OK guys, i didn't know what to expect, but you managed to hit the ambiance, the athmosphere just right. It's gonna be a rough, dark world. take 1000xp each, just because of the excellent start.
Another thing I'm doing in tabletop roleplaying : I allow my players to pool their XP, and divide it as they see fit, with unanimous vote. Noone may be two levels higher then another player.
For example : the moment you guys have 6000 XP as a group, you could choose to give them all to one character, raising him/her in level. This is usually preceeded to some fierce discussion as to who should level up and for what reason. Anyways, It's yours to take or leave, or you can bunch up in small groups.
I hope you'll all have fun, because I'm having fun allready. I'll let the game run itself for a bit, untill I get some more pings, feel free to frolick around, I'll autopilot the other characters, and the game will start. It's about a seven week hard treck to get where you're going, and that's when you don't run into nasties

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