[Pathfinder] Burnt Offerings

[Merlin's Shadow]

You'll want to take a look at the pantheon in the Rise of the Runelords Players Guide. It's available as a free .pdf download from paizo.com. The pantheon is on page 7 of the Players Guide .pdf. The link below will take you to the download page.

Rise of the Runelords Players Guide

Awesome! I'll check it out and get my deity/domains nailed down.

Background wise, since my character is inclined toward protecting people, what if he stood up for a skinny mage p) at some point and then befriended them?

 

[mfloyd3]

As far as getting Elyra into the act, perhaps she could come in through a connection with the cleric or paladin's church? She's fairly civic minded, and would chip in for a good cause.

Here's a possible scenario: There was a missing child in Sandpoint a few months ago, and the church organized a search party. Even though she was just a transient in town, Elyra volunteered, and wound up serving in a party with one or both of the party's religious characters. Another group found the child, but Elyra hit it off with one or the other characters and makes it a habit to drop by and say hello when she is in town. Thoughts?

I'd rather have her have a connection to the religious figures. I picture her as being a bit put off by arcane power, and I'd rather that came out in play. But we can work it another way if necessary.

CB, let me know what you want to do re: Ranger vs. Scout. I'm happy to do either -- The ranger will be more combat effective, and the scout a trapfinder/better skill monkey. I can use an identical backstory in both cases, so nothing would be changed as far as social interactions or group dynamics.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Caution: long post!

Unfortunately, a dragons isn't well suited to fulfilling the role of rogue/trapfinder since they don't have most of the rogue's key skills as class skills; probably because, as reptiles, they lack the fine manual dexterity for proficient tool use. If it's a crucial niche then I'd suggest going with mfloyd3's proposed character revisions. Otherwise I could come up with an altogether different character to better fit the bill.

I've re-read the module. There are one or two places in which trapfinding will be critical but overall I wouldn't deem trapfinding to be absolutely essential to successfully conclude the adventure. Please sally forth with your dragon concept. I've got a workaround lined up for mfloyd3, which I'll address with him in a moment.

I've got a few ideas for fitting in with the group. A righteous dragon may have come to be tied to a religious institution or order in the area and so may be linked to our cleric or paladin characters that way. On the flip side, as eldritch dragon can naturally be tied to fellow practitioners of the arcane arts such as our wizard or sorcerer PCs. Lastly, depending on the region's ties to the ancient past, a scholarly dragon might naturally gravitate towards a group with an interest in exploring local ruins. Mixing the three ideas to some degree might also be feasible and particularly fruitful.

ALL PLEASE READ: If I may be so bold as to put my finger in the party development pie, I have an idea that may work. The opening scene of the adventure pans to the Swallowtail Festival in Sandpoint. The Swallowtail Festival this particular year has two purposes, the first of which is to commemorate the first day of Autumn. The second purpose is to bless and re-dedicate the Sandpoint Cathedral (which itself venerates not just one but six deities). The Sandpoint Cathedral burned five years ago, so the re-dedication ceremony will be ecumenical and of relative import to multiple faiths.

I propose that your group be selected as emissaries to represent various religious, political, or academic organizations from throughout Golarion. The Sandpoint Cathedral venerates six deities, so it's appropriate that different faiths and different traditions would desire to send a representative to attend the ceremony. The cleric and paladin, for example, might have been independently tasked to travel with and protect the coven of arcane magic-users, as well as represent their parent organization at the re-dedication ceremony. The sorceror/s and mage/s might be from the same institution or different institutions, but could be traveling to Sandpoint to observe the seven ancient standing stones at the Sandpoint Cathedral (untouched by the fire), participate in the goodwill re-dedication ceremony, and/or liaison with Sandpoint's Turandarok Academy--the town academy established for the primary school education of local children and orphans.

The Turandarok Academy has, oddly enough, a veritable reliquary of oddments collected by the headmaster. Perhaps the oddments in the Academy's museum have attracted outside interest? Or perhaps some of the realm's wiser sages desire to forge a new relationship with the Academy in order to establish a magic school in Sandpoint (and, as many mages are power-hungry schemers, perhaps later use the Academy as a launch-point for some other nefarious goal)? Whatever, the case, in this scenario, most of you would be outsiders assigned to travel together to Sandpoint to attend the re-dedication ceremony.

The ranger Elyra might be local and could have been commissioned as a mercenary hire to escort the group from a large starting point city to Sandpoint. The dragon (played by Ambrus) would have been independently assigned to serve as liaison between the holy order members of the party (the cleric and paladin) and the arcane members of the party (Shayuri and renau1g). In this scenerio, we have several interesting factions that can come together in interesting ways off and on throughout the adventure...at some point, we might see the group dividing based on gender, while at other points we might see the group dividing based on religious/non-religious affiliation. Throughout, there's the dragon and the local ranger to serve as intra-party peacekeepers.

We have a lot to work with here, so please don't necessarily feel that you have to run with the idea I've laid out above. If Ambrus's dragon is from Sandpoint, a point about which he and I are in discussion, it could also be that the dragon and the air elemental sorceror to be played by Shayuri could share blood ties. And, if the lot or you (or most of you) desire to be Sandpoint natives, we can certainly work that idea in as well. Food for thought.

I'm also anxious to try tying my character to Sandpoint's background if somehow possible. To that end I've skimmed through some online material about the place and a few quick initial ideas sprang to mind. Assuming that you're more familiar with the locales and their back stories CanadienneBacon, I was wondering if you could give me some feedback on these ideas.[sblock=CanadienneBacon]The New Cathedral: I thought that, if entrusted to the righteous clergy of the cathedral as a hatchling, lairing there might be appropriate and fun way to hook up with other faithful PCs. With a hat of disguise a hatchling could hide amongst the decorative stone gargoyles and so serve as a secret guardian for the place while learning about local humanoid society and culture. This idea is feasible and would work. It would be convenient to have a liaison to have escorted the ranger to a larger city to pick up the party to escort them back to Sandpoint for the ceremony I describe above. With regard to your other ideas, see my other comments below.

The Sandpoint Theatre: Seems like an interesting place for a quirky and theatrically-minded brass or copper dragon to secretly lair; haunting the place à la the Phantom of the Opera while keeping a curious eye on performances and those patrons who come to watch them. It might also serve as an interesting justification for how the dragon came to have appropriated his hat of disguise and why he'd enjoy masquerading as an animal amongst the local populace. Depending on Cyrdak's background and personality, he may be a willing accomplice to the dragon's residency and deception.
This idea sounds like the most fun and would work. Cyrdak would delight in the deception of maintaining a dragon. The idea also neatly explains the Hat of Disguise, which is appealing to me. The difficulty, however, becomes how and why your dragon comes to be affiliated with the party traveling to Sandpoint to attend the re-dedication ceremony. If the dragon were tasked by Cyrdak to perform at the ceremony as part of a theatre troupe, that'd be one workaround for how to include the dragon in the group. I was, however, hoping to hand your dragon the role of party peacekeeper. My feeling is that we'll need some method of making sure the dragon has a plausible and lasting reason to adventure with the party.

The Rusty Dragon Inn: What can I say; this place seems tailor made to house a wily dragon in plain sight. I don't know what it or its current owner's back story is, but the big rusty dragon statue on the roof could make a dandy lair for a small dragon if it were hollow. Perhaps the place was originally built/financed by a cosmopolitan draconic ancestor and my character's occupancy is merely a legacy that the current proprietor must accept if she wishes to continue running the place without interference.
The proprietor used to be an adventurer herself, so there might be fertile ground there for an explanation how she came to be involved in the inn and the dragon's association. In this scenario, the dragon would either known and beloved by the Sandpoint population (or at least well-tolerated), or conversely, its presence could be a well-hidden secret.

The Old Light: A mysterious ruin next to the water; possibly a great place for a scholarly bronze dragon to secretly lair. Depending on its layout, perhaps there's a small sea cave/flooded basement hidden beneath the ruins somewhere.
This is also possible. Would you, in this scenario, be hidden or known to the locals?

Naturally, my dragon could have some kin amongst the locale populace if there are any sorcerers with draconic ancestry in the area. That might help establish long term relations within the community; my hatchling could simply be "staying with relatives" in the area so to speak.

Anyway, these are just ideas off the top of my head. Let me know if anything in particular seems to jive well with Sandpoint's or its residents' background in the module. At this point I'm still aiming to flesh out relationships and ties before settling on the dragon's exact subrace and build.
If the sorceror elects to be from Sandpoint and not from elsewhere in the realm, this is a potential point of entree, I agree. In this scenario, you and the sorceror might share blood ties. [/sblock]

Background wise, since my character is inclined toward protecting people, what if he stood up for a skinny mage p) at some point and then befriended them?

This might imply long-standing friendship, which is desirable since it leads to better party cohesion. You might address Shayuri and renau1g to see what they're thinking.

As far as getting Elyra into the act, perhaps she could come in through a connection with the cleric or paladin's church? She's fairly civic minded, and would chip in for a good cause.

Here's a possible scenario: There was a missing child in Sandpoint a few months ago, and the church organized a search party. Even though she was just a transient in town, Elyra volunteered, and wound up serving in a party with one or both of the party's religious characters. Another group found the child, but Elyra hit it off with one or the other characters and makes it a habit to drop by and say hello when she is in town. Thoughts?

Sounds like I need to do a write-up in my OP about the Swallowtail Festival, which is the annual festival commemorating the first day of Autumn. I think after you read about the festival, you might perhaps have some more concrete ideas.

I'd rather have her have a connection to the religious figures. I picture her as being a bit put off by arcane power, and I'd rather that came out in play. But we can work it another way if necessary.

Sounds good. I like the rp mileage you'd get out of that.

CB, let me know what you want to do re: Ranger vs. Scout. I'm happy to do either -- The ranger will be more combat effective, and the scout a trapfinder/better skill monkey. I can use an identical backstory in both cases, so nothing would be changed as far as social interactions or group dynamics.

Looking over the various encounters in the module, you'd be better served by sticking with Ranger. We'll want your character to have Disable Device as a class skill, though. Please add Disable Device to your ranger's class skill list for the purpose of this game, and distribute skill points as you see fit. Your points may end up more thinly spread, which in the end is likely to prove sufficient balance for the addition of the class skill.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

There is an update containing descriptive text on the region, the approach to Sandpoint, and Sandpoint itself in the OP of this thread. Some of the descriptive text may prove beneficial for you during character creation.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

For your viewing pleasure, the OP has now been updated to include an image of the map of Sandpoint as it appears in the adventure module. Let me know if you're unable to view the image embedded in the OP.

There is also now an attachment affixed to the OP. For those who wish to download the map, I've created a .doc of the map of Sandpoint and tacked it on to the OP.

I'll chop the OP down to size tomorrow morning by putting Part 3 of the descriptive text and the map of Sandpoint in spoiler tags.

 

[Ambrus]

The dragon (played by Ambrus) would have been independently assigned to serve as liaison between the holy order members of the party (the cleric and paladin) and the arcane members of the party (Shayuri and renau1g).

Keep in mind that any 1st level dragon is a mere hatchling, not terribly long out of the egg. Even though a hatchling dragon is intelligent, possesses inborn racial knowledge (including language) and is supernaturally precocious, they're still infants with a lot to learn about the world. I don't know if anyone would entrust one with significant diplomatic responsibilities.

...at some point, we might see the group dividing based on gender...

Um... Why?
[sblock=CanadienneBacon]Do you have any preference as to the dragon's subrace? Does any particular draconic color or archetype suggest itself to you for this adventure? Bronzes are the most likely to settle in a temperate coastal region though silvers are the most gregarious and most likely to remain with humanoids for extended periods of time. Silvers gain the ability to adopt humanoid form as early as 2nd level. If you'd rather skip the hat of disguise idea then I suppose you could choose to fudge a bit and have a silver start with the ability to assume a single humanoid form at 1st level. On the other hand, playing a young chromatic dragon, such as a red or blue who, having been hatched amongst humanoids, is growing up to be unusually kindhearted and sociable could make for an interesting characterization. Imagine a naive young red dragon who doesn't understand why everyone he meets expects him to be a rampaging monster.

I rather like the latter idea. Hm.

The Sandpoint Theatre: The difficulty, however, becomes how and why your dragon comes to be affiliated with the party traveling to Sandpoint to attend the re-dedication ceremony. If the dragon were tasked by Cyrdak to perform at the ceremony as part of a theatre troupe, that'd be one workaround for how to include the dragon in the group.

Seems a bit roundabout. In this case the goal is merely to have the dragon be at the cathedral so as to meet the party. The simplest reasoning is that the dragon has come to watch the ceremony same as every other curious local. He could be observing while remaining disguised as a decorative gargoyle. It's hard to figure out what might prompt him to reveal himself to the party without knowing what'll happen at the ceremony though.

I was, however, hoping to hand your dragon the role of party peacekeeper. My feeling is that we'll need some method of making sure the dragon has a plausible and lasting reason to adventure with the party.

You seem to be anticipating all sorts of conflict within the party, though I'm not certain why. The simplest motivation for a young dragon to remain in the company of an adventuring party is treasure. Even righteous dragons have an inborn desire to build a hoard and adventurers seem to have a knack for finding loot. Easy peasy.

The Rusty Dragon Inn: The proprietor used to be an adventurer herself, so there might be fertile ground there for an explanation how she came to be involved in the inn and the dragon's association. In this scenario, the dragon would either known and beloved by the Sandpoint population (or at least well-tolerated), or conversely, its presence could be a well-hidden secret.

It'd be interesting to flesh out the relationship between the ex-adventurer proprietor and the absentee draconic parent. Perhaps they were adventuring companions. Hm...

The Old Light: This is also possible. Would you, in this scenario, be hidden or known to the locals?

All of my suggestions were based upon the notion that the dragon's existence was to be kept a secret from Sandpoint's population at large. Have you reconsidered that stipulation?

In this scenario, you and the sorceror might share blood ties.

Possibly, but another idea that occurred to me was based on the sorcerer's proposed backstory in which the mother was struck by lightning. A bronze or blue dragon's lightning breath might have been the inadvertent source of power that engendered the unborn offspring with sorcerous might.[/sblock]

 

[Shayuri]

Stepping in quickly to address some ideas as they come up, and add a few more to the brew.

1) I was thinking Talashia might have originally come from Sandpoint. That'd give her a nice in-character reason to come back, even though the explicit purpose of arcane research isn't necessarily something she'd be drawn to...unless it was something she thought might advance her agenda of elemental transcendence. She'd be in Sandpoint now on business too, of course, with the wizard. She would have attended a mage school to learn magical theory, and to gain control of her power.

2) I am not a fan of the dragon breath thing. I like the idea that the lightning bolt was the result of a storm...that she's 'storm-born.' That said, nothing says it has to be a natural storm.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Keep in mind that any 1st level dragon is a mere hatchling, not terribly long out of the egg. Even though a hatchling dragon is intelligent, possesses inborn racial knowledge (including language) and is supernaturally precocious, they're still infants with a lot to learn about the world. I don't know if anyone would entrust one with significant diplomatic responsibilities.

"Entrust" could also be interpreted to mean "send away on a dangerous mission in order to remove a potential foe and/or take care of other cryptic ill-understood dragon plot."

Regarding why the group might (emphasis "might") be inclined to divide on certain issues along gender lines...gender is, at times, a natural dividing line when it comes to circumstantial opinion regarding a given situation. So is political alliance, religious affiliation, hair color, sword type, fighting style, any any number of random "dividing lines." My point here is that a mixed gender party is a good thing and that we may end up getting some nice roleplaying on all sides out of the deal.
[sblock=Ambrus]

Do you have any preference as to the dragon's subrace? Does any particular draconic color or archetype suggest itself to you for this adventure? Bronzes are the most likely to settle in a temperate coastal region though silvers are the most gregarious and most likely to remain with humanoids for extended periods of time. Silvers gain the ability to adopt humanoid form as early as 2nd level. If you'd rather skip the hat of disguise idea then I suppose you could choose to fudge a bit and have a silver start with the ability to assume a single humanoid form at 1st level. On the other hand, playing a young chromatic dragon, such as a red or blue who, having been hatched amongst humanoids, is growing up to be unusually kindhearted and sociable could make for an interesting characterization. Imagine a naive young red dragon who doesn't understand why everyone he meets expects him to be a rampaging monster.

I would prefer not to deal with a red dragon (or any other coloured dragon) as a player character for the simple reason of not having to marshal NPC reactions to a red on a recurring basis. Your choice of metallic dragon would work, though. If you'd prefer a bronze dragon with the 1st-level ability to morph into humanoid form in exchange for a racial skill/feat/ability of your choice, I'd consider that a fair trade. You have well-informed judgement about what might constitute a fair swap, so I don't feel I need to tell you out of hand how to handle the swap (though a brief consult with me once you've selected something for the swap would be appreciated).

The simplest reasoning is that the dragon has come to watch the ceremony same as every other curious local. He could be observing while remaining disguised as a decorative gargoyle.

Works for me.

The simplest motivation for a young dragon to remain in the company of an adventuring party is treasure. Even righteous dragons have an inborn desire to build a hoard and adventurers seem to have a knack for finding loot. Easy peasy.

...nice and cheesy (continuing the saying, as it were). Works for me if it works for you.

All of my suggestions were based upon the notion that the dragon's existence was to be kept a secret from Sandpoint's population at large. Have you reconsidered that stipulation?

Nope. I'd still prefer the dragon to remain largely secret from the general public, at least for now. My response to your ideas was more a "feeling you out" for where you were headed with your ideas.[/sblock]

In this scenario, you and the sorceror might share blood ties.

Possibly, but another idea that occurred to me was based on the sorcerer's proposed backstory in which the mother was struck by lightning. A bronze or blue dragon's lightning breath might have been the inadvertent source of power that engendered the unborn offspring with sorcerous might.

I don't think Shayuri wants to go with the "born of breath lightening" concept--"storm-born" was the key to his character. If you and Shayuri desire to create a blood tie between yourselves, that's wonderful and I encourage you (or anyone else) to do so, but I'll largely stay out of the conversation. As long as I spot no potential trouble with the adventure's plot in anyone's backstory, I prefer that players work out their backgrounds.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

I was thinking Talashia might have originally come from Sandpoint.

Would you like Talashia to be a current resident of Sandpoint?

 

[CanadienneBacon]

When you have stats to post, post them HERE then let me know via a post in this thread that you've done so.