Into the New World - Recruitment OPEN (Current players stay OUT!)

[Dire Lemming]

Is it unfair to ask an early opinion? I like my story, but I know it's far from great. I just didn't know how much detail to put in, so I kind of mixed and matched it. All opinions and advice is welcome!

[sblock=Background] Rinos grew up a tanners son. His father was a self sufficient hunter and his mother spent her days either helping with the tanning or tending to their small garden. They lived on the outskirts of town, mostly because of the immense odor that tanning emitted. Rinos father, Kered, taught him how to use snares, so that he could “hunt without hunting.” The snares were only used when the days had to be passed by working the leather or drying the skins. Kered told him to make his kills as clean as possible, to never let a wounded creature escape, and to thank the animal’s spirit for giving him the gift of his life. He learned that all life, all spirits, were sacred and life was never to be taken without reason.

Rinos was 13 when his father died. Kered had gone out to hunt some kind of creature that looked like a bear, which had been frequenting the land near the family’s house. Rinos had always thought that his father knew his death was near, as he had asked Rinos to care for his mother before he left. Kered had never done that before. He never seemed hesitant to go on the hunt, or refused to allow Rinos to accompany him. It struck Rinos later that both had happened on that fateful day, but noticed also that the animal had ceased to come close to the land anymore.

He lived alone with his mother for the next year, until her death. It was unknown to Rinos what had killed her, she just wouldn’t wake up one morning. Fearful that he had angered the spirits, he loaded up some of his best leather hides and headed to see the Spirit Talkers. After giving them some of his leathers, he was assured that he had done nothing and that the Spirits were at peace with him as long as he honored the ways of his father.

Rinos began to sale his hides in the village after his mothers death. The villagers seemed uncomfortable with him at first, partially because of his odor and partially because he was rarely seen in the village. He saw his sales increase steadily as they began to get use to him and his wares.

He rarely ventured into the village, but when he did go into it, he managed to learn of a man named Euaristos. The man was over twice Rinos age, but was still a master hunter. At least once a month, every month for the last 3 years Rinos traveled into the village to hear his tales and learn lessons from the wise man. He became a new father figure to Rinos. Whether Euaristos felt the same way about Rinos or not was not clear to the young man, but it really mattered little. Euaristos was never short of advice or tales, and both were things that Rinos longed for. [/sblock]

Hah! I'm writing a new chapter for my character and one of the characters in it has both his parents killed by that same creature!

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Hmm.........plot line perhaps? lol

 

[James Heard]

Alright, here is my submission so far. I hope I'm understanding the whole spirit mark-to-spirit talker relationship thing you've got going on with Antiklites. I tried to capture a bit of that whole greek feeling you seem to be working with in the naming structure. I thought one of the ways Shayuri's Sorceress might be involved with some sort of feud with Antiklites might even involved the two spellcasters being twins - she'd be charismatic by necessity, but perhaps they'd share the same spirit mark (with perhaps vastly different outlooks on the things?) I might be (and that's why I left the Wis so high, in case it became available as an option) be interested in taking this character into invention of the very first priesthood ("My spirit mark is better than the others, because it's freaking awesome and scares the wee out of me. Deer? Clouds? Mine is scary scary scary, please place your tithes in the bowls on the way out.") Ok, maybe not exactly like that, but I figured I'd give you a heads up if the story strung out that way later on or to get a "NO WAY" early on so I could think about rethinking things.

Antiklites
Male Human Wizard 1
LG Medium Humanoid (Human)
[Sblock=Crunchy stuff]
Init +0; Senses Listen +5 Spot +5
Languages Common
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AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10;
Wound Points 10,Vitality 4
Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +5
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +2 dagger or +2 quarterstaff
Ranged +0
Special Actions
Base Atk +0; Grp +2
Combat Gear
Wizard Spells Prepared (3/2, CL 1^st, +0 ranged touch, +2 melee touch)

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Abilities Str 14, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 8
SQ Spirit Guide (Alertness)
Feats Skill Focus(Spellcraft), Skill Focus(Architecture & Engineering), Scribe Scroll, Eschew Materials, Alertness*
Skills Concentration +4 (4 ranks), Craft(Carpentry) +7 (4 ranks), Craft(Stonemasonry) +7 (4 ranks), Decipher Script +7 (4 ranks), Knowledge(Arcana) +7 (4 ranks), Knowledge(Architecture & Engineering) +10 (4 ranks), Knowledge(Nature) +7 (4 ranks), Spellcraft +10 (4 ranks)
Experience Points: 0
Possessions combat gear plus
Spellbook
0—all PHB
1^st—Mage Armor, Color Spray, Enlarge Person, Feather Fall, Magic Missile, Sleep

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[/Sblock]
Appearance
Antiklites is a fairly nondescript-looking young man with a dark complexion and wiry curly hair that frames intense blue eyes. Despite his uncle's apprenticeship, Antiklites still prefers the rough homespun clothes of a craftsman. While Antiklites has the beginnings of a thick beard somewhere in his future, he can't quite bring himself to let one grow. Beneath his dark chest hair can just barely be seen Antiklites' spirit mark, a rearing reptilian-looking beast that no one has ever heard of. Despite his somewhat sedate apprenticeship, Antiklites has the broad shoulders of someone who is used to manual labor from his years growing up wrestling with older brothers and helping his father Manikotsenes with construction.

Because of Antiklites' relationship with his spirit mark he's not often seen without his shirt on even in the hottest of weathers. Antiklites' s ring is notable in the community - by wearing the device of his spirit mark on his hand Antiklites' has sought to capture its favor without showing the shame of his failure to become a normal spirit-talker

Background
Antiklites is Phaidros the Wizard's apprentice and nephew, being the youngest son of Phairdros's sister Ophelia the Elder (his sister Ophelia haveing the distinction of being Ophelia the Younger). Having six older brothers, Antiklites had little chance of being invited to participate in the family craft - and truly, despite being the son of a carpenter, Antiklites was ever disinclined to work with wood at all. Being born with a spirit-talker mark, Antiklites was often pressured to speak with his spirit in a more direct fashion. Instead, he has ever been terrified of the dark unknown that his spirit represents. At night he has often woke up with terrible nightmares of dark wings and fire.

Perhaps that is why Antiklites asked his uncle Phaidros for an apprenticeship. It was not as if the ways of magic were very inscrutable to Antiklites, and with some of the magic of his uncle to call his own then perhaps one day he could face his spirit-beast without being fearful of it. Despite his fear of his spirit, Antiklites tries to be respectful of it by talking at it sometimes and offering sacrifices to it even though he can't understand (or refuses to understand) what it says back to him.

Personality
Antiklites is young man who seems to carry his dark clouds with him, no matter what his real mood is. He's well known in town for being hard to make friends with, but generally willing to help out and civic-minded despite that fact. Still, he's won few friends over the years for being quite willing to tell everyone how to solve their problems and often being right about it. Despite his rough exterior though, Antiklites genuinely wants people to like him even though he knows he's somehow poorly equipped to manage that simple act.

While not sharing his father's love for wood as a building material, he is entranced by stonework and the delicate balancing act and artistry that goes into building things. That doesn't mean that Antiklites isn't a competent carpenter himself, though he rarely promotes himself as a carpenter out of respect for his family's livelihood.
[Sblock=Equipment]
0000 artisan's outfit (one free outfit to hide naked adventurers)
0000 quarterstaff
0002 dagger
0002 dagger
0000 spellbook
0005 artisan tools (carpentry)
0055 artisan tools, masterwork (stonemasonry)
00.1 bedroll
00.5 winter blanket
0001 waterskin
0002 backpack
0001 flint & steel
0005 signet ring
0001 scroll case
----
4 SP
[/sblock]

 

[WarShrike]

He's the kind of guy who our heroes find dead in the woods when some horrible evil has entered the valley, thus proving just how dangerous it is.

ROFL

WarShrike

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Rinos

Race: Human
Class: Barbarian
Profession: Hunter/Tanner
Alignment: Neutral Good
Age: 17
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 180lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde
Skin: Dark Tan


Str: 16  +3 mod
Dex: 14  +2 mod
Con: 12  +1 mod
Int: 14   +2 mod
Wis: 12  +1 mod
Cha: 8   -1 mod


Vitality: 13  (d12 + con mod)
Wounds: 12

AC: 17  (10 base + 3 armor + 2 shield + 2 dex mod)
   Touch AC: 12
   Flat Footed: 15

Speed: 30ft  (20ft base with armor + 10ft fast movement)

Initiative:  +2  (dex mod)

Base Attack:  +1

Saving Throws:
   Fortitude:   4   ( 2 base + 1 con mod)
   Reflex:       2   (0 base + 2 dex mod)
   Will:          1   (0 base + 1 wis mod)

Attacks:

   Grapple:  +4  (1 base + 3 str mod)

   Spear:  +4 attack bonus,  dmg: 1d8+3,  crit: x3,  range: 20ft

   Club: +4 attack bonus, dmg: 1d6+3,  crit: x2,  range: 10ft

   Dagger:  +4 attack bonus,  dmg: 1d4+3, crit: 19-20x2


Skills: (4+4)x4   +4 racial

     Craft (trapmaking):  6   (2 int mod + 4 ranks)

     Handle Animal:  3  (-1 cha mod + 4 ranks)

cc  Heal:  3 (1 wis mod + 2 self sufficient)

cc  Hide:  3  (1 wis mod  + 2 Stealthy)

     Knowledge (nature):  6  (2 int mod + 4 ranks)

     Knowledge (geography):  6 (2 int mod + 4 ranks)

     Listen:  5  (1 wis mod + 4 ranks)

cc  Move Silently:  6 (2 dex mod + 2 ranks + 2 stealthy)

     Profession (hunting):  5 (1 wis mod + 4 ranks)
    
     Profession (tanning):  5 (1 wis mod + 4 ranks)

cc Spot:  3  (1 wis mod + 2 ranks)

    Survival:  7  (1 wis mod + 4 ranks + 2 Self Sufficient)

    Use Rope:  4  (2 dex mod + 2 ranks)


Feats: 

   Self Sufficient 
   Track
   Stealthy
 
Class Abilities:
     Illiterate
     Fast Movement
     Rage 1 time per day  

Equipment:
   (worn)
Hide Armor, Heavy Wooden Shield, Spear, Club, Dagger,
Waterskin

   (at house)
Hempen Rope (5), Flint and Steel, Firewood (5), Iron Pot (5), 
Sack (5), Soap (2), Winter Blanket (2), Bucket (3), 
Common Lamp (3), Oil (3), Masterwork Artisan's Tools

Carrying Capacity:
    Light Load:  58lbs               Weight Carried: 56lbs
    Med Load:  116 lbs
    Heavy Load:  175lbs

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

He's the kind of guy who our heroes find dead in the woods when some horrible evil has entered the valley, thus proving just how dangerous it is.

Sad...yet totally true Here's hoping I have just enough healing to live until I acquire fast movespeed.

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Don't worry, just make sure you get to know Rinos, that way he can check on ya once in a while.

 

[Dire Lemming]

Man, I could just keep writing and writing this story. I gotta find some way to summarise some of the events.

 

[WarShrike]

Say Zurai, are there enough magical beasts around for Ryon to take them as favored enemies? Seeing as he loves natural animals so much, choosing them seems anathema.

WarShrike

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Alright, here's my entry:

Thane, Woodsman

[Sblock=Crunchy stuff]
Init +3; Senses Listen +6 Spot +6
Languages Common
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AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 11;
Wound Points 12,Vitality 9
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +4
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +0 dagger (1d4, 19-20/x2)
Ranged +3 Shortbow (1d6, x3)
Special Actions Skirmish +1d6
Base Atk +0; Grp +0
Gear Shortbow, 5 daggers, backpack, bedroll, traveler's outfit, leather armor

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Abilities Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
SQ Skirmish, Trapfinding, Adept Spells
Feats Track, Stealthy
Skills Concentration +5 (4 ranks), Craft(Fletching) +4 (4 ranks), Craft(Bowyer) +4 (4 ranks), Handle Animal +3 (4 ranks), Heal +6 (4 ranks), Hide +9 (4 ranks), Listen +6 (4 ranks), Move Silently +9 (4 ranks), Spot +6 (4 ranks), Survival +6 (4 ranks)
Experience Points: 0

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[/Sblock]
Appearance
A brown-eyed, nondescript man of slightly smaller than average height, Thane by habit tends to fade into the background of most situations. His brown hair is long, not out of style, but simply from being a long time between stops in town, though he is still youthful enough to not have acquired a real beard.

Background
Thane has, his whole life, followed in the footsteps of his father, who was in many ways the model upon which his personality is based. He never knew his mother - his father said she died while he was too young to remember - and so he grew up at first with a series of helpful watchers from the city and then at the age of 7 beginning to follow his father on the long hunts out into the wild.

Dayan, Thane's father, was not a particularly forgiving man, and he drove his son hard, making him sleep in the open when he could not find shelter, and go hungry when he scared away animals with his clumsy footsteps. This did not embitter the child though, because at the same time his father was a wellspring of knowledge, and not just on the best way to make a hunter's blind or walk up on a deer unawares, but also about the spirits of the wild.

While he never tutored under the spirit shamans of the village, Thane soon developed a talent for understanding the spirits around him and using their powers to his aid, healing himself when injured, finding difficult paths, and keeping food preserved. Soon Thane and his father began to hunt alone, seeing each other at first maybe once a month, then twice a year...and then this year Dayan didn't come back.

Despite the fact that his father was the only family member in his life, Thane remained strangely untouched by this. When occasionally pressed during his visits to town about how he was doing, he simply smiled, and responded quietly, "Father has walked among the spirits all his life. No matter what his fate, I know the forest is still watching over him."

Personality
Thane tends to be withdrawn and remote, feeling more at home with animals and plants than he does with people. While generally shy, he can usually be counted on to become more outgoing when the topic of conversation turns to hunting and spiritual matters - his truer areas of expertise.

Thane has the strange relationship with the spirits of the animals inherent to a hunter with some knowledge of divine magic. He understands and respects the animals, and knows that while he must hunt them to bring food for himself and those he trades with, to do so wantonly without respect for mothers and children is to destabilize the delicate balance of nature that he is privy to.