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4e Heroic Souls (FULL/CLOSED - accepting alts)

Graf

Explorer
Since I put a bit of a "push" in the last post I wanted to give Redclaw a chance to respond before pressing forward.
I was thinking that Eldan only remembers the ghosts when he's in the castle because of the daze, but I wanted to leave it a bit vague in case to give people space to maneuver.

Generally speaking I'm fairly comfortable going forward with two. I've run two person campaigns (2nd level to 8th or so) in the past so it doesn't bother me. In this specific case having just the two of you following Jeillia to the castle works on a story level for me. If we had more players you'd either all be tromping through the castle or I'd be running multiple scenes.
And, as June approaches, I think they'll be opportunities to pick up some more players later.

I've been a bit quiter OOC mostly because of the "ebb and flow". You start a game, you have lots and lots of ideas, you write them down, do some stats, whatever and then you realize you have lots (too much?) material.
So I think I'm trying to cultivate a mental space where I'm open to new ideas and flexible/reactive instead of pushing my version of the story.

I'd like to give Redclaw a bit longer, if we don't hear from him then we can let his character slip into a daze and just follow along.

What are your thoughts?
 

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Graf

Explorer
I'm actually going to be a bit busy for the next couple of days. I'll try to get put up another post in the next 24 (whether or not redclaw comes back) but I've got a holiday (more time tending to baby) and a big school project on my plate right now.

If you want you can push forward and add some weird rooms etc. The ghosts are kept at bay by the pure white light from Jeillia's lantern, at least as long as the stuff she's burning in it lasts...
 

Graf

Explorer
Just for the record
I see no reason for the visions not to be overlapping.
So Eldan traveling with the Magus and his sister can overlap with the battle and the present.
(I just added the second post about Eldan's perceptions so that he'd also have a link to what Karothen is seeing).

That gives people a bit of space to put up their own narritive. I'm toying with a few different ideas for which battle this could and how overwhelmed the characters are by the visions (do you actually participate in a ghost fight? see a ghost fight? or does it remain in the sidelines as color)

PS At least Redclaw has noticed that I'm considering running KotS.
For the record this game has precidence. I love what we're doing here.
The KotS is really just going to be a bunch of linked fights. I'm slightly leery of just plopping down monsters in this game without having run any games (and nobody else seems to be stepping up).
 

Redclaw

First Post
Graf said:
I'm slightly leery of just plopping down monsters in this game without having run any games (and nobody else seems to be stepping up).
My only concern about monsters is that we're unarmed and unleveled. I fear that we might suffer the fate of most commoners caught up in a D&D battle. :(
 


Graf

Explorer
sorry was responding to a comment you weren't making.
For characters like these I'd want you to have maximal freedom. Of course one option would be for you to tap into pre gens to start...
we'd have to mock up the warlord
 

Graf

Explorer
Sorry for the delay.

I had myself a bit of a think and I think this is the way to go.
I wanted the narratives to "fit" together. To overlap in certain sorts of ways.
I toyed with trying to make one big post, but I was worried that it would be impossible to make it sensible so I pulled it out in to three separate narratives (putting the most time into the two that you two had been working on).

I am sorry for putting words in your "characters" mouths (or other incarnations of your characters anyway). I think I felt that at this point we needed a bit of cohesion, to have specific characters playing off against each other in specific sorts of ways....
I'll change things people don't like of course.
Think of it as a first draft.

In terms of running the fight I think it would be interesting to either run a round or two, players first then the npcs. We could use a map or just go abstract.
 

silentounce

First Post
Heh, after typing up all the below info and reading through this entire thread I just noticed now the words "closed" in the thread title. I could have sworn that wasn't there before. Well, I would assume that you're open to new players considering the whole concept of the PoL and the "daze". Plus, you've only got a couple as is. Well, I'm very intrigued/excited at this idea. Please let me know.

Name Verulo

Color Dark Green

Race Human
Intended Class Warlord, although, I don't want to steal Redclaw's thunder. Although, after finishing fleshing him out below, rogue. So, maybe TBD.

Attributes Tentatively, Str 13 Dex 12 Con 9 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 15

Hit points 9

Appearance Young man. Slightly shorter than average, slight of build. Starting to show the early signs of baldness on the crown of his head and on the temples. The hair he does have is light brown in color. He has penetrating dark green eyes. He is very unkempt and has not shaved for days, yet he is not quite old enough to grow a full beard. Despite this, there is something "different" about him that makes him interesting, but not quite pleasing to the eye.

Background This section will wrap with those below. I apologize in advance if I ramble. His parents "disappeared" when he was only 8 years old, but no one else in town seemed to notice. At first he looked everywhere that he could (of course he could not pass the barrier or go to some areas) to find them. After several years he has given up hope that they will ever return or that he will ever find them. Some days he thinks that they died long ago and he does not remember, but he is never sure.

Your Family/Neighbors A while after the disappearance he acquired the habit of moving in with other families in town and pretending to be part of them. They never seemed to notice. Over the past dozen years he's lived with nearly every family in the town. But it's not like he knows them intimately, they're not much different. And after all this time all the people seem to almost have blended together. Even without direct family he was never lacking food/drink, although sometimes he did forget to eat for a few days. More recently, who can keep track of time in this world? (actually, this brings up a good question about weather and seasons) He's taken to living on his own, keeping to himself. Conversations are pretty much dry and repetitive with everyone he has ever met. All the kids that he used to talk/play with have grown into adults not unlike the others in the town. Even though he could sleep in any house in town without receiving so much as a strange look from the residents, he's taken to living on the streets and just falling to sleep when and where he is tired enough to do it.

How do you spend your days (when you're dazed) Never been dazed. (If this is okay of course). Does not understand this concept. Thinks perhaps, that something is wrong with him, because he seems to be the only one that is different. His days are basically a living hell. He's no longer a child. Being a kid in this place can be great because they basically get to play all the time. There's no school, the concept is not even present in the minds of people. But for Verulo... well, he's traversed the whole town and all around the "allowed" areas hundreds of times. He even started climbing the buildings out of sheer boredom. He's scaled nearly everything in town. He's walked along the walls, and even been perched on the domes of the more prominent buildings, as well as the glass top of the stained glass building. Outside of his exploring, he does not have a "task" that keeps him busy. (I like this next part if it's okay with you DM) Finally, he could take it no more. He managed to climb to the top of the castle tower for the first time and throw himself from the summit. He awoke "some time" later and found himself with no injury, perhaps it was all a dream.

Relationship One of his closest friends growing up (name left intentionally blank) has now turned into an adult and spends his days moving a large pile of rocks from one side of the town to the other for no apparent reason. There are a few others in this "work crew" as well. Verulo has given up trying to talk to him the way they used to.

Some things you're good at Climbing, finding way around/direction sense, more to come.

Hooks Missing parents, of course. Old friend, now moving rocks.

Childhood experiences -- optional; we can come back to it later
Some of this will be mediated, so we'll go backward and forward on it.
  • Did you ever try to visit Big Green Eyes? Did you ever run into Big Green Eyes by accident ? He went there but never found anything strange. Has never actually seen "Big Green Eyes".
  • What did you get for your glowing pebble? Or what happened if you never gave it to the Geeche.
    Verulo received a plain, unframed mirror. Excited, he quickly found a more well lit area, as the sun had already gone down by the time it was lowered. When he looked into it all he saw was his young face staring back at him with those deep, dark green eyes.


    I apologize for constantly shifting tenses above. But this idea rocks and I was doing a stream of consciousness brainstorming thing just wanting to get all my ideas down. Oh, and you mentioned earlier a "St. Louis" style arch, but I haven't seen it mentioned again. I had originally planned that place for the jump, but you later said the castle tower was the highest point in town. Also, just so you know, I thought of the missing parents thing before I read your hook suggestion about a person showing up and not knowing where from. ;)

    hewligan, love the empty bucket, I would have thought of the same thing. I must have skimmed over the Old Hook's penchant for climbing and subconsciously included it into Verulo, but maybe he learned to climb by following the OH around.

    EDIT: I did all of the above before reading the IC thread. Now that I see what's going on at the castle. If I am allowed to join, perhaps the current events are taking place around the time of my "jump". And that would be a way for me to join in. You find me and wake me up, or perhaps I wake up on my own in a courtyard or something.
 
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Graf

Explorer
silent ,
facinating ideas. Very creepy (in a good/interesting way).
generally your application looks very good.

I do have a few comments: the ability to enter peoples houses and join there families seems to border on the supernatural to me. Much like Karothens fixing. That suggests rogue/beguiler to me. (obviously no beguiler, sorcerer or psionicist so modeling it as a caster type is tricky)

The daze is a partially a meta construct I am loath to give up. To use an example I think you'll be familiar with from having read the thread: Alexander's player isn't with us anymore.
Now we hadn't really started an so it's not a huge issue but it can be in online games I've seen DMs spend weeks working people in and out.
I should say: I'm not saying people will or won't stay around or that I don't understand the demands of real life or anything like that. The daze is there partially because I think it's interesting, partially because it keeps me from having to run ~100 villagers, partially because it helps focus the story on the PCs, partially to motivate the PCs (you may want the daze to end or to continue) and also partially because it makes the game world reality match the reality of the 'net.
(that sentence was hideous I do apologize. Doing this on an iPod)
more later
 

silentounce

First Post
Oh, yeah, I'm not saying Verulo is totally immune to the daze at all. Maybe he's just been able to fight it off so far. I don't think it would stretch plausibility to have him fall into a "career" under the daze effect if I were to leave the game. I wasn't suggesting that it doesn't exist or that you get rid of it at all. I just thought it would be interesting and horrifying for someone to live their entire life unaffected while everyone around them is. As far as he's concerned, everyone is that way. He thinks he's the one with something "wrong" with him. It'll be a shock/relief when he meets other PCs. I really like that idea. But, it's your game, so it's your call. Please give me a definitive answer on this. Can he have lived so far without falling under the effects of the daze, again not suggesting that he's immune? Or would you like me to alter him so he has? Perhaps he's a roofer/window washer, not joking, there must be some need. I won't be upset either way.

Yeah, the more I got into him the more he seems to scream rogue. I originally wanted to play a warlord, but it seems that the story is showing him to be a rogue. Perhaps, I'll take a multiclass feat into wizard or warlock focusing on charm/enchantment type effects. So, let's go with that, for now, he'll probably be a rogue when he gets his heroic soul. But yeah, the climbing, the skulky about in the streets, seemlessly entering others houses and fitting in... it is very mysterious/rogue like.

So, please give me an answer as to his history with the daze effect, and also let me know what the next step is. You can wait until you get to your actual computer, if you want. ;)
 

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