something counter to the way the upper echelons of the Air Elementals approve of? Perhaps something like a balance between all elements (Maas is going to take a pretty hefty helping of at least three of the elemental Sublime Paths, so that works well with his mechanics too)?

If he was driven out, that'd be a reason for him to seek out an obscure school like this, as well.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Alright, I'm currently split between doing an Incarnate/Warblade with a refined feel or a Totemist/Warblade who exclusively practices the more 'savage' styles.

 

[drothgery]

All genasi have -2 charisma. You can still do it (just like there are still warforged artificers and warlocks in eberron that do just fine), you're just gonna have to work a little harder at the warmage side of things. Fire genasi are +2 int -2 cha, so they are quite good for the warblade side of things.

Well, -2 cha is bad for saves, but between level-based stat bumps and a cloak of cha he should be able to keep his Cha high enough for casting. And his primary attack spells are likely to be the orb/lesser orb chain on single targets (no save on the damage part); fireball and the like would mostly be used on large groups of mooks (likely with less than great saves). And +2 int helps with warmage edge as well as with warblade stuff.

 

[Autumn]

These two things are kind of intertwined in the proto-background I have going for Maas. I think that he would have ties in his past to the Air Courts, but would either have forsaken them or been driven out for some reason. This could be tied into his interest in the arcane as well. Maybe a very small cult of arcanists (no priests at all) inside the Air Court that teach something counter to the way the upper echelons of the Air Elementals approve of? Perhaps something like a balance between all elements (Maas is going to take a pretty hefty helping of at least three of the elemental Sublime Paths, so that works well with his mechanics too)?

If he was driven out, that'd be a reason for him to seek out an obscure school like this, as well.

Ahhh, ok, I see what you were driving at. My picture of the Elemental Courts is that they are pretty tolerant by nature; so long as you're on the right side, they don't care too much what you believe or what kind of martial styles you're interested in. On the whole there's no emnity between the different courts - rivalry yes, and hatred between individuals perhaps, but generally the Djinn lord of one court is pretty much as likely to squabble with the Djinn lord of a different court as with an Efreet or a Dao. There are exceptions within each House; fanatics who believe in advancing the plans of their Princes (all of whom have been apparently slumbering and entirely silent for two thousand years or more now). That's perhaps as close as the Courts get to religion - and it's very much the exception, not the rule. The lords are largely genies (Djinnis in the air courts, Efreeti in the fire courts, Dao in the earth courts, Marids in the water courts, a few Jannis scattered between all four) and genies are almost all more interested in advancing their own schemes and filling their own coffers rather than waging a war of elemental ascendancy.

What all that means for Maas is that his exile probably isn't a matter of ideology. It's much more likely something pettier - perhaps he was just the victim of circumstance? Perhaps a lack of interest in politics led to him ending up unwittingly on the wrong side of some rift or minor coup.

 

[Brian Compton]

This seems like a really neat game. If you are still accepting players, would you consider an asimaar paladin/warblade? He would likely focus on White Raven and Iron Heart maneuvers (which is why I want to go warblade and not crusader). I'd like to try to figure out a way that he would be acceptable in the following of Astares, but you mentioned that pure-blooded humans could not cross-breed.

 

[Zurai]

Perhaps a lack of interest in politics led to him ending up unwittingly on the wrong side of some rift or minor coup.

This fits in well, too. Maas is completely unconcerned with matters of politics.

(Not that I want to dissuade you from running a political-themed game if others want to - I as a player love political machinations)

Any general information you can give me on a specific Air Court that I can incorporate into the background?

 

[Autumn]

This seems like a really neat game. If you are still accepting players, would you consider an asimaar paladin/warblade? He would likely focus on White Raven and Iron Heart maneuvers (which is why I want to go warblade and not crusader). I'd like to try to figure out a way that he would be acceptable in the following of Astares, but you mentioned that pure-blooded humans could not cross-breed.

Indeed, I'm afraid it's somewhat key to my conception of the setting that Astresians are very much hung up on ideas of racial integrity. From my first post: 'aasimars are particularly abhorrent, since Astresians are used to the idea of Celestials as manifestations of Astres's divine will. The idea of a Celestial contravening the Sanction is therefore a highly charged and subversive one.'

So I'm afraid that an Astresian Aasimar is pretty much out.

Hmm. A quick question - why an Aasimar? Not to seem to overbearing, but... what's wrong with humans?

I think it'd be cool to have at least one Astresian in the group - it'd make things much more interesting. It's also looking like a healer would be extremely handy - have you considered a Warblade/Cleric rather than Warblade/Paladin? Certainly I think Cleric has much more to offer, statistically, than Paladin in a gestalt with Warblade. And flavor wise I don't see it as a radical departure.

Anyway, just some ideas to think over, not trying to dominate your choices or anything.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Alright, I think I'm going to try to 'noble savage' build, playing a Totemist Warblade. I can see him either being a Skarn (from Magic of Incarnum) or human. If you've got any nifty ideas about where Skarns could fit in your set-up, I'll go for that, if not I'll go with human.

Either way, he'll be a specialist in Tiger Claw primarily, with a bit of Iron and Stone on the side.