Kulan: Aerie of the Crow God PbP Restart: Recruitment now closed!

[Knightfall]

And a question from said elf. How are the relations between orks and elves in the setting? I assume they are strenuous at best and rather violent more likely? So how would a scion of elven noble house generally react to a half-ork, and vice versa? Then again, Lorien has been established to be somewhat more open to the world than general fantasy elves, so I have no trouble having him be accepting, but would like to know how he is expected to react by other elves...

In the Lands of Harqual, elves and orcs tend to kill each other on sight, especially when it comes to forest elves and hunter elves. Silver elves, however, can be more open minded, but they rarely trust full-blooded orcs -- even ones they've known a long time. When it comes to humans, silver elves tend to let a person's actions prove their worth. Thus, for half-orcs, their views tend to fall somewhere in the middle. A silver elf might, someday, learn to trust a half-orc, but such a character would have to prove him/herself. A half-orc raised by humans would probably be treated more like a human but silver elves tend to pity them.

As a scion of a elven noble house, Lorien would be highly suspicious of a half-orc's intentions. However, a single half-orc within a human land wouldn't be considered an overt threat to him unless the locales react badly to the half-orc. Such a character would be more of an annoyance. Silver elves save their hate for ogre and their kin.

Note that in the region of the adventure, mountain orcs are considered a scourge by the locales. The Black Kingdom of the Thunder Orcs is a evil land that wishes to drive humanity out of the Thunder Mountains and conquer all the lands surrounding the mountain range. Mountain orcs, unlike regular orcs, are lawful evil. Orcs are not tolerated in the society of the Strandlands and half-orcs are rarely tolerated. A half-orc child would likely be abandoned to fend for itself or sent away to live in isolation. Many half-orc children are sent to the Free City of Yuln to the south lo be raised in orphanages.

 

[Blackrat]

I do not have my heart set on a half-orc, so no worries if that would present a problem.

Right now, I'm thinking about the following options, depending on what would fit best with the othter characters:
- elven rogue or monk
- half-orc rogue or druid
- dwarven wizard or cleric

Any ideas what might be the best fit?

Well we are short a real healer. Then again, we are short a real thief also. My elf being a bard, he can fake both, but ain't too good at either Anyway, I think given KF's answer above, half-orc sounds really interesting idea. Difficult sure, but intriqueing enough to sound like lots of fun.

Thanks for the explanation KF, that makes things clearer. I really need to read through your background material again. After reading the ingame thread, I realised I remember some very minor tidbits about the game afterall. Specifically Dog Moon's character's pony

And I just realised I wrote orcs with a K in my previous post. Guess what setting I mostly play these days on tabletop?

 

[Knightfall]

I do not have my heart set on a half-orc, so no worries if that would present a problem.

Right now, I'm thinking about the following options, depending on what would fit best with the othter characters:
- elven rogue or monk
- half-orc rogue or druid
- dwarven wizard or cleric

Any ideas what might be the best fit?

Another elf in the group would be fine. Elven rogues are fairly common. An elven monk would be highly irregular. However, there are elves that live amongst humans that are often referred to as urbanite elves (mainly by silver and forest elves Humans and halflings usually just call them elves). Thes elves are exactly like the PHB race with only minor non-statistical changes. (You can read more about the various elves of Harqual here.) There is even a monastery nearby (in the Barony of Liran on the other side of the mountains) that could be where the character was trained.

So, a elven monk would likely be an urbanite elf. The main, forest-dwelling, elven subraces (Silver, Forest, and Hunter) don't have monk-like traditions. Now, you could play an elf from the region of the continent known as the Far South. Those elves, called Southern Elves, have a very different way of life. They usually live on plantations or within large urban cities. An elven monk could easily come from the Far South.

Urbanite elves make up roughly 5% of the population of the Strandlands*.

If you go half-orc, it's important that your PC have some sort of connection to Carnell. The locals would only accept a half-orc in their town if he or she was born there, and the character would have to be a standard half-orc and not be mountain-blooded. Still, the PC likely had a very hard life. It would not be inconceivable that such a character would become a rogue. In fact, it would likely have kept him/her one step ahead of bullies.

A half-orc druid would be a very good choice for a local. The character likely would have been given up by his/her family and raised outside of the village by an old hermit. As a 7th-level PC, the character has surpassed his adopted kin but likely kept his/her abilities hidden. The adventure gives the character a chance to prove his/her worth to the community.

Regardless, half-orcs make up about 1% of the population of the Strandlands.

A dwarven character would be highly appropriate for the region. Besides humans, dwarves are the most numerous peoples in the Strandlands. The dwarves living in the region are hill dwarves. (You can read more about the various dwarves of Harqual here.) in the Standlands, dwarves and humans tend to get along well. They have a common foe in the mountain orcs of the Black Kingdom. Dwarves in the region tend to live alongside humans but they do have their own clans, still.

A dwarven wizard would be a rarity in this region, especially for hill dwarves. A dwarven wizard would likely choose spells designed for defense in order to protect their clan from mountain orcs and trolls. Such a character likely would have been trained in Yuln since the Standlands has more of a warrior-based culture. It would not be impossible, however.

A dwarven cleric would be highly appropriate for the region. Priests and clerics are the backbone of the various towns and villages of the Strandlands. Race rarely matters when it comes to healing the sick and injured. Dwarven clerics are valued for their steadfastness, and there are even dwarven clerics of non-dwarven gods in the Strandlands.

The most popular deities in the region are as follows: Ahto, Brandobaris, Cull *, the Daghdha, Dike, Dumathoin, Erevan, Hades, Halmyr, Hendomar *, Inanna, Konkresh, Persana, Ptah, Sanh *, Syreth, Tethrin, Telchur, Uller, Vali, and Vergadain. *Homebrewed gods.

Dwarves make up around 14% of the population of the Strandlands.

Other races in the region: Human (70%), Hairfoot Halfling (7%), Half-Elf (2%), Other Races (1%) -- I haven't really worked out what these other races would be but it would not include goblinoids or the like. (Edit: kobolds, maybe)

* Population of the Strandlands: 256,500

 

[Knightfall]

Well we are short a real healer. Then again, we are short a real thief also. My elf being a bard, he can fake both, but ain't too good at either Anyway, I think given KF's answer above, half-orc sounds really interesting idea. Difficult sure, but intriqueing enough to sound like lots of fun.

A healer would be a good idea.

Thanks for the explanation KF, that makes things clearer. I really need to read through your background material again. After reading the ingame thread, I realised I remember some very minor tidbits about the game afterall. Specifically Dog Moon's character's pony

I knew it would come back to you.

I don't know if Dog Moon is going to be interested in the restart. I've now archived Reneg on the Rogues Gallery thread. BTW, I've cut and paste the "What Lorien knows" background info from the Kulan group discussion to your character post in thread.

And I just realised I wrote orcs with a K in my previous post. Guess what setting I mostly play these days on tabletop?

Warcraft?

Edit:
Hmm, I think you meant Warhammer, but I'm still not sure.

 

[Blackrat]

BTW, I've cut and paste the "What Lorien knows" background info from the Kulan group discussion to your character post in thread.

Cool, thanks.

Warcraft?

Edit:
Hmm, I think you meant Warhammer, but I'm still not sure.

Yeah, Warhammer 40000 to be exact. I don't remember any other setting using the spelling "Ork" in english

 

[Scotley]

Things are still coming together in my head. I did read the information on Elves. I think the Grey Elf would be good if you allow (I'm thinking we could tie a background to some need of his people that has required him to leave the mountains), or silver elf though a blood elf would be great fun. Wizard for class.

I do have a few questions. There are so many thread and and such I may have just missed them.

How do you feel about the racial paragon classes?

I saw info on rolling abilities and I gather we are to be 7th level. Does that mean 19,000 gp for equipment?

How are we doing hit points? Roll?

Ability Scores (4d6.takeHighest(3)=14, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=12, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=12, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=13, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=14, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=12, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=11, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=9, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=6, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=17)

So 17, 14, 14, 13, 12, 12 not too shabby.

 

[Knightfall]

Things are still coming together in my head. I did read the information on Elves. I think the Grey Elf would be good if you allow (I'm thinking we could tie a background to some need of his people that has required him to leave the mountains), or silver elf though a blood elf would be great fun. Wizard for class.

Definitely not a blood elf. That race really isn't meant for a standard campaign.

A gray elf PC would be very unique in the setting. The other elven subraces would consider your PC a mystery (or even a myth, depending on the region). For example, I can honestly say that Lorien hasn't met a gray elf in his lifetime even though there are gray elves living in the Kingdom of the Silver Leaves and the Greystone Mountains. They're that rare. Humans would likely consider your PC to be just another elf unless he/she met a human sage. That person would be very interested in your PC (it could get scary). Dwarves from the Greystone Mountains would consider the PC haughty, but the hill dwarves of the Strandlands would likely react favorably to him/her, as long as the PC doesn't lord over them.

Here's an idea. What about a elf who has one silver elf parent and one gray elf parent? The gray elf parent likely had to move away from his/her kin in the mountains to be with his/her mate in the Great Forest. Your PC was the result -- a very rare hybrid elf. I would say use the stats of a gray elf from the MM but you could chose languages and favored class options from both subraces.

Wizard would be a perfect class for such a PC.

I do have a few questions. There are so many thread and and such I may have just missed them.

How do you feel about the racial paragon classes?

I've never used them myself, but I could allow it. Remind me, what official sourcebook(s) are those in? How does it work exactly?

Questions are good. i have a lot of material about the world, so if you need anything clarified, I'm more than happy to respond. Note that I tend to write a lot in response so if you feel I'm giving you too much info, tell me to dial it back. Heh.

I saw info on rolling abilities and I gather we are to be 7th level. Does that mean 19,000 gp for equipment?

How are we doing hit points? Roll?

Ability Scores (4d6.takeHighest(3)=14, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=12, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=12, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=13, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=14, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=12, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=11, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=9, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=6, 4d6.takeHighest(3)=17)

So 17, 14, 14, 13, 12, 12 not too shabby.

That seems right.

I tend to not pull punches when danger looms so good ability scores are a must for my campaigns. Your Pcs starting equipment should match whatever is the DMG. I'm assuming that's where you got 19,000 gp.

I might have given bonus equipment when the game started, but I can't remember. I'll take a look through the threads to refresh my memory.

 

[Scotley]

Definitely not a blood elf. That race really isn't meant for a standard campaign.

I gathered as much. Just noting that it my be fun in the most wicked sort of way.

A gray elf PC would be very unique in the setting. The other elven subraces would consider your PC a mystery (or even a myth, depending on the region). For example, I can honestly say that Lorien hasn't met a gray elf in his lifetime even though there are gray elves living in the Kingdom of the Silver Leaves and the Greystone Mountains. They're that rare. Humans would likely consider your PC to be just another elf unless he/she met a human sage. That person would be very interested in your PC (it could get scary). Dwarves from the Greystone Mountains would consider the PC haughty, but the hill dwarves of the Strandlands would likely react favorably to him/her, as long as the PC doesn't lord over them.

Here's an idea. What about a elf who has one silver elf parent and one gray elf parent? The gray elf parent likely had to move away from his/her kin in the mountains to be with his/her mate in the Great Forest. Your PC was the result -- a very rare hybrid elf. I would say use the stats of a gray elf from the MM but you could chose languages and favored class options from both subraces.

Wizard would be a perfect class for such a PC.

I was thinking he'd be unusual and a bit mysterious to those in the know. The hybrid would still work for that. He's going to be very bright and very stereotypically elven, but trying hard to make it in the world outside what he knows. He'll look the part of the aloof and mysterious almost alien wizard, but he knows he's outside his element and wants to succeed and learn about the wider world. Not a brooding loner, though perhaps given to occasional moment of quiet reflection on the dying nature of his Grey Elven side.

I've never used them myself[paragon racial classes], but I could allow it. Remind me, what official sourcebook(s) are those in? How does it work exactly?

They start on page 32 of Unearthed Arcana. Essentially, they are race as class. Here's a link to the material in the SRD http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm They mix well with other classes not having prereqs other than race and counting as favored classs. My thought is that the character would be a sort of more elven than most elves with the Grey elf race if that makes sense. It would cost a level of spellcasting, but broaden the character considerably (and increase hp!).

Questions are good. i have a lot of material about the world, so if you need anything clarified, I'm more than happy to respond. Note that I tend to write a lot in response so if you feel I'm giving you too much info, tell me to dial it back. Heh.

I'm an obsessive world builder myself. I tend to favor the story side of things over the mechanical. Flavor is good with me. Likewise, if I pester you too much feel free to reign me in.

That seems right.

I tend to not pull punches when danger looms so good ability scores are a must for my campaigns. Your Pcs starting equipment should match whatever is the DMG. I'm assuming that's where you got 19,000 gp.

I might have given bonus equipment when the game started, but I can't remember. I'll take a look through the threads to refresh my memory.

I did get 19,000 gp for 7th level from table 5_1 on page 135 of the DMG. Any bonus gear will be greatly appreciated.

Should I post the draft in this thread? I'll likely make a post and just slowly build on it.

 

[Guest 11456]

I have been looking over the races for something exotic. What about an Aarakocra?

 

[Knightfall]

I was thinking he'd be unusual and a bit mysterious to those in the know. The hybrid would still work for that. He's going to be very bright and very stereotypically elven, but trying hard to make it in the world outside what he knows. He'll look the part of the aloof and mysterious almost alien wizard, but he knows he's outside his element and wants to succeed and learn about the wider world. Not a brooding loner, though perhaps given to occasional moment of quiet reflection on the dying nature of his Grey Elven side.

Sounds good to me.

They start on page 32 of Unearthed Arcana. Essentially, they are race as class. Here's a link to the material in the SRD http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm They mix well with other classes not having prereqs other than race and counting as favored classs. My thought is that the character would be a sort of more elven than most elves with the Grey elf race if that makes sense. It would cost a level of spellcasting, but broaden the character considerably (and increase hp!).

Ah, Unearthed Arcana. Right. That is one of my favorite sourcebooks. I consider a lot of what's in that book to be core for the world -- just not in every region.

If you choose Elf Paragon, I'd want your PC to have attained all the levels in it. So your PC would start as a 4th-level Wizard, 3rd-level Elf Paragon. I'm assuming that's fine with you, right?

I'm an obsessive world builder myself. I tend to favor the story side of things over the mechanical. Flavor is good with me. Likewise, if I pester you too much feel free to reign me in.

Trust me, I'll let you know. However, I rarely get annoyed with questions. It's more about how I'm feeling -- I have chronic pain issues. So, if you post a question, it might take me a while to get to it if I'm having a bad pain week. But, I will get to it.

I did get 19,000 gp for 7th level from table 5_1 on page 135 of the DMG. Any bonus gear will be greatly appreciated.

Should I post the draft in this thread? I'll likely make a post and just slowly build on it.

Sure go ahead.