Shards of Etheniel: 4e Sunday Game Looking For Players

[Morfedel]

I'm looking for 5 players for a sunday game using FG2. The time zone is est (GMT-5), roughly around noon to 4 pm (this isnt exact, but I have a sunday game later in the day as well, so I will have to juggle them just a bit to make them both work).

Anyway, I prefer character depth and story-driven adventures; that doesnt mean that there isnt combat; sometimes I even do "dungeon crawls," although in those cases there is always a central story reason between them.

As such, what I'm looking for in a player is:

Someone who is generally friendly and mature
Someone who enjoys delving into, and adding to, a plot
Characters with depth; no "I'm an orphan with a basically blank background" types.
ReliableAs for my GM style, I generally run games that center on an overall "epic" plot, much like what you see in many fantasy trilogies. It might be an evil overlord trying to bring the world under it's foot, or a civil war between powerful families, or an ancient prophecy coming to life, but with a few exceptions here and there, there is a central, overall plot.

I have a lot of action, but not everything is action-oriented. In other words, expect combat, probably at least a little on many sessions, but some sessions may well end up being roleplaying, interacting, and setting up - and in those cases, there may well be no real action except, of course, INTERaction.


If you are interested, let me give you a brief blurb about the world:

I'm running a Points of Light style setting. In brief, the known world as a single giant continent, ruled by creatures known only as the Ancients. They kept the other races of the world from establishing any real preeminence, or even a culture beyond the most primitive. All the best land was theirs; all the resources. All the magic, the lore, the power.

And then, a civil war erupted. It was horrific beyond words, and at its crescendo, it is said the whole world was nearly unmade. At the last moment, the Gods came; they held the world together, and protected the "lesser" races from the apocalypse ignited by the Ancients.

And when it was all done, the Ancients were gone, leaving behind only countless ruins, monstrosities once used for their wars and experiments, and the continent now shattered into a thousand islands splintered from the mainland like shards from shattered glass.

The other races, now freed from the constraints of the Ancients, and sheltered by the gods, began to expand.

But now, thousands of years later, no serious cultures have yet to be built: wars between races, religions, burgeoning kingdoms, or even between islands, along with raids from pirates, brigands, and slavers have seen one kingdom after another destroyed while still a sapling, dead before finding any real greatness.

Anarchy, chaos, and destruction always waits over the horizon, where the next boat seen on the seas could be approaching your island looking for trade partners, allies... or for loot and slaves.

The game begins on a small island called Firestone Isle; it has around 100 families, all human. As such, only humans (and a single half elf) is allowed for PCs; as the game progresses and other races are encountered, those races will be "unlocked" if someone wants to switch to the new race. Included will be races of my own creation, and my own gods are also used.


I have more details that I will include later; in the meantime, if you are interested, can meet the general ballpark time zone listed above, and you are the kind of player I said I'm looking for, then please, feel free to let me know.

I'm only looking for 5 players, though I will consider extras as alternates, in case some of the players prove unreliable, as sadly happens online more than I'd like.

Also, if you want to join, read the entire thread, or don't apply at all. I get most irritated for people who just read the thread title and then post without reading. :)

[Daperez]

This sounds really interesting. I'll have to see what my Sundays look like in the next few weeks, but I'll keep my eye on the thread and brainstorm a character as more details come out.

[Morfedel]

This sounds really interesting. I'll have to see what my Sundays look like in the next few weeks, but I'll keep my eye on the thread and brainstorm a character as more details come out.

Sure. I will post more details in the near future (as in the next few days max).

[Daperez]

The game begins on a small island called Firestone Isle; it has around 100 families, all human. As such, only one human (and a single half elf) is allowed for PCs

Wait...what did you mean by "Only one human" allowed? Did you mean to say that only one race, that of humans, is allowed, except for the one half elf?

You said you were looking for 5 players, so I assume there would be more than one human character.

[Morfedel]

Wait...what did you mean by "Only one human" allowed? Did you mean to say that only one race, that of humans, is allowed, except for the one half elf?

You said you were looking for 5 players, so I assume there would be more than one human character.

My mistake. I meant 1 half elf max, and the rest (or all of them) must be humans. I tangled my sentence.

Fixed it. :)

[Morfedel]

The Shards of Etheniel



The Shards of Etheniel is a Points of Light setting designed for 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. A Points of Light (PoL) setting is one that means that civilization is rare, often small, and quite vulnerable, surrounded by the unknown darkness of the world. “Kingdoms” are, at best, individual cities ruling small territories around them, and are pale shadows of the spanning empires of other fantasy campaign settings.

In other words, when you travel the world, you will encounter small villages, occasional towns, and rare cities; and in between, trackless wilderness haunted by brigands, monsters, and demons. A tiny village may be wiped out, and no one would be the wiser until you pass by – and no others to avenge their deaths.

The Shards of Etheniel follows this base assumption as a PoL setting, but has its own particulars that the players will want to be aware of before joining the game.



The Longago

Scholars speak of the Longago, the time before the current races rose to fight for their place in the world. Longago, a single race ruled the entire world. Known only as the Ancients, this race held all other species restricted to the most undesirable wastelands, keeping them from expanding and claiming territory for their own, living as little more than animals themselves.

These Ancients wielded frightening levels of magic and other, stranger powers. After untold millennia of their iron grip on the world, a civil war broke out between them. Vast and terrible it was, with erupting sorcerous energies so mighty that it threatened to reave the very fabric of the world.
Then came the gods: they shielded the other races, protecting them from the devastation that racked the rest of the land. For decades, the other races, with the sheltering hand of their gods protecting them, they weathered the storms. When it was over, the Ancients were gone, nothing more than memories, leaving behind devastated ruins haunted by the warbeasts they had bred for their battles, and other, more terrible things their twisted imaginations had created.

The world itself had likewise been nearly broken. Etheniel, once a large continent, had been shatterered into thousands and thousands of islands of various sizes.

Now, these islands are the homes of the new races. Races who are finally able to crawl from the caves and dark forests and wasted islands, to claim the shards of Etheniel for their own.



Firestone Isle

The world is moderately xenophobic, and broken up into thousands of islands. It is also rough and brutal. Pirates and slavers sail the seas, and many islands’ only experience with outsiders is at the tips of blades. Communications and friendly relations between races is uncommon, as it is even uncommon between members of the same races.

Violence, barbarianism, and violent war has followed the various races in their attempts to expand since the Shattering. To date, no one knows of a successful large civilization: each time one has been attempted, raving hordes of barbarians, other races, and even other, smaller and hateful kingdoms, have brought it down, burning libraries down to the sea. Darkness and ignorance has reigned much of the world’s history since the destruction of the Ancients.

The PCs will be beginning on Firestone Island. It is an island approximately 60 miles across, with a quiet volcano just northeast of the center of the island. A single village consisting of perhaps a hundred human families thrives here. Living in a cove, with lookouts across the island in case of approaching hostile vessels, they live relatively quiet lives, having befriended the human town of Cliffrock, residing on an island to the north.

The island has an Ancients ruin on the slopes of the volcano, but it appears to be mostly harmless, except near the volcano’s mouth. At the mouth, a supernaturally ancient and terribly dangerous bear known as Old Man Bear resides, and devours anyone who ascends to the highest points of the Ancients city and volcano mouth. All attempts to kill it since living memory have failed, and its unreasonably long age bespeaks its supernatural nature. However, it never leaves the peaks, so only intruders to its domain need fear.

There is no mining available either on Firestone Isle nor on Cliffrock, but metals harvested from the Ancients city allows for metalworking to be practiced. As such, despite its small size and modest means, Firestone Village has access to metalworking.

The town of Cliffrock has perfected a means of purifying water, as they do not have an adequate clean water supply for their population supply. Their process also provides for sea salt that they can trade with sea merchants and with Firestone Isle. They trade Salt with Firestone in exchange for metal harvested from the Ancients city.

Firestone otherwise also subsists on fish, nuts, berries, a small amount of agriculture, and small amounts of game harvested from the isle. Cliffrock likewise has some game of different types they often trade with Firestone.
There are travelers that do trade, rather than coming to ransack, but it is risky business.

Both Firestone and Cliffrock have been attacked many times in the past, either by peoples wanting to take what they had rather than trade, or by slavers and peoples with even more insidious purposes; both Firestone and Cliffrock have become adept at defending themselves, but you never know what darkness and the tide will bring to your shore, so both islands stand always ready in case of attack.

One travelling merchant that is known and welcome at both ports is the Wavestrider. A ship manned by three different races working in friendship, an oddity as far as most people know, they come twice a year looking for metals from Firestone, and salt from Cliffrock, and bring a variety of other things in trade: salted red meats in quantity; pieces of art, though considered an expensive luxury for most; rare and expensive paper; grains; alcohol; among others.

[Morfedel]

Character Creation


Due to the xenophobia and geographic limits of the setting, racial restrictions are limited. In fact, the world’s current geography is in large part unknown: see three different maps of the world, and each will look more than just a little different. One map would show Firestone Isle as being 20 miles across, when it is more like 60.

Some other races are known to exist. Firestone Isle, the starting point for this campaign, has heard of Elves and Dwarves, but they have never seen one. Also, the Wavestrider merchant vessel which comes twice a year has three different racial crew members: Humans, Ashanki, and Quirell.

Ashanki look much like humans, and in fact are so similar in both appearance and attitude that many of the few, rare scholars believe that Ashanki may be some cousin species to humans. Ashanki have webbed hands and feet, nictating membranes around their eyes, and are able to hold their breaths for long periods of time. They are well adapted for sea living, and it is said their villages, while also on islands, are half submerged, as they spend much of their lives in the water.

Quirell are, essentially, intelligent flying squirrels. They are larger than their animalistic cousins, with huge saucer eyes and squeaky voices. Excellent climbers as well as gliders, they will hurl themselves from mast to mast of the Wavestrider, and even use a rather odd sling-like device to hurl themselves high in the air, where they can spy on the horizon before drifting back to the Wavestrider to report what they have seen.

Quirells claim to come from an island that is much larger than the majority the Wavestrider visits; the island is densely populated with massive trees, but is also home to ferocious landbound predators that kept them mostly in the trees.

The only race available for selection is Human. This is for a couple of reasons. The campaign starts on Firestone Isle, and while it is likely to leave there, the point being it is important to have an established history with the Isle, including family. In other words, it will be hard to justify the other races: Elves and Dwarves have never been encountered, and the only other races ever really been heard of that could in theory be PC races, Ashanki and Quirell, won’t really work at this time. As such, its important the PCs have established family and ties to the island.

However, there is one alternative: I will allow one, and only one, PC to play a half-elf. The reason for this? I in general don’t like the idea of half-breed races without the meddling of magic. As such, in this world, Elves and Humans cannot create children.

However, something strange has been noticed. Sometimes, rarely, a child from an elf or eldarin family gets switched in the cradle with one from a human family. No one knows how this happens, human or elf, and can happen across the globe. What then happens is both children, when switched, grow up – as half-elves, both the original elven child in the human crib, and the human child in the elven crib. No one has an explanation for how this happens, but once they were called Changelings. It has been filtered across the world by stories and lore that this happens, and now the world knows of this occurrence.

But it is rare. And Half-elven children cannot themselves have children. In any case, it is possible this strange event may have occurred in Firestone. Once, in this generation, hence the permission for a single half-elf character.

As for Quirell, the shipmates of the Wavestrider would have no interest, or ability, in really setting up house on Firestone, and while romantic liasons between Ashanki and Humans do happen, children are never born from it, and the Ashanki would not be interested in themselves establishing a village here either. Not currently, anyway.

So, if more than one person wishes to play a half-elf, we will have to negotiate. If you want to play something else, you will have to wait until you encounter a populace with the race in question, and then I will allow you to switch characters, if you can justify why your character would be leaving the quest.

All classes are available. There are several gods, as mentioned in a later section, so clerics and paladins are both ok. Due to some religious restrictions, some gender limitations exist. For example, clerics of Karim are all female.

Metalworking is available thanks to the Ancients ruins being milked of metals, so fighters and other classes needing metal are available too. Rogues would not likely be of the thieving variety on this island, though they could have developed those skills for other reasons – including training.

There is enough wilderness for rangers, even if the trackless wilds don’t measure thousands of miles. There is lore available for wizards, though paper is rarer and more expensive.

Warlocks in general are fine too, with one exception: the people of Firestone and Cliffrock both would be extremely unhappy with those who make pacts with infernal powers, and as such warlocks with infernal pacts would have a hard time of it.

There is a true city, named Vorosha, the only one the village has heard of from the crew of the Wavestrider, on an island somewhere to the Northeast. It is said to be huge, but a place of wickedness, chaos, and darkness. Wavestrider crewmen have reported that they rarely stop there, and stay only a short time. They say crime and blood flows the streets, and the queen of the island rules through hedonism, seduction, and cruelty. She is devoted to the two goddesses Bixinar and Morghannus (see below).

[Morfedel]

The Gods

There are a multitude of gods in this world; it is said that they came to the world, and sheltered the younger races from the rage of the Ancients as they nearly unmade the world.

Since the world was broken at the same time, many of the gods became known to the various peoples of the world only slowly, and it is likely that there are gods that remain unknown even now.

It should be noted that most people worship several gods, as events require: a farmer would worship Karim both for good crops, and for attempting to sire a child, or a child already coming to be healthy. That same farmer might pray to Mhet or Caliban for good weather while heading to market, Bixinar for good luck in finding a need for his produce, etc. Only Clerics and Paladins devote themselves utterly to a single god, though many might revere one god over the others on a regular basis.

The gods known to the PCs at the beginning of the campaign are:
1.Karim – The goddess of the earth, motherhood, forests, and life itself, Karim is often credited with being the source of the life force beating in every living being. Also revered by farmers and ranchers, as well as hunters of the woods. Clerics of Karim are always female, and have the title Mother, though Paladins can be of any gender and are called a Son or Daughter of Karim.
2.Morbian – Father of the dead, the Grim Father, the Grey Father; credited as being the husband to Karim, and the brooding but caring father to Karim’s children. It is said that he is calmly waits with his door open, for his children to return home. However, he is also credited by those of more evil bent of being patron of the undead, that when he and his wife fight, in his brooding anger he exhales his black breath. The Black Breath of Morbian, which awakens the dead. Both Clerics and Paladins of the good sect of Morbian are known as Sheppards, said to herd the children of Morbian towards Him, until they see the light shining from His doorway. Evil Clerics and Paladins of Morbian are known as Reapers; other dark worshippers tend to be Necromancers and worse. Clerics of Morbian are all male, though worshippers can be of any gender.
3.Akasha – Queen of the moon, Lady of Mysteries and Discoveries, and the Whispering Woman, Akasha is worshipped by loreseekers, seductive women, and those who relish secrets, or the revealing thereof. Romantics, bards, and lovers also revere her. Akasha is said to be sometimes lover, sometimes adversary, of Caliban, and their love affair is said to be tumultuous at the least. As such, there is a friendly-adversarial attitude between Akashics and worshippers of Caliban. Clerics of Akasha are known as Enigmas. Somewhere around ¾ of clerics and paladins of Akasha are female.
4.Caliban – Master of Magic, Lord of Logic, Caliban is also known as the Lord of the Storms. Wizards and other magic lovers follow him, as do those who prize pure intellect. It is said that the fiercest storms that wrack the skies come when Caliban, in his wrath, lets loose with his magics upon the realm. Clerics of Caliban are known as Ciphers. Approximately ¾ of clerics and paladins of Caliban are male.
5.Lorn – The Guardian, the Lone Swordbearer, it is said that Lorn stands alone against the evils of other planes of existence, bearing his sword against demons and devils and even fouler creatures that seek to destroy the world. Guardians of light, holy paladins, and those who see themselves as protectors, particularly of the innocent, or many people. Clerics and Paladinsof Lorn are known by many names, such as Swordbearers, Swordmaidens (for females), etc, and almost all use a sword for their chosen weapon, though this is not 100%. Paladins tend to outnumber Clerics for this religion by around 50%.
6.Bixinar – The Bitch Queen, Lady Luck, Fickle Fate, Bixinar is often embraced and cursed in the same breath. Bixinar is credited with the ebb and flow of fortune, luck, fate, what have you. She also has a darker side, as the Queen of Chaos, the bringer of destruction of civilization, the Harbinger of the End. Wherever order, civilization, starts to gain sway, it is said that Bixinar fits her baleful smile onto the shape of its destruction. Fate’s a Bitch is a term that was coined for her. Clerics and paladins of Bixinar have no particular name or title, and tend to be female by a slight margin.
7.Mhet – Mhet is called the Great Traveller, the Wanderer, but also the Binder of Worlds, and the Weaver. Mhet is revered by those whose gaze focus ever onwards on the distant horizon, and the term “Well Met” was coined because of him. However, he is also said to be the one who held the world together when it was breaking apart; that he bound it together, by weaving the world into one piece with his sheer will, and now he travels the world nonstop, constantly binding it closer to keep it from falling apart. It is said that coincidence, and finding ties from one to another, from people to nations, can be attributed to him. For instance, if you were to meet a ship captain in a bar minutes after mentioning you need a ship, it is Mhet you might thank (though others would credit Bixinar as well). Mhet’s clerics and paladins have no particular name or title.
8.Morghannus – Goddess of dark pleasures, seduction, hedonism, and manipulation – and pain, agony, torment. Jaded persons addicted to pleasure above all, or users of such to manipulate others, revere her, as do torturers. As such, although it is not well known, she is also the goddess of paradox and contradiction. It is said that her temples are little more than places for orgies of food, sex, drugs, and other pleasures. Morghannus’ clerics are often practiced in nonmagical matters of the flesh, of pleasure and pain, and are often called Flesh Wizards if their talents are of exceptional ability – in other words, a mark of respect for their most talented.
9.Vexer – God of Vengeance, Rage, and Fire; berserkers, vigilantes, and pyromancers follow Vexer. Vexer’s clerics and paladins are often called Vindicators or Retributioners.

The last two gods are more rumored than known by the PCs, so the last two are not available for worship by beginning characters. Also, Bixinar is known but is frowned on in this village; with no clerics here, a paladin or cleric pc of bixinar could not have been trained. There is also no cleric of Mhet, but one often travels with the Wavestrider, and would have been delighted to visit the village and do regular training sessions for those interested. As such, an informal shrine, a very casual and small affair, exists on the island.



Economy


In this world, the economy is based more off of trade than on coinage. Due to so many small, diverse civilizations, with one falling into destruction for each that arises, no real serious minting occurs. Instead, trade and barter occurs. Gold, jewels, and such can have definite value in the larger cities of the world, but in the smaller one, only if they have others to trade with. Otherwise, they need more practical goods. In other words, gold and silver and such are viable, but in some communities, they may demand other goods that are more practical.

Also, magic items will be somewhat rarer than in other 4e games, and you will not find a Ye Olde Magicke Shoppe. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t individuals here and there who might be able to fabricate a magical device. However, these will be few and far between.

Notes on character creation: Characters are required to have family, and ties, as I said before. They have also been trained – the village has suffered so many raids from pirates, raiders, and slavers, that they have a small militia, and a few experts that train the next generation for purposes of acting as guardians of the village. Each of your characters are that trained next generation.

Several are “multiclassed;” yes, I know, multiclassing works differently now, but they are essentially trained enough that they can help you learn as 1st level something that they may be multiclassed into (at much higher levels). The only trainer missing is Warlock: making the pact via the creature visiting you gets your training – but as I said, should the village learn you have an Infernal Pact… well, think Salem Witch trials. :)

Below, are listed some important NPCs, including the trainers, are:

Village npcs:
Meriki Bane, male, mayor, very old, once fabulous Fighter & Warlord
Illustria, Wizard and Cipher of Caliban
Mother Estria, Cleric of Karim
Sheppard Billic, Cleric of Morbian
Ryla, Enigma of Akasha
Kali, Swordmaiden (paladin & Cleric) of Lorn; 50ish tough old broad
Senecus, rascally duelist and hunter (ranger & rogue)
Bala the Boatmistress
Akarel, elderly village storykeeper and loremaster

[Morfedel]

A map of the island:

https://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/Morfedel/Shards%20of%20Etheniel/FirestoneIsle.jpg

[Morfedel]

The island is approximately 60 miles across, and it has a volcano that has been dormant for a very, very long time. The villagers live mainly in the bay area, with a few in outlining areas, including some farmers and ranchers. The village eats much seafood, however.

There are some wildlife on the island, but the villagers are careful not to overhunt and thus exterminate their sources of red meat.

The volcano has the remnants of an Ancient village on its slopes and rim. The villagers have long used the ruins as a source of metals and other materials, avoiding the rim, where Old Man Bear lives.

On either side of the bay are lookout towers that watch out for approaching ships: the rest of the island has concealed guard shacks that likewise watch the approach from other directions.

[Morfedel]

I may have neglected to say, character creation is 22 point buy. Remember to read that in the 4e phb, its five 10s and an 8, with 22 points used as per the phb 4e book.

If I already said that, sorry to be repetitive :)

[Daperez]

Will the campaign be run on any kind of VOIP?

[Morfedel]

Hey guys, unless you have a private reason to do so, please respond on this thread instead of sending PMs; it allows me to answer questions once instead of several times.

Also, I want to point out that, as this has come up twice already: Firestone Isle is very isolated. Apparently I didn't make this clear. It only has peaceful contact with Cliffrock and the Wavestrider. And in both cases, its only a few times a year.

Think of it like the American Native Indians of long ago, before meeting the europeans. They aren't as technologically primitive, but they are isolated. Your characters as such are not wanderers, pirates, smugglers, or anything of the sort. They LIVE on this island. They leave but rarely, if ever, and if so, it would only have been to Cliffrock.

The characters must also have strong emotional ties to the island; in other words, friends and family. They are a part of the community. Ideally, they are younger people who have been trained by the experts and guardians of the island to be the next generation of protectors, though this is not absolutely required, as long as they can explain how they were somehow trained in what they do.

Now, I did try to run this campaign on OpenRPG, but I decided to kill it because of too many problems on that system. The one "outsider" that I allowed was a guy who had a long lengthy background that resulted in his being shipwrecked, the only survivor - many years ago. He ended up marrying a local girl, and two kids, etc etc.


So, when coming up with your character background, I want you to make him or her as an active part of the community here, not someone who is just passing through. Someone who CARES about the island and its people, and associates with them in a friendly way, on a regular basis.

I want the characters to have friends and family - I grow weary of "I'm an orphan with a relatively blank background and no ties to the people I grew up with/around," and I won't accept such.

This is all just an FYI. I look forward to seeing your characters. And post your questions and ideas here, for others to respond to as well as for me to have to answer questions only once. PM me only if its something you want secret.

Thanks, and look forward to talking to you! :)

[Morfedel]

Will the campaign be run on any kind of VOIP?

No. while I like the idea of VOIP, I've had some issues with it. Also, my wife watches TV in the same room I run my online games in, and my talking would disrupt her listening, so....

[Morfedel]

BTW, could everyone see my map of Firestone ok?

[Daperez]

Well, in the interest in making those posts public, here's what I PM'd, and the responses. Basically, demonstrations of newbie mistakes in character creation... I'd actually gotten confused and thought Cliffrock was a town on Firestone island.


Hi again!
This campaign is definitely looking more and more interesting as information gets added. It's pretty enticing for a story made from scratch. I have two character profiles that I'm thinking about, and I'll let you judge which one might be more fitting. I'm equally excited about playing either one, so in the end, I can just go with whatever fits the party and the story better.

The first is Lance Boreal, the captain of The Roseblade, a small smuggling ship which often sails with a cheap, disposable, hired crew. He's not the best fighter, and he's not exactly a criminal mastermind, but he is known for coming through on a tough deal when the odds are against him. He has something of a reputation among the rounds of small islands that he sails, known as "The Broker". If you need something the Wavestrider doesn't deal in, and you don't care to ask where it came from, odds are, the Broker Boreal can get it for a "fair" price. He considers himself something of a big-shot but perhaps Lance overestimates his own abilities. Those who make deals with him often only do so grudgingly.

Lance is a rogue archetype with feats in Rapier proficiency and conversational skills. He's charismatic, but not really a "pretty boy." He's the kind of guy who greases his hair, but neglects to shave for long periods of time. He wears a custom-tailored suit, but the damn thing is so old and weatherbeaten it just ends up looking sleazy.

For the purposes of not having a PC start off with a ship, we'll just say that The Roseblade was sunk recently, and Lance has been stuck on Firestone island doing odd-jobs to buy his way off the god-forsaken rock. This would give him a pretty good excuse to don a set of leathers and start taking on quests.


The second character that I would be open to playing is Eliria Ranken, a Grey Knight (Paladin of Morbian). I hesitate to call the character a Sheppard of Reaper, since I'm really envisioning a strictly neutral character that avoids straying too far to the good or evil alignments/interpretations of Morbian. Her motivations are usually somewhat hidden, but her history has always been pretty ordinary and out in the open among the populace of Firestone. She is an old, wise scholar who has lived on the outskirts of the village for decades and has kept to herself most of her life. She is well-known to the people of Cliffrock, but is not very well liked, and makes little effort to remedy that. Eliria, after all, has something of a reputation for sticking her nose in other people's business.

Eliria is old, but she's the kind of person who keeps herself healthy through almost ritualistic monk-like habits. A few times, perhaps once every 4 or 5 years, she has been spotted on the docks, taking a voyage to another island for a few weeks. She is rarely missed during those short absences, but her occasional travels and disciplined habits give her a surprising strength and hardiness. Other times, she may accept the odd student or apprentice, but never for too long. As there are far more affable teachers with more specialized knowledge to be found in Cliffrock.

She is trained in Religion and History, often waxing philosophical with a streak of social-darwinism. Unlike most paladins, she doesn't really talk too much about her deity, let alone the rest of the pantheon, but she still has that good-ole preachy-paladin attitude when it comes to advising/lecturing the rest of the party on the "correct" courses of action. She is kind of like that old, strict teacher that you only come to appreciate later in life.

Oh, quick question: For character creation purposes, would it be possible to get the feat for the Raven Queen Channel Divinity and just replace the name with Morbian?




Anyways, those are my two suggestions. We'll see which one ends up being more fitting. I've got the characters rolled up and created already, and I'm excited to see who else decides to join the adventure.



I'm afraid neither will work, as they are written. You see, as I said in my background material, Firestone Isle is extremely isolated; they only have contact with Cliffrock and the Wavestrider.

Furthermore, contact with both is not often. Additionally, I said quit explicitly that the PCs need family and friends, positive emotional connections, to the island.

Your first character is a smuggler. That won't work, because you need to live on the island, have connections here, and with only 100 families, there is little that they would need smuggled in. Combined with the fact that the island is isolated, he would not have a chance to smuggle.

Also, his "wanting to get off this rock" might be fine, but only if he still has strong emotional connections (family) on the island.

The other would work a bit more, but it breaks two rules again: the first is that I wanted the characters to be on the younger side, and a first level "old" character somewhat breaks that. Now, with the right explanation, I might be willing to accept this, but you also said she leaves the island routinely - well, again, communications is rare. She could go to Cliffrock perhaps twice a year, but that would be about it.

And in both cases, a developed family/friends list is important.

Aside from that, unless you have something secretive to post, please make these posts public: they inspire discussion. :)

Hmm...lots to think about then. I'll save Lance for another adventure then. I think I found another that needs a rogue anyways. As for Eliria, I think I might still make her work. Well, maybe not. I can easily accept having her not leave the island, but in my mind she has always been kind of a hermit. She would probably like the island, but the island doesn't very much care either way for her. As for family, I would imagine they'd all be dead by now. Not for any kind of mary-sue drama reason, just out of logic. I'll go back to the drawing board and see what I can cook up. Maybe I can make her work, maybe not. In any case, I've at least got two characters ready for other campaigns.

[Daperez]

All right, I think I've managed to retool Eliria to be a bit more fitting with the vibe of the story.

Basically, Eliria is still old and hermitlike, but I'm going to work on connecting her to the island. For the past 25-30 years, she has lived on the outskirts of the village on Firestone, in a house that's maybe one or two steps up from a hovel. Before that though, she used to be a teacher in Firestone, studying and instructing students in whatever historical and religious knowledge was available at the time. Of course, there being such a scarcity of paper, recorded history tends to be little more than the consensus of hearsay and legends, but Eliria believed there were lessons to be learned in these stories regardless. Once or twice a year, she would travel to Cliffrock to consult with a colleague on such matters, and bring at least a little more knowledge back to Firestone, but she never earned much from her work.

As a whole, the families of Firestone did not care much for her, for several reasons. For one, the philosophy of self-reliance that she often tries to pass down to her students tends to run against the grain of the tight, community-based interconnected spirit of the island villages. Secondly, parents begrudged her when their sons or daughters expressed interest in such study, as the curriculum would neither make them stronger in battle, more adept at the arcane arts, nor more devout in their faith. Basically, learning under Eliria was like getting a liberal arts education, the kind of thing that is often viewed by the island people as a somewhat selfish endeavor, given the multitude of threats that they face on a daily basis. Young men and women should be training to defend the village, not wasting their time with empty scholarly musings.

Eliria, of course, sees it another way. She, having very high expectations of her students, never meant for their study to in any way be exclusive. She never charged much for the courses, and in her eyes, she did not take up nearly enough of her students' time to keep them from pursuing another more useful profession. In fact, she always encouraged her rather bookish students to be well-rounded, and chastised the weak-looking ones for devoting themselves too blindly to one particular pursuit. During those days, Eliria took her job very seriously, and through the years, she had developed deep bonds between herself and the most avid of her students and she had absolutely no qualms about showing favoritism. Like any strict but well-meaning teacher, coming to like Eliria was an "acquired taste" that maybe a handful of students per class came to appreciate. Some of them have died since then, others have taken on different professions in the village, some decided to train in the village militia after all, and others are busy raising families. Some still go out to see how she is doing a few times a year and despite her outwardly callous attitude, she does appreciate them dearly and it has been a rewarding experience watching them grow and mature.

So how does Eliria tie into the story going on now? Well, let's say there is more to Firestone's distaste for Eliria than a simple difference of opinion on academic viewpoints. The problem, at its root, has always been a longstanding grudge against the old woman. In her own youth, she committed the cardinal sin of not taking up a trade or martial discipline (something, anything that would help the town prosper or defend itself) like others her age. She, in her obstinate adolescence, hopped around from apprenticeship to apprenticeship, always finding her teachers dull and simple-minded, and before she knew it, time had passed her by. Her parents, having almost completely given up on trying to raise the rebellious child, focused more attention on Eliria's younger brother, Exeter, a handsome young man who would soon go to join the militia and become a respected leader in his prime. By the time Eliria reached adulthood, the villagers watched her closely, and either out of spite or mistrust, began to refuse her aid or services. If she wasn't going to contribute to the village's well-being, they would refuse to contribute to hers. There were no free-riders in Firestone, and eventually, she would have to break down and accept her responsibilities.

Much to their frustration, she never did. Making a small place for herself on a hill outside of town, she began to grow her own vegetables and well her own water. She lived on a meager diet and kept her body healthy through meditation and disciplined exercise. Eliria does not hunt, but has learned to defend her home from a few species of roaming animals which often found their way into a stew. Other times, she will receive a warm meal or a basket of baked goods from one of her students, reminding her that she has not been forgotten.

A few months before the start of the campaign, Exeter, now a commander in the town militia, has come up to visit his somewhat estranged older sister to give her an ultimatum. Being that Eliria has stopped teaching almost 10 years ago to retreat further into hermitage, and that it's common knowledge that she is a follower of Morbian, the townspeople have been getting increasingly more suspicious of her activities on that old hill. The recent wave of attacks on the village (little more than sporadic encounters with beasts but people will interpret what they want to see) does nothing to ease their suspicions. Exeter tells Eliria she is starting to be suspected of witchcraft, and that were it not for him, the militia is just about ready to decide not to take chances. The entire villages senses a darkness approaching, and feeling they must brace themselves for it, everyone must stand united. Exeter tells Eliria that he has done all he can do to protect her, but if she refuses to carry herself back into the fold, then she will be treated as an outsider, and face the ensuing consequences. Upon hearing this, Eliria thinks it over for a short while, then decides to go back to town with Exeter, whereupon (much to Exeter's surprise) she asks him to take her to the militia's armory to pick out a weapon.

[Morfedel]

Much better, Daperez. So, a first level paladin of Morbian, eh? Realize that the vast majority of Morbian clerics and paladins are either good or evil, and rarely are they unaligned... but its not unheard of. See, the good worshippers feel themselves responsible for shepparding souls to Him, while the evil ones seek to exploit the nature of the undead, his opposite reflection.

A neutral/unaligned worshipper would not seem to fill any purpose for the religion as a Paladin or Cleric - so you will need to give that some thought. I'm not disallowing it, but you should consider it.

Also... I'm considering using the old original alignment system. Otherwise, where lies the evil tyrant who rules with an iron fist? Its certainly not chaotic evil, and regular evil still seems unfocused. Meanwhile, the freedom fighter, isn't he a chaotic good character?

Just keep that in mind that I haven't decided yet... I would not use alignments as enforced codes, but more general tendencies. But, still, something to consider.


Finally... would you consider it a bit odd for her to have always been a paladin yet, at her old age, be only first level? Has she just not pushed herself, or is this a recent thing? And what has she done when pirates and slavers have attacked the island in the past?

[scytale2]

Bovell Firebrand is well known on the island. In his youth, he won many tournaments and gained the admiration of men and women for his fairness and good judgement, becoming a leader in the community.

Then something went wrong. A year went by when he won no competitions and his firends and admirers seem to move on to others who were "flavour of the day" and Bovell tsarted to lose confidence in himself and his abilities. A visit from a gipsy traveller introduced him to the warlock infernal pact and he has been secretly studying these skills in an effort to reattain his former glory, but, instead, his visage has turned bleak, his sword arm shaky and his ability to command floundering.

What he does not realise is that his friends simply believe that he has matured from a reckless and peril-filled youth. They respect his tactical skills like few others on the island, but he refuses now to accept these accolades, saying that he has much more to prove and that others must watch and wait to see what he can truly achieve. Only then will he be deserving of his betrothed, Erika, a feckless woman, who thinks Bovell is more trouble than he is worth.

=============

Bovell is a warlord, multi-classing (secretly) into the Warlock infernal pact. he has excellent tactical skills, but long nights over a burning candle have dulled his sword arm and dextrousness, replacing it with irony and disillusionment.

[Morfedel]

Scytale: Nifty, but again, as with Daperez and anyone else, I'd like details on your family as well. Which reminds me, Daparez, flesh out your family some more, please, and your relationship therein.

[Daperez]

Hmm...good points overall, I'll see what I can address. Eliria is starting at level one because well...I assume we're all starting at level one, and most of her life has been spent honing her other skills (History, Religion, Diplomacy, Healing, and Insight). She has certainly "pushed herself", and that is reflected in the fact that she still manages to have 13 STR and 12 CON at her age. Because of her age though, these scores are unlikely to increase much further, as I'll be focusing on making her a CHA/WIS Paladin.

At this stage in her life, she knows enough about the gods to have developed a deep respect for Morbian above all gods, and become familiar with the rituals in his name. If she is Lvl 1, it is because she, by the start of the campaign, only has a few month's experience with a weapon and armor, and because though she knows much about the Grey Father, she has not spent a great deal of time actually connecting directly with the deity. This connection, however, has been growing as of late as she feels herself, through her age, becoming closer and closer to Morbian.

As for her neutrality, she is unaligned in terms of good vs evil, and believes that matters of death and undeath are for Death itself to decide. Eliria does not pretend to determine the nature of Morbian; He is what He is. She does, however, highly revere the power of death and accepts its duality. Death culls the weak from this world, and makes the whole stronger. Yet, if Morbian is the steward of the dead, that which is made Undead must either be undead by His sanction, or by an unjust theft of His authority. In other words, she does not instinctively seek to destroy the Undead, but if she feels that something has been raised against Morbian's will, such theft must be punished. This does mean though, that should she encounter the Undead, she is somewhat bound to investigate the matter and ascertain whether or not it is being done in Morbian's will. Her acceptance of Morbian's duality, of course, puts her at something of a conflict with either side of his following, so she is not likely to be a part of a larger religious order. If this disqualifies the character from being a paladin, I can, of course, go back to the drawing board.

[Morfedel]

Daparez: looks good, so just flesh out her family and should be good to go.

[Morfedel]

I've decided to run my game from 11 am to 2 pm est (GMT-5), so it gives me an hour to get to my other game that runs from 3-6 pm, so if we run late, hopefully not by much. :)

[Daperez]

Hmm....ok, family stuff...

Eliria's mother and father are, of course, dead. Her father, Oscar Ranken, a guardsman who spent much more time at work than at home, passed away to illness. Eliria was old enough to not be hit too hard by it. She was into adulthood when it happened, and if she did feel grief, it was short, and she kept it to herself. She spent more time comforting her mother and younger brother, Exeter who were still living with him during the years that the illness took him. Oscar was a down-to-earth, hardworking kind of guy, but never too emotional or sentimental. A man more likely to hit the tavern with his friends after a long workday than come home to his family, he never bonded too much with his daughter, and if he was ever upset at her, he would exact his punishment by proxy through the mother (Laurel Ranken), rather than lecture Eliria on his own. He server the town honorably and was given a humble but well-attended burial, and his sword was handed down to Eliria's younger brother, Exeter. The young man went on to outrank his father as a commander for the village militia.

Exeter is the epitome of the lawful-good militia-man, and his success and respect always seemed to make Eliria look worse just by comparison. She was never jealous of him, for she had no such aspirates, but Eliria received much scorn from her mother for failing to measure up to her younger brother's fortune. You could say that Eliria's rebellious behavior was a result of her being born to such a young mother, while Exeter was the product of a much more experienced upbringing. When Eliria retired to her small home in the nearby woods, Exeter returned to provide for his mother with his soldier's salary, and kept her well-housed until she passed away quietly one night. Since her death, Exeter (in his mid-30's) has found the family house to be a bit too empty and quiet. He has begun to long for a family of his own, and now that his job has allowed him more free time, he spends a great deal of time searching for a suitable wife.

Exeter and Eliria's relationship is a little complicated. Eliria does not feel a very great affection for him, as they were raised so far apart in age. She does, though, care greatly for his well-being, and would go out of her way to help him out of a jam. Exeter, for the most part, feels the same way, except for the fact that he still resents the shame he feels she has brought to the family name. The depth of their familial affection for each other tends to ebb and flow over time.

[Alex319]

Are there still spots open for this campaign? (I have a character idea; I just don't want to bother writing the whole thing out and posting it if the game is full anyway.)

[Morfedel]

Good stuff, Daparez!

Alex: Well, currently yes. The one thing I need to warn you is that I have a couple players from my other game on OpenRPG that might migrate here. Only problem is, they dont want to spend the money on FG2; they are debating it. I think a couple might, but most wont.

So, basically, I THINK I have the room, but I don't know for sure just yet.

[Morfedel]

One of my old players just told me he does plan on playing.

Meanwhile, I forgot to mention, there is an additional skill I added: Seamanship, governing the operation of sea vessels. It also includes swimming, just like athletics. Seamanship is available to everyone, so now anyone can get training in swimming.

But having both Seamanship and Athletics does not make you an even better swimmer. :)


Also, you may buy any nonmagical items you wish except mounts - and possibly anything else I havent thought of. :) I will allow the purchase of healing potions - there are a couple people on the island that brews them. But thats all for magic items.

[Jeddi151]

Hey Morf.

I'm definatly interested in the campaign. But since i'm tired and have work in the morning, I'l probably post my character ideas tomorrow.

Years ago I played a Ranger in a campaign similar to this that I might try out again. I'm also interested in a wizard. Give me some time to think on it though.

Later guys.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Alex: I think there will be room, but I'm not sure. I'm pretty certain that two of my old players are going to be joining (Jeddi is one of them, the other told me via email and should be posting soon); and I have scy and dap, and since I wanted 5, if no other of my old players are interested, then you can have the fifth slot.

[Morfedel]

So, so far we have:

Daparez, playing Eliria, an older Paladin of Morbian
Scytale, playing Bovell Firebrand, playing a Warlord
Jeddi, playing either Ranger or Wizard
My other pal, who hasnt posted yet
Alex ??

[scytale2]

Bovell is ostensibly the son of the village blacksmith, hence the Firebrand name. However his father is not the shiniest pin the pincushion and while Bovell has apparently inherited his physique, his features are somewhat different and Bovell could read and write efficiently, far better than his father at age 7. His mother died bearing Bovell and therein lies a story...

You may have guessed that Bovell is actually the bastard son of Meriki Bane, mayor of the Island and all-round good egg. Meriki knows this but when Bovell's mother died in childbirth he chose to let sleeping dogs lie, than spoil the memory of Gillia Firebrand, a kind woman, but someone who wanted more than the life of a blacksmith's wife. She struck up an occasional friendship with Meriki Bane, when they traded poetry for a time, where the mayor used to enjoy some intellectual time away from the rigours of government. One afternoon, Gillia and Meriki's poems became reality and Bovell's life was instigated.

Only Meriki knows of Bovell's ancestry, but he took an interest in the development of the boy, ensuring that he always had the best trainers and his father ensured he had the best weapons and armour - hence his early success.

A chance suggestive comment by an observant aide to the mayor that Bovell was more than a protégé led Meriki to cut his links with the youth and Bovell just became the same as every other aspiring fighter, which sent him into his current depression...

His father, Homer, of course, knows nothing of any of this. He has gone deaf over the years, with the constant bashing of hammer against iron and was never the most perceptive, in any case. However, he is kindly and very fond of his "adopted" son and is troubled by his recent lack of motivation and enthusiasm for life...

[Morfedel]

Scytale: very cool, but with one alteration. Unless she was abstaining from her husband entirely, then she could not know for sure whose son it was - and if she was abstaining, it would be quite possible that even a "slow" husband would realize what was up.

Of course, there is also the possibility that she had abstained from her husband until she realized she was pregnant, then slept with her husband again to hide the truth.

In that case, however, there would have been fighting, tension, etc etc, and may have aroused other suspicions if she was abstaining from her husband AND spending a lot of time with the warlord.

So, I think what might be more likely, and also more interesting, if to say that it isnt certain whose son you are; after all, if the wife was intelligent, you could have inherited her intellect and his strength. So, either way, the matter may not be certain. And with rumors flying around...

[scytale2]

Well I guess I had in mind that, having tried for many years, Homer had considered himself (quite rightly) unable to father children - close proximity to the smithy (over-use of mobile phone) etc. - and that Bovell had come along as a kind of "miracle", one reason why Meriki didn't want to "burst the bubble".

Of course, under these circumstances rumours can still spread...

[Alex319]

I have changed my mind and decided that I don't want to join this game.

[Morfedel]

I have changed my mind and decided that I don't want to join this game.

Great, no prob. Good luck with your search.

[Morfedel]

Well I guess I had in mind that, having tried for many years, Homer had considered himself (quite rightly) unable to father children - close proximity to the smithy (over-use of mobile phone) etc. - and that Bovell had come along as a kind of "miracle", one reason why Meriki didn't want to "burst the bubble".

Of course, under these circumstances rumours can still spread...

I'm not sure it would quite play out quite the way you think. I'll consider it.

[Jeddi151]

Makalai was born, raised, and lives on Firestone isle. He grew up among some of the more Tribal members of the community and has become an expert hunter, fisherman, and collector of rare goods from the environment.

His father Kameli was his teacher. His teaching had a theme of believing that everything has a spirit and a place. We must respect these spirits for they control the world, and are a direct link to the Gods above. The best example of his belief system is Old Man Bear. While others believe that this large bear is an animal that should be hunted or killed, Makalai believes this being to be a physical spirit, and is the spirit of the island. Just as hunters go up to try and kill Old Man, raiders try to kill the village. As long as Old Man lives, the village will continue to thrive.

While Kameli may be dead, his spirit lives on and protects the family. Makalai also has a younger sister, Kikeli who looks after their mother Malana. They live in the family home, while Makalai lives slightly south of his home. He built his home near the beach, so he may wake up and head straight to fishing if he needs to.

Makalai source of income comes from his knowledge of the island and his ability to harvest the natural resources. He is able to collect fruits, grains, and berries for the village, as well as hunt the wildlife on the island. But he is mor eknown for his rare finds in the ocean. Diving along the North Shore, he is able to capture shellfish from traps, as well as other rare creatures such as Octopi, Sea Turtles, Oysters and Clams. He has been able to find a couple of pearls from his oyster finds, and they have brought him a lot of fame and wealth to his family, as well as the inks he is able to provide from the harvesting of the octupi. He is well loved by the village for his exotic nature and his rare gifts, and always brings a rare cooked dish to any celebrations amongst the family friends or celebrations in the village. Makalai is also known for his dog Loi, which is a favorite of many villagers.

Loi is a Seventy-Five pound Spitz-breed dog. The long white fur that sheds year-round has been treated as a good luck charm from many of the children in the village, for it means that Loi will protect them if they are in trouble. Loi was the first to find Makalai's wife Gracia when she was shipwrecked on the island. He is a fantastic hunting dog, and is able to follow basic commands from Makalai with just simple whistles or hand signals. Loi also helps Makalai find his way back to shore after diving for long periods of time by barking. This is also a signal to the village that Makalai has been diving and will hopefully bring back something of great value.

Makalai's wife is not native to the island. A little more than a year ago, Gracia was found in front of his home on the beach, shipwrecked. From what she remembers, it is assumed that she was captured to slavers, who soon discovered she was blind, and was tossed overboard. The great Ocean brought her to the island. She fell in love with Makalai as he cared for her, and they married soon after. She is currently pregnant with their first child.

Makalai does not have any more desires for his life. He only wishes to grow old with his family and die peacefully. He does unfortunatly have dreams that all that will come to an end, and his wish will not be granted. While he does not know of what causes the death of him or his family, he does recognize there will be a solar eclipse during the day, and a red full moon at night.

Makalai stands at 6 foot 2 inches, and his muscular frame brings him to about 190lbs. Using the traditions pased down from his family, his tan skin is decorated with tribal designs for protection, wealth, and strength. The tattoo starts from his left hand, runs up his arm to his shoulder, and then down his left side. If he wore a long sleeve shirt, then the only evidence of a tattoo would be on the back of his neck.

[Daperez]

Looks like this is coming together pretty well. I like the party so far. Two quick questions:

- Are you making up your own "Channel Divinity" abilities for the deities, or would it be possible to take the feat for "Channel Divinity: Raven Queen's Blessing" in the PHB and just rename it to "Channel Divinity: Morbian's Blessing"? or something like that?

- Since paper is rare, how much more of pain in the neck would the requirements for the Ritual Caster feat be? Assuming we don't get a wizard in the group, would it be worth pursuing in this particular setting?

[Morfedel]

Looks like this is coming together pretty well. I like the party so far. Two quick questions:

- Are you making up your own "Channel Divinity" abilities for the deities, or would it be possible to take the feat for "Channel Divinity: Raven Queen's Blessing" in the PHB and just rename it to "Channel Divinity: Morbian's Blessing"? or something like that?

I'm porting over as many of the channel divinity feats as is appropriate; most do port over, but I'm going to have to create a couple for a few of the dieties.

That aside, however, Raven Queen's Blessing does map to Morbian; I call it The Sheppard's Charge (not charge as in "CHARGE!" but charge as in duty).


- Since paper is rare, how much more of pain in the neck would the requirements for the Ritual Caster feat be? Assuming we don't get a wizard in the group, would it be worth pursuing in this particular setting?

Yes, there will be rituals, and on second thought, paper costs will change depending on island. Just as some islands will be metal poor or rich, so will some be paper poor or rich.

On the current island, paper is scarce; but for character creation, I'll let you buy at the listed price.


JEDDI: good character overall! :)


Scytale: Overall I like your character idea a lot, but I don't think it would be realistic that your father hung out with your mother so much, your father thought he couldnt have a child, then BEHOLD, a miracle, he doesn't suspect at all, and the islanders dont spread rumors. At first, perhaps, he would, but as time would pass, even someone slow would start thinking of the suspicious circumstances... or hear the rumors of the villagers.

After all, its only 100 families... and everyone knows everyone, pretty well. So, perhaps at FIRST he thought he couldnt have children... besides, this isnt the modern era. Yes, there is magic, but they would not know for certain on this village he COULDNT have kids. Maybe they would suspect if he had had an injury in his groin area that still left the possibility, or had a disease that left men sterile...

You see what I mean? Either there is a chance of being either, or else suspicion would fall far more heavily on the affair. Either is fine.

[scytale2]

Character concept-wise, I feel it is important that Bovell has no idea that Homer is not his father. That's the only thing I would like to stick with, so feel free to amend however you would wish to around this.

I have drawn up the character in V1.0 of the JPG4E ruleset - is that correct? Are we likely to be playing this Sunday?

[Daperez]

I have drawn up the character in V1.0 of the JPG4E ruleset - is that correct? Are we likely to be playing this Sunday?
I've also used the ruleset. Are you familiar with it, Morf? If you aren't using it, I recommend you check it out at the FourUglyMonsters.com site.

[Morfedel]

Yes, I'm using it. :)

As for when to start... you guys want to try and start this coming sunday, or the following? I just ask because we don't quite have the 5 people I wanted yet, one of my players hasnt had the time to get on to work on his character (he is busy during the week), so perhaps giving him one weekend to make his character and us to try and find a fifth might behoove us.

And, I made this adventure with the idea of 5 people in mind. :) But, I leave it up to you.


As a side note, this first adventure will essentially be a dungeon crawl. I did this on purpose so I can make sure I understand encounter construction and combat. That aside, however, it still has a story behind it, and further adventures will, as a general rule, be less dungeon-crawlie (with the occasional exception perhaps, but again, with a story behind it should that occur).

[Jeddi151]

JEDDI: good character overall! :)



Why thank you Morf. I think after all the characters I created for you, I finally understand what your looking for when I create the background.

If you have any irks about it, let me know and we can adjust.

-Carson

[Jeddi151]

Character creation is so simple in 4e, he can knock it out on Friday, Saturday afternoon and be ready by Sunday. Let's at least meet on Sunday so I can download the rule set since I can't find ANYTHING on FUM.

No problem with dungeon crawl, this is my first game.

-Carson

[Daperez]

https://fouruglymonsters.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&func=showcat&catid=41&Itemid=0


I recommend starting/meeting this Sunday. It's only Wednesday now, and I think that should be plenty of time for a character write-up and for one more person to find us.

[Morfedel]

Ok then, if Rob will get off his duff and log on...

We still need 1 more though. Hm...

[Jeddi151]

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=71409

Here is the character sheet. Going to work on up-keep later on in the week.

-Carson

[Tbone]

Ok then, if Rob will get off his duff and log on...

We still need 1 more though. Hm...


Okay, okay, I made an account and am posting(whoo 1st post for me here! heh). Geez. I got a little free time tonite to work on a char and background, I just need to go over your little blurb about da world.

I know all of yas that know me know I tend towards "Me smash." or "Me brilliant, but naughty" than anything else, sooo I'll go rogue. That might be fun.

[Daperez]

Good stuff, good stuff.

Here's the sheet for Eliria
https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=71855

Welcome to the team, Tbone. Looks like it's gonna be a pretty interesting group. Pretty martial so far, except for our curious warlord, but if we don't end up getting a wizard, I'll be happy to pick up the slack in the occult knowledge department.

I'm afraid there's just not enough gold to buy a ritual book at character creation though, so I think I'm just gonna be taking Arcana for now, and taking Ritual Caster as a second level feat when (I hope) we'll have gotten the cash to buy a book.

[Tbone]

Hmm, this is actually a tough choice here. The environment is not exactly conductive to either rogues or wizards, although they are both possible.

My Rogue would be Jalon "Lightfingers" Proffitt, who pretty much reveres three gods above the others, Akasha, Bixinar and Mhet (mysteries/discoveries, luck and wanderlust, basically, not the evil parts) I'll have to sleep on his background, good thing I'm off Thurs.

The alt is a wizard of the first kind... Zephriam. His parents would be named Sol and Mindia Shaw who are currently proud of their brilliant son (one of many) going into the arcane arts. Obviously, he follows Caliban.

I'll sleep on it tonite, and come up with a background for one of these two.. or both, since I know how murderous Morf gets, heh heh heh...

[Jeddi151]

Daperez: Did you apply public permission to the character sheet? I click on the link and it goes no where.

We have a Warlord, Ranger, and what else? A cleric? Hmm. And either a Mage or Rogue

-Carson

[Daperez]

Oh...So that's what "public" meant. Well it's public now.

[Morfedel]

I'll sleep on it tonite, and come up with a background for one of these two.. or both, since I know how murderous Morf gets, heh heh heh...

Hey!!! Watch it, bub!

And, you want to name a rogue with the last name proffitt? :confused:

As for his being "lightfingers," remember that a starting rogue here probably got trained to be a "shadow fighter" for lack of a better term against invaders - though thievery would still be appropriate, though not for robbing your fellow villagers. More for things like: the slaver captain has some of our people, you sneak on board, pick his pocket, and let loose the people while your comrades attack the far side of the ship, making a distraction...

Or something like that. Point being, all character classes can work, as long as their actual lifestyle/purpose isn't counter to the feel of the island. If you wanted to make an actual catburglar, for instance, then you are right, it wouldnt work. :P

BTW, for anyone interested, the second adventure will see the Ashanki and Quirrel unlocked. I still need to write them up though.

[Morfedel]

Daperez: Did you apply public permission to the character sheet? I click on the link and it goes no where.

We have a Warlord, Ranger, and what else? A cleric? Hmm. And either a Mage or Rogue

-Carson

We have:

Daparez, playing Eliria, an older Paladin of Morbian (poss. multiclassing wizard)
Scytale, playing Bovell Firebrand, a Warlord
Jeddi, playing Makali, a Ranger
TBone, playing either a Rogue or a Wizard

[scytale2]

Makali - I don't think you have used all your buy points for stats. It is not the same as 3.5, as you start with 5 x 10 stats and 1 x 8 stat.

Re- my character. Gillia told the mayor of her pregnancy as soon as she became aware of it and they decided to spin her husband a lie that she had been including a fertility herb in her husband's food these last few months, unbeknownst to him. She had not wanted to tell him of this, because she did not wish to raise his hopes...

Bovell spent many years trying to learn the blacksmith art, but he could never master it, he seemed to lack the dexterity required!

Am keen to play Sunday.

[Tbone]

Hey!!! Watch it, bub!

And, you want to name a rogue with the last name proffitt? :confused:

As for his being "lightfingers," remember that a starting rogue here probably got trained to be a "shadow fighter" for lack of a better term against invaders - though thievery would still be appropriate, though not for robbing your fellow villagers. More for things like: the slaver captain has some of our people, you sneak on board, pick his pocket, and let loose the people while your comrades attack the far side of the ship, making a distraction...

Or something like that. Point being, all character classes can work, as long as their actual lifestyle/purpose isn't counter to the feel of the island. If you wanted to make an actual catburglar, for instance, then you are right, it wouldnt work. :P

BTW, for anyone interested, the second adventure will see the Ashanki and Quirrel unlocked. I still need to write them up though.

Well, the Proffitt name is supposed to be ironic. Afterall, his parents are merchants, and their parents before them and so on... well as much merchants are possible in this setting. And yeah, that would be the style of sneaking aboard slaver ships and so forth, not the catbungler (:P) thing.

Anyhoo, after looking over the list, I'd say we need a wizard more than a rogue, so Zephriam Shaw it is. I'll have something posted later today along with a link to the char. Ohhh, I have sooo many ideas for that Tensor's Floating Disc. Is that volcano active, in the sense that there's some lava streaming out(not Pompeii style, I mean.) Heh heh heh...

[Morfedel]

Tbone: Sounds good, and the volcano has been dormant as long as the people's history recounts.


As for the point buy, if you havent been reading the phb carefully, here is a reminder:

you get five 10s and an 8.
You then get 22 points to spend.

Each point up to 13 costs 1 point.
14 and 15 cost 2.
16 and 17 cost 3.
18 costs 4.

I'm not completely 100% sure on that (I dont have the phb in front of me, I'm at work), so if I'm wrong, someone correct it for me. :)

And remember, you apply your +2 for being human AFTER you purchase your scores.

Which reminds me, I'm surprised, no one went for one the half elf. Hm... Scytale? You interested, since yer already got a screwed up birth? LOL

[Daperez]

Hmm....Stat-wise, going Half-elf for Eliria would be pretty darn good. It would mean 2 free additional CON, and some bonuses to my favorite skills. Storywise, I suppose it would solidify her status as an outsider in Firestone, and make it a little less of a reach physically for her to be reaching for a weapon and armor at her age. I'd have to tweak her family history slightly, but if no one else will take it, I wouldn't mind trying it out. Then again, Eliria kind of goes against all of the racial generalizations of Half-elves as "Outgoing, enthusiastic leaders". She'd be the grumpiest half-elf there ever was. If it doesn't work, human ain't so bad either.

[Morfedel]

Hmm....Stat-wise, going Half-elf for Eliria would be pretty darn good. It would mean 2 free additional CON, and some bonuses to my favorite skills. Storywise, I suppose it would solidify her status as an outsider in Firestone, and make it a little less of a reach physically for her to be reaching for a weapon and armor at her age. I'd have to tweak her family history slightly, but if no one else will take it, I wouldn't mind trying it out. Then again, Eliria kind of goes against all of the racial generalizations of Half-elves as "Outgoing, enthusiastic leaders". She'd be the grumpiest half-elf there ever was. If it doesn't work, human ain't so bad either.

Well, remember that, now, people worldwide know that a "half elf" is what would have been called a changeling: two children switched in their cribs between a human crib and an elf (or eldarin) crib; no one knows how it works, and some even speculate it isn't a 100% switch, but rather a switch of some genetic material; in other words, take two babies, one human and one elf, blend them together, and separate into two.

No one knows for sure, so many half elves are loved as the original children, precisely because of this uncertainty. Others... not as much. However, in either case, half elves have a beauty and charisma, a natural talent for such, that in any environment where they ARE allowed to flourish, it comes out.

(( I may come up with a "grumpy half elf" equivalent for the heck of it, but not currently))

So, I am not requiring anyone to be a half elf, and frankly, I'd rather people choose their race based on story idea, not stat bonuses. So if she feels better as a human (and I certainly think she does), then stick with it and have fun. :)

[Tbone]

Awwww, no lava falls, huh? Rats, that ruins my idea of using the floating disc to catch some molten lava and then dropping some slaver into a pit and dispelling that disc over his head. Oh well.

Zephriam Shaw is the third born son of the nine sons(no daughters) born of Sol and Mindia Shaw. Both Sol and Mindia are very proud of their son, but then again, they are very proud of ALL their children. Sol is a ranking member of the guards, and several of his sons follows in his footsteps. Mindia helps out with both Ryla and Mother Estria, doing odd jobs and learning the odd charm.

Sol junior, the eldest at 25, is currently married to Minerva Shaw nee Harper. He follows Lorn and has trained under Kali as a paladin, while his wife was an entertainer and an acolyte of Akasha. They have 2 children, Torn and Mika.

Next up is Bal-en, who is 23. The boy(yes, he's still considered a boy, for some reason) is a charming rogue, who dallied with perhaps half of the available ladies on the island, and managed to talk his way out of serious trouble. He has actually, for once, fallen in love with his current paramour, Kitha Waterwalker. Having trained under Senecus, he is fully prepared to do what he must do, should the raiders or slavers come again.

Zephriam is next in line of the Shaw family, at 21 years of age. He is possibly one of the top 5 most intelligent people on the entire island, if not the most intelligent. He was deemed so intelligent at a young age that he was apprenticed to Illustria, Wizard and Cipher of Caliban, that resides near the village. He has a feeling that somehow, somewhere, someone will raise up civilization and stop the recurrent barbarism. He has no romantic attachements to anyone on the island, considering the ladies there too.. homey and dull for him.

The triplets Jakk, Bakk and Takk at 20 are the greatest team the island has ever seen, for the brothers knows what the others are going to do and help complement each other. It is no suprise that they are all fighters, able to mesh well and take out anyone that gives them grief. Of the three, only Takk has a girlfriend, Andie.

Shawn is only 18 years of age, but he dreams of following Morbian, and thus studied under Sheppard Billic. However, people sometimes despair of him falling to the dark side of Morbian. It is felt that with a steady hand of guidance, Shawn will become another Sheppard. But he could easily go as a Reaper.

The twins Raul and Mal bring up the last of the sons of Sol and Mindia, being only 15 years old. The two have the nasty hero worship of Zephriam, and they both intend to become wizards, albeit with wand and orb, rather than staff.

Through Sol and Mindia, Zephriam has ties to nearly every family on the Firestone Isle. He has various friends his own age among the population, but Zephriam has always looked outwards to the other islands of this shattered world, wondering who they are, who he'll meet if he ever leave, and what he'd be doing out there. He knows there will be a long war out there, between civilizations trying to rise, and barbarians and rival jealous civilizations trying to crush others. Zephriam hopes he can find or possible found a guiding light of the world, to help defend and protect those that needs protection, to stamp out rampant barbarism for all time and perhaps bring the glory of gods and ancients to the world once again. Of course that's his big dream, but don't knock it!

Zephriam is a somewhat average looking blonde haired young man, standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing a paltry 160 pounds, but he seems rather stronger than average for his size. When you look in his storm grey eyes, you can easily tell that he is significantly smarter than you. The only trappings of the wizard he allows himself would be a swirling cloak and a staff, but you wouldn't think he was a wizard from the way he wears leather armor.

Here's the linkage to the sheet. Hopefully I did it right. My question is, do I have to buy the staff and spell book?

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=72028

[Morfedel]

So, knowing how I like detailed backgrounds, you decided to punish me with 8 siblings? HAH!

[Tbone]

So, knowing how I like detailed backgrounds, you decided to punish me with 8 siblings? HAH!

Hehe.. too detailed or not detailed enough? want me to moider about half of those poor kids? :P

[Morfedel]

Hehe.. too detailed or not detailed enough? want me to moider about half of those poor kids? :P

Nah, I'm good! :P

[Morfedel]

Hey Scytale, wanna throw up a Mythweavers character too while we are at it?

[scytale2]

I think should allow you to view the sheet...

https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=72160

[Tbone]

Hey guys, I assume I have to pay out good cold hard cash for the spell book and my staff? I can't seem to find any answer in the book anywhere.

[Morfedel]

Hey guys, I assume I have to pay out good cold hard cash for the spell book and my staff? I can't seem to find any answer in the book anywhere.

You get your first spellbook for free. pg 158 of the phb.

Implements are not free however, as they are magic items. :)

[Morfedel]

As for the point buy, if you havent been reading the phb carefully, here is a reminder:

you get five 10s and an 8.
You then get 22 points to spend.

Each point up to 13 costs 1 point.
14 and 15 cost 2.
16 and 17 cost 3.
18 costs 4.

I'm not completely 100% sure on that (I dont have the phb in front of me, I'm at work), so if I'm wrong, someone correct it for me. :)


And I had it wrong. Its:

up to and including 13: 1 pt each
14-16: 2 each
17: 3
18: 4

[Morfedel]

Elira: Reviewed and approved.

[Morfedel]

Bovell: Your Reflex score shows you are receiving only a 15 total according to the panel after it that shows the source of all your bonuses. It actually is 16, which is what it says, but you are missing a +1 (due to shield I suppose) on it. Its confusing, so add the +1 somewhere. :)

Otherwise looks good; make sure you buy the rest of your gear you want BEFORE the adventure begins! :)

Other than that, approved.

[Morfedel]

Langauges: The Ashanki and Quirrel each have their own language as well. Any language you learn other than that is theoretical. Sort of like having studied a language from a textbooks - which is basically what you would have done.

[Morfedel]

Makalai: You have two points unspent with your attributes. The feat Human Perseverance gives +1 to Save Throws: Reflex, Will, and Fortitude are no longer save throws, they are now called Defense Scores. Save throws are just one thing: a 10 or higher on a d20 roll succeeds. With this feat, you get a 9+ instead. So your Fort, Will, and Reflex are 1 pt too high.

Otherwise, approved.

[Morfedel]

Zephiram Shaw: Since implement power is based off of having a magical implement, which you cant get yet, then unless you have the gold to buy one, you can't get the class bonus for that for ac yet.

Other than that, character approved.

[Morfedel]

Ok, other notes:

1. Everyone who hasnt done so, select a language. Remember, only Ashanki and Quirrel are available to actually speak normally; any other language would have come from "textbooks" and such. So, at first will be... well, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw">a first semester of spanish love song</a>

2. Dont forget seamanship is available as a class skill for everyone.

3. Don't forget to fill out your passive perception and passive insight scores, as well as the information on your powers for reference.


Scytale: I will be sending you a pm after this, so watch for it! :)

Finally, I'm going to set up my server and leave it on as long as I can. When you get a chance, log onto the server and create your character for advance preparation. I'll pm each of you the address and password.

[Morfedel]

Everyone should have the server info now. Let me know if you dont. :)

[Jeddi151]

Increased my 13 up to 14 on Con. 22pts.

Traded Human Perserverance for Weapon Focus (Bows)

[Tbone]

Zephiram Shaw: Since implement power is based off of having a magical implement, which you cant get yet, then unless you have the gold to buy one, you can't get the class bonus for that for ac yet.

Other than that, character approved.

Umm, I can't seem to find anywhere that the wizard requires an arcane implement with a magical bonus. As for the implement itself, I direct you to page 222 under adventuring gear. Since I picked that up, I should get my +1 defense bonus, no?

Passive perception and passive insight? hmm.

[Morfedel]

Umm, I can't seem to find anywhere that the wizard requires an arcane implement with a magical bonus. As for the implement itself, I direct you to page 222 under adventuring gear. Since I picked that up, I should get my +1 defense bonus, no?

Good call, my bad. :)

[Jeddi151]

Log On to the server okay. Got the set and made a character sheet (i hope).

Should be good to go on Sunday at 11am EST

-Carson

[aurore]

Hi GM and others :)

Just putting forwards a proposal for the half elf slot since no one has claimed it :)

Avae'ess (Avae for short)

Avae, like all half elves, was a changeling. The family of Norm and Taritha had just been blessed with a third child. They already had two children, Matt and Gwyrna, 12 and 8 years old respectively. The baby was born on the dawn of the spring equinox, a baby girl with whisps of dark hair, like the rest of her family, and dark brown eyes. All rejoiced at the new arrival and all relatives and friends were invited for a merry feast. The child was named Erynn.

However, the very next day, Taritha notices something alarming in the pre dawn darkness as she got up to feed her child. As she picked the baby up to feed her, her hand brushed against her head. Something was strange about the childs ears. Also she seemed to have something about her neck.

In alarm Taritha fetched a candle and lit it on the remains of the previous days heartfire. Even in the low light it was clear that this was not her child. This child had sharply pointed ears. Her hair was silver, and her eyes the deepest violet and almond in shape. About her neck was a golden locket, with only a single word engraved upon it. Avae'ess. Though it was a locket, it would not open.

In the days that followed, the entire community became aware of the family's tragedy. Norm at first wished to fling the baby into the sea, telling all who would listen that it was an inhuman monster. Taritha was too traumatised to say much one way or the other at first, though she cared for the child and fed it, all the while weeping for her lost daughter Erynn.

Akarel, the loremaster, warned both parents against any rash action. He explained that their child was being brought up somewhere by elves. And that the fates of the two children were linked. He told them that it was possible that if harm was caused to one, then it could perhaps harm the other, and that hurling the elven child into the sea could kill their own daughter, wherever she now was. He was lying, but he was afraid that Norm would really kill the baby if he did not lie. In any case, the baby was spared.

Norm had little to do with his new adoptive daughter. She was named Avae'ess as the writing on the locket suggested she should be, though all simply reffered to her as Avae. Taritha and the rest of the family and soon the village found themselves liking her despite their original mistrust. It helped of course that as she grew, her elven features became a little less pronounced. Her ears remained pointed, but they became more or less the same size as a humans ears in proprtion. Her shape was slender and graceful, and her eyes went from their deep violet to a bright violet blue, though they retained their almosn shape. Her complexion was smooth and fair, and her hair added a little gold to the silver, which made it look a very pale blonde at rest, though she merely had to shake it or be blown by a wind to turn it into a cloud of shimering silver and gold.


Avae was a very lively and happy child, seeming to not notice the suspicion of the villagers. In time, her love of life and cheerfullness won almost all the villagers over, and by the time she was 11 she was an accepted part of the village. There were exceptions however, and her father Norm was one of them. There were also problems with some of the other children who tired to bully her for her differences. She semed to have a knack for avoiding them or losing them however and she never appeared to be affected or frightened by the treatment she received.

By age 12, Avae had taken to going out alone at night to watch the stars. She would go all the way to the top of a hill outside the village, with a big ancient oak tree on top. There she would rest her back against the tree trunk and watch the stars for hours, sometimes falling asleep there.

One night soon after her 12th birthday she was on the hill watching the stars. The same day her first blood had flowed, marking her passage into womanhood. This night something was not quite the same. The oak tree seemed somehow different. Before, despite its great size, she had always thought of it dwarfed under the dome of the stars, which dwarfed everything else after all. But this night, it somehow seemed as if its branches stretched all the way up to the heavens. As she stared at it, for the first time since she had found this spot, she felt nervous and unsafe.

As she watched the tree, something about it shimmered. Suddenly, a tall and beautiful woman stood there, though she seemed to be somehow made up of leaves and branches. The dryad, for such she was, pointed at the locket fastened about Avea's neck. Avae handed it to her. As she took it, the locket opened for the first time. Inside was engraved a very finely chiselled picture of a young woman. She was a half elf much like Avae'ess but with very different features. Under the picture was the name Erynn. The other half of the locket contained another sketch, of a full elven woman this time, and the name Aetheldra under it.

Over the next years, Avae often went to the hill. Though the dryad appeared for no one else, she often appeared to Avae. She taught her many things and clearly knew many more than she would not tell her. She obviously knew something about her original mother and her 'sister' but would say notjhing of them. Avae enjoyed her company though and was always glad when she showed herself to her.

At the same time Avae made many friends in the village, foremost amongst them were Ryla, and Avae became a worshipper of Akasha and would often speak to Ryla about all maner of things. She was also often to be seen with Senecus, who she was always plagueing to how her tricks and sleight of hand. She would also pester poor Akarel endlessly for stories about elves especially but anything at all she happened to be interested in at the time.

Illustria was another victim of Avae's curiosoty. Avae claimed she wanted to be a wizard, but despite Ullustria's best efforts, she lacked the focus to master the simplest cantrip, though she did pick up lore quite easily.

She has always felt uncomfortable around the mayor. She has always had the impression that he was watching her. As she grew older she could understand that it was his duty to be concerned about anythign that might threaten the village, and knew that the circumstances that had brought her here were an unknown quantity for the mayor. But still, she preffered to avoid him. Her father was close friends with him and spent much time with the mayor which was another reason to stay away. In all the years, her father norm had never exchanged more than a dozen words at a time with her.

Then on her 17th birthday, the Dryad told her it was time for her to learn her true calling. if she was willing. Avae was not sure what the Dyad meant, but soon found out, as she made a pact with her, becoming a warlock as she agreed to the fey pact.

This recent event has been both a blessing and a curse for Avae. It has reminded everyone of her differences by adding yet a new one. But the sheer joy at the feeling of the fey enrgies coursing through her, energies she knows are akin to her own nature, makes up for all the rest.

Avae is now a lovely young woman and certainly looks more elven than human though no one in the village has seen a true elf to know this.

Her locket has proved to have a mysterious property. As the years passed, the picture of her 'sister' in the locket has aged from a child to a young woman. The picture of the elven woman has hardly changed at all though.

Avae is not sure of her plans. She is happy on the island. She sincerely hopes that one day she can reconcile her adoptive father, and finally obtain his love. Her mother assures her that despite his behaviour, he does love her despite himself but Avae has seen no evidence of it. if she stays near him for more than a few minutes he snaps at her so she avoids him. Avae would love to find her sister Erynn and the elven lady, Aetheldra, who is likely her real mother. But she feels those dreams are just dreams. The island is her home and she has no plans to leave it though she has been twice to the neighbouring island and the town of Cliffrock and enjoyed the trip, though she received many curious looks from the people there.

**************

Hope that looks ok GM :)

Aurore

[Morfedel]

Aurore: overall, pretty good. One comment though: you mentioned that Akari (I recently decided to change his name to that) "lied" to the parents about their being linked.

It wasnt necessarily a lie. See, no one knows for sure the nature of this exchange. Not the loremasters, wizards, clerics, humans, elves, eldarin... its a mystery to all. Some thing that the essence of the two children are blended together and then spun apart again, both children having some bit of essence of each other. Others think that they are completely switched, but also bound together in some fashion, just as suggested by Akari in your story (frankly, it was another aspect I had considered but hadnt posted yet).

In other words, there are, honestly, as many theories as there are people who would consider them. No one knows the truth, so for all Akari would know, it wouldnt be a lie - except by his claiming that what he said was most certainly truth (if he did so). For all he or anyone knows, it is actually how it works.

So, in other words, your character might actually be the original daughter, bound in some fashion to the elven one. Or switched, but still bound. Or, a new creature spun out after being blended in the mixer of creation.

Who knows? :)

Because of this uncertainty, and the fact that no one has been able to stop it, or discover what causes it, many communities over the centuries have learned to accept it, and thus the children that result. Some few, however, cannot - and as such, having a bitter father would be reasonable. But the village as a whole would not be too worried about her (minus the cruelty of children for those who are different), because this has happened before - even on this little island, though the last one was probably many generations previously, as its rare.

Beyond that, the story is fine. I'll pm you the server alias name so you can log on and make your character.

[Morfedel]

The server is back up now; and remember, the game starts @ 11 am pst tomorrow (GMT-5).

Make sure your character is made on the server by then, please. That, basically, means our half elf warlock :)

[Daperez]

The server is back up now; and remember, the game starts @ 11 am pst tomorrow (GMT-5).

Make sure your character is made on the server by then, please. That, basically, means our half elf warlock :)
11pst or 11est?

[Morfedel]

11pst or 11est?

oops, est... but still, gmt-5 so :P

[Morfedel]

Ok, someone named Juryrigged logged on and made a character, but named 'D'; was that any of you?

If not, I'm gonna have to password protect the server. Also, Aurore, are you going to log on and make your character or not?

[Morfedel]

Ok, I set it up with a password now; I"ll pm it to each of you.

[aurore]

I sent you the link for my character sheet. I dont have anything on FG2 to let memake 4th e characters.

[Morfedel]

As I said in the pm, you dont need the 4e rules set, all you need is to connect with FG2.

[Jeddi151]

Juryrigged/D is one of my friends. I bought him FGII as a gift for his b-day and wanted to show him how FG shined compared to Open, used your server.

My Bad morf :(

[Morfedel]

Juryrigged/D is one of my friends. I bought him FGII as a gift for his b-day and wanted to show him how FG shined compared to Open, used your server.

My Bad morf :(

Thats fine; it just freaked me out. I dont have room for him to join, of course, but in the future, you never know. :)

[Morfedel]

Just FYI, I began to think about it... I have two games on sundays, and after the fact, I'm beginning to wonder if running 6 hours of games each sunday might burn me out.

As such, what I might end up doing is move the games to every other week, stagger them so I'd run this every odd sunday and the other every even sunday... or something like that. No decisions yet, we will see how it goes today, but just an fyi.

[Jeddi151]

Thats fine; it just freaked me out. I dont have room for him to join, of course, but in the future, you never know. :)

He probably isn't interested in joining right now. He works the graveyard shift at Fedex, so 11AM is his bedtime.

Now if you ran a game around 7PM or 8PM...then we are talking other business :)

-Carson

[Morfedel]

BTW, if anyone has any tokens I can add to the game, please PM me the address I can download it - or let me know and I'll pm all of you my email addy so you can email the tokens to me.

[scytale2]

BTW, if anyone has any tokens I can add to the game, please PM me the address I can download it - or let me know and I'll pm all of you my email addy so you can email the tokens to me.

Go to this URL: https://www.rpgvirtualtabletop.com/accessories/tokens.html

Doubtful you'll need to go anywhere else:)

[Morfedel]

Ok, I decided to post information on my two new races. I'll start out with the Ashanki. The below is a first draft. They have several powers, but since most are so circumstantial, I figured it was acceptable. Comments?


RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 5&#180; 5˝–6&#180; 2˝
Average Weight: 130–220 lb.

Ability Scores: +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares, Swim 6 squares
Vision: Low-light

Languages: Common, Ashanki, choice of one other
Skill Bonuses: +2 Athletics, +2 Nature

Amphibian: Ashanki can hold their breath for 1 minute per point of constitution score before having to worry about making checks for breathing.
Aquatic: While fighting in an aquatic environment, gets +2 bonus to attack rolls against creatures without the aquatic trait. Unlike other Aquatics, cannot breath underwater (see Amphibian, above).
Weapon Proficiency - Spear: The spear is one of the few weapons that can be used without penalty underwater.
Minor Cold Resistance: The Ashanki often dwell in the colder waters of the ocean, and has 5 resistance vs cold.
Nictating Membranes: The Ashanki has nictating mebranes, a kind of inner, second eyelid, that protect the eyes. These membranes allow for their normal sight underneath water, and additionally grants +2 to defense against effects that blind sight by physical particles coming into contact with the eyes (such as sand). However, while the the membrane is closed it also removes their low light vision while out of water, and reduces out-of-water perception by -2.

The Ashanki are closely related to humans, and often live in shared communities with them, even often taking short term lovers, though nothing long lasting as children are not possible. Physically they resemble humans as well in many ways, though their colorations are darker, with olive to blue to blue-green skin, and dark or green hair. Also, with their nictating membranes, their eyes tend to look odd when the membranes are closed.

They have webbing between their fingers and toes, and their communities are often built right on the shoreline, extending both above and below the surf. Although they cannot breath underwater, with their amphibian-like qualities, they often spend much time in there. Due to the effects of water on combat, their most common weapons are spears.

[Morfedel]

I know the first adventure is a crawl, but I hope you guys enjoyed it.

[Jeddi151]

Well, know that you mention it Morf..... :)
I don't think we are making enough XP. I mean come on, its after the first game, we fought 3 enemies...we aren't we at level 20 yet :)
Another thing, Gold...where is it at? We should have 1,000,000 gp right now, not including the magic items and gems :)
We have yet to meet Santa Claus in the campaign...just disssappointing :)

Okay, more serious note.

The Dungeon Crawl is fine, and I have a twitch to play more. Sunday needs to get here faster.

-Carson

[Tbone]

Well, I gotta agreed with Carson, where's the PHAT L00T and XP!?!?!?? We want Monty Haul! We want Monty Haul! :P

Seriously, it's been a good first game, and we all are rocking so far, starting to click. My apologies for coming in late, but now, that fence is up and 9/10ths done, just have to level the top and build a couple gates. Shouldn't have to worry about anything this sunday, timewise for me, unless I run into a couple gals and/or party at the Ex (basically a mobile carnival) this sat.

Stats for Ashanki looks good. However, I'd give the option for WP - Spear or WP - Trident, selectable at 1st lvl (can't take both, unless ya burn a feat) Just my thinking.

Rob

[Jeddi151]

Stats for Ashanki looks good. However, I'd give the option for WP - Spear or WP - Trident, selectable at 1st lvl (can't take both, unless ya burn a feat) Just my thinking.

Rob

How about instead of a singular weapon, the Weapon Group : Spear. This will cover Javelins, Spear, Longspear, etc.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

I specifically chose spear because the DMG says that only two weapons can be used underwater without penalty: the spear and the crossbow. And Spear seemed more reasonable.

Trident IS penalized, hence not so effective for water-based critters, no matter what the theme might be. :)

[Tbone]

But.. but... but... Tridents!!! Freaking Tridents, man!!! Heh. You could probably just handwave that penalty away for Ashanki and other water races only.

Crossbows and underwater? How in the holy hells would that even work?!? I mean, the string, if it worked in the first place, wouldn't last very long... they must have been thinking speargun, which is.. ah, slightly different method of propulsion of missile.

[scytale2]

I don't see trident listed in the PHB - it might well be in the new 4th ed Adventurer's Vault coming out next month. Am guessing it will be in the "spear" group.

[Morfedel]

Ok, so after some consideration, I've decided to move this game to every other week.

I've done this for two main reasons. The first, and most prevalent, is that with my other game, I'm gaming for 6 hours each sunday. While I don't mind, my wife does, heh.

The other thing is, frankly, I have to do a great deal of prep work for these games: creating maps, entering details, etc, that for other games I can just ad lib: can't really do that here.

So, besides keeping my wife from divorcing me, it also gives me time to make maps.

This sunday coming up will be our next gaming week, but after that, we will move to every other week.

Aside from that, I also want to run a pre-game game. Basically, I said I wanted everyone to have ties to the village: I want to run something, on the side, that would be a "day in the life" kind of snapshot. Just straight RPing.

For that, though, we can do that via email, or PBeM. You guys all up for that?

[Jeddi151]

Sure, all of it sounds good to me.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Just a reminder, game starts at 11 am est (gmt-5)... which is 20 minutes from this posting :)

[Jeddi151]

Server isn't up....:(

[Morfedel]

Server isn't up....:(

Yes, it is. I just put it up about a minute ago.

[Morfedel]

Try again. I misspelled the password by one character. OOPS! :)

[Morfedel]

btw, if you want to exchange IMs or emails for direct contact if we need to, pm me and I'll give you my direct email and IM info in exchange for yours. I already have TBone and Carson's. :)

[Morfedel]

We appear to be experiencing some minor difficulties. testing it now.

[Jeddi151]

e-mail: [email protected]
aim: jeddi151

simple enough?

-Carson

[aurore]

cant connect to server.

By the way if anyone wants to speak to me, best way is email. MSN works too.

email address is [email protected]. msn is [email protected]

[Morfedel]

ok, just found out that for some reason any connection attempt to my ports for FG are timing out. I'm gonna call my isp and see if they know whats going on.

in the meantime, here are my IM accounts for anyone that wants to connect to me that way:

MSN: [email protected]
Yahoo: Morfedel
AIM: Cybermerlin2069
ICQ: 1194239

[Morfedel]

anyway, I'll be in touch as soon as I get an answer from my isp; hopefully that will be soon. :)

[Tbone]

Gee, I wake up 5 mins before the game, and we're having problems?!? Ouch. Will be waiting by computer, just gotta get breakfast.

[Morfedel]

Gee, I wake up 5 mins before the game, and we're having problems?!? Ouch. Will be waiting by computer, just gotta get breakfast.

Actually, you were an your late it looks like. :P

Anyway, as it turns out it looks like we are screwed for this week. My ISP said that my modem is trying to establish its IP from a bad address. That means that it can't do it right, so it can't behave correctly.

They are senting out a technician, but he has a four hour window - could get here in 5 minutes, or 4 hours.

So, in the meantime, I thought I'd be sneaky and use my usb wireless modem to piggy back off of a neighbor's wireless network, but that isn't working either. Well, its allowing me to get on websites like I am now, but I still cant run FG - although, I suspect, its because my neighbor probably doesn't have those ports open.

I'm not sure. Though I know quite a bit about computers, networking is an area where I'm more of a layman.

What it boils down to is this: we may not be able to play today - unless you are willing to play later on in the day, after this technician finishes his work? Perhaps one of you at least could stay on to test the ports when he does his work, if you are around?

Worst case scenario, may have to give it a week or two, but I'm ready to run now.

[Morfedel]

And side note: I can get guild wars to run on my neighbor's port, heh.

[Jeddi151]

I can play later in the day, and I'll stick around to test the ports.

[Morfedel]

ok aurore, I just tried to add you onto my IM account. Scytale, you around?

[scytale2]

Yes, I am here. Just keep advised here. I guess I could play this evening.

[Morfedel]

Ok, got it working now. No password, alias:tiny monk just vest. Log on, guys :)

[Morfedel]

Scytale, if you can log on, we will start the game. Aurore, sorry: I'll play with one person missing. Two... maybe, but I'd rather not.

So, scytale, log on if you can :)

[Morfedel]

and to reiterate, the server:

No password, alias:tiny monk just vest

[Morfedel]

Actually, after consideration, I've decided I'll run the game, and npc the missing players, with up to two people missing. So, I'm giving a bit of time for you to show up, scytale, then yer character is npced until you show up.

No harm, no foul; it wasnt your fault that the server had problems, so you will get full xp and treasure. Same with you of course, Aurore, and you will get a recap on what you missed.

[Morfedel]

Good game, guys. Making some good headway. Now, if we can only have a full game slot without tech problems, our next game session we MIGHT beat this thing... though it will depend, of course, on you guys.

In the meantime, the next game session should be in two weeks. Aurore, we ended up playing without you - sorry bout that. I gave you full exp credit due to the issues, and I'll recap for you: we actually didn't go too far physically - the group got into two back to back brutal combats, which took the entire session.

So, they went down the hole you guys found the last session, and found themselves in a hallway leading southwest and northeast, completely unlit, stifling hot. The doors on either end of the hallway, along with all other wood in the area, is brittle from having been baked in the heat for so long.

They decided to head northeast, opened the door, and found themselves in a large room with a lot of shattered wood furnishings, and three doors as exits: one south and one east that were open, and one north, which was closed.

From the furniture erupted swarms of rats! Very hungry rats! In MM terms, they were two rat swarms. A few rounds later, a dire rat came in from the east and two giant rats from the south.

It was a rather brutal battle, and you were reduced to 2 hit points twice that I recall!

In the end, the hordes of rats were destroyed, and the group voted to go ahead and take an extended rest. During the night, the volcano trembled, and the room lost a few pieces of its roof, in which a largish piece almost smashed into Eliria.

The room to the south, btw, appears to be the exit that Terric might have taken - a room filled with rubble, but with large gaps revealing the outside. The room to the east was a storage room of some sort.

The next "day," the group decided that heading north is what they wanted to do, rather than backtrack and head southwest through the other door. They opened the door to a corridor with three doors in it, and a right bend ahead. They quickly discovered that the three doorways were rooms holding a total of four fire beetles, which attacked, actually knocking Carson's character unconscious with several area attack blasts.

They haven't really explored the three rooms in detail, because I had to quit at that point. Anyway, so all you missed were two battles, though intense ones.

So we should be gaming in two weeks. I'll post a reminder as we get closer. In the meantime, everyone, I know there were technical issues, and I'll test it the day before to make sure all is good... but that being the case, please remember to be on time. I'm pretty sure at least two people would have been late if we had started on time (ahem, tbone, heh), so remember:

11 am est, which is gmt-5. And if anything changes, I'll let you know.


Also, side issue: I have two friends of mine (Nathan and Dawn incidentally; tbone and carson know them from another game), who might want to play, though they also admitted that they might not be able to. If they did, we would have to start the game a couple hours later.

I'm torn. Nathan and Dawn are perhaps my best friends around... but that would make us 7 players. I wouldnt mind the time shift, but I wouldnt do it and froze any of you out as long as you all remained reliable players. And, of course, 7 players is a lot for me.

[Tbone]

Hey, I was up 5 minutes before game! I tried logging in for 40 minutes! I only thought to check the boards later and posted then. Bleah. Geez. :P I've no trouble with 7 players in this game, although we've been playing like, a lot longer than I'd expect, like we played last week for what, 6 hours? and this week about 2-3 hours, and if we had started on time, would have been longer.

Game is that engrossing. Whew.

[Morfedel]

Hey, I was up 5 minutes before game! I tried logging in for 40 minutes! I only thought to check the boards later and posted then. Bleah. Geez. :P I've no trouble with 7 players in this game, although we've been playing like, a lot longer than I'd expect, like we played last week for what, 6 hours? and this week about 2-3 hours, and if we had started on time, would have been longer.

Game is that engrossing. Whew.

Bah! Excuses excuses. :)

Yeah, well, I think if we had started on time it would have ended on time too. As for the engrossing... thanks! But so far its a hack n slash basically, so when it becomes more plot driven, I hope you still like it! :)

[icedcrow]

Whew yeah 7 players. Good luck with that!

[Morfedel]

Whew yeah 7 players. Good luck with that!

Well, I'm a tad leary about that, hehe... we will see.

[icedcrow]

Definitely let us know how that goes.

[aurore]

Ok :) Thanks for the roundup :)

Aurore

[Habbalah]

Are there still slots open for one of the games? I can fit into Tuesday evenings if there are still spots open.

[Morfedel]

Ok :) Thanks for the roundup :)

Aurore

Np. Like I said, you really only missed two combats, so no biggie anyway. See you a week from sunday, right? :)

[Morfedel]

Are there still slots open for one of the games? I can fit into Tuesday evenings if there are still spots open.

One of the games? You must be thinking of one of the people running multiple games, I'm only running this one.

[Mirnon]

This really seems like my type of game! Is it full?

[Morfedel]

I'm afraid it is. Sorry :(

[Morfedel]

All my players: I'm wanting to run a pre-campaign game just to establish you guys as residents of the island. I want to do that either via email or play by post.

Which would you guys prefer?

[Jeddi151]

I've never done play by post, and I sent you an e-mail a couple of days ago and you havn't responded :)

Whatever you guys are up to. :)

-Carson

[Mirnon]

Alright, that's a shame. If a spot opens up feel free to send me a pm. Enjoy the game!

[Morfedel]

I've never done play by post, and I sent you an e-mail a couple of days ago and you havn't responded :)

Whatever you guys are up to. :)

-Carson

Yeah yeah, bite me. :)

I'll be respondiong to that today. Just got busy with other stuff. And actually... lately, by the time I get home from work, and go work out (something I HAVE to do, being diabetic and all), I'm just so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.

But I'll be getting to it today sometime.

[Morfedel]

All my players: I'm wanting to run a pre-campaign game just to establish you guys as residents of the island. I want to do that either via email or play by post.

Which would you guys prefer?

Ping!!!! :)

[Daperez]

I would most definitely prefer some form of play-by post rather than e-mail.

[Morfedel]

Ok Daparez; do you have a particular place you prefer to do PbP yourself?

TBone, Aurore, what about you two?

((BTW, scytale just emailed me and said he would have to quit the game. I've asked him if he can wait until we finish this adventure, and I'm waiting for his reply.))

[Daperez]

I don't really have a specific place, really. As long as it's some kind of forum, I'm cool with it. As for Scytale, that's a shame =/

If someone's still looking for a slot, getting a fighter would be pretty useful.

[Jeddi151]

Hey Guys

My supervisor surprised me yesterday saying he wants me at 7am to cook hamburgers at work *sigh* Suffice to say I don't know when I'll be out, but I bet it won't be at 11am.

At this point, Play without me, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can depending on how long we play.

Later

-Carson

[aurore]

I PbP on Plothook

www.plothook.net

its a well designed forum system with a nice little community and the skins/interface is both clear and uncramped. Most people know each other there. Nice little spot, I'd reccomend it.


By the way what happened sunday? I coudnt login and I couldnt get on here to check anything as the silly FG people forgot to renew their domain subscription tsk tsk tsk.

[Daperez]

Laaame!

https://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/8/22/128638953814677887.jpg

[Morfedel]

I PbP on Plothook

www.plothook.net (https://www.plothook.net)

its a well designed forum system with a nice little community and the skins/interface is both clear and uncramped. Most people know each other there. Nice little spot, I'd reccomend it.


By the way what happened sunday? I coudnt login and I couldnt get on here to check anything as the silly FG people forgot to renew their domain subscription tsk tsk tsk.

If you mean "what happened to the game," you do recall that I posted a bit earlier that I have to move the game to every other week instead of every week, right? :)

[Jeddi151]

Laaame!

https://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/8/22/128638953814677887.jpg

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

[Morfedel]

BTW, though, we ARE playing this sunday, 11 am est (GMT-5) as per normal.

[Tbone]

Laaame!

https://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/8/22/128638953814677887.jpg

This is GREAT!!

PhP? sure, not a problem, just point out a board forum. Looking forward to this sunday's game.

[Jeddi151]

BTW, though, we ARE playing this sunday, 11 am est (GMT-5) as per normal.

Then yeah, at this time I won't be able to make it :(

[Morfedel]

Then yeah, at this time I won't be able to make it :(

I'll NPC you until you show up, ok?

[Morfedel]

BTW, just to make clear: the idea of PBP/PBeM is only for some background gaming, not for the core game, which will continue to remain on FG of course.

[Morfedel]

By the way, the current new alias will be: tiny monk just vest

And if that doesnt work, the direct connect IP is: 71.234.185.114.

If I have any problems with uninvited guests coming in, I'll set up a password and IM it here to each of you.

PS: dont bother using the alias, just use the ip address.

[Daperez]

Just in case you actually did want the portrait, just copy the picture and put it in the Portraits folder XD

I think it fits your character perfectly...imo...

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/NameTry2468/VizziniPortrait.png

[Morfedel]

Ok, only two people showed up. I knew carson was either gonna be late, or not be able to show up at all, due to his work today, but... scytale, I knew was having to quit, but I was hoping he would try one last session.

And aurore, what happened to you? I asked you, on IM, if you would show up, and you said yes.

So we are gonna try again: 3 pm est, gmt-5, later today. My players, please show up, or let me know if you can't.

And Scytale, I know you were quitting, so I suppose I will npc you. Unless you change your mind. Otherwise, take care.

[Morfedel]

Just in case you actually did want the portrait, just copy the picture and put it in the Portraits folder XD

I think it fits your character perfectly...imo...

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/NameTry2468/VizziniPortrait.png

LOL! man, thats a good one, haha!

[scytale2]

I could make a session now, for a little while, if that helps...

[Daperez]

We're playing now, actually. So if you care to hop in, that's less that the DM has to NPC

[scytale2]

I did try, but no response from the server, over a period of half an hour or so.

Never mind - best of luck with the campaign!

[Morfedel]

I did try, but no response from the server, over a period of half an hour or so.

Never mind - best of luck with the campaign!

Thanks man, sorry to lose you, and GL!

[Jeddi151]

Morf

When are we going to start the play by post idea?

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Morf

When are we going to start the play by post idea?

-Carson

When I decide exactly what I want to do with it! :)

Seriously, I have a basic idea, but just a basic one. I'm actually thinking, also, I might instead just run it as our normal game session... as a flashback kinda thing. If so, everyone will get some xp for it.

In fact, if I run the flashback live, what I'll say is whomever is farthest away from getting 2nd level, we will figure out how much difference in xp that is, and each person in the party will get that amount for full participation in the flashback.

Why? We have some relationships I insisted on each of you establishing in your background, but this first adventure being a dungeon crawl, it has had no real impact on the 3-dimensional fleshing out of everyone's characters.

So, I want to build up on that... each of you remembering a memorable day, as you watch your village burn.... :)

[Jeddi151]

love the idea.

-Carson

[Jeddi151]

Started thinking about it.

Since we are playing only every 2 week s and it can take an eternity to progress the story, I actually am more of a fan of a play by post.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Started thinking about it.

Since we are playing only every 2 week s and it can take an eternity to progress the story, I actually am more of a fan of a play by post.

-Carson

I can do it either way... I was planning on running it live at this point, but....

Anyway, just a reminder, we dont play this week... but the following week. :)

[Morfedel]

Ok, I decided to move the background game to play by post; it should be short term in any case.

Go to www.myth-weavers.com ; the name of the game is: The Shards of Etheniel.

Players of this game, go ahead and join that one too. I haven't started anything there yet except post each of your background summaries, but I will soon.

Also, don't forget that the game is this sunday, as normal, at 11 am est (gmt-5).

[Morfedel]

Just to let you know, if you have trouble connecting, my direct ip is: 71.234.185.114


No password.

[Morfedel]

All right, where is everyone?

[Morfedel]

Ok Daparez, don't forget to look at your schedule and get back to us.

In the meantime, if any nonplayers are still reading this, one player left us, and one I had to kick out. We are down to three players, and I prefer around 5; so I've asked two people to join us.

But if they don't is anyone out there interested?

[Jeddi151]

Anyword on when we will start the PbP?

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Sorry Carson, mind on other things... including trying to recruit another player for this game.

Which reminds me, don't forget, game time this sunday, 11 am pst (GMT-5); oh, and potential good news, looks like we can move to every week rather than every other from now on, though I don't want the games to last as long if we do so :)

[Tbone]

Whooo.. gamies sunday... every sunday! Hey all! We could use another player (points at above post.) It's good, so far. Heh heh heh....

[Gman]

You guys still looking for another player?

[Morfedel]

You guys still looking for another player?

Yes, actually, we are. You free Sundays 11 am est (GMT-5?)

[Tbone]

Yep, still wanting players! We just smacked level 2 hard last sunday... 4th ed chars are.. interesting so far, and very survivable to date.

[ElementEvil]

Paypal should clear any day now. In that case I am up for this party. I am good for every Sunday. In fact it's the only day I have free.

I am a seasoned DnD player. I am interested in playing an eladrin either Wizard or possibly Ranger. If these are taken then I'll settle for the role of cleric.

Is there any special restrictions I should know about? If someone could pm me the campaign setting background that would be great! :D

[Morfedel]

Paypal should clear any day now. In that case I am up for this party. I am good for every Sunday. In fact it's the only day I have free.

I am a seasoned DnD player. I am interested in playing an eladrin either Wizard or possibly Ranger. If these are taken then I'll settle for the role of cleric.

Is there any special restrictions I should know about? If someone could pm me the campaign setting background that would be great! :D

There is one critical restriction: you have to read this entire thread. Reason being we discuss the options available for the game, as well as the game setting. Anyone that doesn't make a character designed to fit into the setting by not reading this thread might as well not play.

That being the case, however, some of the restrictions will be relaxed a tad; the group is about to move to a new island where more races will be available, but still, the setting isn't quite your typical one.

So, read the entire thread. If you are still interested, we can discuss character options.

[Morfedel]

Daparez, dont forget our game today. The other two are already here.

[Morfedel]

Element, GMan, actually, you dont have to read the ENTIRE thread, just the first few pages, where I discuss the setting and the requirements for making characters.

If you are still interested, read over those, then let me know if you still are interested.

[ElementEvil]

I kinda meant that it seemed as if you had already have a first session (I think two by now). I was curious as to how this has progressed the plot line. If any specific classes were now know to be needed and whatnot. maybe there has been an attack on the town I should factor into my background? (yeah I got the human restriction)

Is this a "lead by the nose" campaign? Or will we get to decide on our own course of actions?

[Morfedel]

I kinda meant that it seemed as if you had already have a first session (I think two by now). I was curious as to how this has progressed the plot line. If any specific classes were now know to be needed and whatnot. maybe there has been an attack on the town I should factor into my background? (yeah I got the human restriction)
Well, there was an attack on the town, yes, and the PCs are on the move now; we have completed the first adventure with a couple sessions to lead up to the next one. They are now second level.


Is this a "lead by the nose" campaign? Or will we get to decide on our own course of actions?
That's kinda hard to answer. I guess it is both in a way. The first adventure was, basically, a dungeon crawl, which I warned them of from the beginning, for the sole purpose of making sure I grasped the new combat and encounter construction rules, since this is my first 4e game to GM OR play in.

The attack has an overall plot; several members of their village of Firestone Isle have been kidnapped by evil cultists, essentially, and they are looking forward to a bad death if not rescued. Additionally, there are some prophecies involved, which suggests far worse to come if not stopped.

They made their way to a second island, who are friends, to get information, wait for a trading vessel to take them to a third, larger island which is a hub of commerce and, thus, possibly, information as well. In the meantime, they went and captured a thief and prevented a pirate attack on the town of Cliffrock.

And last session, after a narrative concerning a near miss of their boat being attacked by sea serpents and some winged figure, possibly dragon or drake, seen in the far distance, their vessel has made it to the port city of Vorosha, also known as the City of Sin.

At that point, they have garnered information in their one dilapidated library where most of the signs point to a place know as the Misty Isle, although there were vague hints of other places. They have two more places, the Wizard's Guild, and the talk in the taverns of sailors, for other sources they plan on exploiting. And another couple sources that might rear their heads soon.

Maybe. :)

Point being, I have a plot, a storyline, planned. So I guess you COULD call it lead by the nose - if you mean I have a definite plot going on. However, while I'm laying out the hints that say which way they might go, I'm going to be giving them leads on other routes they could also take. Then, I'll let them decide which to take.

And if they choose some other plot than one I had planned? Well, if they stick to the overall goal, fine. But considering some of the ones killed or kidnapped were loved ones, I'll be a bit irked if they choose to outright ignore that - I wanted a heroic game, not a game of people running around looking for things to kill for their stuff.

I tend to run games with an epic plot in mind... a beginning, middle, end storyline that spans the entire campaign. I don't run episodic one-shot style.

So, in comparison, imagine The Lord of the Rings: They were opposing Sauron, and they had several choices. At one point, for instance, they had the choice of ascending the mountain Caradhas, or take the Mines of Moria. The Ringbearer had the choice of continuing on the mountain or taking the Mines, but he still needed to pursue the goal of destroying the ring.

Imagine if the group had decided to, say, start a rogue's guild or conquer surrounding territory, they maybe could have done so... at the cost of the story, and the ramifications of failing to stop Sauron.

Kind of the same thing... although its only this adventure that it's really going to start allowing choice or brancing out. The first adventure was a dungeon crawl, and they had to get to this island before their choices could really be broadened.

I even dropped a little nugget they could have chosen to pursue if they wished that had nothing directly to do with the adventure.

Does that help?

And if so, your choices are broadened now. Races now available are: Human, Half Elf, Ashanki, and just possibly, Elf or Eladrin. I havent unlocked Quirrell yet because I haven't decided precisely if I'm happy with the stats I was going to give them.

The other limit is we have to have a reason why you would come with them. They initially got on this quest because of their killed and kidnapped loved ones... though they have now learned of a possible threat to... well, who knows? But the threat is great.

If your character would find that sufficient to accompany them, that's great.

Currently, they have three human characters: a Paladin of Morbian, a Wizard, a Ranger; and an NPC cleric of Morbian, which was a surprise, because I almost never give npc hangers on, but one of the players, the Wizard surprised me with something he did on their home island, and it made sense.

The cleric is his brother; they had two other brothers kidnapped, and the rest of their family was murdered. He insisted on coming (and he was studying to be a cleric of Morbian, and was already 18 roughly); I expected the player to say no, and he did, once, but when I ran him as arguing, instead of continuing to argue, he said "ok, come aboard" essentially.

And so I was stuck, heh! They got his brother, who I decided would become a level 1 cleric as soon as they made level 2, which was just recently. So now they have an npc cleric... who is brother to the wizard and partially a student of the paladin. :)

[Tbone]

Bwahahaha!! I know I got a talent for doing the expected things.. and then I got a bigger talent for doing the unexpected things. Yes, I'm the Wizard. Yes, we could use more players. Just make anyone ya want, with regards to the setting, and have a good background that's related to the setting so far.

[ElementEvil]

Wow! sounds like a campaign I could really get into.

Dauranon (Darr-a-non) is an eladrin of a different flavor. Once having returned home from exploring only to find his family dead. Shortly after arriving in the house his brother appeared, covered in blood. It was in the brief seconds for the distance to close, that Daur realized his brother wasn't wounded. A brief yet intense battle ensued.

After fleeing, Dauranon mourned his loss. Not only were his family dead, but they were dead at the hands of his own brother, Paelias. The light of the world grew dark in his eyes.

He fled into hiding. Pursued by thugs of various forms. In the coming months Dauranon learned to hide in the shadows, and strike with deadly precision. Often disposing of his would be assassins before anyone noticed, even their own comrades. Still an eladrin sticks out something awful no matter where he goes. Thus some.. measures were taken. The ears smarted for those few seconds as the tips were deposed, but the healer had managed to do his job. There was nothing he could do about his eyes, a bright gray without pupils. Still, at a pace of over 5 metres he looked like a clean shaven human.

It was in the City of Sins that he found a darkness to embrace. The shadows were welcoming. They did not ask for a name. There was no need to venture forth into danger. Everything you needed was in front of you. You just had to be smart.

After working in a thieves guild under an assumed name, Dauranon became proficient with two katars. He would use them to climb the walls of buildings, punching them into the wood for anchors. Though his abilities in combat with them were mediocre at best.

Recently a man fitting Paelias's description has been spotted in town. Working with a cult of some sort. Dauranon has had a hard time tracking their movements. Even with his skills, he could not let his brother know he was in the city. Yet what should appear but a group of do-good adventurers who happen to be looking for the same things. Even more irking is that they seem to know more and be getting further than he is.

For now he is content to ward off pickpockets and murderers, who mark the party, in his own way. He needs these folk if he is ever to find his brother and have his revenge. Now all that needs to be arranged is a meeting.

Dauranon braces himself and sighs. "I don't like paladins." He then proceeds to mark the ranger and tries to get his attention.



Let me know what needs to be changed.

[Morfedel]

So an Eladrin Rogue? Who came to the City if Sin masquerading as a human.

The reason I said that an Eladrin or Elf MIGHT work is the island in general has never seen either one... but a rare few have. There is an elf, or eladrin, who is a "guest" of the Flesh Wizards of Morghannus and the Bitch Queen of Vorosha.

The queen is a dual worshipper of Bixinar and Morghannus. The first, goddess of Chaos and luck, is well known across the many islands of the world. Morghannus is less well-known elsewhere, but is ubiquitous here; she is the goddess of pleasure and pain. The Flesh Wizards are the clerics of Morghannus, and said to be perhaps the most practiced givers of pleasure - and pain - that you could ever find.

Being a "guest" at the citadel generally means you are an unwilling target of their ministrations. The citadel, you would have learned over time, has balls in which some hapless person is used as the visual entertainment during these events. It tends to be cruel, as you can imagine.

The rumors flying around lately is that this current event will have "some kind of creature called an 'elf'." I could have introduced you that way, being the poor hapless creature, heh, but since you already have a working idea of how to be introduced, that's fine.

Just remember then, that the island has little more than rumors and legends of what elves and eladrin are. And being a member of a thieve's guild is quite simple - they are quite numerous. :)

Your background you wrote was a tad jumbled however, so I want to make sure I understand: you fought your brother, he ran, and you are trying to garner information of him, or the cult he belonged to, yes? And you are suggesting he belongs to the same cult that the PCs belonged to?

That's fine if I got that right. Also, you would have come from another island - and one that you would say was "off the radar" so to speak; one that few others ever come to. It would have been an island that may have had strong ties to the feywild in the past, but sometime in the past those ties would have been weakened or severed. But your island would have had a village or town, with more of your kind.

So the question would be, how would you see your island? How would they react to your family being slaughtered? How did you get to this island from that one?

[Morfedel]

Oh, and concerning the end of your story, about not liking paladins and trying to get rangers... just teasing you here, but paladins and rangers dont precisely have the words paladin and ranger tatooed to their foreheads. They would appear as warriors - one wearing scale armor with spikes all over it, and a sword and shield, while the other is wearing a bow and lighter armor.

The second might be assumed to be a ranger, but the first could be a fighter, or warlord, or... and even if he is wearing a holy symbol, many people are religious without being a cleric.

The third, of course, wears robes and carries a staff which occasionally throws out sparks; and the fourth wears, hm, chainmail I think, and carries a shield and mace.

The point being, some assumptions can at times be made, but you cant just look at someone and identify their character class. :)

[Gman]

Sorry, been away for a day or two. It looks like my Sunday mornings are not really free for a few more weeks (softball season is just finishing up). So I probably should step back from my offer to join, unless you can deal with me not joining until the 12th. Let me know. Your game does interest me.

[Morfedel]

Sorry, been away for a day or two. It looks like my Sunday mornings are not really free for a few more weeks (softball season is just finishing up). So I probably should step back from my offer to join, unless you can deal with me not joining until the 12th. Let me know. Your game does interest me.

It might be possible. Ping me when you are ready and we will see.

[ElementEvil]

Yeah, you got the idea for the background. Nothing

ranger/paladins - Yeah, the rogue would approach the guy who looks approachable. I.E, no pointy spikes or jumpy wizards with d4HD (pre 4e joke)

I tried to find a good reason to appear human. An enemy hunting something that stands out and is rare, explains a lot.

I'm not really happy with how my story worked out. I didn't want to make anything too... detailed. In cases like this, where it needs a major overhaul. I'd like to say he's from a small town. Mostly human, but there are a few eladrin families. It's far away, and inland somewhat. I suppose people might have been shocked by the slaughter, but there was no one left to explain what had happened. Daur left to find refuge against the assassination attempts of hired thugs, and to get as far away from home as possible. What better way to get lost than in a large city of humans, if you can disguise yourself as one. The trip was hard, but another town lay on his island, this one with a port. While he managed to arrange passage, he did learn that aside from his home town, eladrin aren't common. After island hopping for a few weeks he found the City of Sins.

The last place he would want to be is on that home island. Understand that seeing his parents death was the single most traumatic thing in his life. And while almost nothing unnerves him, he still can't stand the thought of going back. Whats left? bad memories.

[Morfedel]

Not bad at all. I may need to give it a few tweaks to make it fit - my initial idea was that there were no islands where eladrin and elves mixed with humans. But, it is a big world, so who knows.

So ok, that could work. An island big enough to host two towns of two different races. They would probably interact somewhat, especially as your island would have had barriers to the Feywild; it used to be, long ago, that people could navigate back and forth between our world and the Feywild, but its far harder - though not impossible - now.

Also, when your brother was found with your family's blood on him, there was something... odd, about him. His skin looked duskier than before, his hair paler. He had a look about him that suggested madness in his eyes.

Also, several other Eladrin families suffered similar attacks; no one knows what happened. Examining the attackers who didn't escape, when they examined their eyes, their eyes were very odd... like their pupils had started splitting in half, like they were dividing into two separate ones... and elogating vertically at the same time.

Each of them had been heard whispering what sounded like a prayer, to someone or something named Scathia. You haven't had any luck learning anything of great interest yet - all you've learned is she is some goddess of demons, spiders, and snakes. There is a widespread human cult that is quite hostile to others. But it was 100% human, and from what you know no cultist of such a type has ever been on your island... and no Eladrin ever revered such a foul creature.

Also, there have been rumors of Scathian raider activity across the seas recently... but nothing solid for you to follow.

When you left the island, you weren't the only one: the human village waited for a trading vessel to come to them, and helped you and several other eladrin arrange passage to various islands... to search for answers. Others decided to fight their way to the Feywild for the same thing.

You recently overheard a couple crewmen of the Wavestrider discussing in a tavern near the docks of four passengers they carry from another island that was nearly destroyed by Scathian raiders, with several others kidnapped. They apparently have come searching for answers; when you finally tracked them down, they exited a dilapidated library that you had explored without success during your own research, and they went to an inn, the Dancing Serpent, apparently to dine and rest for the evening.

Sound good?

[ElementEvil]

Like music to my ears

[Morfedel]

Awesome. We will be playing this sunday at 11 am est (GMT-5). Do you have any IM software that is reliable to reach you with? If so, then pm me your IM info and I'll ping you the server info.

Ah... actually, I"ll PM you the server info, but ping me your im info anyway, if you use any.

Also, I'll try and have the server running all day saturday so you can log on to make your character. When I get you the server info I'll let you know the specifics.

Also, to my group, I'll be readding password info. I'll IM to all of you the password, so make sure you are logged on to your IM around gametime so I can give you the password. :)

[Morfedel]

Ok server is up; come and log on to make your character, ElementEvil; I PMed you the server info.

[Morfedel]

Don't forget, game tomorrow, 11 am est (GMT -5)

[Morfedel]

Good game, everyone. For those that had to leave early, what you missed was: a lot of bad rolls on both sides, culminating on the last two thugs running through the city, and the PCs losing sight of them both.

[Morfedel]

Guys, don't forget, game at 11 am pst (gmt-5) :)

Hm... Carson may not be coming for a few weeks. I forgot that he has to work overtime for three sundays. Hm.

[Jeddi151]

And its confirmed-ish.

This sunday (10/26), I will be working from 12:00PM to 8:30PM. As such, I'll be out for the session.

They have not told me for how long this arrangement will be. I assume its only going to be for three weeks, but they have surprised me before.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Not a problem. This particular sunday we won't be playing: I'm using it for prep time for the game, as weekday prep time isn't always easy to do... and I hate the idea of your missing THAT much of the game.

[Jeddi151]

Allright

This sunday was a disasterpiece. Not enough communication from upper management, lack of support from people in general. And I was told I get frustrated often :( (what should people expect when its a day I don't want to work)

So, It should be 3 more Sundays. They also mentioned I'll be coming in at 1:00PM EST instead of Noon, so I theoretically have an hour and 30mins of play time.

That's the update.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

This weekend should be good to play. The following weekend though, I'm going to be unavailable due to a mandatory training thing they have my office and 17 others participating in.

Since you have 1.5 hours, we can play, Carson, for this week.

[Jeddi151]

They just now changed it up on me, I'll be unavailable to play this week :(

-Carson

[Morfedel]

ack!

hm... Well, what do we want to do then, guys?

Oh and don't forget we had daylight savings time... fall back! :)

[Morfedel]

TBone, dude, you left when I said I wasnt sure whether we were playing. That wasnt the same as saying we werent playing! :P

Carson couldnt play, and Dauranon didn't show up either. I'm assuming part of the problem was the Daylight Savings Time?

So, we will hold off one more week, and try again next week.

[ElementEvil]

GOD DAMNIT. yeah. I got there and tried to connect. Told me there was trouble connecting. another ten minutes later i realize I need to update, did that. Still couldn't connect. Figured we were skipping these next couple weeks. Completely forgot about daylight savings.

[Morfedel]

Well, thats ok; comedy of errors and all that, heh! Try again next week. :)

[Morfedel]

BTW, there was a new update recently, dont forget to update if you havent already.

[ElementEvil]

yeah, i kept trying to connect for nearly fifteen minutes before i noticed the update button had a little light around it :P

EDIT

Did you guys hear the the Christian Children's Fund rejected $17,000 in donations after learning it was raised during a gaming convention? (Gen-Con) they claimed they did not want accept supposedly 'tainted' money.

[Tbone]

heh.. couldn't connect, even after the update. As for leaving, well, I got called away for a couple errands.. that took all damn day long.

Never donate money to religious organization... I mean, geez. They'd take drug money, but not gaming money? Hypocrites, I'm thinking. Nothing wrong with gaming. Pfft. Epic fail for religious organizations, particularly that one. That 17 grand could have been used to help kids.. but nooooo...

[Morfedel]

There will be no game this sunday: I have to work saturday, and my wife will kill me if I dont spend SOME time with her this weekend.

We will play the following, though. Carson, can you make it a week from sunday?

[Jeddi151]

Okay

So, it appears that its going to be a lot longer than expected on Sundays. Current Predictions are now in January.

But, that's only if enough people are hired. If we don't hired enough people, people in my position (salary) will be expected to fill in the gap.

So: I'm going to drop from the campaign at the moment. I really don't see any other choice at the moment since I'm going for a promotion where I have to work sundays, and its going to be a very long time before I'm able to have sundays off.

If someone can see another way, let me know. sorry for all the hassle and headache.

***SIDE NOTE***

The Christian Children's Fund did want the money raised at Gen-Con. But because of their policies, they are unable to provide advertisements and publications to the event. So the people at Gen-Con decide to use a different charity. This isn't an attack by a christian charity on the RPG community, this is their charity saying they don't want to advertise with Dungeons and Dragons.
Gary Gygax had no trouble dontating money to this charity.

-Carson

[Morfedel]

Well, Carson, as far as the game is concerned, that sucks!

Is there any other day/time that would work for you then?

[Jeddi151]

Other days/times...not really

I have no free time other than what was normally Sundays.

I have games every other day of the week, and since the group is already settled in, I don't want to have them change just for me.

I would recruit another player, and I'll try to come back sometime in the spring. But seriously, just enjoy the game.

-Carson

[Flak]

Ok. Um.... I kinda think it's a jerk-ploy, but I'd be availiable on Sundays.

Just throwing it out there.

[Jeddi151]

LOL. Wow your fast.

:)

[Morfedel]

I've got some bad news, I'm afraid.

I don't know why, but I'm feeling burnt out. I know this campaign is pretty new, but I've another I've been running mostly for a few years now. And its gotten to the point that preparing for an adventure has started feeling more like work and less like fun.

I am assuming its just burnout. But perhaps its because I'm having a tough time at work - its not all bad, but it is challenging. Carson also mentions he thinks its just the season - he's known me for some time from my other games, and I've tended to do this every year around this time, and I do tend to suffer from holiday blues.

Anyway, I'm going to take a hiatus from GMing the game. Hopefully its temporary, and if so, hopefully you guys will be up for my running it again when I get out of this burnout, or whatever it is.

Either way, though, I understand. If you'd rather me contact you again via email if and when I get ready to pick this up again, give me your email addresses.

Otherwise, sorry bout that. :(

[Morfedel]

I know its been awhile guys: I hope you are still around. Just wanted to say I'm not quite ready to pick up the game again yet, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas!

[Dracenfels]

Sounds interesting Morf and I'm confident I meet your 4 qualifications. I am new to fantasy grounds though fyi. Also I used to play and dm the original and 2nd edition dnd fanatically but didn't really get into 3.5(not for any particular reason). Played Warhammer instead but excited about 4th edition. I think the monster roles and specific abilities are going be great. Still learning the rules but think I could manage to play without too many questions. If you think I could join you let me know.

[Morfedel]

Well Dracen, if you've read the last couple posts, you would see the game is on a hiatus. I havent had a reply yet from my original players, though, so I'm a bit concerned - I hope I haven't lost them.

[Dracenfels]

Yes I noticed that Mor I just wanna play if you ever start up again. Let me know.