DM Alexander Kilcoyne's Sargavan Saga

Game Master Alexander Kilcoyne

"What is this place? Puzzles in Azlant, more magic than you see in a year in Absalom. Wheels literally within wheels. Bound demons and wax golems? The expense must have been enormous. But why? To what end?"

Jakob

Pyramid, Level 1 | Pyramid, Level 2 | Pyramid, Level 3 |


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Three Months Ago; 1st of Pharast, 4711 AR-

Just off the south-west tip of the Mwangi Expanse in Sargava; the Lost Colony, Baron Utilinus, Grand Custodian of Sargava, rested a weary head upon an open palm as he perused the documents before him. Utilinus was seated at a large, black desk made entirely of darkwood, covered in sealed and unsealed documents, parchment and ink. He had not left this desk for several hours and he ate absent-mindedly from a simple fruit bowl. The Baron was dressed in a simple grey robe, stained with juices from the local fruits he ate while working and brown stains that hinted of a workaholic lifestyle maintained through potent brews and elixirs to keep him awake and mentally capable with very little sleep. The Baron held his breath in anticipation as he read the latest dispatch from Kalabuto, knowing that the news in the message could tell of a revolt that had seized the city or that the Mzali had conquered it for good. He sighed in relief as he read a message from his general- another Mzali attack had tested the cities defence and the loyalty of the Mwangi people governed there, but the ancient city had stood firm. Barely.

The Baron then turned his attention to matters of the economy; specifically how he was going to be able to raise further funds for the military when the tribute to the Free Captains left his treasury crippled every month. A knock upon the door to his private chambers was quickly followed by the apologetic voice of Gellius, one of his massive Chelish bodyguards.

Forgive me Grand Custodian, but I have General Morvius here. He says he was given orders to report to you personally.

Utilinus paused as he wracked his brain for why he would have issued that order.

Ah of course... How foolish of me to forget he reprimanded himself as he replied in a tired but authoritative voice- Allow him passage!

A thin and dangerous looking warrior of Mwangi heritage entered the chamber, but little other than his skin colour spoke of a Mwangi tribesman. He was dressed as a soldier, in fine banded mail and a plumed helmet, with military decorations pinned to said mail. Morvius was a descendant of one of the first natives to truly assimilate themselves into Sargavan society and by the time he had been born his family were one of Eleder's handful of 'Mwangi' noble families. As a result, Morvius took a Chelish name, wore heavy armour and was trained in classical warfare by a bladesmaster rather than growing up hunting and learning to fight in a manner akin to a combination of guerilla warfare and mass charges.

Raising Morvius to a rank as high as General had been a logistical and political masterstroke for the Baron for not only was Morvius highly educated and capable, he represented hope and equal opportunity for Mwangi all over Sargava. The Baron smiled wearily as the general entered, and held out his hand to receive the report Morvius carried. His smile faded when he read the contents.

Failure? Again? How many did we lose this time trying to get at it? he asked.

Just under three score soldiers and double that in auxilia, Baron. I fear our soldiers morale and training is insufficient for such a task came the reply from Morvius. How long do we have left, dare I ask?

The Baron winced at the question and took a deep drink of a swirling brown mixture before responding. Well, the Sargavan Chalice was disappointing this year. It did not raise nearly as much trade and tax income as I had hoped; perhaps the event is getting a little stale. We have, at best, six months left before we can no longer afford to keep this up. We must uncover its secrets before that time, or we risk our trade lanes coming under constant attack at best. At the worst, we risk another invasion from Cheliax. The thrice-cursed queen would love nothing more than to reclaim Sargava.

The general paced back and forth for a few minutes as the Baron returned to his paperwork, allowing Morvius the time he needed to formulate his response. When it came, the Mwangi general had a glint in his eye and a cunning sneer on his face.

My Lord, I have a suggestion. Adventuring parties and companies are springing up all over Sargava of late; in particular deserters from Kalabuto are often forming independent groups to provide security for the petty noble's government-granted patches of land.

Inspired by the Baron's nods of approval, Morvius continued, growing excited.

My proposal is this- host a grand competition in Eleder, inviting such groups to compete in some contest of skill or competition for the honour of receiving a dangerous, lucrative and glorious mission from the Grand Custodian himself. The revenue such an event will generate should be comparable to the Chalice and should buy us more time to keep paying the pirates off, maybe even enough spare to raise more men for Kalabuto. It will also provide us with a group who may be capable of uncovering the secrets that continue to elude us. If they should fail; it costs us nothing and the morale of our men will be unaffected.

The Grand Custodian was genuinelly impressed, but tried hard not to show it too much. He nodded as Morvius finished.

I had been contemplating a similar idea he straight-face lied. But your counsel and input is, as always, valuable to me. It shall be so. I shall make it a contest, testing their strength, skill, knowledge and will. It will be known as the Trials of Grallus, to honour our first Baron...

The Baron smiled smugly, having taken creative control of the event in a single smooth motion. Morvius was nodding alongly enthusiastically and praising the motion. It would take some months of planning but, as Morvius had pointed out- adventurers were expendable. If he had to send some of them to an early grave; well, it was for the good of Sargava. In the end, the nation's wellbeing was the only thing that truly mattered...

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Explanation/What to Expect

Explanation-

So, if the fluff text wasn't indicative i'll explain. You will take on the role of a budding adventurer in a newly formed adventuring party, a significant cut above most other warriors, aristocrats, adepts, experts and commoners in Sargava. Once I have chosen six players you will be expected to decide on your group's short history, previous jobs, how well you know each other and describe your journey to Eleder (if you were not already there).

From there, your party will compete in the Trials of Grallus with similar competitors for the honour of receiving a commission from the Grand Custodian himself, Baron Utilinus. Rumour has it that the commission is dangerous, but offers glory and riches beyond your wildest dreams.

What to expect from DM AK-

Lets see...

I adhere pretty strictly to RAW but I do deviate from it sometimes; usually in favor of the players.

I have a solid grasp of the PF rules system and have played and DM'ed in many PbP's here on the Paizo forums- for an example of my DMing style and to look at how I tend to run my games etc. you need look no further than my Kingmaker Campaign (near the end of chapter 2, started 1 year ago. A link to Chapter 1 is available on the first post of Chapter 2) and my Serpents Skull Campaign (near the end of chapter 1, started about 8 months ago).

I use MapTools screen prints and make my own maps for complex combats. Combat is well organised with a round update marking the start of the next combat round, active effects tracked and helpful notes made available to the players.

I'd like to think I am fair, I am extremely reliable and I am dedicated to producing a great game for my players. As such, my recruitment process IS selective; I put a lot into my games and want my players to do the same for a kickass PbP we're all proud to play in. I work hard on ensuring my posts are clear, descriptive and free of spelling errors. I am NOT going to suddenly disappear on my players; if I do have an abscence you'll be the first to know and nothing short of my demise should disrupt the game for a long period (don't worry, i'l have instructions to inform my players put into my will ;) ).

I favor sandbox over rails campaigns and you will need to provide your own direction and act on your own initiative rather than DM hints much of the time. That said, I will eventually introduce an overarching plot.

What to expect from this game-

This game should have a decent mixture of exploration, combat and role-play. Characters created for it should be combat capable but also expect to be involved in politics, leadership, exploration and skill challenges.

This game is likely to eventually involve kingdom building using the KM rules (but obviously not in the River Kingdoms).

I don't want to give spoilers, but your likely to be heading into an indoor, hostile environment should you win the trials.

I will not DM screw you (oh you took favoured enemy Elf? Ha, thats never coming up again...) or DM metagame (How does he know you have Deflect Arrows in the first round of combat? Erm...) and will endeavour to make your choices work in the campaign and steer you away from bad choices (I think Skill Focus: Craft Basket Weaving might not be the best choice for your Barbarian).

With that said, it WILL be a challenging game. I am known to run combats that often drop PC's (although I rarely kill them) and you shouldn't expect everything you stumble into to be magically CR appropiate.

I will run the game for as long as people want to keep playing. I have a rough 'end plot' figured out for high level play but we could keep playing after that or finish there.

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Please read the following sections carefully if you are interested!

1. Apply with a concept only- race, class, personality, background/ethnicity, appearance, motivations, aspirations etc., put into a spoiler tag in a single post, for my ease of reference. Stating which campaign background (more on this later) your character wants to use will also be appreciated. I don't want character statblocks yet, it makes me feel guilty for saying no. Starting level will be level one.

2. Please also include your time zone in GMT. For reference, I am GMT+0 (England) but often post at funny times of the day/night. I don't want to see any actual builds out there that you will have spent extra time on, that I have to then say no to. I hate saying no to people as it is. I should point out in advance i'm not going to be allowing the Leadership feat, so be careful about assuming that feat will be ok at 7th Level.

3. I am generally a very frequent poster, and do expect the same of any applicants. If you can't commit to at least checking on the game once a day and making a small post on most days, this PBP won't be for you. I reserve the right to take your character's actions for you if I feel your character is holding up the game, typically after you have been inactive for 24 hours. This is especially true in combat, where after 24 hours I will take your characters action for you to the best of my ability.

4. On that note, abscences are ok, but as a matter of courtesy I expect a post informing me and i'll be happy to bot your character.

5. The party size will be a party of six (I prefer 5 but I feel guilty if I only take 5...). The characters chosen will be made with a 25 point buy stat array, chosen from the following arrays (pick one, pre-racial)-

18,16,10,10,10,8

18,15,13,10,10,8

18,12,12,12,12,10

17,14,14,12,10,8

16,16,15,10,10,8

16,16,14,10,10,10

16,15,15,14,8,8

16,14,14,14,12,8

15,14,14,14,14,8

15,14,14,12,12,12

6. I will not be enforcing alignment restrictions but common sense should apply. As long as the character is able to play well with others (no PvP) and not harbour secret desires to backstab the group you should be ok. A sense of loyalty to Sargava is expected but not essential.

7. All classes from the Core Rulebook are legal (except from Paladins), as are the APG's- with the exception of the Alchemist and Summoner. I'm just not happy with those two classes, sorry. I am keen to see lots of archetypes played though. I will generally be allowing material from player companion books (such as Gnomes of Golarion or the Cheliax book) but I am not touching Ultimate Magic or Ultimate Combat with a 10 foot pole.

8. The idea is that although your character could feasibly come from anywhere, he or she has been active in Sargava for a while. You will be required to start with a campaign background from the options listed below; they are all designed to be equivalent to two traits (often in the way of a feat). You will also select one free choice trait. The campaign backgrounds are detailed in the next section.

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Campaign Backgrounds

Defender of Kalabuto

Constant revolts and attacks from Mzali have ensured you have had to fight for your life alone and cut off from your fellow soldiers on more than one occasion.

You gain the Desperate Battler feat.

Native Sargavan

Although your heritage is Mwangi, your family considers themselves Sargavan citizens and has suffered and endured many years of scorn and attacks to become respected citizens of Eleder.

You gain the Iron Will feat.

Survivor of Smugglers Shiv

Against all odds, you were one of a handful of survivors who recently escaped from the dreaded island in Desperation Bay. You struggled for weeks on the island, desperately learning the ways of the land in order to survive; when you finally reached the south-west tip of the island you found a slaughtered cannibal tribe and a rebuilt lighthouse you used to hail a ship. Although the memories of such a place may haunt you still, the skills you learnt there have proved useful.

You gain the Skill Focus (Survival) feat and the survival skill is always considered a class skill for you.

Laughing Jungle Resident

Dex 13 required.

Having grown up in the thick forests and treacherous terrain of the Laughing Jungle, you find little on any battlefield to disrupt your graceful movements.

You gain the Nimble Moves feat.

Crown's End Smuggler

Before joining up with your adventuring company, you have enjoyed a fairly lucrative career as a smuggler in Crown's End, which came to an abrupt end you rarely speak of.

You gain a +1 bonus to your Sleight of Hand skill and it is always considered a class skill for you. You also start with 500 gold pieces worth of non-magical gear & coins instead of your normal starting cash and you also have a free masterwork simple weapon.

Fort Bandu Veteran

You served in the notorious Fort Bandu for a time, a member of a 150 man legion that was frequently called upon to defend ground against many times that number of hostile Mwangi.

You gain the Combat Reflexes feat.

OR

You gain the Exotic Weapon Proficiency in a weapon of your choice, if you meet the BAB +1 requirement.

Military Tradition

Your family has served proudly in the Sargavan military for generations and you valorously seek to defend your homeland against any who would dare threaten in.

You gain the Focused Discipline feat.

Noble of Eleder

Your status as a young and popular noble in Eleder allowed you the freedom to pursue any path you desired while growing up.

Requires Cha 13.

You gain the Noble Scion feat.

Laughing Jungle Hunter

You are a skilled archer and in the dense and treacherous Laughing Jungle you were often forced to take shots at dangerously close ranges against vicious predators. You have honed your close combat shooting skills as a result.

You gain the Point Blank Shot feat.

Student of the Barren Clergy

With their clerical powers gone, many of Aroden's once powerful clergy focused their energies on teaching students like you to concentrate and channel your own spellcasting powers under the most dire of circumstances.

You gain the Combat Casting feat.

I am happy to accomodate other concepts and produce similar descriptions and background to fit your concepts so don't feel straightjacketed by these if none of them fit what you have in mind.

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Campaign Houserules

1. Crafting feats give you access to producing your own items, and you will have sufficient downtime to do so in the game. However, all crafting is done at 100% cost instead of 50% cost; the advantage is easy availability of what you want.

2. Deadly Aim provides a better trade off for crossbows- -1/+3, -2/+6 and so on.

3. The Vital Strike feat automatically upgrades into the next one in the chain when you reach the appropiate BAB (Vital Strike becomes Improved Vital Strike at BAB+11 for example.)

4. There may be more, i'll try and remember. Nothing major though.

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Submission Timeline

I will be reviewing submissions on Tuesday the 28th at 6PM GMT+0, assuming I have a healthy selection to choose from. This is not first come, first served- please take your time with your applications and early posters will not enjoy any particular advantage.

I will check the thread regularily and am happy to answer any questions or queries.

Edit: These are the kinds of backgrounds that have got into my games in the past.

Barator's "Vaysh Triesente"

JaceDK's "Casimir Bodevski"


dot

Sovereign Court

*grumbles about the 1 hour editing lockout*.

The Inner Sea World Guide would be a handy resource when creating a character, but heres a couple of good articles on the wiki-

On Sargava

On the Mwangi Expanse

On Kalabuto


Mulled it over for some while now and I've come up with 3-4 possibilities:

Cathrin Jennu-bautwael:

Brought up in Greengold, Kyonin she learnt much of co-habitation between elves and humans, but never recieved respect from either. Her human friends were often gone and grown up either moving off for adventure or her elf friend still being children and won't be grown up for many years.

She felt a close connection to her human father as he understood how ageing faster than other races taught her to adjust and get along with these other races, however he never got to see her to grow into a young woman.

Her mother has taken over and they were often at odd ends. Her mother wanted her to be a follower of Calistria like many others in her family previously had been, but she could never get to grips with the savoured sting and felt more connected to Nethys or Desna. So much so she even bought a silver symbol of Desna to send the message to her mother. This was the core of their final argument.

She left, heading to Mwangi Expanse and arriving in Sargava as a place of investigation. She had a talent for the arcane, but also a strong belief in the divine. She spent her time with the Barren Clergy to learn how to praise the faithful and how to better defend herself in combat so that she could avoid being harmed when in combat. As she gains experience in combat she hopes to take on the powers of a cleric on the path to become the ultimate magic user.

Wizard going to take a few levels in cleric and then Mystic Thurger

Balo Crispin:

Fighting off many hostile Mwangi, Balo had great training with odd weapons. His favoured weapon was the two-bladed sword and he has taken off many Mwangi heads off, even though ironically he himself is half-mwangi and half-chelish. His mother was one of the Mwangi who lived in Sargava and like him defended Fort Bandu with the same weapon and his father was a colonist who was a medic for the people here and cleric of Shelyn.

At first they didn't get off to a good start with her used to her own people's ways and him trying to bandage her whilst she was trying to get ready and rejoin the battle. The argument heated and in the end the two of them ended up together.

Balo was born in battle, quite literilly as she was determined to fight no matter what condition she was in or how far along in a pregnancy she was. Luckily her screams of both pain and anger scared many mwangi warriors, especially as they witnessed her breaking water. No one is sure if this was respect of her being such a powerful warrior or if it was in fact mercy for not wanting to fight or kill a woman who was in labor. To this day, people are unsure.

Balo followed in his mother's footsteps, training insensly and ready to fight by her side in his early teens, smiting and cutting down hostile Mwangi left and right. Since then he has trained hard, but with the death of his mother and his father growing distant from him, he left and met up with a group in hopes that his training will go to use.

Human fighter who take the free exotic weapon proficiency in two-bladed sword.

Ixiolander + Othollo Thrune:

Ixiolander has his eyes closed for thousands and thousands of years, unaware of the changes the happened to the world. The age of darkness, the monsters that rose, the creation of the Sodden Lands and the Fall of Aroden, The Last Azlanti. All these he missed and thought he always would as he remained in this fortress and trapped in perminant stasis in the Stasis Fields until a hapless group of adventuers, bleeding out and nearly dead managed to deactivate his field.

Upon his awakening it took him a while to recover, but the group was under attack by the hidious creatures from the darklands that find their way here. Grasping his shining blades he jumped into action, carving up the creature from the darkness, but not before it managed to finish off the group, leaving him without any knowledge of the world outside, so he heads off to the south in hopes of finding civilisation of somekind.

He came across Kalabuto which was often and always attacked by vicious Mwangi. He grinned as he got to try his blade against humanoids once again and watch them scream as he sticks his blade in each one in turn.

Ixiolander I just came up with. He's meant to be a warrior of the Azlanti people or perhaps a fighter who will take levels in wizard for Eldrich Knight. Kalabuto trait as he would've arrive there and trained against the hordes.

Othollo, like the rest of his family are one of the legendary and somewhat now mythological Azlanti. Unlike the mortals of this realm, he is a true pure-blooded Azlanti with the deep purple eyes of his kind, which he hides with prestigitation so that he cannot be easily identified.

His people have hidden themselves in a alternate plane of existance when the Aboleth's started the cataclismic event known today a Earthfall. Hiding from the world due to this carastrophy until such time as it is safe enough to restart their war against their ancient enemies. He has returned as a scout to explore the new world, report the changes back his people and gain knowledge as he trains too, hoping to bring the rest of his remaining people knowledge of the Aboleths and maybe one of their eyes as a trophy.

He appeared on Absalom in a area named Precipice Quarter, once known as Beldrin's Bluff. A location not many people want to go to and for good reason. He quickly picked up on this area being the best to avoid so he headed straight for the nearest centre of town he could find, passing himself off as a average wizard, using prestigitation to change his eye colour and trying to fit in by not acting so noble, which is difficult for him. Those who recognised him as one of the Azlanti decendents he didn't bother to correct as he could atleast escape under the illusion he was one of the humans inhabiting this world.

With him is a strange Gizmo, something created of advanced tech and magic to help him communicate back to his world on any important findings he comes across in this world. One was the existance of the other races, Gnomes in particular due to their connection to the first world and the curious condition they contract if they don't find new excitements, known as "The Bleeching" which he learnt was due to coming across here from the first world.

Though his knowledge of this world so far is that of a child, he hopes that on his voyage to the next great town can give him the information he needs and to find out if when the Azlanti come back if it should be with a bang or a quiet and sneaky arrival to prepare for revenge against the aboleths.

His time in Sargava has given him a chance to study with the noble houses who are willing to accept someone who looks like an Azlanti and clearly has the powers of one of these ancient people and studied intensly to learn all he can and become a scion of magic.

Both pureblooded Azlanti, though the latter here I had planned to use whenever you were doing a campain of your own. I was going to ask you if he's allowed the gizmo which can only contact his people back on the plane of existance they are hiding in, however it can't be use for any other type of communication. If not then disreguard the stuff about him being able to contact his people.

[ooc]Hope that gives you a good few ideas. Will be checking back throughout the week.


Dot for interest. I'll mull some ideas over. I've always wanted to play in one of AK's campaigns (and vice-versa).


Dot for wild interest.


DM Aron Marczylo wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Although I like the concepts themselves, Azlant Pureblood's will be a no-go in this game, ruling out Ixiolander and Othollo.

Cathrin needs a bit more to her. Between her and Balo I prefer Balo; his mixed heritage could prove very interesting in the game. Both of them would need a lot more detail to get a slot though-

Original Post wrote:


race, class, personality, background/ethnicity, appearance, motivations, aspirations etc

Hi Barcas, Poor Wandering One. I was worried my game wouldn't get any interest and then I refresh to see you two :).


1 person marked this as a favorite.
DM Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:
Hi Barcas, Poor Wandering One. I was worried my game wouldn't get any interest and then I refresh to see you two :).

Ha! Everyone's just off doing their homework before daring to submit a character, knowing your exacting standards. :)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

If you are lucky enough to get selected for one of Alex's game you will be in for a real treat...that is all I will say.

If I wasn't thinking about running my own game finally I would be all over this game with a character...although I have a Witch concept I have been wanting to try out...just kidding.

Good luck folks!

Sovereign Court

Thanks for the kind words terok :).

terok wrote:


If I wasn't thinking about running my own game finally I would be all over this game with a character...

In the interest of full disclosure, those already playing in a game I DM will be low priority. Your welcome to post up a character but the PbP forum seems to be so full of players wanting to get in on games it seems unfair to mine from my existing players, however wonderful they are. So unless you completely and utterly blow me away or I get only a small number of players interested its probably not worth submitting.


Joana wrote:
DM Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:
Hi Barcas, Poor Wandering One. I was worried my game wouldn't get any interest and then I refresh to see you two :).
Ha! Everyone's just off doing their homework before daring to submit a character, knowing your exacting standards. :)

Either that or he scared everyone off with that rather lengthy first post of his. :)

All kidding aside, Alex is one hell of a good DM. Good luck to those who apply. I will definitely be lurking about this one, once AK gets it up and running.


DM Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:

Hi Barcas, Poor Wandering One. I was worried my game wouldn't get any interest and then I refresh to see you two :).

Hello DM AK. Oh I don't think that will be a problem. Not with your reputation.

And what did you mean about paladins? I think the post was garbled.
"7. All classes from the Core Rulebook are legal (except from Paladins), as are the APG's- with the exception of the Alchemist and Summoner.

In any case here is my application.

Jacob.:

Bones. Jakob Mulle. Human mobile fighter or Warrior of the holy light if paladins are allowed. GMT-8 Seattle, USA

Flesh. The Mulle family is well established in Sagava. They area trading family with interests from the inner sea to the deep interior. They do not have the best reputation. They are known to deal with the Apsis consortium and are closer to several leading Shackled pirates than the Sagavan government likes. Most suspiciously they pay their taxes on time and correct to the copper.

Jacob is not an ornament to the family. He is not a drunkard, or a womanizer or incompetent or trying to sell his soul to demons. The family could deal with that, Gorzeh knows they have in the past. No Jacob is honest, upright, friendly and has no head for business.

Luckily the family notices this flaw and have kept him from becoming aware of anything too upsetting, but Jacob is getting brighter. He is asking questions. Something must be done.

The Trials of Gallus were an answer to their prayers. Years ago they had sent Jacob to a military academy in Absalom. They hoped it would break his spirit and keep him quiet. All it did was teach him how to fight and talk politics. Today that education makes him eligible for the trials. The family is applying some gentle persuasion to see he gets chosen. If he dies, it is unfortunate but an acceptable loss. If he wins he may yet make a profit.

Appearance. Average height. Not bad looking more supporting cast than leading man if you know what I mean. Skin tan from the sun. Favors dusty reds and browns. You could pass him on the street except there is something that catches your eye.

Liberty's Edge

Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:
In the interest of full disclosure, those already playing in a game I DM will be low priority.

:-(

Dark Archive

Another of Alex's current players adding to the chorus of accolades. Alex is an exceptional DM and I highly recommend applying. You won't be sorry.

I find it highly improbable that you will be lacking for applicants. :)

Cheers!

Dark Archive

I wish to apply tho I'm not sure if I'm too late but here it goes:

Spoiler:

Raegar Norfire

Half-elf with the Ancestral Arms racial trait.

Fighter or Cavalier Class

Campaign Trait:
Military Tradition

Background:
At young age, as with all children from House Norfire, he was sent out to learn his noble house trade. In Raegar case this was the role of warfare for his noble house had a long standing tradition of military officers and service to the Azmodean Church. Reignier is Raegar father and an officer in the army of Cheliax and he trained young Raegar in the ways of battle.

There was little doubt that Raegar would become a warrior of skill it was in his bloodright to be amongst the very best. 2nd in line, there was no way he would inherit in his noble house more than some lofty accomodation and loyal service to his family that he dearly respects.

But for all his cruelty and sense of honor, Raegar is feared for his ruthlessness and well liked amongst his peers for his commanding respect (sometimes a bit to commanding). He has a willingness to cooperate for a common goal specially if there is something for him to win, and he delights in drinking a good wine. Where ever there was good wine, there was Raegar.

When he came of age he was given his soldier outfit of his noble house. After receiving this honors he left home to become a greater warrior at the service of the Azmodean Church,Hellknight Order, Cheliax Army or wander around to world a s mercenary and maybe some day even forge his own Knightly order, Noble House or even his own kingdom.

Personality:
His tendency to lead, as this was natural for him sometimes got him into a fight or two, nothing hard or that he couldn't handle. Raegar is an excellent judge of character and very charismatic. He can come off as patient and kind, resolved and angry, or anything else the situation calls for, but he tends to be cruel. Raegar is hungry for power, believing that success in business or politics is the best measure of a man's worth. He is very mindful of his image and very cold when hard choices come.

Descritpion:
This tall and solid built young handsome man, has the defined musculature typical of a Cheliax and the refined features of an elf. You can just make out pointed ears protruding from his long black hair. He has a powerful presence and steely green eyes. His clothing looks elegant yet like it has seen much use, that makes you think it's some sort of formal clothing for army standards, and yet functional for traveling.

I still need to take a peek at some archetypes and I was wondering if it recommended for mounted combat, just in case I take a cavalier.

The Exchange

I'd come up with/post a character concept right now, but I'm incredibly tired, and it's midnight. If the topic is still open, I'll post in more detail tomorrow. All I know right now is:

Nowhere-Near-Complete Character Concept:

Elf

Barbarian or Ranger

Only respects those he deems has earned respect.

Planning on taking Laughing Jungle Hunter or Resident, I'll choose tomorrow, when I flesh him out all the way. GMT -5

Sovereign Court

Poor Wandering One wrote:
All classes from the Core Rulebook are legal (except from Paladins)

Your right it is pretty garbled. Essentially i'm saying no Paladins.

Guys, I appreciate it is an huge wall of text but right at the end I make it clear-

Me wrote:


Submission Timeline

I will be reviewing submissions on Tuesday the 28th at 6PM GMT+0, assuming I have a healthy selection to choose from. This is not first come, first served- please take your time with your applications and early posters will not enjoy any particular advantage.

You have plenty of time.

Deiros I couldn't see your time zone specified. As usual, mounted combat works but you may find thesize of your mount prohibitive unless your playing a small race.


I'd be interested and have always been a fan of exotic settings.

Ildring Ha'nèn:

Ildring is the second son of Hyath and Lyrikiel Ha'nén, raised in...actually all that doesn't matter, because Ildring only has his old journal that tells him about the time before he lost his memory.
The tattered, spotty and grotty old book bound in the leather of an animal most probably already extinct, lies on Ildring's pillow as he looks out of the window of the shabby tavern within the walls of Fort Bandu.

He squints several times as he looks into the burning sun...Time to start something new...so many days have passed, filled with idle pondering...

He grabs the shaft of his spear, a feeling, while so mundane, yet full of familiarity; packs his belongings and heads out to meet the others.

----------------

Ildring is haunted by the loss of his memmory and his inability to make sense of his journal. He must have gone to the south many years ago, yet he does not know why. His journal hints at love...maybe he wanted to protect someone, maybe rescue, maybe begin a new life...at this point he often hurls the book through the room. He can't stand his own questioning anymore and drowning it in more and more booze has turned out to be even worse...at least most of the times.

----------------

Ildring is an impulsive elven fighter. Reckless and with a devil-may-care attitude in battle, loud and roguish outside fights. But all his flamboyant demeanor can only hide his uncertainty from those that don't know him very well...which are the most.
He is motivated by living life to its fullest...at least that's what he tries to transport, deep in his heart he feels a strong urge to unravel the happenings of his former life...the time before he awoke at a lonely beach together wit a pile of flotsam.

----------------

OOC: Hope that gives you a first impression, I'm open to any advice or recommendation.
My time zone is GMT +1 (Germany).
I'm posting very frequently and I'd choose the Fort Bandu Veteran trait, since that's the one I could easily squeeze into his background.

I'd go with these ability scores:

15,14,14,14,14,8

Alignment NG

Class: Fighter/Phalanx Soldier

Race: Elf

Sovereign Court

Uchendu Kybwa'ka:
LN Half-Elf(Bonuwat) Oracle (Juju Mystery) 1

Campaign Background:
Laughing Jungle Resident

Time Zone:
GMT+11 (Australia, East Coast)

Appearance:
Although of average height (5’11”), with a stocky, muscular build, Uchendu retains some of the grace and poise of his Elven forebears, moving lightly on his feet. He has dusky skin, and short, fuzzy black hair, which he usually keeps hidden, along the points of his Elven ears, under the brim of a broad leather hat. His most striking feature, however, is a large tattoo of a moth, with a wing-pattern reminiscent of a curled leaf from which water is dripping, which is emblazoned in black ink across the right side of his face, a symbol of his devotion to Shimye-Magalla. When traveling, he wears a suit of leather armor constructed from the skin of the first spawn of the Ravener King that he defeated in combat, and keeps his trusty morningstar, which he wields with brutal efficiency, close at hand.

Background:
The son of an Ekujae herbalist and a Bonuwat warrior, Uchendu’s early years were comfortable; his family’s tribe were predominantly coastal, but periodically migrated inland to pay their respects at some of Shimye-Magalla’s jungle holy sites, such as Gozreh’s Pool.

It was on one such pilgrimage, whilst Uchendu was still just a young boy, that the tribe was raided by a Bekyar war-party; in one instant, his tranquil life was destroyed forever. When the dust settled, about a quarter of the tribe was dead or missing, and Uchendu was left without any immediate family – his human father had been slaughtered in front of him, attempting to defend his Elven mother, who was kidnapped by the Bekyar slavers.

Uchendu was declared a ward of the tribe, and responsibility for his upbringing fell to the tribe’s shaman. Although the teachings of Shimye-Magalla provided a measure of peace, tranquility, and stability, Uchendu was drawn more to the tempestuous, unforgiving aspects of nature, and also trained with the tribes warriors, mixing divine power with prowess-at-arms.

He ultimately became one of the tribe’s most zealous defenders, seeking out and neutralising threats to the tribe. In particular, he reserved an especially white-hot hatred for the Bekyar, and the other servitors of the demon lord Angazhan. When he eventually learned the identity of the tribe that had stolen away his mother, he whipped his own tribe into a frenzy, and appealed to his mother’s relatives for aid; when they descended the village, the burnt it to the ground, slaughtering the Bekyar inhabitants, and freeing a number of slaves, including his mother.

With her rescue, he thought the nightmare was over, but then he discovered that he had a half-brother – a depraved half-Bekyar whelp, who had been away from the village at the time of the avenging raid. Once he made sure that his mother was safely ensconced back with the rest of the tribe, he bid them a fond farewell, and left to scour the Mwangi Expanse for the final stain on his family’s honor…

Motivations/Philosophy:
Uchendu has traveled to the more 'settled' region of Sargava, hot on the trail of his loathsome half-brother. However, although he feels confident in his own abilities, he is quite concerned about the strange ways of the Sargavans (viewing them essentially as foreign devils with little understanding on the ways of the jungle), and is actively looking for allies to aid him on his quest. However, as he has moved amongst them, he has learned that they, too, can be honorable creatures, and worthwhile allies, even if they do not truly understand the Jungle...

If it were not for the fact that he is on a quest of vengeance, he would probably quite enjoy the chance to explore Mwangi Expanse, reveling in the thrill of discovery whilst he hunts for whatever treasures of forgotten knowledge and lost relics he can find deep in the Jungle.

Like the sea, he can be quite capricious and tempestuous, and he will go to whatever lengths are necessary to achieve his goals. Nonetheless, he is fiercely loyal to those that he considers to be his allies. As such, he is selective about those whom he travels with, but once his trust has been acquired, he defends them to the last.

His loyalty is to his family/allies first, all followers of Shimye-Magalla second, and the Jungle itself third – he really would prefer to have all outsiders removed from the Mwangi Expanse, but recognises that they have a right to exist, provided they do not prey upon the natives like filthy Bekyar…

Sovereign Court

Poor Wandering One-

I like what i'm reading so far, any chance you could expand on it and give me more of an insight into Jakob? The history is good but I don't feel like I know what i'd expect from the character.

I've not seen a mobile fighter in action yet. It looks like some way to gain acrobatics as a class skill would be useful for one, and possibly the armour expert trait.

What background were you taking? Noble scion?

Zyren Zemerys-

The prospect of lost memories fills me with excitement and trepidation at the same time- Planescape: Torment style. I once hd a RL player give me a concept in my homebrew world of waking up in a field, leaving the backstory to me which was slowly revealed by successful will saves (which usually occured during blackouts; often at inappropiate times). They absolutely loved the 9 page epic that was slowly told to them throughout the game.

You may have seen in my Kingmaker game that the Heavens Oracle Fenna started with a background as an ex-prophetess. As prophecy is slowly returning to Golarion in my KM game, her Haunted curse has been providing her with relevant prophecies she wrote dozens if not hundreds of years ago.

What i'm saying is, such a plot device can be very cool. Would you want it in the hands of the GM or yourself? Who would have creative control of Ildring's past?

Also- more details on appearance and possibly a little more history since washing up on shore wouldn't hurt your chances.

Luke_Parry-

Where is the Juju mystery from? One of the SS books if I recall but I can't find it on D20PF to peruse it further.

You've included everything I asked for, good job. A little more information on Uchendu's personality would be good but your basically there. The game is likely to eventually have the PC's more and more involved in Sargava- would that not clash with Uchendu's motivations?

Other people interested; presenting your submission like Luke's would be a good format.


I frequent the boards quite often, and I should be able to post multiple times per day if the flow allows it.

Erakai Abadenbu

Spoiler:

Time Zone – Central Standard (GMT-6)

Halfling bard, female
Neutral-good

Campaign Trait: Native Sargavan

Background:
Erakai was raised in a small band of halflings mixed with a few Zenj who hunted and gathered along the Sargavan savannah. Known as the Masztaki the group counted twenty-six as members. The Masztaki practice the common local form of ancestor worship, and were generally unconnected with the colonial world. They would sometimes trade at fringe border cities so they were not completely unexposed to outside culture.

While song and dance were part of her daily life in the tribe, Erakai displayed and unusual interest in the stories that were told. From a young age she began to emerge as the tribes most skilled artist, unparalleled in song and always repeating the stories of the old ones for all who would listen.

Erakai’s tribe was damaged irreversibly when they were subject to a surprise attack in the night by a band of raiding of Kaava halflings, worshipers of Zura who killed the matriarch Alurera. With its warriors slain the remaining tribe members fled in fear of capture. Erakai ran west without looking back, eventually making her way to Eledar.

In Eledar Erakai worked as a street performer and found it easy to earn enough coins to get by. Her talents would be noticed, and Erakai became an apprentice in a theater house. It was there that the orphaned child of the Mwangi refined her skills, learning to read and write as well as mastering tonal instruments not found on the savannah. Erakai became particularly influenced by a retired adventurer who now called the theater guild home. The stories of adventures to distant and dangerous locations all across Sargava instilled a craving within her. While years would pass she began to plan and wait for the right opportunity.

Motivation
Erakai’s ambitions have now outgrown the rewards of a small theater hall. Ready to make a name for herself she has spent her meager personal wealth on adventuring equipment. Hearing of the call for adventurers dispatched by the Grand Custodian, Erakai says her good byes and sets off for the Trials of Grallus.

Attitude
Working an entertainer in colonial Eledar, Erakai is more than used to being treated as an outsider. Given her position as a refugee she was happy to be able to make coins, and cooperative in taking them from anyone that was willing. Erakai is tolerant of all colonials but will only befriend those who are not offensive in their attitudes. Erakai does however possess a soft spot for native peoples, and will go out of her way to help a friendly Mwangi in need.

Erakai is a team player and is generally cooperative with the will of the group. She does prefer to use her charm and abilities with language to talk her way through difficult situations.

Curiosity and a slight vein of greed are her weak points. Erakai is especially interested in attaining artifacts and treasures related to the songs and stories she remembers from her childhood, and would take great risks to do so.

Description
Erakai stands a modest 2’5. She has long brown hair which she keeps in braids, and prefers to mix the jewelry and make up of the Mwangi with the clothing and belts of the colonials. She is serious but not without a sense of humor and is eager to set out into the world, recording the songs and stories of her adventures and travels.

Alignment
Erakai respects good people, but understands the reality of survival. She will typically remain lawful but is willing to bend the rules on occasion for gains or glory, as long as no one innocent or undeserving is hurt.

//made some late edits


Ildring, additional information:

Sure, my bad.

Appearance:

Ildring is a slender, yet muscled, tall elf of nearly 190 cm. His more than shoulder-long nearly platinum blonde hair (mostly bleached by the sun) is plaited to a single braid, he keeps between his teeth in battle situations.
Upon entering the jungle he normally wears a helmet or dyes his hair darker to camouflage himself.
Despite the temperatures, he tries to rely on heavy armour and shields, having experienced more than once that steel saves lives.
He has a face like cut from stone, while aesthetic and handsome at first glance, much too severe to be counted as very attractive. Same is true for his iceberg-light-blue eyes.

History since flotsam:

After being washed to the shore, the sensation of being in such a desperate situation made him unaware of the loss of his memory at first. He awaited it to return during the course of the next hours, sinc he knew such things could happen in extreme situations. But his memory didn't return and slowly he began to understand what this meant...He rose to his feet on a forlorn beach and made his way south.

Even though he had a diet consisting only of crabs and coconuts, he made it to a trading post after many miles of wandering.

Here he heard of Ford Bantu and the problems they had with the Mwangi Tribes. Deciding that the Ford couldn't be a worse place than any other in whole Garund he accomopanied the next caravan to the Fort.

After Praetor Sylien found him acceptable, he was taken to the ranks of the soldiers and earned quite a reputation as a fighter with spear and shield. Using techniques and tactics he must have had learned in one of the famous guards of Kyonin, he fast rose to the rank of lieutenant.

But in the end the pangs of guilt he felt because of his mysterious past made him quit the Fort and search for work as an adventurer, hoping to find clues by travellling and meeting people.

ooc: I'd suggest we both should be allowed to write entries for the journal, could be quite interesting doing this together. I imagined Ildring would start reading the journal at the beginning of the campaign and advance ever further with the action unfolding.

Sovereign Court

The Juju Mystery is listed on the Archives of Nethys website (link provided). The information is there; you just need to scroll down a little bit :-)

I am heading off to sleep now, but I will expand a bit more on Uchendu's personality, and how he could 'work' inside Sargava, after work tomorrow :-)


This looks like a great game, AK. I'm going to mull it over. I'm glad we've got plenty of time to put something strong together.


It looks very promising.

I am working on a concept for the daughter of a coffee shop owner in Eleder. The coffee shop had been, until recently, a favorite haunt of the polite chelaxian society.

I have either bard or sorcerer in mind for now.


Hello there. :-) I seem to have found myself with quite a bit of free time, at least game-wise. Although I have not followed your other games very much, mostly because of wanting to avoid spoilers about the APs, I know you to be one of those DMs players can certainly depend on and I thought to try my luck at joining your game.

So, here is my application (am I correct to assume that the Aldori Dueling Mastery feat from The Inner Sea World Guide is allowed?):

Name: Kieran Markavien
Alignmen: Chaotic Good
Gender: Male
Race: Half-elf
Classes: Fighter/rogue/duelist
Archetypes: Free Hand Fighter, Swashbuckler
Trait: Reactionary
Array of Choice: 15, 14, 14, 12, 12, 12
Time Zone: GMT +3 (Athens, Greece)

Campaign Background:
Crown's End Smuggler

Appearance:
Raven-haired and silver-eyed, Kieran stands five feet and ten inches tall, his slender build and somewhat pointed ears serving as proof of his elven heritage. He tends to dress in comfortable fitted clothes of midnight blue and light grey, usually complemented with short gloves and knee-high boots made of soft black leather.

Personality:
Kieran is easy-going and relaxed, the smile gracing his features more often than not a clear enough indication of his nature. A well-spoken man, he is quick with a joke or a witty retort, a trait that seems to stay with him even during a fight, as much a weapon sometimes as the Aldori blade in his hand.

Motivations:
The thrill and challenges of adventure and the promise of honing one's skills that comes with it would seem good enough motives for the free-spirited half-elf, and indeed they are. They are not the only things spurring him onward, however. A certain falling out with a group of smugglers, people who would gladly cause him considerable harm were their paths to cross, definitely plays its part to his desire to travel and, if circumstances would allow it, surround himself with comrades who will support him if -or when- a 'meeting' with his former 'associates' occurs.

Aspirations:
Although not a particularly ambitious person, Kieran is not one to say no to material rewards. However, becoming a swordsman of considerable skill and renown, preferably after having his fill of adventure, is probably as close to a goal as the half-elven duelist will ever admit to having.

Background:
Born the bastard son of a minor noble from Brevoy and an elven dancer and part-time thief from Varisia, Kieran was raised by his mother. Unlike the way such a story usually goes, however, with the noble parent staying as far away from his illegitimate offspring as possible, in this case the man proved to be the exception. He kept in touch with both the elven woman and her son, sending her money and visiting the pair as often as possible; that is not to say, of course, that he went so far as to speak about them to his family and he did manage to keep them a secret for quite some time. Like most secrets, though, this one too eventually remained a secret no longer.

Once the half-elven boy was old enough, his father visited once again, this time with a proposition. He asked to take Kieran with him to Brevoy, not as his son, but as a squire of sorts. He wished to spend some time with his son, play a more active role in his upbringing. One might say that his feelings had clouded his judgement and, considering what followed, one would be correct. At first, everything seemed to be going well. The noble did indeed succeed in spending time with his son, even if he could not call him that, and started training the boy, now old enough to use a sword, in the art of dueling with an Aldori blade, something the young half-elf seemed to enjoy immensely. It was a good time. And, like most good times, it did not last very long. Soon enough people started noticing how alike the two of them looked and remembering how often the man would travel away from his home on unknown errands. Thus, as is often the case, it did not take long before thoughts and ideas turned to rumors and rumors turned into a scandal. Kieran had no choice but to leave and return to Varisia, a decision made by the young man in an attempt to at least spare his father, who still stood by his intention to care for his son, further disgrace. There was no warm welcome waiting for him when he reached his home, though. His mother was nowhere to be found and the young half-elf's search for her or for clues as to what had happened to her met with failure again and again. After a while, with nothing keeping him there anymore and thinking his mother gone one way or the other, Kieran decided to leave, to start a new life, even if he was not sure how to go about doing such a thing.

His travels eventually led him to Crown's End, where he found himself as the newest member of a smugglers ring. Alone and down on his luck, this seemed like a good way to earn both money and reputation, while at the same time training skills the basics of which had been taught to him by his parents. After all, what was the harm in moving some contraband now and then? And so he thought and so it went for some time. Until the items being smuggled started leaving a sour taste in his mouth, until his 'associates' started trading in weapons and drugs and people. That was that for him. Unfortunately, one cannot simply resign from such a 'business', especially when one knows a bit too much about its comings and goings and has told certain people of authority about them. Anonymously, of course, but there are ways to find out the names of even the anonymous, especially when a lot of money is involved. Unwilling to stay and just wait for such an inevitable event to take place, Kieran chose to leave, taking with him some of his earnings and putting some distance between himself and his former comrades.


Thanks for the invitation to propose a character - I hope you like the one that I've put together :)

I am GMT+8 (Malaysia), and am able to check and post at work Monday to Friday.

Qhude (meaning Rooster)
Human (Mwangi – Bas’o) Monk (Weapon Adept archetype)

Details:

Personality:
Qhude is an open book, though the pages to date are mostly filled with dark words and deeds. Growing up among the tribes he lacks the subtlety of city folk and tends to be blunt and direct. While he drinks deeply of the draught that is life, his outlook is currently bitter due to his life experiences. He enjoys wide open spaces and gets uneasy when in a city or the jungle.
He has cast off the shamanistic roots of his tribe, and is currently not in worship of any single god.
When raised to anger or during combat, his demeanour darkens considerably. His eyes take on an analytical hardness, and he strikes decisively to kill.

Appearance:
Qhude is a muscular yet wiry man of five feet and nine inches. His skin is darkened to almost black due to long hours spent in the sun. Hair is cropped short, but remains in tight black curls against his head. A jagged scar across his cheek is the key feature of his face, but when turned to anger his eyes also take on a noticeable hardness. He is garbed in a pair of shorts in the colonial style, but his upper body is left uncovered bar a simple amulet hanging round his neck. His feet are bare, as his years of walking the plains have built up impressive callouses.

When garbed for combat, he cuts a slightly different figure. Dropping into fighting stance his left hand is held forward and upward, palm facing the enemy. His right hand is held drawn and ready to punch, making a fist while wrapped tightly in rope covered cloth Cestus. His left leg is wrapped is also wrapped in knotted rope, and he occasionally raises it before him as though a shield. His right leg uncovered and held back for balance.
Fighting style was inspired by Dambe

Background:
Qhude was born into the Bas’o tribe to a mother who died in childbirth, leaving him as his father’s only child. His father was a butcher, low in the caste structure due to his handling of dead flesh. Growing up among the tribe however the children held no prejudice and he has happy memories of his early wanderings along the plains of Sargava. His youth spent wrestling, running and sparring helped him grow into his lean and muscular frame.

It was in his early adulthood that his caste began to make a difference. When hunting parties were sent, he was not selected and was held from claiming his first scar Bas’o ritually scar when they kill an antelope or worthy enemy. Qhude would spend the time during the hunt sparring with his father, before being put to work butchering the antelope carcasses during the evening when the hunters returned.

At the age of twenty, Qhude first competed in his tribes’ annual combat tournament. Fighters were paired off in elimination bouts of wrestling and striking with hand and foot. Bouts were settled through submission or unconsciousness. His first tournament saw him survive only one bout before he was knocked out by the son of an elder with a kick to the head. He let out a womanly cry of pain as he collapsed, which is where he gained the derisive nickname Qhude (or rooster) due to his show of weakness. His shame grew from that experience and he vowed to make up for it the next year.

He spent all his spare time over the year training for the event. Honing his body as much as he could to put in a better showing. When the event arrived he went well through the first few rounds and had the luck to be drawn against the same opponent as the year before. As they faced each other, Qhude settled into his fighting stance while the other man mocked him and insulted his family. In a strike born out of pure rage, Qhude launched an uppercut into the other’s chin snapping his head back with a sickening crack. The opponent crumpled to the ground silently as Qhude lived up to his namesake and crowed in victory.

As his foe failed to rise, a medicine man came to his side and tried to rouse him. As Qhude continued to cock and crow, the shaman declared the elder’s son dead. In the aftermath that followed, the bitter elder declared Qhude and his father banished from the tribe as penance – an act that broke his father’s heart. An unrepentant Qhude took a knife and gave himself his first scar across his cheek.

As they were nearby Katabuto at the time, Qhude gravitated there to attempt to find safe harbour. However the prejudice against Mwangi weighed against him, and he could only find work at a slaughterhouse in the slums of the city. His father, spirit broken by the exile, became ill soon after their arrival. Unable to raise enough money to pay for his father’s care from butchery, Qhude turned back onto his fists and began fighting in shady taverns and rinks set up in dark corners. His practiced hand and killer instinct brought him some measure of success, but despite the additional care it bought – his father soon passed on.

Qhude continued to fight in the alleys after his father’s death, and has added three more scars to his tally. The tail of his story can be filled in as required to mesh in with the party if chosen. I’d imagine that someone saw him during a pit-fight and gave him a better offer.

Aspirations:
Banished from his tribe and his father recently dead, Qhude has no ties to bind him. He seeks personal glory, further scars and under the surface yearns for a sense of family that he has lost.

Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to see, or any area I can expand on for you.

I'd like some feedback on whether you think the character background and focus could work as a Monk? - definitely not your typical ascetic, but he is focused on turning himself into a living weapon of war.

Alternatively I could run him as a Fighter (Free-hand archetype).


I've had both of the PbPs I was involved in stall out on me, and would like to submit a character concept that's never yet been followed through on completely because of the stall-outs. I'm on GMT -5, but am around throughout the day and tend to keep a very strange schedule that will see me post in the mornings (local) on some days and in the evenings or late nights on others--and all three on the same day, on others.

Ansha Saeralyan, elf enchanter

Appearance:
Ansha is a delicate-featured young elflady, six feet tall and slim with almond-shaped emerald eyes and long platinum-blond hair. Achingly beautiful, she is quick with a disarming smile and comes across as something of a flirt. Obviously proud of her appearance, her porcelain skin is unmarred but for a pair of piercings through each ear, and she wears her hair down almost to her knees, a bright blue hair-ribbon binding it loosely into a long, elegant ponytail. She walks with the grace and poise of a noble and with the confident air of someone used to getting what she wants.

She dresses primarily in green and black, and her most common attire consists of a low-cut green corset and matching full-length skirt. Black half-gloves that end above her elbows cover her arms and similarly-dyed knee-high leather boots adorn her feet. A finely-crafted black choker adorns her throat and a slender silver necklace rests just beneath it.

Background:
Ansha Saeralyan is the only daughter of an elven noble family corrupted into the worship of the demonlord Nocticula. Raised in a family that prized the arts of magical and mundane manipulation, Ansha had a fairly unhappy childhood--right up until she discovered the family secret and fled home. Pursued by demonic agents of her family, she was briefly captured and traumatized before being rescued by a pair of married elven adventurers. The trauma was enough that she developed a form of amnesia called dissociative fugue, and she came to believe that her rescuers were her parents--in fact, the only thing that she remembered from her old life was her name, Ansha.

The married pair, for their part, took the elf in and cared for her much as if she were their own daughter, right up until they met their end on an expedition south into the Mwangi Expanse at the hands of smugglers.

Ansha was taken prisoner by these smugglers, but over time managed to work her way into their confidence and joined the smuggler band herself--right up until she betrayed them all in retaliation for her "parents'" deaths. In the wake of her adoptive parents' deaths, she has slowly had her memories return, and she realizes that in addition to the fact that she can never go home again, she has been living a lie for years. As a result, she has taken to wandering and adventuring on her own, trying to find a place for herself in a world that she doesn't quite trust.

Personality and motivations:
Ansha is a flirt who uses physical and magical charms to get what she wants out of life, but behind the facade she is a very lonely, scared young elf who feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. She is prone to bouts of depression, but has learned to deal with it by throwing herself wholeheartedly into whatever she does. Physically and mentally running away from her past, she can be very subdued and quiet at times, and forces herself to put on a coy and sociable front at others.

More than anything, she wants to belong--and is terrified that she will lose everything should her real family ever find out where she is.


Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:

Poor Wandering One-

I like what i'm reading so far, any chance you could expand on it and give me more of an insight into Jakob? The history is good but I don't feel like I know what i'd expect from the character.

I've not seen a mobile fighter in action yet. It looks like some way to gain acrobatics as a class skill would be useful for one, and possibly the armour expert trait.

What background were you taking? Noble scion?

Reformated and expanded application. Replaces all previous posts.

Jakob:

time zone: GMT-8 Seattle, USA

Bones.
Jakob Mulle. NG Human (Sargavan of Cheliax decent) mobile fighter.

Campaign background trait.
I was thinking Laughing Jungle resident to represent a childhood spent up country, or Native Sargarvan to reflect growing up the square peg. But Noble of Eleder looks good. Scion of peace would fit and be an unusual choice for a fighter. Yes, not the most combat optimal but the most flavorful, Noble of Eleder to represent the sheltered, upperclass child hood, Scion of Peace to reflect his personal attitude.

Flesh.
Baqckground.
The Mulle family is well established in Sagava. They are a trading family with interests from the inner sea to the deep interior. They do not have the best reputation. They are known to deal with the Apsis consortium and are closer to several leading shackled pirates than the Sagavan government likes. Most suspiciously they pay their taxes on time and correct to the copper.

Jakob is not an ornament to the family. He is not a drunkard, or a womanizer or incompetent or trying to sell his soul to demons. The family could deal with that, Gorzeh knows they have in the past. No Jacob is honest, upright, friendly and has no head for business.

Luckily the family noticed this flaw and have kept him from becoming aware of anything too upsetting, but Jakob is getting brighter. He is asking questions. Something must be done.

The Trials of Gallus were an answer to their prayers. Years ago they had sent Jakob to a crushing military academy in Cheliax. They hoped it would break his spirit and keep him quiet. All it did was teach him how to fight and talk politics. Today that education makes him eligible for the trials. The family is applying some gentle persuasion to see he gets chosen. If he dies, it is unfortunate but an acceptable loss. If he wins he may yet make a profit.

I see the family as something like a proto-mob. Closed, conservative to facist politically, profit oriented, prone to violence but under strict internal rules. Jakob is somone with strong liberal ethics dropped into that and the sparks are starting to fly. This is just my view though you have cart blanch to chance anything you've a care to.

Appearance.
Average height. Not bad looking more supporting cast than leading man if you know what I mean. Skin tan from the sun. Favors dusty reds and browns. You could pass him on the street except there is something that catches your eye.

Attitude and Motivations

Attitude.
Jacob is not as stupid as his family thinks he is. He is aware that his family business is frequently well over any conceivable line. He has even started to do something about it. The fire that gutted one of the up-country warehouses was due to him. The family said it was a copra storehouse but the number of dream spiders that burned in their cages indicated a darker and more profitable use.

Jakob knows that Sargava has problems. The 'fees' paid to the Shackles pirates make normal commerce and government very difficult. Jakob sees this as the main force driving the exploitive relations with the native population and the rising role of crime families in the government. Up until now though he didn't know what to do about it. He hopes the Trials will open up more options. Jacob knows the government has an agenda in sponsering the trials he just hopes it is an agenda he can agree with.

Motivations.

Long term.
Jacob wants to see a strong Sargava.; one not as dependent on the shackles for defense and not as fearful of, nor as rapacious towards the interior. He knows this is an ideal and like all ideals something that can never be reached but he hopes in spite of that.

Short term.
Jakob wants to complete the Trials and whatever real mission lies behind it. He hopes this will be a quick path to influence or at least a way out from under the families thumb.
To do this he will need help. So his first priority is to find friends and comrades among the others competing in the trials or among those he knows in the adventuring community. His family contacts with the Apsis might be useful here or they might lead him to the wrong kind of people.
Once the trials begin though Jacob's main goal will be to see that everyone survives. He will work with people he disagrees with in pursuit of long-term goals.

Personality.
Friendly. Open. Outgoing. Jakob actually enjoys helping people. He can take a joke and prefers to trust people until they betray him.

Mobile Fighter stuff.
I have only played one once and even then only for a short time. Enraged Barbarian Hill Giant, 'nuf said. So I am going into this with my eyes open to see how it works. I see flanking as something very useful for a mobile fighter. Their ability to get their leaping attack bonus with a 5' step every round sets up a rather odd looking tactic where the mobile fighter and his flank buddy move around and around their target while full attacking. This is not an issue until 5th level so I’m not sweating it.
Yes acrobatics as a class skill will be useful dodge and mobility might even be worthwhile. If you were starting us at second level I would take Jakobs first level in Rogue for that and the sneak attack. In fact I may well take his second level that way. I would have taken his first as Rogue but I want to be clear that Jakob is a fighter first and foremost. If I do take a level in Rogue later it will be as an acrobat or investigator.
Armor expert might be useful but the agile breastplate solves most of that problem. Sagvara is not that forgiving to heavy armor in any case. Iron will and nimble moves are more important I think. The loss of bravery means you are even more vulnerable to Fear effects than the average fighter but you don't have to worry about tangle bags grease or black tentacles as much so it balances out.

Sovereign Court

Luke_Parry wrote:

The Juju Mystery is listed on the Archives of Nethys website (link provided). The information is there; you just need to scroll down a little bit :-)

Thanks. I had seen it in one of my pdf's but I wanted it handier than that. The JuJu mystery will be fine if your selected.

I hope no one objects to me providing feedback to your concepts, i'm hoping that it will improve your chances in another game if I don't select you (its a coping strategy for feeling bad, basically :P).

Organized-

I love halflings and I love bards so you're off to a good start in the first sentence. Would it be an archetype bard or the standard one?

Not much else to say really, solid concept.

F. Castor

Aldori Duelling Master is fine. Another great clean layout where I can view everything thanks :).

You may also be interested in the Aldori Swordlord fighter archetype, wasn't sure if you had spotted it.

A very nice concept and a good submission- I was worried it was a little short but then I opened the background spoiler, very nice. It would be very interesting if both you and Ansha were in the game as your backgrounds tie together nicely...

Mark Sweetman

Another strong submission, but as I suspect you noticed theres a bit of a chaos/law clash vibe going on here. As a Monk he must be lawful, but he lived with the tribes and is uncomfortable in cities. I think you could definitely make it work as a monk but I would emphasise the struggle to remain disciplined; the only part of his lawful nature that comes easily to him appears to be his fighting stance.

Another point- just want to make sure your aware the Cestus will not deal unarmed monk damage like the brass knuckles do, but are fixed to the D4 damage the cestus does. Not a problem, just worth mentioning and making sure your aware.

Ansha

As mentioned above, could be interesting to select both you and F. Castor.

Really good appearance detail- probably the best in the submissions so far (though lots of the other last 5 submissions also had good appearance detail). Do note that I expect some of your starting wealth to be in jewellery ;).

Was worried that the amnesia angle was already covered by Zyren but its different enough.

I'd like to hear more about the demon-worshipping family as this is definitely something that may eventually crop up in play. I'm a big fan of having PC's backstories catch up to them in one way or another...

Sovereign Court

Poor Wandering One wrote:


Reformated and expanded application. Replaces all previous posts.

** spoiler omitted **...

I see you ninjaed me. Thanks I really like the extra detail :).


I'm excited to be able to put forth a character. This is a modified form of a character I have made previously that hasn't really had the chance to come to light yet. I'm really digging this new backstory and I hope you like it to.

Name: Tarith Stonecrest
Race: Dwarf
Gender: Male
Class: Ranger (TWF Guide/Skirmisher)
Trait: Reactionary, Fort Bandu Veteran

Appearance:
Tarith looks like your typical Dwarf, short and stocky with long sandy colored hair and a long bearded braid. He dresses in browns and greens in order to better blend in with the outdoor surroundings he is accustomed to.

Personality:
Tarith is honorable and loyal. He is not afraid to speak his mind to friends and foe alike and is willing to do what he feels is necessary as long as it results in greater good. Tarith jokes around a lot, and sometimes his jokes can be a bit crude, resulting in occasionally offending folks though that is never his intention. Though he sometimes forgets his manners, he tries to be courteous to everyone and usually gives people the benefit of the doubt.

Motivations and Aspirations:
Tarith wants to honor his deceased father by bettering himself and honing his skills.

Background:
Tarith Stonecrest grew up as an only child and the son of well-respected warrior. His father, Kandor Stonecrest, had served in the guard in Druma. Tarith admired his father, fostering a desire to become a warrior himself. While growing up, he would play with his father’s armor and less dangerous weapons (the waraxe was kept well out of his reach). While the armor didn’t fit and he could barely lift his father’s morningstar, Tarith was content to imagine himself as a hero.

Eventually, all good things come to an end. Kandor was brutally murdered during a robbery attempt while protecting Kandor. The criminal was caught and the goods returned, but nothing could bring back Tarith’s father. After a very sullen year of mourning, Tarith decided to honor his father by following in his footsteps. He wasn’t quite old enough to join the military yet, so he apprenticed himself to a guide. He learned to track animals, survive in the wild, and use a weapon. He helped protect travelers from wild beasts, dangerous terrain, stormy weather, and the occasional group of bandits.

Unfortunately, coming home to the site of his father’s death drove Tarith to do something he would never have considered before. He left once his training was complete. On a whim, Tarith decided to set out in search of his ancestors, the Taralu Dwarves of the Mwangi Expanse. He secured passage first to Absalom, then to Katapesh. From here he traveled with merchants, wanderers and mercenaries, paying his way by helping to find food and shelter and by providing some protection.

He finally made his way to the eastern jungles of the Mwangi Expanse, where he was astonished at the strange customs of the people he shared ancestry with. The Taralu Dwarves were rather unsophisticated, worshipping dragons and wyrms and even practicing totemism. It made Tarith uncomfortable and he decided to leave. He headed west, making his way to Sargava, where he would finally settle down and start a new life. Tarith, remembering his lifelong dream of being a great warrior and protector, joined the guard at Fort Bandu where he faced multiple onslaughts of the native Mwangi.

But Tarith still had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Kandor’s life was cut short and so Tarith decided he would do even more in honor of his father. He would find a way to give back more than he already has. The Trials of Grallus would be a perfect first step.


Tidying up my submission and expanding some bits

Name: Ildring Ha'nén
Alignmen: Neutral Good
Gender: Male
Race: Elf
Classes: Fighter
Archetypes: Phalanx Soldier
Array of Choice: 15,14,14,14,14,8
Time Zone: GMT +1 (Germany)

Info:

Appearance:

Ildring is a slender, yet muscled, tall elf of nearly 190 cm. His more than shoulder-long nearly platinum blonde hair (mostly bleached by the sun) is plaited to a single braid, he keeps between his teeth in battle situations.
Upon entering the jungle he normally wears a helmet or dyes his hair darker to camouflage himself.
Despite the temperatures, he tries to rely on heavy armour and shields, having experienced more than once that steel saves lives.
He has a face like cut from stone, while aesthetic and handsome at first glance, much too severe to be counted as very attractive. Same is true for his iceberg-light-blue eyes.

Personality:

Ildring is an impulsive elven fighter. Reckless and with a devil-may-care attitude in battle, loud and roguish outside fights. But all his flamboyant demeanor can only barely hide his uncertainty from those that don't know him very well...which are the most.
He is motivated by living life to its fullest...at least that's what he tries to transport, deep in his heart he feels a strong urge to unravel the happenings of his former life...the time before he awoke at a lonely beach together with a pile of flotsam.

Motivations and Aspirations:

Ildring is haunted by the loss of his memmory and his inability to make sense of his journal. He must have gone to the south many years ago, yet he does not know why and exactly when. His journal hints at love...maybe he wanted to protect someone, maybe rescue, maybe begin a new life...at this point he often hurls the book through the room. He can't stand his own questioning anymore and drowning it in more and more booze has turned out to be even worse...at least most of the times.

Background:

After having been washed to the shore, the sensation of being in such a desperate situation made him unaware of the loss of his memory at first. He awaited it to return during the course of the next hours, sinc he knew such things could happen in extreme situations. But his memory didn't return and slowly he began to understand what this meant...He rose to his feet on a forlorn beach and made his way south.

Even though he had a diet consisting only of crabs and coconuts, he made it to a trading post after many miles of wandering.

Here he heard of Ford Bantu and the problems they had with the Mwangi Tribes. Deciding that the Ford couldn't be a worse place than any other in whole Garund he accomopanied the next caravan to the Fort.

After Praetor Sylien found him acceptable, he was taken to the ranks of the soldiers and earned quite a reputation as a fighter with spear and shield. Using techniques and tactics he must have had learned in one of the famous guards of Kyonin, he fast rose to the rank of lieutenant.

But in the end the pangs of guilt he felt because of his mysterious past made him quit the Fort and search for work as an adventurer, hoping to find clues by travellling and meeting people.

Ildring is the second son of Hyath and Lyrikiel Ha'nén, raised in...actually all that doesn't matter, because Ildring only has his old journal that tells him about the time before he lost his memory.
The tattered, spotty and grotty old book bound in the leather of an animal most probably already extinct, lies on Ildring's pillow as he looks out of the window of the shabby tavern within the walls of Fort Bandu.

He squints several times as he looks into the burning sun...Time to start something new...so many days have passed, filled with idle pondering...

He grabs the shaft of his spear, a feeling, while so mundane, yet full of familiarity; packs his belongings and heads out to meet the others.


Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:


Would it be an archetype bard or the standard one?

Stock bard. I looked over the archetypes but didn't find anything that I thought matched up well with my concept. I considered 'Street Performer' but that was a relatively small fraction of her overall bardic experience so far.


AK is a great Dm, anyone who gets picked is in for a good time. Good luck everyone.


This sounds amazing! I'm afraid of stretching myself to a possible 3rd PbP game, but otherwise I would totally be throwing my hat into the ring. I've been reading AKs games and posts and really like his style. He really puts in a lot of effort into his games. I hope he chooses the most awesome players who not only respect him for what he does, but challenge him as a DM and really make an interesting game. Best of luck to all. I'll definitely be following along.

Dark Archive

Well then let's make some changes to it and I will greatly appreciate feedback

Spoiler:

Raegar Norfire

GMT -8, USA (California)

Half-elf with the Ancestral Arms racial trait.

Fighter (Two-weapon Warrior) with the traditional Cornugeon Feats for Spiked Chains fighting style. (Cheliax book)

Campaign Trait:
Military Tradition

Background:
At young age, as with all children from House Norfire, he was sent out to learn his noble house trade. In Raegar case this was the role of warfare for his noble house had a long standing tradition of military officers and service to the Azmodean Church. Reignier is Raegar father and an officer in the army of Cheliax and he trained young Raegar in the ways of battle.

There was little doubt that Raegar would become a warrior of skill it was in his bloodright to be amongst the very best. 2nd in line, there was no way he would inherit in his noble house more than some lofty accomodation and loyal service to his family that he dearly respects.

But for all his cruelty and sense of honor, Raegar is feared for his ruthlessness and well liked amongst his peers for his commanding respect (sometimes a bit to commanding). He has a willingness to cooperate for a common goal specially if there is something for him to win, and he delights in drinking a good wine. Where ever there was good wine, there was Raegar.

When he came of age he was given his soldier outfit of his noble house. After receiving this honors he left home to become a greater warrior at the service of the Azmodean Church,Hellknight Order, Cheliax Army or wander around to world a s mercenary and maybe some day even forge his own Knightly order, Noble House or even his own kingdom.

Personality:
His tendency to lead, as this was natural for him sometimes got him into a fight or two, nothing hard or that he couldn't handle. Raegar is an excellent judge of character and very charismatic. He can come off as patient and kind, resolved and angry, or anything else the situation calls for, but he tends to be cruel. Raegar is hungry for power, believing that success in business or politics is the best measure of a man's worth. He is very mindful of his image and very cold when hard choices come.

Descritpion:
This tall and solid built young handsome man, has the defined musculature typical of a Cheliax and the refined features of an elf. You can just make out pointed ears protruding from his long black hair. He has a powerful presence and steely green eyes. His clothing looks elegant yet like it has seen much use, that makes you think it's some sort of formal clothing for army standards, and yet functional for traveling.


Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:

As mentioned above, could be interesting to select both you and F. Castor.

Really good appearance detail- probably the best in the submissions so far (though lots of the other last 5 submissions also had good appearance detail). Do note that I expect some of your starting wealth to be in jewellery ;).

Was worried that the amnesia angle was already covered by Zyren but its different enough.

I'd like to hear more about the demon-worshipping family as this is definitely something that may eventually crop up in play. I'm a big fan of having PC's backstories catch up to them in one way or another...

Thank you--glad you like the detail. If it's acceptable, the choker in her appearance description would actually be her wizard bonded item (and would take the Amulet slot). And of course some of her starting wealth would be spent on jewelry! I imagine when she ran away from home, she managed to take a few things with her, and in her fugue, she decided that her adoptive parents had gifted them to her.

Also, as far as item creation goes, would wizard bonded items still use the 100% cost for enhancing?

As far as Ansha's family goes...

Spoilered to save space:
She is the only daughter of Elroth and Elizaera Saeralyan of the noble House Saeralyan, native to Iadara in Kyonin. The House was rather inconsequential in matters of politics, though it does manage to maintain a level of wealth suitable to their station, and it was precisely this inconsequentiality that lead the morally-bankrupt enchantress Elizaera to form a pact with Nocticula, Queen of the Succubi: in return for increased powers of seduction and enchantment, Elizaera would bring the entirety of the House under the demonlord's sway. She succeeded, the whole family came to worship Nocticula secretly and the family's fortunes rose. For her part, Elizaera became the mastermind behind the family, and she was granted a measure of a succubus's power: an otherworldly beauty that could cause those around her to stare in fascination without regard for their surroundings.

When Ansha was born, she shared this same otherworldly power as her mother, but it was decided that she would not be told about the family's pact with Nocticula until she was older, for fear that she might accidentally let something slip, as only a child might. So she was raised as a master manipulator in her own right, and she grew up to be a young elven debutante who knew how to get what she wanted from most anyone. Despite this, she never quite shared the moral degeneration of her mother--probably in large part due to the friendships she formed with other more goodly aristocratic elven children, like her friend Inari Gloamingdusk.

The end of her childhood came early for Ansha when her parents decided that she was old enough to reveal the family's dark secret and to include her in the pact with Nocticula. But Ansha stumbled upon them in the midst of a profane ritual several days before her parents were ready to reveal the family's secret to her, and she fled home. Pursued by a summoned succubus, Ansha was captured and subjected to defilements that shattered her mind, but before she could be returned to her family, she was rescued by the married elven adventurers Baelyth and Sahtara, who would later meet their end in the Mwangi Expanse.

As an aside, the description of Elizaera and Ansha's fascinating beauty is a reference to the Abyssal Heritor feat Otherworldly Countenance (Beautiful), from Hordes of the Abyss (+1 Perform per Abyssal Heritor feat, can fascinate a target within 30' once per day per Abyssal Heritor feat; downside is a -1 penalty to Disguise per Abyssal Heritor feat). If you prefer not to use this feat in the campaign, it's just flavor-text and I can easily exchange it for something else.

Sovereign Court

Ansha wrote:


Also, as far as item creation goes, would wizard bonded items still use the 100% cost for enhancing?

Yup. I'd prefer not to use the Hordes of Abyss feat, the fluff could be represented by the enchanters enchanting smile I would have though.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path Subscriber

Another of AK's players just saying whoever gets to play is in for a real treat....looks like I'm gonna be lurking too....


DM Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:
DM Aron Marczylo wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Although I like the concepts themselves, Azlant Pureblood's will be a no-go in this game, ruling out Ixiolander and Othollo.

Cathrin needs a bit more to her. Between her and Balo I prefer Balo; his mixed heritage could prove very interesting in the game. Both of them would need a lot more detail to get a slot though-

Cathrin Jennu-bautwael:

Cathrin had always had a thing for power and spends most of her day inside, however she would visit the temple of Desna and though she spends much of her time in study on ancient ruins she also tries to speak up on the insights of the song of the spheres and how she placed the stars in the sky.

Though more approchable than more wizards, Cathrin tries to keep a focus on her studies and daily woreship to the beautiful and wise goddess of the stars. It was possibly her study of the belief that helped inspire her to take on the faith of her deity and then combine the power of the divine with her own arcane might.

Cathrin is the typical beautiful elf with long blond hair, but she has ice blue eyes and being only half-elf her features are not as sharp as her elf relatives nor as soft as a human's. She wears a flowing white dress with black trip and patterned with some stars and butterflies.

Many of the ruins in Mwangi are the reason she has arrived here and she wishes to discover secrets others don't know about the ruins. Perhaps even one day travel into the Stasis Fields whilst she was taking her time into learning more on religion by spending her time with the Barren Clergy.

Balo Crispin:

Balo appears darkskinned, showing where most of his genes come from his mother's Mwangi side, however his skin is somewhat lighter than a man of his age due to his father's side and like his mother he meets hostility from those who see him has a threat on both sides. Colonists who don't know him fear that he might turn on him like his "savage" cousins and Mwangi see him as being almost a wolf in sheep's clothing. He has short, strait dark hair from his father's side.

Balo holds a professional and emotional dislike for those Mwangi who brought his mother down when her age caught up with her and her stamina could not keep up as it used to. She and Balo were fighting together when she fell and once the Mwangi backed off his father arrived too late.

Fingers were pointed by his father as they got into a argument. His father blamed Balo for moving further down the line of Mwangi where they had little protection and should've remained in the line for a more tactical defence and he could've healed with the channelling of his energy whilst Balo claimed his father should've followed them as should all the warriors, which he then erupted into claiming at they were all cowards staying back when they should've joined them in pushing back, claiming that if they did the Mwangi would never regain the nerve to return, or atleast their numbers would've been cut down enough that they would've return for atleast a couple of months.

He, like his mother was always headstrong and told his father to bring her back, but the spell required needed so many valuable gems which he did not have access to and there were no druids nearby to attempt a reincarnation. The Mwangi and claimed the life of one of Fort Bandu's greatest champions, however he will not let this go and has taken a lock of her dark hair with him, hoping to bring her back to continue the never ending struggle against the natives. It's not a act of selfishness he wishes to bring back his mother, but a feel of duty as her return to life would not only put the fear back into the Mwangi, but he fears her loss has also damaged moral and weakened their forces considerably and her return would bring things back.

Balo tries to remain to the point in conversations and though he remains silent at times, he does get involved if the subject interests him. In battle he's rash and charges into combat which he gets from his mother's side, though he has learned that skill with a his weapon can overcome simple brute strength and has also learnt how he should focus on not only taking down a enemy, but skill can too.

Leaving bitterly after the argument with his father he took a lock of his mother's hair and hiring himself out with the increasing number of adventuring groups so that he can lend out his blade and hopes to raise enough money to bring his mother back and whilst the first few days he believed he would return with her, he found that he enjoyed the exploration and adventur's life style so much that he doesn't want to give it up.

Balo has been used to other things than native Mwangi and makes sure to train with other weapons too for those creatures or abominations that cannot be cut down with a blade or try to remain high in the air so that he cannot engage in close combat with them.

Hope that's more info you were looking for. Trying to push out more info I could come up with.


Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:

F. Castor

You may also be interested in the Aldori Swordlord fighter archetype, wasn't sure if you had spotted it.

I actually considered the Aldori Swordlord archetype, but in the end went with the Free Hand Fighter for two reasons mainly. The first one would be that I kinda like the latter's features a bit more and, in my eyes at least, it fits the more generic swordsman/duelist type of character a bit more. The second would be that the Aldori Swordlord is too specific both region-wise and flavor-wise and I felt it did not really fit Kieran, who has only had time to be trained in the basics of the Aldori dueling style, discovering the rest through practice and improvisation, and who is not really an Aldori swordlord (the title, not the archetype).


Hey, AK, does Shimye-Magalla have domains? I'm assuming an amalgam of Desna's and Gozreh's focussing on the embodied concepts. Maybe Air, Chaos, Travel, Water, Weather?

Sovereign Court

Joana wrote:
Hey, AK, does Shimye-Magalla have domains? I'm assuming an amalgam of Desna's and Gozreh's focussing on the embodied concepts. Maybe Air, Chaos, Travel, Water, Weather?

Lets see...

Desna has:

Domains Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, Travel
Subdomains Azata, Curse, Exploration, Fate, Freedom, Revolution

Gozreh has:

Domains Air, Animal, Plant, Water, Weather

Subdomains Cloud, Decay, Growth, Oceans, Seasons, Wind

I would rule that the favoured weapon of Shimye-Magalla would be either the trident of the starknife.

With-

Domains Travel, Weather, Animal, Water, Air and Luck

Subdomains Feather, Cloud, Oceans, Fate, Exploration, Storms

Its not perfect but I think it'll do :).


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Throwing my hat into the ring. A lot of concepts are hitting this thread and want to get this one down in black and white before someone else gets a similar idea out there first. I know there is a monk already out there, hopefully this is different enough, as he doesn't even tend to think of himself as a monk.

Name: N'bellocq
Alignmen: Lawful Neutral
Gender: Male
Race: Human (Ijo)
Classes: Zen Archer Monk

Time Zone: GMT -7 (New Mexico, USA)

N'bellocq Details:

Campaign Trait
Laughing Jungle Hunter- a perfect fit, as it is the inspiration for the character.

Background/Ethnicity
N'bellocq was born to Ijo fisherfolk but taken by Ombo slavers in his early teens. He was sold to Captain Trasker, a member of the Rivermen's Guild. The Captain trained N'bellocq to assist piloting boats along the Korir River. Chained at the front of the boat , N'bellocq would call out obstacles such as sand bars, dead falls, and exposed rocks. From early on, he carried rocks and sticks to try to drive off or scare river creatures, such as snakes, crocs, and hippos away from the boats. When the Captain judged N'bellocq to be adequately broken in as a slave, spears and a bow were allowed to help ward off animals.

With the spear, N'bellocq channeled his pent of pain and rage into the moment he threw the weapon. Momentarily satisfying, but the thrill was too short lived. But with the bow, he developed a place in his mind that he could escape to. With an arrow notched, he could stand on the prow and see the whole river unfold in front of him. With the spear, his senses went out only as far as he could effectively throw it. But the bow, allowed his mind to roam from bank to bank, assessing, cataloging, and remembering. All this took him away, he could forget the chain on his ankle, the whip marks on his back, the bow connected him to every point on the river, in a sense, setting him free.

N'bellocq never saw the hippo that crippled the Captain. The monster rose from the bottom of the river, underneath the barge. It first capsized the boat, before smashing the stern and Captain Trasker. Chained to the sinking craft, N'bellocq used a pole, to reach the unconscious captain. He gained the key to his shackle and with it his freedom. Able to leave to captain to his likely deserved fate, N'bellock instead carried him ashore.

No longer chained and whipped, N'bellocq nursed the wounded pilot back to health. Once back at Port Freedom, the captain rewarded N'bellocq for his loyalty with his official freedom. Free, N'bellocq left his river life behind. Knowing Sargava needs those who can fight, N'bellocq figured his bow skills would be of value there.

Appearance
N'bellocq is a tall, lanky Ijo man. Denied a razor, his hair is long and braided, tied together midway down his back with a strip of leather. Colorful knotted cloth in his hair was his only allowed expression of personality. His eyes large and dark and no facial hair grows on his face. He is bare-chested, but wears a colorful paisley vest. The vest covers a network of old scars across his back from when he was stubborn as a new slave during his 'training'. His pants, red and white striped and voluminous, in a style similar to the pirates of the area. His feet are bare. His only possessions are his bow and quiver, a sack holding food and a water gourd, and a scroll tube containing his Official Writ of Freedom.

Personality
Despite a strong powerful voice, N'bellocq says little. He is stoic and never seems to rush. But his eyes are large and seem to take in everything around him. He bears the physical and mental scars of having been a slave. Over the years he had built mental barriers that have kept away the pain and anguish. Only recently, after having earned his freedom, has he begun to come out of this shell. He is extremely self sufficient as he never had anyone he could count on.

Motivations
N'bellocq had matured on his own, but had never really been alone. Never having a friend, he lives a lot in his own mind. Spending most of his time on the river or in small Port Freedom, the crush of people, the noise, and smells of Eleder are very strange to him, and thus make him retreat just a little more into his own world. It is not that he is afraid of the world, it is that is a lot to assess and process in his mind like he is always doing. He has learned of expeditions and caravans that have need of warriors and figures such a job will keep him employed and out of trouble. He had friends as a child and a family, but all that seems so long ago, it will be hard to ever have that amount of trust again.

Aspirations
Just being free is such an overwhelming rush, as that was his aspiration for the last six years. But he is discovering that a part of him misses his time on the prow...the search, the shot, the kill. He won't go back to the river or the pirates and guild that operate there, but he figures overland caravans can perhaps offer an equivalent experience. Or especially, whatever these games might be. A chance to shine at these games might land him with a prestigious group that defends the city or caravans.


Alexander - I am aware that the cestus damage would not increase, but I am fine with that. The cestus just fit into the vision of the character better.

I can see your point on the lawful / chaos opposition and will give it some thought before revisiting the background / personality.


Hello AK,

This is Olondir. I know I said I probably wasn't going to submit, but I can't help myself. I've been thinking about it and Gods be damned I have to apply! A chance to play with AK is too rare and awesome an opportunity to pass up.

Speaking of rare, these boards lack dwarf avatars. I mean seriously. I must have combed 25 pages of undead abominations, bald black men, and a cornucopia of fiendish apes before I found a single decent dwarf avatar.

Anyways, here is my submission. I pulled out all stops with this. I hope you like it.

Picklebeard, Dwarf Pirate:

Full Name Rurlick Blackhammer II
Race Dwarf
Gender Male
Class Witch (Elements Patron and Monkey Familiar)
Traits Scholar of the Great Beyond , *Crown's End Smuggler (Shackles pirate flavored of course)
Array of Choice 16,14,14,14,12,8
Zone of Time EDT (Eastern US)

Appearance
----------------------------------
Is that thing even a dwarf?
The first thing you should know about ol' Picklebeard is that he isn't old. In fact, he looks like a rather youthful dwarf. He is quite an unkempt naturalistic dwarven fellow. Not naturalistic in the sense his manhood is typically on display, but he has a preference for simple garments of brown, dull blue, green, or gray. His current motley seems to be a patchwork of all of these colors. He has sort of short brown hair that is all wild and hangs on his head like wet shaggy dog fur. His big eyebrows seem to give him the appearance he is always squinting. Some say that is a typical dwarven trait, but I figured it needed noting. His long, dark, wiry beard is where half his nickname comes from. His beard is a strange color of brown. So strange that most wouldn't even call it brown. It most of the time, in most lights, looks more green than brown. Like I said, his greenish colored beard is only half of why he is known as Picklebeard. The other half of the reason stems from the fact he smells of sea. Rather strongly, I might add. Legend has it that his clan of Dwarves have been on the sea so long they SWEAT sea water. He is typically seen with a gnarled driftwood-esque stick a little bit taller than himself in on hand and his monkey, Sasha, perched on his shoulder.

Sasha is an Emperor Tamarin. It looks exactly like the wikipedia article image of one.

Background
-------------------------
The history of the Blackhammer clan is a long one, indeed. Legend has it that the Blackhammers were miners who shipwrecked in the Shackles long ago who took reaving and raiding out of desparation. It turned out they were good at it and even more so... they liked it. Others say they were miner slaves from Ghol-Gon. What is certain is that, although relatively small in number, Blackhammers are reputable fellows. Picklebeard's father was no different. Except for the fact he was particularly cruel. Not as cruel has his grandfather had been, but still not a nice guy. He was always pictured adorned in gold chains and rings on every finger.
Keep in mind that the Blackhammers have a custom: dwarven men of the Blackhammer clan wear no jewelry unless they bought it "in iron." Meaning they killed the person for it.

It was the first night Rurlick was of age to reave the seas with his father. Boy he was eager to leave Bloodcove and be like his pops. Actually, he wished to better than him. His father was no captain. First mate to a future Free-Captain sure enough, but no captain himself.

"I'll be a captain un' day. Fer shure. Or I'm a bearded gnome!"

Rurlick was never the best fighter, but he was tough and smart. Traits that meant he wasn't the best at combat but not a dead man, neither.

This was the night he would prove himself. They had the ship in their sights. The winds and rain were almost constant since they left port. They soaked Rurlick to the core. It didn't matter to him, though. He felt his muscles tighten and ready for combat. What a feeling. That's all he remembered of that night. It was told an explosion from below deck knocked the dwarf unconscious and flew him to the other ship! Unarmed and badly injured, he awoke briefly to see the carnage around him. The sounds of fires burning, swords clashing, men dying, and animals screaming. The last thing he saw was a small monkey,a small black little thing, darting around fires, barrels, swords, arrows, and feet. It jumped and landed on his chest looking at him right in the eyes. The pain of this tiny creature jumping on him knocked him out again.

He awoke again on his ship. This was not the same dwarf that was launched from his ship via firey explosion, though. Something changed in him. He grew up.

Back in port, he made preparations to avoid being a raider. He declared he was interested in magic and seeked to become a magewright. This was true enough. He always thought he had the smarts for it. He seeked out the ship's mage, a witch named Sasha Greyjoy. That black tamarin following him all the time. He didn't mind.

He found magic much more appealing than swordplay. Mages were not frowned upon by the swordsmen, in fact they were somewhat afraid of their power, but they certainly did not treat them the same as swordsman. This was fine for Picklebeard (a nickname he was given while recovering). He was trained in history, geography and the arcane arts and was ready to once again board a ship.

Only this was not what his father said. Something was wrong. This ship was not going north, but south. To Sargava. Afraid and scared, he was put in the brig. A few weeks later, he was in Eleder.

Unbeknownst to Picklebeard, his father sent him away for his own saftey in secret. The captain of his father's ship (The Free Captain) had come under allegations of selling out routes to Cheliax or Rahadoum or maybe even both. The Free-Captian fled before he could be questioned. A few days later, although the crew was innocent, Picklebeard's father and the rest of the crew were killed. Such is justice in the Shackles.

Poor Picklebeard had not a clue about what was going on when he got to Eleder. He was thrown in jail and awaiting trial for some charges... he was never told what they were. Questions meant less food for dinner.

"Wake the f*c4 up, saltsh%1t. Visitor."
"Whaa?"
The visitor was a dwarven woman. Short and small. Her back was to him when he entered. The door locked and it was just them. She seemed familiar though.
"Mum is that you? Well shave me beard!"

The figured turned around. It was the magehand, Sasha Greyjoy!

Picklebeard was silent. He didn't know how to react.

"Notta werd ye weasly gnome!" Said she in her accent. She also always used to call him a weasly gnome.
"It so good to see ye......" He stopped. His mentor shhh'd him, smiled and vanished. Left behind were a few papers explaining the previous events, how she and her father died not long ago. Also there were signed offical papers of pardoning. The notes also said as far as anyone in the Shackles knows, you're dead. This is good because if they knew he fled he'd be craven and be put to death if he returned anyways.

Picklebeard was a free dwarf again. Confused, sad, and angry sure, but free!

Returning to him were his meager supplies and his monkey. Until then he had no name for the beast. He referred to it as monkey. But now, he'd call the thing Sasha after his instructor. He liked the name, missed his mentor, and half believed her powers were somehow tied to the beast itself.

With no hope of returning home and a rather decent fortune in his pocket, he did what any dwarf would do: Drink and gamble.

Now risking being in debt to some not-so-nice people, he entered the Trials of Grallus to get out of debt and prove to everyone what a true dwarf is made of.

His muscles clenched as he registered like that first night reaving. He felt the adrenaline again. He missed it.

Motivations
-----------------------
His primary motivation is getting out of debt.
His secondary motivation is glory.
He'd also like to, one day, track down the Free-Pirate captain.

Personality
----------------------
Picklebeard is a dwarf true and true. He drinks, spouts gruff remarks, and is loyal as a dog. He is ok with most morally dubious activities but will be the first one to help out a friend or companion needs it.
"I donnae why yer pickin a fight with this town official, but I'd be damned if ye take him just by yerself!"
"This is what ye beardless fairies call BEER?"

Regardless of your decision, it was a pleasure thinking up this guy and thank you for taking a look at my application!


organized wrote:
Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:


Would it be an archetype bard or the standard one?

Stock bard. I looked over the archetypes but didn't find anything that I thought matched up well with my concept. I considered 'Street Performer' but that was a relatively small fraction of her overall bardic experience so far.

After sleeping on it I decided I would like to go with the Street Performer Archetype. There's some fun abilities in there.

Also I think you've got at least one sequence of stats that does not equal 25.
17,14,14,12,10,8 = 23
Not sure if that was intentional or not.


Here is my concept, AK.

Concept and Background:

Time Zone: GMT-4
Name: Jebediah "Jeb" Smith
Race: Halfling
Gender: Male
Alignment: CG
Class: Rogue
Background Concept: Crown's End Smuggler
Trait: Artifact Hunter

Physical Description: Jeb is 3' tall, with black hair and green eyes. He wears a bandana, with the odd trinket braided in his hair. He wears reading glasses when studying and dresses in loose leathers. he always carries his backpack, in which he carries the idol and is very paranoid about anyone else seeing it.

Personality: Jeb grew up among the humans so he had adopted many of their ways and there is a duality to his nature (book smart and street smart). He considers him a renaissance person, quite intelligent and learned for his race. Though at times he may appear aloof, Jeb is a caring person. He does not see himself as an assassin or thug; he is a procurer and in the wild and thick of battle all that matters is who comes out on top and he will use all of his resources at hand to ensure he survives. He is independent, resourceful, and full of life.

Motivation: His natural curiosity and zest for life drives Jeb to adventure, earn money, and survive.

Aspirations: Jebediah wants to earn a Doctorate in World History and the next day, travel the world and see and experience all the wonderful things he's read about. More immediately, Jeb wants to learn the origin of the obsidian idol and delve more into its long term effects on him (see background).

Background: Jebediah Smith was born an orphan in Varisia and taken in by the local clergy of Desna and given a human name. Jeb, as he came to be called by many, took no issues with that. His parents, whomever they were, were gone, but that was no excuse to be depressed or dwell on the past. Given his natural intelligence and curiosity, Jeb took to spending hours and hours in libraries, reading about ancient cultures and natural landmarks. Of course, reading didn't pay the bills and if 1-2 books went missing to pay for his expenses, who's to say how that happened. Of course, that meant that Jeb didn't visit many libraries more than once or twice and he had to keep moving around and that fit perfectly with Desna's philosophy. To survive, Jeb admittedly fell in with the wrong crowds, gangs, guilds, etc., who taught him to steal and pick locks, but always, Jeb moved on.

Eventually, he reached Sargava and boy, was there money to be made here! With his knowledge of history and geography, Jeb, during the day, led expeditions into the jungle to "procure" relics and artifacts for certain interested parties. At night, he made a lucrative career career as a smuggler in Crown's End. That is until a month ago, when his ill-fated expedition to a serpentfolk ruin resulted in the deaths of his seven companions. Jeb survived, as he has a knack of doing, and discovered an obsidian idol of a serpent with 2 heads. He was set to turn it in to the mystery benefactor of the expedition when he noticed that it was a set-up and using all his skills, Jeb eluded his attackers with his life and the idol. He fled Crown's End, fearing more assassination attempts, until he heard the Baron's call to arms. Great! What better place to hide from those interested in the idol than among powerful adventurers?? Besides, he has a useful skill-set and was quite likeable.....what could go wrong?

AK, assuming he survives, at 2nd/4th levels, Jeb will take minor and major magic as his combat talents. In story, I am thinking his newly discovered magical abilities appear from his exposure to the idol. After that, you can build whatever you want as to what the idol is and who is looking for it. Could be fun!


Deevor wrote:
Another of AK's players just saying whoever gets to play is in for a real treat....looks like I'm gonna be lurking too....

And here's another one of AK's players popping in to add a +1 to this statement. The players selected for this game should consider themselves very lucky - you're in for a fun ride!

Good luck Alex! Looking forward to watching this one!

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