[OOC] Underdogs [a core dnd game][4/4]
- Thread starter doghead
- Start date
doghead
thotd
ooc - Underdogs
Autumn. I didn't really have any naming conventions in mind when I started. However, the grell names I are tending to be Arabic in flavour. So Hellian names I think will probably be more Baltic sounding.
Zadam, there is indeed one more open slot. The first few posts have all the basic information. But in summary, start with a concept. When we are good with that, you can move to the mechanical bits. Once you have the all clear on that, you are in. There are half a dozen questions I would like your thoughts on. I'm not sure if they are in the first post - I hould make sure that they are there.
doghead
aka thotd
Autumn. I didn't really have any naming conventions in mind when I started. However, the grell names I are tending to be Arabic in flavour. So Hellian names I think will probably be more Baltic sounding.
Zadam, there is indeed one more open slot. The first few posts have all the basic information. But in summary, start with a concept. When we are good with that, you can move to the mechanical bits. Once you have the all clear on that, you are in. There are half a dozen questions I would like your thoughts on. I'm not sure if they are in the first post - I hould make sure that they are there.
doghead
aka thotd
By the by... here are my responses for the other questions you posed, doghead.
1) What sort of adventures (for want of a better term) would you like to have?
We already seem to be moving in this direction with the gnoll problem... but I kind of like the idea of just dealing with events that happen upon the krel over time. There are plenty of "world-spanning" adventures in all other manner of ENWorld PbP games... so simple things like an owlbear comes out of the forest, or a village of gnolls make an appearance on their land are easy, simple, and straightforward incidents to roleplay and deal with.
Working within the politics of the village and dealing with the influences that are put upon it and a nice change of pace. It also makes for easy additions into and out of the group, since all the potential grel characters are right here in one place.
2) What does your character dream of doing with his life?
It's already in his bio, but Mogro wants to become a better and more well-respected warrior so that he can follow in his father's footsteps and work for one of the mercenary companies within the kingdom. This is why he has Mounted Combat and spent most of his his money on a Heavy Warhorse... he is preparing for the day he can join his father's company.
3) Describe the 'perfect death' for your character.
Defending the kingdom from some outside threat at the side of his father.
1) What sort of adventures (for want of a better term) would you like to have?
We already seem to be moving in this direction with the gnoll problem... but I kind of like the idea of just dealing with events that happen upon the krel over time. There are plenty of "world-spanning" adventures in all other manner of ENWorld PbP games... so simple things like an owlbear comes out of the forest, or a village of gnolls make an appearance on their land are easy, simple, and straightforward incidents to roleplay and deal with.
Working within the politics of the village and dealing with the influences that are put upon it and a nice change of pace. It also makes for easy additions into and out of the group, since all the potential grel characters are right here in one place.
2) What does your character dream of doing with his life?
It's already in his bio, but Mogro wants to become a better and more well-respected warrior so that he can follow in his father's footsteps and work for one of the mercenary companies within the kingdom. This is why he has Mounted Combat and spent most of his his money on a Heavy Warhorse... he is preparing for the day he can join his father's company.
3) Describe the 'perfect death' for your character.
Defending the kingdom from some outside threat at the side of his father.
Good to see theres still a slot open. I suppose the party could do with a Rogue, and I tend to like playing them so that works out quite well. Heres some info about the character.
Name: Adokul Wyvernjack
Class: Rogue
Alignment: CN
A tormented soul. Adokul never knew his mother, and all he knew of his father was that he was a harsh and cruel son of a bitch. When Adokul was 14 he stabbed his father to death while he slept.
The harsh upbringing and start to life he received have made him very cynical, selfish and very suspicious of everyone. He has no real friends, just contacts and acquaintances who have proven to be beneficial to Adokul in some way. He has no qualms about using or killing people for his own ends, some even suspect he gets pleasure from it. In reality whenever he makes a kill Adokul is always reminded of his own father dieing by his hand all those years ago, and the feelings he experiences are both sweet and bitter.
Adokul has made a name for himself as the person to see if you need some "less than reputable" work done. Just make sure you keep up your end of the bargain.
Name: Adokul Wyvernjack
Class: Rogue
Alignment: CN
A tormented soul. Adokul never knew his mother, and all he knew of his father was that he was a harsh and cruel son of a bitch. When Adokul was 14 he stabbed his father to death while he slept.
The harsh upbringing and start to life he received have made him very cynical, selfish and very suspicious of everyone. He has no real friends, just contacts and acquaintances who have proven to be beneficial to Adokul in some way. He has no qualms about using or killing people for his own ends, some even suspect he gets pleasure from it. In reality whenever he makes a kill Adokul is always reminded of his own father dieing by his hand all those years ago, and the feelings he experiences are both sweet and bitter.
Adokul has made a name for himself as the person to see if you need some "less than reputable" work done. Just make sure you keep up your end of the bargain.
doghead
thotd
ooc - Underdogs.
OK. Let me know what your characters want to do, if anything, for the next few hours. It usually takes that long for a decision.
Also, a quick word on my gaming style. I believe strongly in character independence. If your characters all decide that they want to sign up for the next caravan and see the world, then that's where we will go. I do have a tendency to write adventures with a particular narrative in mind. Its just the way my brain works. And sometimes, the narrative path is fairly obvious - like a set of railway tracks through a desert obvious. But don't feel that your characters have to go that way.
Autumn Does Ershe have a family/Fall name? Also, do you have any thought as to the make up of the Fall? How about the cronies?
Zadam Interesting background. The group is starting to get some interesting dynamics. I have a couple of questions. What happened after Adokul stabbed his father? Was it discovered Adokul did it? If so, were there repercussions? Did he stay with his Fall, or was he sent away? The latter might mean Adokul is not originally from Horak-krel. There are several others. If you want himto be something of an outside, this might be a good option. If you choose this path, you will also be pretty much free to outline his original krel.
doghead
aka thotd
OK. Let me know what your characters want to do, if anything, for the next few hours. It usually takes that long for a decision.
Also, a quick word on my gaming style. I believe strongly in character independence. If your characters all decide that they want to sign up for the next caravan and see the world, then that's where we will go. I do have a tendency to write adventures with a particular narrative in mind. Its just the way my brain works. And sometimes, the narrative path is fairly obvious - like a set of railway tracks through a desert obvious. But don't feel that your characters have to go that way.
Autumn Does Ershe have a family/Fall name? Also, do you have any thought as to the make up of the Fall? How about the cronies?
Zadam Interesting background. The group is starting to get some interesting dynamics. I have a couple of questions. What happened after Adokul stabbed his father? Was it discovered Adokul did it? If so, were there repercussions? Did he stay with his Fall, or was he sent away? The latter might mean Adokul is not originally from Horak-krel. There are several others. If you want himto be something of an outside, this might be a good option. If you choose this path, you will also be pretty much free to outline his original krel.
doghead
aka thotd
What happened after Adokul stabbed his father?
Adokul knew that there would be no doubt in anyones mind that it was he who had killed his father, and thought that he would probably be punished very severely. He fled the village that night and never returned.
Was it discovered Adokul did it? If so, were there repercussions? Did he stay with his Fall, or was he sent away?
The fact that Adokul fled the scene left no doubt to anyone that he had done it. However it was decided that Adokul had done two favors that night to the village, by removing his father whom everyone loathed, as well as himself from it. Everyone only knew Adokul as a trouble maker, and assumed he would end up just like his father. They decided to let him go and he was never pursued.
The result of all this was that he drifted from place to place, never lingering for very long before moving on. Often he was told to leave or physically chased away once people discovered his true nature. As he got a bit older however he learned how to be more discrete with his nature, and also learned how to make a living using his dark skills.
Adokul knew that there would be no doubt in anyones mind that it was he who had killed his father, and thought that he would probably be punished very severely. He fled the village that night and never returned.
Was it discovered Adokul did it? If so, were there repercussions? Did he stay with his Fall, or was he sent away?
The fact that Adokul fled the scene left no doubt to anyone that he had done it. However it was decided that Adokul had done two favors that night to the village, by removing his father whom everyone loathed, as well as himself from it. Everyone only knew Adokul as a trouble maker, and assumed he would end up just like his father. They decided to let him go and he was never pursued.
The result of all this was that he drifted from place to place, never lingering for very long before moving on. Often he was told to leave or physically chased away once people discovered his true nature. As he got a bit older however he learned how to be more discrete with his nature, and also learned how to make a living using his dark skills.
doghead
thotd
ooc - Underdogs
Zadam. I have a suggestion: after killing his father, Adokul's fate would have been much worse if it had not been for the intervention of the krel shaman. Sympathetic to the boy's situation, the shaman arranged for Adokul to be taken in by another clan in a different krel. (This could be Horak, but need not be. Adokul can still have moved on since then. Regardless, he will need a Fall, as pretty much every grell lives in a fall. It could be one of the PC's if the player in question agrees. Or one of your own devising.) Adokul's deed would remain unspoken, he would have a fresh start (of course, it is still possible that rumours of his action have travelled around the grel communities). But with the assistance came a debt - Adokul is required to serve the any shaman when requested to do so. The debt will endure until Adokul becomes a father himself.
Its unlikely that the shaman would call on Adokul often. Such a obligation would not be used lightly. Adokul is probably required to present himself to the shaman of a krel he stays at and make his debt known. Failure to do so, if discovered, would probably incur some form of punishment.
The advantage of this, for me, is it ties the character to a key NPC and thus indirectly, to one of the PC's (although I would say Ershe would not be aware of the debt at this stage, nor able to compel Adokul if he was). Given the way the characters are shaping up, it is likely that the shaman will be something of a key plot mechanism.
Its up to you.
Regardless, I still need some idea of which Fall Adokul is staying with, and the relationship with that clan. It could be family, friendship, or even just hired on as a worker. If he is not staying with any particular Fall, I'll need some idea of his living arrangements. If there is something you want to do, but are not sure how to arrange it, let me know and we can work something out.
btw, how are you going with the crunchy bits?
doghead
aka thotd
Zadam. I have a suggestion: after killing his father, Adokul's fate would have been much worse if it had not been for the intervention of the krel shaman. Sympathetic to the boy's situation, the shaman arranged for Adokul to be taken in by another clan in a different krel. (This could be Horak, but need not be. Adokul can still have moved on since then. Regardless, he will need a Fall, as pretty much every grell lives in a fall. It could be one of the PC's if the player in question agrees. Or one of your own devising.) Adokul's deed would remain unspoken, he would have a fresh start (of course, it is still possible that rumours of his action have travelled around the grel communities). But with the assistance came a debt - Adokul is required to serve the any shaman when requested to do so. The debt will endure until Adokul becomes a father himself.
Its unlikely that the shaman would call on Adokul often. Such a obligation would not be used lightly. Adokul is probably required to present himself to the shaman of a krel he stays at and make his debt known. Failure to do so, if discovered, would probably incur some form of punishment.
The advantage of this, for me, is it ties the character to a key NPC and thus indirectly, to one of the PC's (although I would say Ershe would not be aware of the debt at this stage, nor able to compel Adokul if he was). Given the way the characters are shaping up, it is likely that the shaman will be something of a key plot mechanism.
Its up to you.
Regardless, I still need some idea of which Fall Adokul is staying with, and the relationship with that clan. It could be family, friendship, or even just hired on as a worker. If he is not staying with any particular Fall, I'll need some idea of his living arrangements. If there is something you want to do, but are not sure how to arrange it, let me know and we can work something out.
btw, how are you going with the crunchy bits?
doghead
aka thotd
doghead, your suggestions sound good to me, I am happy to go with the Shaman intervention scenario. Will post a little later about the Fall question. In the mean time heres a preliminary char sheet:
Code:
Name: Adokul Wyvernjack
Class: Rogue 4
Race: Grell (Half-Orc)
Size: M
Gender: Male
Alignment: CN
Deity:
Level: 4 XP: 0 BAB: +3
Str: 16 (+3)
Dex: 16 (+3)
Con: 14 (+2)
Int: 12 (+1)
Wis: 8 (-1)
Cha: 10 (+0)
Defence: BAB: (+3) Dex: (+3) Dodge: (+1) Total: (+7)
Soak: Con: (+2) Armor: (+4) Toughnes: (+1) Total: (+7)
Total Base Mod Misc
Fort: +3 +1 +2 --
Ref: +6 +3 +3 --
Will: +0 +1 -1 --
Notes:
Weapon Attack Damage Critical Range Notes
Short Sword +8 1d6+4 8/+0 Melee
Dagger +6 1d4+3 8/+0 10 ft
Sap +6 1d6+3 10/+0 Melee
Notes:
Languages: Grell, Trader
Abilities: Special bonus: +8 SP at 1st lvl and +2 SP per level after.
Rogue: Sneak Attack +4, Trapfinding, Evasion (take no damage when
reflex save gives half damage), Trap Sence +1, Uncanny Dodge
Half Orc Traits:
Medium: As Medium creatures, Half Orcs have no special bonuses or
penalties due to their size.
Base land speed is 30 feet.
Feats: Weapon Focus (Short Sword +1 attack), Toughness (+1 soak), Dodge (+1 Def)
Skill Points: 77 Max Ranks: 7
Skills Total Ranks Mod Misc
Write Grell (int) - 1 -
Speak Trader (int) - 1 -
Stealth (dex) 10 7 +3
Climb (str) 10 7 +3
Disable Device (int) 8 7 +1
Escape Artist (dex) 10 7 +3
Jump (str) 10 7 +3
Open Lock (dex) 10 7 +3
Balance (dex) 10 7 +3
Bluff (cha) 7 7 +0
Appraise (int) 8 7 +1
Perception (wis) 6 7 -1
Survival (wis) 4 5 -1
Notes:
GP: 406
Equipment: Cost Weight
Short Sword +1 2310
4 * Dagger 8gp
Sap 1gp
Studded Leather Armor +1 1175
2 * Elixir of Stealth (+10 for 1 hour) 500
2 * Cure Moderate Wounds 600
Age: 20
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 220
Eyes: Green
Hair: Brown
Skin: Dark
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Autumn
First Post
Oops, I missed a set of questions! So, these first, and then the latest ones. 
As a player I'm quite flexible. I can enjoy hack-and-slash dungeon crawling if it's done well. But I guess that's not quite where my preferences lie... I'm more into intrigue, mystery, politics and so on, with some action thrown in to keep the pace up. On that 'what kind of roleplayer are you' test that does the rounds now and then I come up as mostly 'Method Actor' if I remember rightly - though I'm not one of these people who will do anything, no matter how disruptive, and excuse it with 'I was just playing my character'.
So... meh. I guess I'm skirting the question. I suppose that what I'd really love is to spend some time getting involved with the setting and characters with some simple stuff ('an Owlbear comes out of the forest and attacks' or 'some gnolls move in near the krel' are great examples) before maybe getting involved with some more complicated plots and schemes.
Ershe is a dreamer at heart, and he has some big ideas. He hopes that one day the grell will become united and claim the dignity and respect that they deserve. He hopes they can shake off the brutish influence of people like his father and embrace a more spiritual and enlightened attitude. He sees a lot of potential and a lot of goodness in his people, and he likes to hope that one day they will realize that potential more fully. His greatest ambition is to someday rise to a position where he can lead his people towards that destiny.
He hopes to die peacefully in old age, having achieved respect and honor and set his people on a track that he can believe will lead them on to better things. But that's his own idea of a perfect death... we don't get to choose the way we go, and perhaps from a different standpoint it would be more fitting for him to meet an untimely end and provide some kind of inspiration in doing so.
But hey, we'll see how it goes.
Aaaand on to the latest question.
Well I guess that yes, Ershe must surely have a family/Fall name, but I'm unsure about this. Do grell take their family names from their fathers or their mothers?
Hmm, names for Falls... Broken-Fall? Night-Fall? Feather-Fall?
ahem.
Let's call his father's Kharad-Fall and his mother's Ashran-Fall.
I've talked a little about his father's fall already - militaristic, rather arrogant. Ershe's father is the patriarch of Kharad-Fall, and so he never has any shortage of men willing to trail after him in an entourage in the hopes of finding favor. How the fall treats its children tends to depend on their own abilities. If they are strong and tough and take well to martial training then they will be adopted into the fall and earn places of honor there. If, like Ershe, they do not, they will be more likely passed off on the Fall of their other parent. He was lucky in that his connection to the Fall was through his father. It's a tough childhood for those unfortunate enough to be born to a Kharad-Fall woman while showing no flair for the martial life.
As for Ashran-Fall, it's smaller and humbler than Kharad-Fall but better respected among those grell who judge a person by more than just the strength of their sword arm. Ashran grell tend to solidly respectable quiet sort of lives. Ershe's mother is a seamstress. Potters, tailors, butchers and brewers are the sort of people that Ashran's children are likely to grow into. The last of those trades bears special mention, since it's generally acknowledged that Garrad of Ashran-Fall - an old man now - makes the best ale anybody in Horak-krel has ever tasted.
If it is up to Ershe which family name he takes then he'll feel no hesitation whatsoever in plumping for his mother's side. Would that make him Ershe Ashran? Ershe of Ashran? Ershe of Ashran-Fall? The last one sounds best to me, but if you already had ideas (or if you already laid out naming conventions somewhere I missed) then of course that's fine.
doghead said:
As a player I'm quite flexible. I can enjoy hack-and-slash dungeon crawling if it's done well. But I guess that's not quite where my preferences lie... I'm more into intrigue, mystery, politics and so on, with some action thrown in to keep the pace up. On that 'what kind of roleplayer are you' test that does the rounds now and then I come up as mostly 'Method Actor' if I remember rightly - though I'm not one of these people who will do anything, no matter how disruptive, and excuse it with 'I was just playing my character'.
So... meh. I guess I'm skirting the question. I suppose that what I'd really love is to spend some time getting involved with the setting and characters with some simple stuff ('an Owlbear comes out of the forest and attacks' or 'some gnolls move in near the krel' are great examples) before maybe getting involved with some more complicated plots and schemes.
doghead said:
Ershe is a dreamer at heart, and he has some big ideas. He hopes that one day the grell will become united and claim the dignity and respect that they deserve. He hopes they can shake off the brutish influence of people like his father and embrace a more spiritual and enlightened attitude. He sees a lot of potential and a lot of goodness in his people, and he likes to hope that one day they will realize that potential more fully. His greatest ambition is to someday rise to a position where he can lead his people towards that destiny.
doghead said:
He hopes to die peacefully in old age, having achieved respect and honor and set his people on a track that he can believe will lead them on to better things. But that's his own idea of a perfect death... we don't get to choose the way we go, and perhaps from a different standpoint it would be more fitting for him to meet an untimely end and provide some kind of inspiration in doing so.
But hey, we'll see how it goes.
Aaaand on to the latest question.
doghead said:
Well I guess that yes, Ershe must surely have a family/Fall name, but I'm unsure about this. Do grell take their family names from their fathers or their mothers?
Hmm, names for Falls... Broken-Fall? Night-Fall? Feather-Fall?
ahem.
Let's call his father's Kharad-Fall and his mother's Ashran-Fall.
I've talked a little about his father's fall already - militaristic, rather arrogant. Ershe's father is the patriarch of Kharad-Fall, and so he never has any shortage of men willing to trail after him in an entourage in the hopes of finding favor. How the fall treats its children tends to depend on their own abilities. If they are strong and tough and take well to martial training then they will be adopted into the fall and earn places of honor there. If, like Ershe, they do not, they will be more likely passed off on the Fall of their other parent. He was lucky in that his connection to the Fall was through his father. It's a tough childhood for those unfortunate enough to be born to a Kharad-Fall woman while showing no flair for the martial life.
As for Ashran-Fall, it's smaller and humbler than Kharad-Fall but better respected among those grell who judge a person by more than just the strength of their sword arm. Ashran grell tend to solidly respectable quiet sort of lives. Ershe's mother is a seamstress. Potters, tailors, butchers and brewers are the sort of people that Ashran's children are likely to grow into. The last of those trades bears special mention, since it's generally acknowledged that Garrad of Ashran-Fall - an old man now - makes the best ale anybody in Horak-krel has ever tasted.
If it is up to Ershe which family name he takes then he'll feel no hesitation whatsoever in plumping for his mother's side. Would that make him Ershe Ashran? Ershe of Ashran? Ershe of Ashran-Fall? The last one sounds best to me, but if you already had ideas (or if you already laid out naming conventions somewhere I missed) then of course that's fine.
OK, I figure that after a few years with the Krel Shaman, Adokul decided to leave as he knew no one in the Fall could ever trust him again. After wandering from place to place for several years, working as a bit of a thief/mercenary for hire, he ended up in Horak-krel where the Kharad Fall decided to hire him as a worker.
He was officially hired as a lowly grunt, but unofficially they started using him to take care of certain "Sensitive" matters that are best not known by the general population. A bit of a covert spy/assassin mostly. Adokul has been working for them for a bit over a year now, but is still not highly trusted by most, although the higher powers have come to depend on his skills, and the advantages those skills can bring to them.
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