[OOC] The First Age of Man

KirayaTiDrekan

Adventurer
"Apprenticed" likely wouldn't be the word. People are nomadic, typically moving with the wild game/where the Orcs aren't, mostly living in tribes that are lucky to get into the double digits in number with most of the people focused entirely on necessary survival skills.

I mean apprenticed in the sense that she learned from an elder, perhaps a tribal shaman, who has since gone on to become some sort of evil Ice Queen type figure.
 

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Axel

First Post
[OOC] The First Age of Man (Recruiting Now)

To avoid the all-magic party in a world where magic is rare I'm willing to take the archer-warrior route. Should work well!
 


Shayuri

First Post
You can be a druid...it's an entirely different kind of magic...

And I'm still mulling ideas.

It's just hard for me to think of a good idea for a 'primitive melee-focused dude' who's not a barbarian, and I'm not really interested in playing a barbarian.

Hm. A ranger maybe. I dunno.

So still mulling. :)

Edit - Still Mulling! BUT I have more specifics!

I'm looking at either a Synethesist Summoner or a melee-focused ranger using double wield or sword/shield combat styles and who has Orcs as a favored enemy. Either one will be good at melee; a tough combatant.

I do think we need some kind of healing though, so if you want to do an archer/fighter, I can do an Oracle. :)
 
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Axel

First Post
[OOC] The First Age of Man (Recruiting Now)

Beat em ups don't have to be melee focused. Just have high hp and ac as a secondary role! :)

I've got some thoughts on how I can make an archer fighter interesting in the game context. Stay tuned!

I don't really mind who plays what class. Don't let my decisions influence yours! There aren't many no-magic classes, even under P6 rules.
 


Axel

First Post
[OOC] The First Age of Man (Recruiting Now)

Ok, thoughts on this archer...
- Belongs to a nomadic tribe. Human??
- Tribal society is matriarchal. Men provide food and protection for their family, their sisters' family and their mothers' family. And themselves. In that order.
- Women select men as husbands, not the other way round (as it is in Anglo societies)
- Only son, "blessed" with two sisters. Had to become proficient at hunting in order to feed himself.
- Dour and uncompromising in dedication to tribe and family. Patient and prefers to hunt from ambush/concealed positions than chase after things on a pony.

Crunch wise, the stats take care of themselves... Feats at 1st level would be point blank shot (duh) and either opening volley or rapid shot. Both if human. Survival, stealth and perception for skills.

Need to know more about the world before being able to ask why he is "adventuring"
 

Piston Honda

First Post
Giving a little more information that may help (Spoilerized for volume):

[sblock=Reshturuk]Reshturuk is a pretty large valley, somewhere around 900 square miles.

The campaign will begin in the Midwestern part of the valley, which is one of the “safer” parts of the valley. The Southern part of the valley actually gets to be green in warm months (it doesn’t get extremely warm), but this has attracted larger Orc tribes who are much more active. The Northlands are much harsher living conditions; a deep winter can easily wipe out an entire tribe, especially if no food preparations were made in warm months. The Orcish presence is believed smaller there, though those who have survived there are said to be extremely fierce. The Central parts of the valley have fewer large raiding parties than the South, with the Orcs tending to stick to their settlements given the opportunity, there are more scouting parties than anything to be found roaming to reduce risk should the party become lost or run low on supplies. The Western part where you are is mostly heavy forest, the Eastern part is a lot more plains/tundra, there are more mammoths there for hunting, but less places to stay out of sight.

The near vicinity is quite hilly, with a number of caves. You have heard rumors of a large settlement of Orcs to the near South. Stone pillars can be found occasionally in the forest, there is also a well known stone tower that extends higher than the trees a couple miles from where you are, no one has found a way inside. The pillars in the forest are mostly not intact, the bases are sunken below the ground, the main feature is vertical fluting, the capitals are square. The tower is largely featureless stone, there are many cracks and there appear to be blocks missing higher up above the tree line.[/sblock]

[sblock=Tribal life]Human tribes are largely nomadic, though they do tend to stay within a certain radius, mostly living in tents and caves, whatever shelters they can find.

Tribes may be as small as a single family to a few families, generally a tribe that reaches between 20 and 30 will splinter into separate tribes, understanding the necessity to survival; larger tribes risk Orcish attention and could suffer severe damage from disease. Most have seen the results of tribes that have run aground of the Orcs, generally there are no survivors.

There is a tendency to intermingle between tribes, but not much in willingness to unite.

Survival typically relies on gathered nuts and berries, foraging wild vegetation and small game, though tribes may have several men folk that are capable of large game hunting, there is a tendency to only let one or two at a time get too far from the settlement out of fear of catastrophic loss. As much of the large game is used as possible. Foraging parties will generally bring back anything that may be of use to the tribe, herbs, fresh water, salts, bones and fallen logs are brought back if possible, trees are seldom intentionally brought down. Boys are generally taught to hunt and butcher from a young age developing their abilities to make weapons as they grow older, girls are traditionally taught skills such as pottery and sewing, with tanning being taught as they grow older.

People tend to keep few animals, horses and wild dogs are occasionally raised for protection and travel. Horses are likely to be used as pack animals, pulling carts for those fortunate enough to have the materials.
Magic-users are extremely rare, and if known shunned, often to the point of being complete outcasts from their tribe, adepts tend to learn their ways in secret.

The tribes local to your location are matriarchal.

There is very little awareness for the people of the valley of anything before the Orcs and ice, many of the secrets are kept by the Druids, who are often avoided and spoken of very little by the tribes, a learned wizard may or may not know a few things based on the runes he has found.[/sblock]

[sblock=Potential starting points]As far as a starting point for why a character would be adventuring, a primary one would be survival and protection, an outcast would seek protection for themselves. A loyal tribesman might be more inspired to seek out ways to protect their people, and in that, might not be inspired to venture far from his people if he doesn’t know that they are somewhat safe.

I prefer to provide as much of a sandbox as possible, I’m only going to suggest a goal of finding a way to create a safe fortification for your people, which will likely involve reducing threats in the immediate region.[/sblock]

If you need further information about the region, let me know what you need.
 

Shayuri

First Post
Okay, now I have several different ideas...hee hee...so to help me pick one, I want to get some reactions from y'all. Don't worry, this isn't a case of me letting other people decide for me. It'll be my choice in the end. I just want more data to factor into my decision; some outside perspectives.

I especially would like to hear from our player who is contemplating a Witch, as I want to make sure our backgrounds and abilities are distinct and don't take away from each other's thunder. :)

We have:

Niraya the Lost - A figure of some superstition to the tribe, she was found during the migration between shelters last season; alone and afraid and desperate for help. Skilled enough to be of use around the village, young and pretty enough to be marriageable, she was taken in. Since then strange things have occasionally happened around her, and talk of witchery has started to spread. Niraya would like very much to prove her loyalty to her adopted people, and is willing to take risks to do so.
- Niraya is either: A synthesist summoner, an Oracle of some stripe (other than Flame), or a druidess.

Hooks: What happened to the people she was with before? She has been unwilling to discuss it much so far. What is the origin of her strange powers? Does she know anything dangerous, or useful? Does she mean good or ill for the people of the valley?

Aridha the Prodigal - Some time ago, one family of the tribe broke away to seek better fortunes elsewhere, into the forests to the west. They were never heard of again, until recently. A young woman claiming to be their daughter came to the tribe, dressed in hides and bearing rough-made weapons that she fights like a demon with. Fierce of demeanor, she is a skilled hunter, and seems especially fond of hunting the most dangerous of prey; Orcs.
- Aridha is a dual wielding Skirmisher Ranger (the variant that has no spells).

Hooks: What happened to her parents? What did they encounter in the western woods, and why has she come back? In addition to having a frothing hate-on for orcs, she has a keen interest in the strange stonework found out there, and a hunger for knowledge unusual for mere hunters.

Annika the Summerborn - Born and raised in the tribe, Annika has always been something of a ray of sunlight even in the darkest times. Possessed of a vitality and passion that never seems to ebb, she causes trouble oftentimes, but lifts spirits as well. Ever since she revealed her magic, the tribe has been torn between those who argue her powers might help them, and those who revile and distrust her witchcraft. Frustratingly for her allies, Annika refuses to hold herself back, or put a basket over her light, and claims that she can bring 'summer' to the tribe; or the tribe to summer. But to win over the people, she must back her mad words with deeds...and that's exactly what she will do.
- Annika is an Oracle of the Flame mystery.

Hooks: Annika claims to know things because of visions and whispers...but where do they come from? Does the fire seek to renew the tribe's fortunes, or burn them to ruin? And will the split she's creating in the tribe overcome their bonds of fellowship, leading to open conflict, or even dividing it into two?
 


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