The Shadow Council (Solo Game)

[Tyler Durden]

Father Faram rose from his seat and crossed the room to his open window, overlooking the gardens below. Golden rays of sunlight shone down on a field of lilacs and his men in robes strolled casually through the pristine world of fountains, flowers, and fellow clergy. He would have felt contempt for the decadence before him if not for the other thoughts that filled his mind.

The news that came to less than an hour ago weighed heavy on his heart. Despite his meticulous planning, things within the church – and without for that matter - were beginning to slip out of his control. Seldom were such extreme measures necessary, but he knew that as leader of the Elder Fathers he had no choice. It was time to select an instrument to help the Council further its agenda.

* * *

Hello Enworlders! After a long stay at the WotC boards, I’ve gotten tired of the environment there and finally decided to come over here. I’m looking for people to play in a solo or duo game set in Eberron.

The Game
The game will involve some intrigue/politics, but will be heavier on combat. The player(s) will be working for the Council of Elder Fathers, a sub-group of the Council of Cardinals in Thrane (more on this after characters are chosen). Because of the type of work the group will be demanding, the character(s) will need to be a bit morally ambiguous.

Right now I’m planning to have this be a solo campaign, but if a good duo emerges during the selection process, I may go that route instead. The game will involve a multitude of different tasks, but preference won’t be given to characters that fit one particular role (ie a mage is no better or worse than a tank type). However, characters who have multiple abilities will be better that ones that can only fill one role.

Requirements
For anyone who wants to play, I need the following things:

• A short backstory that explains how you ended up working as a mercenary. Don’t include how exactly you ended up with the Elder Fathers, but make sure you leave the option open to be working for hire. Including a short writing sample won’t hurt your chances…
• Tell me a little bit about yourself, including how long you’ve played D+D (in real life and online), what settings and characters you enjoy playing most, how often you can post, and anything else you want me to know.
• A sketch of the character you would like to play. You don’t need to crunch all the numbers, but the more you show me, the easier it will be to evaluate your submission. Don’t submit more than one character (you can throw around multiple ideas, but only one will be considered). You should include the future progression of the character.
• I’m looking for someone to play this game who has a very good handle on 3.5 mechanics, including many non-core aspects. If you’re new to the game, I apologize, but this game won’t be fun for you. However, you don’t need to be super-familiar with Eberron (I’m not). As a matter of fact, this will only loosely Eberron and I will be making up things regularly.

Character Generation

• Ability scores: 32 PB on a 1 for 1 basis (For a solo game, I want the character to be pretty strong…he/she will need it)
• 11th level (including 11th level gold)
• HP max first level, after that ¾ rounded up.
• After 1st level, feats are gained at every even level, rather than every 3rd level (1st, 2nd, 4th, etc)
• Ability score increases come once every 3rd level rather than every 4th level
• Official 3.5 WotC sources are allowed for pretty much all content (unless I don’t have something, in which case it may be disallowed).
• If you plan to use something questionable, ASK FIRST. If you don’t know whether or not something is questionable, it probably is. I encourage very capable characters, but I won’t allow anything broken into the game.

Submissions are open until I see enough characters I like, at which point I'll announce a more concrete deadline.

I'm sure I've missed something. Feel free to ask questions.

 

[Land Outcast]

Mighty interesting... may I ask what pushed you away from WotC boards? I stuck with EWNworld once I got here... I only go to WotC forums everysooften to fish Homebrewed stuff... But it was somehow long ago...

A short backstory that explains how you ended up working as a mercenary. Don’t include how exactly you ended up with the Elder Fathers, but make sure you leave the option open to be working for hire. Including a short writing sample won’t hurt your chances…

An ex-adept to a faith revering death as bringer of renewal and purifier...
Expulsed by his mentor because of having helped a man save his life once...
Basically he now wanders the land as a wildcard, the only thing he retains from his previous faith is that death is not to be feared, nor it is to be feared to deliver death...
He's basically waiting for something to happen upon him, hiring himself out as bodyguard or else...

Tell me a little bit about yourself, including how long you’ve played D+D (in real life and online), what settings and characters you enjoy playing most, how often you can post, and anything else you want me to know.

I like mostly roleplaying (note I'm tempted to say I'm a "pure" roleplayer, but that can come from the fact my group is... leans more towards combat)

Well... exactly today is my 3rd aniversary...

Settings? I'm only really familiar with Forgotten Realms, but most of the time I'll get caught up on whichever setting (homebrewed or not) is thrown at me.

Characters? Non-casters. Also, most of the time an agile swordman (no, not a duellist, more akin to a gladiator) would be my choice, of varying personalities, but most of the time a lawful individual if not a chaotic good one (if evil: LE).

Posting Frequency: 1-2/on weekday (between GMT 20:00 and 04:00)

A sketch of the character you would like to play. You don’t need to crunch all the numbers, but the more you show me, the easier it will be to evaluate your submission. Don’t submit more than one character (you can throw around multiple ideas, but only one will be considered). You should include the future progression of the character.

A monk... maybe monk/fighter

I’m looking for someone to play this game who has a very good handle on 3.5 mechanics, including many non-core aspects. If you’re new to the game, I apologize, but this game won’t be fun for you. However, you don’t need to be super-familiar with Eberron (I’m not). As a matter of fact, this will only loosely Eberron and I will be making up things regularly.

Is no Eb knowledge acceptable?

 

[Ferrix]

Very interesting... I will think on your requests and make a proposal hopefully to your liking

 

[Tyler Durden]

Mighty interesting... may I ask what pushed you away from WotC boards? I stuck with EWNworld once I got here... I only go to WotC forums everysooften to fish Homebrewed stuff... But it was somehow long ago...

Two things made me leave. First, their restriction on alignments in games. It's just silly to me that no one can be evil in their Real Adventure games. I'm actually not a huge fan of evil campaigns myself, but every once in a while that character concept comes up that just wont work unless he's secretly evil or something, and I hate being unable to play it.

Second, there just aren't that many people or games going on there. Enworld was recommended to me by a friend who said the community is more active and there are more players and games here. I've lurked for a while and that does seem to be the case, so I finally just made the split.

An adept of death as bringer of renewal and purifier...
On exile from his land because of an affront to his lord...
Expulsed by his mentor because of having helped a man save his life once...
So he wanders the land, mostly waiting for something to happen upon him...

Sounds cool so far.

Is no Eb knowledge acceptable?

That should be fine. Most of what you need to know you can pick up along the way. I'll mostly be using it for flavor.

Very interesting... I will think on your requests and make a proposal hopefully to your liking

I look forward to seeing it.

 

[Jdvn1]

Ooh... sounds cool. I'm interested!

I'd be interested in adapting a Halfling Double-Scimitar (TWFing) Fighter I have to this...

 

[Tyler Durden]

Ooh... sounds cool. I'm interested!

I'd be interested in adapting a Halfling Double-Scimitar (TWFing) Fighter I have to this...

Double-Scimitar weilding characters are not uncommon...but a hafling double-scimitar fighter? Sounds interesting!

 

[Jdvn1]

Isn't it? I like that character. He was from an Eberron game I was in that died... such is the way of PbP games, though. I think he'd work well in a duo game. He's basically a really short tank, which means his focus is probably too narrow for a solo game.

I didn't (and still don't) know much about Eberron, so I had help with the background to make it fit the world... not that it's a typical background anyway. Here's the fifth level version of him (with background):
[sblock]

[B]Name:[/B] Tamin "The Whirling Blades" Saphonbend
[B]Class:[/B] Fighter 5
[B]Race:[/B] Halfling
[B]Size:[/B] Small
[B]Gender:[/B] Male
[B]Alignment:[/B] Chaotic Good
[b]Region:[/b] Talenta Plains (Gatherhold)
[B]Deity:[/B] Dol Dorn

[B]Str:[/B] 14 +2 (06p.)     [B]Level:[/B] 5        [B]XP:[/B] 11 125
[B]Dex:[/B] 17 +3 (10p.)     [B]BAB:[/B] +5         [B]HP:[/B] 42 (5d10+10)
[B]Con:[/B] 14 +2 (06p.)     [B]Grapple:[/B] +3     [B]Dmg Red:[/B] -/-
[B]Int:[/B] 14 +2 (06p.)     [B]Speed:[/B] 15'      [B]Spell Res:[/B] -
[B]Wis:[/B] 12 +2 (04p.)     [B]Init:[/B] +3        [B]Spell Save:[/B] -
[B]Cha:[/B]  8 -1 (00p.)     [B]ACP:[/B] -3         [B]Spell Fail:[/B] --%

                   [B]Base  Armor Shld   Dex  Size   Nat  Misc  Total[/B]
[B]Armor:[/B]              10    +6    +2    +3    +1    +0    +0    22
[B]Touch:[/B] 15              [B]Flatfooted:[/B] 18

                         [B]Base   Mod  Misc  Total[/B]
[B]Fort:[/B]                      4    +2    +2    +8
[B]Ref:[/B]                       1    +3    +2    +6
[B]Will:[/B]                      1    +1    +2    +4

[B]Weapon                  Attack   Damage     Critical[/B]
+1 Valenar Double-Scimitar+10    1d4+6      18-20/x2
+1/+1 VDS, TWF            +8/+8  d4+5/d4+4  18-20/x2
Sling             50'     +10    1d3+2            x2
Talenta Boomerang 30'     +10    1d3+2            x2
XXXX                      +X     XdXX+X     XX-XXxX

[B]Languages:[/B] Common, Halfling, Elven, Dwarven

[B]Abilities:[/B] Halfing Racial Abilities

[B]Feats:[/B]
C1: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Valenar Double-Scimitar)
F1: Two-Weapon Fighting
F2: Weapon Focus (Valenar Double-Scimitar)
C3: Improved Buckler Defense
F4: Weapon Specialization (Valenar Double-Scimitar)

[B]Skill Points:[/B] 32       [B]Max Ranks:[/B] 8/4
[B]Skills                   Ranks  Mod  Misc  Total[/B]
Craft (Weaponsmithing)     8    +2          +10
Listen (cc)                4    +1    +2    +7
Tumble (cc)                4    +3    -3    +4
Intimidate                 8    -1          +7

[B]Equipment:               Cost  Weight[/B]
+1/+1 Valenar DblScmtr 4725gp  7.5lb
Darkwood Talenta Bmrng   25gp   .5lb
Cloak of Resistance +1 1000gp   .5lb
+1 Darkwood Buckler    1190gp 1.25lb
+1 Breastplate         1350gp   15lb
Identification Papers    xxgp   xxlb
[B]Total Weight:[/B]18.75lb   [B]Money:[/B] 720gp 0sp 0cp

                           [B]Lgt   Med   Hvy   Lift    Push[/B]
[B]Max Weight:[/B]              43.5    87  131.25  131.25  656.25

[B]Age:[/B] 34
[B]Height:[/B] 3'2"
[B]Weight:[/B] 36lb
[B]Eyes:[/B] Green
[B]Hair:[/B] Black
[B]Skin:[/B] Light tan

Appearance: When one visits Tamin, he's sitting in his shop, working on some blades. Maybe this is why he is good with blades? He sits there, his hands dirty with whatever he's doing. He looks up at you through his goggles... is he looking at you? One eye is definitely fixed on you, the other... is looking past you? Such green eyes are odd, they have the look that something behind them is broken. His hair is pulled back so as to not get in the way of his work and he stands up, expectantly. He shifts to his right leg and wipes his hands on his work pants. Too tough for light travel, his clothing is held somewhat close to his body. It's not form-fitting, but it is obvious he does not want his clothes to get in his way. A nice-looking boomerang is slung around his waist, and... now that you mention it, his shop is filled with a bit of nice equipment.

Background: Tamin was born and raised in the Talenta Plains, but not as a nomad like most Halflings. His parents worked for one of the Houses, but that was a long time ago and they are no longer with us. Tamin lost his family at an early age to the War -- his house was raided, his family was slaughtered, but Tamin fell before anyone else did to a sharp blow to the head. That is what he was told, anyway. It was the medics of House Jorasco that was attacked, during the War.

When Tamin woke up, he wanted to join the war to find the people who did this to his family. He was too young to join the army at the time, but he learned to use the Elves' weapons. We worked with what he could find, with one of the Houses helping him survive, but when Tamin was old enough, he enlisted and used his knowledge of Elven weaponry against them. He worked with House Deneith as guards to the medics of House Jorasco.

After the Last War, Tamin could not stand being confined to the Talenta Plains. He loved the country, but now that he had seen war he could not just stay at his home. He had no family and no purpose in Talenta. In this broken state, he decided staying with House Deneith would at least give him something to do. Packing his things, he said good-bye to the land he loved in order to be a Defender. The timing was convenient because he had received a request to give a demonstration of the uses of Elven weapons in Sharn. In Sharn he kept to himself mostly, as he made weapons for the Defenders and others, but conversed with some of the people who came to his forge. In this manner, he met a few minor nobles but he avoided politics. His friends were few, but a kind noble or two respected him and kept him compnay.

Today, he works quietly as a smith, one of the few halflings that have settled down. His friends know him as Tam, but those are few. Most know him as "Blades," but he does not go into detail as to why. "I am good with blades." "What do you mean? Making them? Using them?" "... I am good with blades."

Notes::
Action Points:7
[sblock]Plan.
1: Fighter 1, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Valenar Double-Scimitar), Two-Weapon Fighting
2: Fighter 2, Weapon Focus (Valenar Double-Scimitar)
3: Fighter 3, Improved Buckler Defense
4: Fighter 4, Weapon Specialization (Valenar Double-Scimitar), +1 Dexterity
5: Fighter 5
6: Fighter 6
7: Exotic Weapon Master
8: Exotic Weapon Master
9: Exotic Weapon Master
10: Fighter 7
11: Fighter 8
12: Heir of Siberys
13: Heir of Siberys
14: Heir of Siberys
15: Fighter 9
16: Fighter 10
17: Fighter 11
18: Fighter 12
19:
20:[/sblock][/sblock]
Working in his forge all day, he's willing to go out and join whatever cause piques his interest. He's happy being alone and quiet, but he doesn't like settling down either.

Anyway, that was the backstory and the crunch. I can go into more detail about anything you're curious about.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, including how long you’ve played D+D (in real life and online), what settings and characters you enjoy playing most, how often you can post, and anything else you want me to know."

I've played D&D in real life since 2001, so about five years (just under, actually), and I've played PbP games for 1 1/2 - 2 years or so. I don't have much experience with FR or Eberron, so most of the settings I've played have been the generic sort, but I'm very flexible with my games and characters. I'm willing to try out just about anything, and I like to play a variety of characters, though I have less experience with casters (Wizards in particular--I've been trying to remedy that, but I really like this character).

I can usually post once or more a day (I post too much, some say), but some weeks get busy and it'll go down to 2-3 times a week.

I can also adapt to a variety of play styles--my first D&D game was mostly a laid-back sit around, hack-and-slash, joke around the table sort of game. After that, I played in a number of more serious, no-nonsense, by-the-rules games, and then I branched out into a few other RPGs. I don't have experience with as many different RPGs as some pepole, but mine might be more diverse--Nobilis, for example, is a very free-form sort of game. It's diceless and if you can imagine an action being done, you can do it.

 

[Sidekick]

Hi there. I’d like to throw my hat into the ring. I’m considering a ranger2/warlock7. One thing I was wondering is how set in stone you feel the warlock alignment restrictions are.

I’d be looking at making him a LE guy who does good through bad things. A full on ends justify the means kinda guy.

Before I write Reth up – are you asking for mercenaries who are in the employ of Thrane’s black ops or for loyal Thranes who are happy doing wet work?

Which ever you ask for will obviously impact up on my background. But here’s a general overview:

Reth Dal Serdalis: male Khorovar ranger2/warlock7 LE. Reth is a dark warrior, capable of channeling pure magical force (or the silver flame depending upon your outlook) he is a warrior who will do whatever it takes for his mission. The ends always justify the means and so on.

He is a loyal and just man. However most of his life has been during war, and the battlefield is no place for honour. Kill or be killed, show no mercy, expect none. Reth firmly believes that the ends justify the means and has assassinated, poisoned, and used ‘questionable methods’ of interrogation all in the name of the Silver Flame and Thrane.

My books are all at home so the mechanics are very, very sketchy.

[sblock=Mechanics]

Reth: male Khorovar (half-elf) ranger2/warlock7

Strength: 12; Dexterity: 16 (2 level ups); Constitution: 10; Intelligence: 16; Wisdom: 12; Charisma: 16

Feats: Dunno really I’m envisioning a dual wand wielding shadow of death…

Skills: high on UMD, plenty of spot, search, listen & some in the knowledge arcana’s etc.[/sblock]

About me:I’ve been playing for almost 15 years, I’m mainly a DM and have been DMing in Eberron for roughly a year now in a table top game. I’m currently in one PbP game (my first) over at Wizards (Nate in Turin’s Dark Q’Barra). I’me suitably up with the mechanics and can remember or use most of them in any given combat (DMing will do that to you after all).

As for customising Eberron for your game – that’s practically a central tenant of the setting. I’d enjoy to play in your vision of Khorvaire.

Posting: at least 1/day during the week, can’t make any promises during the weekend & I live in London (England) so I tend to post at about 9am GMT, 1pm GMT and 4pm GMT most days.

Anyway, holler back at me if you want to know more, or if that concept doesn’t fit. I’ve got a scout/kineticist and a changeling rogue/telepath that I’ve been dying to try out as well.

 

[Tyler Durden]

@Jdvn1-Looks interesting so far. Are you planning to stick with straight fighter? One thing you should be a little concerned about is that fighter characters don't fit the bill of being very versatile. Rangers and swashbucklers at least have a decent skill set to go along with combat abilities, but fighters are basically just made to kill things. There's nothing to stop you from making such a character, and it has a better chance of making the cut if this turns out to be a duo game, but your odds will be higher if your character is more versatile.

@Sidekick-I'm not a stickler on alignment restrictions (this also applies to monks). For Warlocks I would allow most anything you can justify through your story, but you'll still have some kind of "dark" heritage (you don't have to include it in your background or anything). All in all, I like the warlock concept though. If you don't mind me asking, what are the two levels of Ranger for in the build? I've seen plenty of rogue prefixes to warlock builds, but this is the first ranger setup I've seen. On another note, the rouge/telepath or scout/kineticist would also be good options.

@All-Since I don't think I made this completely clear in my OP (for fear of encouraging bad behavior), let me clarify here. This game is going to be quite difficult for whoever gets the spot to play. Because of this, I encourage any and all submissions to be very well thought out and mechanically sound. I'm a DM who strongly believes that min/maxing characters and good RP are not mutually exclusive, so I encourage all of you to put a lot of thought into both the mechnical and storytelling parts of character creation. The person who gets the spot will be someone who has put together a "full package."

 

[Ferrix]

So... my thoughts for a versatile character would be a Changeling Rogue/Fighter Chameleon or Beguiler Chameleon, brought up seperate from the Church but by an incredibly zealous and devout follower who believed whatever had to be done to further the church within his bounds should be done and all sins will be forgiven.

Vessel, as he is known, was acquired by ill means by X for use as a tool in the secret wars which the Church of the Silver Flame conducts. Raised from his youth without an identity of his own, Vessel was an instrument for the powers that be within the Church.

When a particular job turned for the worse, Vessel was disavowed and presumed dead. Being on his own for a time has left Vessel to develop his own identity. A mish-mash of acquired beliefs from his various personas, the habituations of one raised as an instrument of the Church, has left him with an odd and conflicting self-identity.

This is a very brief and short thought experiment for a character for this game, I haven't embellished the reintroduction into the Church as that may be part of the entrance into this game. Large parts are left out as I want to hear if you think it's a valid concept you would consider before devoting a great deal to it.