D&D 5E Exodus (OOC)

[pathfinderq1]

Working on background. How much contact or information does humanity have about their new enemies? Is there video/holo footage, or have there been personal encounters (besides whatever happened on Mars)? Have there been any bodies or tissue samples? Or has the conflict been primarily "impersonal" (Ship-to-ship)?

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

There was a full scale invasion, though the ground troops were artificial beings (aka warforged) commanded by drow. The dragons engaged in person vs. fighter jets and helicopters and such. The Ark ships don't have access to any possible tissue samples (they left Earth as the invasion was beginning).

 

[pathfinderq1]

Okay, will fold that into my background- as a relatively junior researcher, Gwen "Joy" Jackson has never actually worked with a real specimen, only with data, video footage, and so on. She is interested in getting hold of "first-hand" material. Could I change one of her free musical instrument proficiencies to video/holo recorder gear proficiency? (As a Bard, she is shaping up into a mix of field researcher and 'video' star/producer; somewhere along the evolutionary track that gave us Jacques Cousteau and Steve Irwin).

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

Okay, will fold that into my background- as a relatively junior researcher, Gwen "Joy" Jackson has never actually worked with a real specimen, only with data, video footage, and so on. She is interested in getting hold of "first-hand" material. Could I change one of her free musical instrument proficiencies to video/holo recorder gear proficiency? (As a Bard, she is shaping up into a mix of field researcher and 'video' star/producer; somewhere along the evolutionary track that gave us Jacques Cousteau and Steve Irwin).

Sure.

 

[pathfinderq1]

Okay, here is the first draft for the background for review. I'll keep working on the rest of the sheet- at this point she is going to be starting as a Bard, and I'll see what develops; might be Warlock, might let her obsessions get the better of her and go into Dragon Sorceror...

History: Six years ago, Xenobiology was essentially a theoretical field of study- until the Mars expedition... Gwen Jackson was a budding field biologist- while her initial thesis had been on the adaptational changes in saltwater crocodiles in response to climate change, she had studied large predators from the arctic to the savannahs of Africa. She had also begun to make a name for herself in producing video/holo productions of field work- sometimes for the studies themselves, sometimes to sell to audiences to fund more studies. After the Mars encounter, she was drafted into the multinational task force that was developed to cope with humanity’s new enemies- and if she hadn’t been drafted, she would have fought her way onto the team.

Born in New Zealand to a Kiwi father and a Maori mother, “Joy” was introduced to dangerous animals at a young age- when she was six she was playing with her dog at the beach when the pet wandered too far out into the surf and was snatched by a bull shark. It was an early lesson that there are creatures which are bigger and meaner than people. She had a very physical, outdoorsy life, despite her small stature, and she was particularly at home in the water, either swimming or in small watercraft (surfboard, kayak, jet-ski, etc.). She also learned the traditions of her mother’s ancestors, which only reinforced her love of the world, especially its oceans. She also had an almost morbid fascination with predatory animals- the larger and more dangerous the better. She was particularly interested in reptiles- komodo dragons, saltwater crocodiles, and other fearsome beasts.
When the response task force was formed, Joy was recruited, but so were many other scientists with far more experience. She had interesting ideas, and her knowledge of predator behavior was useful, but she was still pretty low in the power structure, so she rarely had primary access to new material. She worked with data, video/holo footage, and second-hand abstracts of tissue samples- but what she saw was utterly fascinating. The dragons seemed to be incredibly advanced and powerful, but they still had certain similarities to familiar beasts; if only she could study them more closely. As the launch of the arks drew closer, she delved more deeply into her studies- she shut out the realities of the war, the invasion, and humanity’s desperate evacuation in favor of more research, and had to be almost bodily dragged into her shuttle. And then things got really weird…

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

Looks good.

 

[perrinmiller]

Groovy.

KT, do you have an idea when us new players would be written in?

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

Groovy.

KT, do you have an idea when us new players would be written in?

I update Exodus on Thursdays, so expect to see your character in the IC tomorrow.

 

[pathfinderq1]

I'll try to get a basic outline of mechanical info up later tonight (skills/stats/etc.).

 

[pathfinderq1]

Here is a first pas for the mechanical part of the character sheet. I need to polish the details (including personality bits) and make some adjustments, but this should be good enough to get things rolling.

Gwendolyn Joyce Jackson (“Joy”)

>Race/Gender: Human; Female
>Age: 30
Class/Level: Bard 1
Background: Field scientist (Outlander)
Alignment: N
Type (subtype): Humanoid (human)
Size: Medium
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 feet
Senses: N/A
Passive Perception: 15

Defenses:
>Hit points: 9 (8 +1 CON)
>AC: 12 (Leather/11 +1 DEX)
>Saves: DEX, CHA

Offense:
>Melee: Dagger +3, 1d4+1 piercing
>Ranged: Speargun (light crossbow) +3; 1d8+1 piercing
>Spell: Vicious mockery, WIS save DC 13; 1d4 psychic +Disadvantage on next attack roll.

Statistics:
STR 9 (-1)/Save -1
CON 12 (+1)/Save +1
DEX 12 (+1)/Save +3
INT 12 (+1)/Save +1
WIS 14 (+2)/Save +2
CHA 16 (+3)/Save +5

Personality:
>Trait: I can stare down a hellhound without flinching.
>Trait:
>Ideal: (Knowledge) The path to power and self-improvement is through knowledge. (And it is knowledge, science, and study that will save humanity- not bigger guns or tougher soldiers)
>Bond:
>Flaw: Most people scream and run when the see a demon/dragon. I stop to take notes on its anatomy, or maybe get a tissue sample, or a measurement of its bite radius. (Obsessed with predators, the larger/more dangerous/more exotic the better.)

Skills and Languages:
Acrobatics +1
*Animal handling +4
Arcana +1
*Athletics +1
Deception +3
*History +3
Insight +2
Intimidation +3
*Investigation +3
*Medicine +4
*Nature +3
*Perception +4
*Performance +5
Persuasion +3
Religion +1
Sleight of hand +1
Stealth +1
*Survival +4

Languages: English (Common), Maori, Japanese

Tools: Water vehicles, Maori flute, guitar, video/holo recorder


Racial features (Human/feat variant):
>Size: Medium; Base speed 30 feet
>Languages: Common (English), one other (Maori)
>+1 to any two ability scores, +1 extra skill (Perception), +1 bonus feat (Skilled)

Feats:
>Human: Skilled

Class features (Bard):
>Proficiencies: Light armor; Simple weapons, hand crossbow, longsword, rapier, shortsword; Three musical instruments; Any three skills; DEX and CHA saves.
>Spellcasting (includes ritual casting)
>Bardic inspiration: 3x per long rest, 1d6

Background features (Outlander/field researcher):
>Feature: Wanderer
>Proficiencies: Athletics skill, Survival skill, one language (Japanese); Water vehicles (replaces musical instrument)


Equipment:
>Hunting knife (Dagger)
>Light crossbow (Speargun)(Locked up in her cabin, probably)
>Multitool
>Maori flute
>Video/holo recorder (with editing suite on her iPadX)
>Hiking clothes (3 sets)(Kevlar/ballistic weave for durability and hostile terrain)
>Leather jacket
>Necklace with crocodile teeth.
>Survival backpack (the high-tech, ultra-light version of an explorer’s pack)

Description: Gwen is a tiny slip of a woman, just barely five feet tall and barely a hundred pounds in weight, with the wiry build of a distance runner. She has dark brown eyes, black hair cut into a pixie style (more for utility than looks), and the well-tanned skin of someone who has spent almost her entire life out-of-doors. She has Maori-style tattoos along both arms and across her shoulders, and tends to dress in durable, practical clothes (hiking boots, cargo pants, etc.). She typically has a small backpack loaded with survival gear with her most of the time- just in case.