The God-Touched (recruiting until 7/13; 2-3 players)

[Lobo Lurker]

I'm finally back! Work has calmed down a bit, I had to fire and employee and may have to fire another one, but hopefully it'll all work out. So anyway, I had an idea kicking around for a small game and here it is.

The God-Touched Game:

Three hundred years have passed since the elder gods passed from this world. Thier influence is still felt, but they are distant and impartial. No one knows why they turned thier attention from the world but its effects were widespread and far-reaching. Fields went fallow, women became barren, the world became a harsher place. The wilds became untamed and savage beasts roamed where once it was safe to travel.

Where once great city-states existed, only ruins remain. The call to adventure & explore is a great one. But only the truely blessed and capable can hope to succeed, or even survive, in such a profession.

It is into this world that you were born. Your mother or father claimed that your other parent was unnatural. They saw a light, a unearthly beauty, or a terrifying nightmare. When it had passed, you were born (or delivered/found). You are one of the god-touched; an offspring of the divine. Some regard you as living reminders that the gods still look upon
your world while others consider you to be a living blasphemy of all they hold dear.

Early in your youth, you felt the call to adventure and explore in your world. You've always felt that, deep down inside, this world belongs to you and you to it. You know not whence you came, nor can your parent remember, but you have an inkling of what you are capable of and the deep seated desire to seek out your destiny.

Most of the god-touched were content to live thier lives according to thier whims and not interact too much with their parent society. Some, however, chose to walk a darker path. Phell, of the Black Riders swept the plains like tidal wave, wiping out all opposition to his rule. Likewise, Master Karin stalks the desert wastelands allowing no villiage or desert warlord to gather stregth. Such are the villans among the god-touched.

Nine days ago, a rider appeared in your home villiage of Tormegand in the Ocean of Grass, a vast savannah on the eastern edge of the continent. He was an emisarry of the Silver Empress, who's star was rising in the south. He said that in 10 days time, a caravan would arrive to take the 10 strongest young men and 7 healthiest women from your village. In outrage, one of the god-touched named Emien smote the messenger upon his brow, killing him instantly. Emien gathered to him the majority of hunters and old, yet skilled, fighters and left the following morning, vowing to protect the Ocean of Grass from the forces of the Silver Empress.

Today, Old Blue Heron, an elderly plain stalker long past his traveling days, informed the villiage counsel that a caravan had crested the horizon and would arrive at dawn the following morning. You have spent all your life in Toregand. This is your home, yet you yearn to leave it; This would be the perfect excuse. Will you protect your villiage from the press gangs of the Silver Empress, or will join it? Perhaps you'll do neither and simply stand aside or skulk away when they make thier demands.

TORMEGAND: Medium sized Village
Population: 1000 residents (predominantly human); +1000 or more visitors; Cultural Nexus & Trading center for the tribes of the Ocean of Grass
Main Industries: animal pelts, healers, spirit talkers, communal graveyards, education, & entertainment
Important Structures: The Tower of the Dead & dead barrows, The Greybeard's library & school, The Hunter's Lodge, & The marketplace
Oddities: It is rumored that, in times of need, the dead can be roused from thier barrows for the defense of the Ocean of Grass. This is corroborated by the ghostly figures that can be seen at twilight, roaming the barrows. One seat on the village council is always empty, reserved for the dead should they need to make thier wishes known.

House Rules:
New Diplomacy rules (URL to be provided)
Move Silently & Hide skills combined into Stealth skill
New feat gained at all ODD levels (1, 3, 5, etc...)
Special Ability (?) gained at 7th & 15th (related to class levels & character concept)
Increase any attribute by 1 at level gain
Action Points from Unearthed Arcana (5 + 1/2 of character level)

All Player Characters will have the following racial characteristics.

[b]Race[/b]                (parent race & god-touched)
[b]Appearance[/b]          (choose whatever you like based on your parent race)
[b]Mark of Divinity[/b]    (what marks you as 'more' than humanoid?)
                    [I]CLAIRIFICATION: this doesn't have to be a birthmark. It can 
                    literally be anything (so long as mechanical benefits are 
                    not derived from it.[/I]
[b]Deific Ancestor[/b]     (who is your divine ancestor?)
[b]Ability Adjustments[/b] (none)
[b]Special Attacks[/b]     (all attacks count as Aligned as your alignment)
[b]Special Qualities[/b]   (Spell Resistance: 3 + CHA modifier + 1 per level)
                    (Fast Healing: (1 + CON modifier per level) per day;
                     happens while you sleep/rest/meditate)
                    (Hard to Kill; Spend an Action point to live when 
                     you should have died)

[u]Character Creation[/u]:
  Point-Buy (25 points)
  Starting Level: 3rd (+2 attribute points)
    * Note: If the concensus among the selected players is that they want
      to start at a higher/lower level, I'm willing to negotiate on this.
  Starting Gold: 1,200
    * Note: Non-standard races are okay, so long as you have a good reason
      why you'd be living in Tormegand and why the humans* accepted you.

Experience & Leveling:
XP won't be doled out, I'll let you know when you've gained a level.

Expected Play Style: Mix of RP, exploration, & action/cinematics (largely determined by the player's actions; this is to be a character driven story with some larger plot elements)
Posting Frequency: 1 per day between 8am - 3pm Eastern Daylight Time
Number of Players: 2-3 (+3 alternates)

Player Determination: Please present character concepts, 3-7 line background, & character class. If you are currently particpating in a PbP game, please post a link to that game so I can see your play-style. On July 13th I'll decide who to go with and those players can then provide a longer background (with 3+ plot hooks please; remember that destiny stalks you like a carrion bird) and character sheets.

Note 1: If you have an idea for a feat or special ability that you want your character to have then speak up or PM me. We can determine cost and/or availablilty.
Note 2: I have the 3.0 core books & 3.5 SRD. If you want to play a class or use a feat/ability/spell from something that is not in these books, you'll need to provide me with the information you are using (i.e., if you want to play a warlock, pm me the warlock rules and I'll decide).
Note 3: My job is chaotic. Sometimes I'm busy for weeks at a time and others I have all day long to surf the 'net. If you cannot handle periodic *pauses* in the game, please do not sign up.
Note 4: I am not a details person, though I try to be. If you want a clairification on something or more environmental details, please speak up.

 

[Lefferts]

This sounds neat, unfortunately I can't commit to anything right now. Can you put me down as an alternate?

EDIT: In the thread title it says Recruiting until 5/13, is this supposed to be 7/13?

 

[Lobo Lurker]

Heh, you are correct. *fixed*

 

[Ranger Rick]

Halfling Paladin - My mother was visited by a vision exactly 3 nights before her wedding ceremony to my father. She told him and after hearing what supposedly happened, he was ready to ignore his bride to be. However that night he was visited by this same vision, and by morning though very pale, he agreed to proceed with the ceremony. After the normal gestation period, my mother gave birth to me. I looked like any other Halfling. Except I had a large birthmark on my stomach. As I grew I looked nothing like my father. My father also died when I was quite young; therefore I had no other sibling. My mother had given birth to two stillborn babies, before my father's death.

I was a clone of my mother. I had her facial features and body type as well. I was not feminine looking, but my mother could not deny me. My birthmark changed as I grew up. Not suddenly, but it would morph into different shapes. Very early in life I seemed to be drawn to the local church. The divine rituals seemed to be calming on me. When I was not at church, I was off exploring. As I reached the age of majority, I was told of my conception and sent away to study to be a priest. In the seminary, I realized I could not be a priest, and learned to be a soldier of my god instead.

Plot hooks - 1) father's mysterious death
2) My god who I am a paladin for is not the divine being who impregnated my mother.
3) TBD

References: The terminated D20 modern game with you.
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=133904&page=1&pp=40
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=133427

 

[Einan]

I'd like to play, if possible. I'm thinking Half-elven bard. Only problem is both his parents were human. No elven blood back as far as anyone can tell. No infidelity, no messing with any odd magics, none of it. Other than that, when he sings an odd light seems to surround him and people nearby report they can almost hear whispers in some litling tongue...

Plot hooks:
1) He has a birthmark of a target over his right shoulder. Every year on the same day it bleeds tears.
2) When he was thirteen he disappeared for seven days. He has no memory of the missing time, just falling asleep and waking up seven days later. His parents report he returned with a smell of brimstone to him.
3) Recently he's been having dreams of a black door with light streaming out from around it. Voices are screaming at him not to open it, but his hand strays toward the handle. The light and voices stop and the door opens. On the other side is a little girl, holding a basket of flowers. She smiles shyly, and tells him, "Seven fathoms down thy father lies. Here are the pearls that once were his eyes."

As for references, sorry, I have none. I do however, have a cat which thinks I'm not all bad.

Einan

 

[Lobo Lurker]

Sounds good RangerRick. I'm not normally a halfling fan (though I admit that this is becuase i'm just not sure where they 'slot-in' with the rest of the world) but that concept sounds interesting.

 

[Lobo Lurker]

Well, if a cat vouches for you then you can't be all that bad.

Nice plot hooks. Very creative.

 

[Argent Silvermage]

Clara was born to the town rat catcher's wife. Odd since he had been dead for over 6 months before she was concieved. She has always had dreams since she was a child just like all other children only she was always terrified of the "happy shinny dreams" made her cry. It was the nightmare horrors that made her feel safe. She always spent as much time as she could hiding in the woods around Tormegand creeping with the rats and digging for truffles.
She has spoken to the faeries of this land and they told her she was one of the godmarked.

Clara is a human (?) Sorceress/Druid with a specialty in conjuration.

Plot Hooks:
1) Clara's Raven familiar whispers horrors into the other adventurers ears at night. Or is it the raven?
2) Clara feels that there is a treasure her father was hunting for under Tormegand. She has not been able to find it yet.
3) Clara has a chime trinket passed down from her father that glows and chimes at strange times and for no seeming reason.

Name: Clara Verminelli

Class: Sorceress 1/ Druid 2
Race: Human
Alignment: Neutral
Deity: ?
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 95 pounds
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Amber
Skin: Tan

Ability Scores: Str: 10/Dex: 12/Con: 12/Int: 10/Wis: 15/Cha: 15
HP: (2d8+1d4+3 con)
AC: 11 (+1 Dex)
Init: +1 (+1 dex)
BAB: +1
Saves: Fort: +3/Ref: +/Will: +5

Attacks:


Racial Abilities:
+1 feat at first level
+1 skill point per level (+4 at start)

Class Abilities:
Summon Familiar (raven)
Animal Companion (Dire Rat)
Nature Sense
Woodland stride
Wild Empathy

Sorcerer Spells Per Day:
Cantrips: 5
1st Level: 3

Sorcerer Spells Known:
Cantrips: Disrupt undead, Ray of Frost, Prestiditation, Open/close
1st Level: Mage Armor, Monster Summoning 1

Druid Spells memorized:
Orisons: Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Guidance
1st Level: Produce Flame, Magic fang, Obscuring mist.

Feats:
Spell Focus Conjuration, Augment Summoning, Eschew materials.

Skills: (Ability + Ranks + Misc.)
Hide +6 (+1 Dex, 5 ranks)
Move Silently +6 (+1 Dex, 5 ranks)
Listen +9 (+2 Wis, 5 ranks, +2 familiar)
Search +0 (+ Int)
Spot +9 (+2 Wis, 5 ranks, +2 familiar)
Knowledge Nature +9 (+0 Int, 5 ranks, +2 nature sense, +2 synergy)
Survival +11 (+2 Wis, 5 ranks, +2 nature sense, +2 synergy)
Handle Animals +7 (+2 Wis, 5 ranks)
Knowledge Arcana +1 (+0 Int, 1 Rank)
Spellcraft +1 (+0 Int, Rank)
Craft Leather +1 (+0 int, 1 rank)


Languages:
Common and Druid
Gear: (Total weight: w)
1,200 GP

Physical Description:
Clara is a little slip of a girl looking more like a young boy that a full grown woman.


Personality:

 

[kyloss]

First a question?
EVEN levels (1, 3, 5, etc...)
should that be odd?

Rairn(Ray-urn) Kinsair
Human thief(if possible id like to be able to take the druid pass without trace and woodland stride abilities as feats, sort of a spell less ranger kind of idea more of a hunter than thief).
Rairn was found after a the worst storm the village had seen in over a century some twenty odd years ago. between the storm and the night no one saw the woman come into town, between the thunder and the howel of the wind, no one heard her cries for help. It wasnt until morning that they found her remains in a now burned out abandoned shack where she had taken shelter from the storm, at least until the lightning had set it ablaze. As they were poking through the ruins of the hovel they heard a cry, in on corner of the room untouched by the fire was a small baby, who had been saved by the very storm that had started the fire putting it out. A young couple took the child in, and as they raised him it became more and more clear that he was not from one of the tribes of the ocean of grass, He learned the ways of the hunters and grew up relativly happy but never quite fitting in, always spending most of his time alone, Some times some one would see him appear to be talking to some one but when they would approach he would be alone, If asked who he was talking to he would merely shrug and say his sister. Thinking this rather odd the spirit speakers began to inquire with the spirits about him and the possibility that his sister was a spirit, but none of the spirits would ever say a word about him even if they tried to compel them. when sent to watch him non would ever report anything that they saw other then that they did as they were bid to. They thought that he may be a spirit speaker as well but all of they test that they gave him, he always failed.

plot hooks
who was the woman
where is he from
who is his sister
why wont the spirits say anything about him.

 

[Lobo Lurker]

> ...hiding in the woods around Tormegand...

Tormegand is a city in the middle of a plain full of very tall grass. There are no trees (though, this is knee jerk reaction, it can certainly be accomodated, but there wouldn't be a lot of them, a large copse at most).

While the idea about the Raven whispering is cool, I really hate to see players 'fudge' with other players in or out of character. Hence, I would nix that idea unless I could come up with a plot device based on it.

Kyloss: Yeah, that should be even. I like what I see.