Recruiting: high scale Pathfinder, Taldor, aka Byzantium focused

Started by Kolbrandr, June 02, 2013, 03:46:12 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

kckolbe

Honestly, Shaitan, for the concept you are going for, I would shoot for either the retainer of a major House (Varian, maybe?) or being in charge of the city guard or something like that.  That would definitely put him in the major leagues, give him men at his disposal, and seems more fitting.

I agree that the ranger variants aren't well-built.  A shame, too, as Ranger has so many options for interesting archetypes. 
Ons/Offs  A/A  Oath of the Drake
(From the Penis Game) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Penis
I love a wet nymph.  "Letting some guy have [her] just to have another woman is a losing trade"

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer(IC#2)
Intro Thread

RubySlippers

You could be a bastard of a major noble, they are likely common enough.  ;D

kckolbe

Ons/Offs  A/A  Oath of the Drake
(From the Penis Game) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Penis
I love a wet nymph.  "Letting some guy have [her] just to have another woman is a losing trade"

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer(IC#2)
Intro Thread

Shaitan

A noble or royal bastard would work just fine, especially if he doesn't know it, but gets found out later, even more comedic if it were a noble from one of the neighboring countries or even the elven parent might have been the noble in kyonin, maybe even a second or third child lol

Kolbrandr

Quote from: Shaitan on June 09, 2013, 11:19:33 AM
A noble or royal bastard would work just fine, especially if he doesn't know it, but gets found out later, even more comedic if it were a noble from one of the neighboring countries or even the elven parent might have been the noble in kyonin, maybe even a second or third child lol

Just as a suggestion, if you're very keen on being a half elf of some heft, you could always be an ambassador from Kyonin+ diplomatic entourage (and deal with wondering if they fobbed you off to be an envoy to another country that isn't the most relevant in the world to them /because/ you are a half elf, issues like that). Bastard children are also fine besides. I will again say, being someone uplifted to the royal or senatorial castes with the tentative building of a larger house around them, totally fine as a concept too, just needs some refining, and you're more likely to be human

Anyway, I'm not really looking to have a big ol mechanical debate, pms or otherwise, just wanting to give you my reasons for a decision in transparency's name. One of the things about going the way of gestalt though, I'd note, is that what you might otherwise feel to be a class choice that wouldn't stand as satisfyingly to you on its own, you get to shore up with something else. (and where were you when I actually wanted to run a Midgard game and most people were all "I aint even never heard of this here setting" ;p)

Shaitan

Pardon my being a bit paranoid of the rules thing in a request thread. I've seen it happen a few times and I went a little overboard trying to make sure I didn't start something. Sadly I didn't see the midgard campaign or I would have jumped at it.

As for the background, sure let's rework it a bit, and refine it.


Galen Tel'Fier
Ranger // Martial Artist/Chevalier or more likely below
Ranger // wizard/chevalier/dragon disciple

History:
A half elf bastard born in s small nearly forgotten bordertown on the edge of the Verduran Forest far inland on a small tributary of the Sellen River over a hundred miles north of Cassomir. The town's name is forgotten to all except the clerks of Oppara. Only recent memory of it's destruction by a rogue necromancer gives it any modern significance. Caught in the necromancer's playground, only a single survivor arose to tell his story, one that proved to many that even the unbearded could rise to greatness. A single young half elf male not only survived the ordeal, but managed to slay the necromancer by himself, before the necromancer had gained enough power to recurrect a deceased dragon to do his dark bidding. When the assault force arrived, they found only the young half elf astride his great wolf, wielding his bow from the self same dragon's body, ready to defend the grave of his home with amazing ferocity and determination.

The Grand Prince Stavian the III, at the subtle influence of Princess Eutropia, granted the title of Knight to the Half Elf, bringing a non-human caused quite a stir amongst the bloated ranks of the nobility. Though few were ready to speak out against an unbearded half elf who had fought and slain multitudes of the undead, and survived  the other well known dangers of the forest, from bandits and ettercaps to fey and even dragons. The clearest mark of his encounters with such creatures reinforced the tales the danger brought back by the patrol. Even evidence of a green dragon's slaying was publicly attributed to him, though in truth the dragon had been slain shorty before Galen's own vengeance.  Striking when the necromancer was weakened from the effort of slaying the adult green dragon. Galen was presented as a hero and as an icon of the glory all Taldans were capable of. Depicted with the great dragonbone shortbow and the spiked gauntlet of carved of the dragon's fangs. The head of the dragon itself is mounted as a trophy given in proof to the Grand Prince of the deeds. Few know the truth, but none dare speak out.

After the patrol returned with the young half elf, he was accepted into the royal military academy, though his time there was short, he excelled in guerrilla and mounted tactics, though he had been granted status as a knight of the realm, few of his fellow knights agreed with his tactics, nor his rather bestial mount. Where his fellow knights strove for flair and honor, Galen strove for a brutal efficiency and practicality that is at least to many of his fellow knights a travesty. Between his mount, a symbol of predation and fear, and his unorthodox approach to so much that the knights held sacred, he remains to this day unaccepted by the vast majority of his knightly peers.

Leaving soon after proving his capabilities in Taldor's prestigious military academy, the maturing half elf knight entered into service and through dozens of small conflicts he quickly rose in rank to become a Knight-Captain within the the 127th Cavalry, the most posthumously decorated cavalry unit of the Taldan Military. Known for hosting the unbearded and the rare non-human loyal to Taldor. The 127th Cavalry is the unit known within for being expendable for when you need a mission to succeed but with little chance of survival. This unit has been destroyed to the last being many times in Taldor's history.

Returning now on longer term leave to Oppara, possibly even retirement with an honorary commission thata will grant sufficient living expenses for a home and a couple servants. Weary of heavy combat, losing friends, putting down rebellions, clearing territorial disputes between districts the hard way, leaving so many dead in his wake, Galen has long since determined that Taldor has lost it's glory, lost all that once made it great. If he has anything to say about it, the nation will rise from the cesspit of corruption that it has become.


If you're ok with it, I'm taking some liberty with some of his iconic equipment, armor made of etched dragon scales just a mithril chain shirt statistics, just doesn't count as metal and has more body coverage, a bow made out of the same dragon's thigh bone zero statistical difference from a short bow just looks cooler, a spiked gauntlet carved and etched from a the same dragon's fang, other than statistically not being metal it's the same as any other spiked gauntlet, just hardened to the same hardness as steel. He didn't kill the dragon, just took advantage of someone else's kill that didn't survive for long after the kill.

There is a bit more to the story, which I'll add to over the next couple days, including the structure of the 127th Cavalry. A perhaps a history of some of the skirmishers from more recent history to help set some tensions between different districts, if that's ok.

EroticFantasyAuthor

Bah, how exactly would one go about starting a mercenary company. Having trouble picturing it.

I originally just planned to have both characters be a duo who have a good reputation.

Kolbrandr

Quote
As for the background, sure let's rework it a bit, and refine it.

Okay, are you fine with that being a non hereditary knighthood? i.e. that where your rank stands at the moment, it's not something you can pass on to your theoretical children.

Also, something you might want to factor in or otherwise consider, eight months before campaign start the Imperial Princess bit it in a coup attempt as per the timeline of events:

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=175702.msg8361397#msg8361397

Kolbrandr

Quote from: EroticFantasyAuthor on June 10, 2013, 03:17:58 AM
Bah, how exactly would one go about starting a mercenary company. Having trouble picturing it.

I originally just planned to have both characters be a duo who have a good reputation.

You gather a group of men around you by finding toughs, thugs, down on their luck warriors, or going to where mercenaries otherwise congregate and trying to gather some into a group, then hire yourselves out for mercenary work.

Or you're a military unit that gets cashiered out and goes into business for themselves, as it were.

Or.. any number of ways really.

Note: If this isn't actually something you want to do, don't feel forced to do it, just, again, mercenary assassins don't otherwise necessarily come in with a lot of setting buy ins for me to work with and I'll work off what you can provide in a backstory for where I'd otherwise place you at.

GingerOne




Talietha (Tali) Enel
Half elf

Age:  22

Chestnut hair
Electric blue eyes

5'4 tall and 120 lbs

Courtesan/
Prostitute

Bard-
Street performer
Charisma
Dexterity

Ranger-
Urban Ranger



Talietha was born in the Verduran forest in a small dwelling outside city limits. She was the daughter of an Elven member of the Verduran Druid brotherhood and a human woman who was a very beautiful street performer in the city. Tali's mother loved to dance and was very good at it. The skill and beauty of her dance was noticed by the royal family, so she had been called to perform for the Imperial Palace on more than one occasion. On one such request of her performances is when she met Tali's father. The elven members of the Verduran Druid brotherhood that otherwise semi governs the forest as part of the Verduran Forest Pact came to meet with the royal family while serving as an emissary for brotherhood as part of maintaining the pact they have with Taldor. The brotherhood had been invited to Imperial Palace in hope of keeping on good graces with each other. It was love at first sight, but both knew that it would be looked down upon by both of their families. Tali's father built a home in the forest for her mother so that they would have a place to be together. Her mother lived there all the time but her father could not abandon his position in the brotherhood for fear of them finding out about the forbidden love. So, Tali's father could only make visits to her mother when he could.

As the relationship between the two grew Tali's mother became pregnant. Her father wasn't happy about the pregnancy in the least. He slowly began to come for his visits less and less often as her stomach grew, until one day he just stopped coming at all. Completely alone her mother lived in the forest; she couldn't go back to the city for fear of ridicule of being the mother of a half-elf. Although Tali's ears weren't as pointed as a full-blooded elf, they were noticeably different from humans. Also, after Tali was born her beauty grew and grew more angelic, far surpassing human children of her own age. Tali's mother began teaching her at a very young age to dance. As her training went on her charisma and dexterity also increased.

When Tali was 14 years old her mother became very ill and eventually succumbed to her terrible sickness. Tali was left alone to raise herself. After being alone for a few months and using all of the food supply up from her mother’s last trip to the city, Tali decided to leave her home. Her mother had always been the one to make trips to the city for supplies and Tali had only been a handful of times, each time hidden from the sight of other with a dark cloak.

Tali headed out and found her way to the camp of some rangers. They found Tali more than a little attractive and decided to take her under their wing, for selfish purposes of course. Her body very much the desire of all the men and the only thing that kept her from being the toy of all the Rangers in the camp was its leader, Marissal. Marissal was a very skilled ranger and extremely stern with her followers. Her tolerance for disobedience was almost none. Marissal decided to take the young Tali as her apprentice and teach her everything she knew. She was taught the skills of a Ranger and was a very quick learner. Only a few times did some of the men try to use her to please themselves only to find out that Marissal's wrath was far worse than being without a sexual release. As she stayed with them Tali continued to practice the skills that her mother had taught her before she died. The Rangers loved to watch her dance.

After years of training and traveling with the group of rangers, Tali decided to head off on her own at the age of 20. She wanted to go to the city and become her own person. Life in the city of Oppara wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. She had no money and since she had always been taken care of, had no way to know how to earn money. One day after being in the city for a few days and eating very little, she found herself in the central part of town. All through her life she had always looked toward dance as a way to forget about troubles. So, Tali found a place out of the way of the main walkway, not far from the other street performers, and began to dance. A sad, slow, very sensual dance that quickly attracted a crowd. Tali was completely engrossed in the dance and the way it made her feel, so she didn't notice the large crowd until she finished. The gathered citizens and travelers began to throw coins at her feet and she quickly fell to the ground to gather them. A few more times of this and she met a man that was also a street performer who eventually taught her the ways of a street performer. He called in various favors from others to have her trained as a courtesan, which in his mind would not only help her earn far more money and work towards his benefit as well. 

Almost a year later to the day, the man who had taken her in was stabbed by an angry traveler and died from his wounds. By this time, Tali had learned so much at her young age that she grew very popular around the city. The rich and poor alike came to her for various reasons. Some of the poor children came to her so that she could teach them some dance and performance skills so that they too could earn coins to survive.

Presently, Tali was making a good living and had a nice place in the center of town. She shared her place with another girl who she had taken in and taught her what she could about being a courtesan. This woman, her name Ruth, had long blonde hair, big blue eyes and was 27 years old. Although she was older than Tali, Ruth adored her and was a devoted follower of Tali. She did anything, errands and such that Tali asked of her. Tali didn't ask her for much, but did enjoy having someone there if she did need something. Living with Tali and Ruth was a man who fell head over heels for Tali only 6 months earlier. His name was Marcus and he had been a client of hers. She liked him very much but didn't feel the same as he did. He didn't care though, he wanted to be close to her, protect her and help her in anyway he could. Eventually moving in the house with her and staying in an extra room he earned his keep by protecting the two women, helping with repairs in the home and contributing money. Marcus worked as a low level city guard at night.

Tali's skills as a dancer and courtesan had become renowned with nobility and high class citizens. As such the Son of the Lord of the House of Tarton has become one of her regular clients.


Sweet as can be, but I bite.
Getting the hang of things again for now. No promises.

Come join our Speakeasy!
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=300370.0

My Ons/ Offs
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=166545.0

Meliai

House Aravae

Overall House Alignment: Neutral Good, with chaotic leanings

Common Classes: Expert, Adept, Cleric (Desna or Shelyn)

Rarer, but not unheard of: Bard, Rogue

Rare: Sorcerer, Oracle

Extremely uncommon: All others

Favoured Deity: Desna is the house's most commonly worshiped deity (a bit of a given, one must admit,) though most members also pay respects to Shelyn and a few take her as their primary goddess instead. With no temples to Desna in Oppara and the House being headed by one of the Song’s clerics, House Avarae’s estate has been built with the ideals of a Desnan temple in mind and often plays host to traveling priests, priestesses and pilgrims.

House Blazon: A silver moth on a field of dark cerulean, surrounded by five silver stars

House Motto: A steady gaze

Overview: Just over two years ago a series of dreams led itinerant young Desnan cleric Esta Avarae far from the lands her previous wanderings and into Taldor, eventually following the increasingly frightful portents to Oppara. Having traveled through vast swaths of Taldorean countryside she was surprised to find the capital replete with such splendor, instead expecting a crumbling relic of long-lost glories like most of the faltering towns and cities she’d passed through on her way to the heart of the country. Modern politics had never been of particular interest to the young Seer, and this was her first hint that something was rotten in the land of the crown and lion.

The state of Taldan society appalled her, but while she didn’t trust most people as far as she could throw them, she never questioned her goddess. It took weeks, but eventually she uncovered a plot to assassinate the Grand Prince, and brought her evidence to him (after a lengthy and infuriating struggle to arrange a meeting at all) only for her concerns to be dismissed.

It wasn’t that they didn’t believe her - the evidence she’d gathered was impressive and attempts on the Grand Prince’s life were common enough - they just didn’t think it was a threat. Many members of the famed Ulfen Guard took their positions specifically because assassination attempts were so common, and the burly blond warriors surrounding the prince laughed at the young cleric’s concern. She left in frustration, but that night the dreams returned in force and she knew her work wasn’t done yet.

When the day of the assassination finally arrived she forced her way into the castle, going so far as to enchant the mind of one of the Ulfen Guards to escort her to the throne room. Though the guards were mighty, when the assassins struck their blades did more harm than good; made of up arcane mages rather than warriors, the assassins stole the minds of over half the guards, turning them on their brothers and sisters in arms as they advanced on the Prince.

Esta’s starknife cut down one of the wizards, his dagger missing Stavian’s throat by inche as he fell at the Grand Prince’s. The Seer stood before the prince, just barely fending off the would-be assassins as one by one she broke the enchantments on the Ulfen Guard, the battle turning quicker and quicker in their favor.

When the dust had settled and the bodies were cleared away scant few of the guard had fallen, all to each other’s blades, and the Prince was unharmed. The House that had funded the strike was stripped of their rank, titles, lands, and in a few cases their lives. As a reward, the young cleric was granted the lands that had been theirs and given the title Kephale, establishing House Avarae.

She was a wanderer though and had no intention to stay in Taldor, until she slept for the night. No visions came to her. No dreams at all, a frightening experience for one dedicated to the service of the goddess of dreams. She prayed and meditated, eventually gleaning that her work in Oppara was not done.

Notable Historical Avarae

None, though the grounds on which their manor in Oppara is built has a bit of history behind it. Located in the Seven Towers, the grounds on which House Avarae’s manor sits are not overly large, but the view is quite nice. Years and years ago the site had been home to a small but growing noble house that local legend tells eventually went on to occupy the then-colony of Cheliax. Though it’s little more than rumor, locals like to whisper that House Thrune once sat upon the picturesque little hill, and that their diabolic dealings first started in the maze of tunnels and strange rooms beneath the earth there.

Notable Members of House Avarae

Kephale Esta Avarae, breaker of chains (Cleric of Desna ##/Bard ##) (PC)

Esta’s early life was an inauspicious one. Her mother, a half Vudrani, half Varisian woman of unparalleled beauty was a pleasure slave to an extraordinarily wealthy Tian trader residing in the city of Absalom, the favored “wife” above all the other women in his harem. She bore him two daughters; Esta, the first, was conceived not long after her mother’s purchase,  and her younger sister Sita was born five years later. The two were raised with the slaves, but kept relatively comfortable and well cared for, at least at first. No trader who rises to such levels of wealth and power does so without making enemies though, and assassination attempts were not uncommon in the household. For the most part the merchant prince’s guards handled things capably, but during a particularly brutal attempt on their father’s life, sprung while he was with his wives, the girls’ mother was stuck by a stray arrow and dead on the ground while the battle raged on around her. As the tide turned against the assassins several gathered the dead wife’s body and retreated, an act that would do far more harm to the merchant prince than any of the actual wounds he sustained during the fight.

With his favored bride slain and her body stolen, unable to be raised from the dead, the merchant fell into a grief-fueled madness for many months. During this time he came to loathe the sight of his daughters, who looked so much like their deceased mother, and in a fit of rage had them shipped off to Misery Row to be sold into slavery themselves, so he would never have to look upon them again.

Esta had taken to singing at a young age and had quite the knack for it, a talent that saw her purchased by a noblewoman for a hefty price despite the desperate ferocity with which she fought any and everyone who came near her or her sister. A ten-year-old girl is no match for the sort of people who sell living souls however, no matter how fierce her spirit. She was pacified with magic, only allowed to return to the waking world when she was thousands of miles away from the only home she’d ever known, in diabolic Cheliax.

The woman who’d purchased her, a scheming socialite of House Thrune, hoped to mold the young musical prodigy into a leashed Diva, a little pet songbird to boost her standing in various social circles. Esta fought fiercely for months on end, enduring tortures physical, mental and magical before her spirit finally seemed to shatter. In the span of a single night all the fight seemed to go out of her, and for two years she was meek and quiet, the perfect student.

They never saw it coming when she Charmed her instructor and had him casually escort her out of the manor.

She disappeared immediately after; it wasn’t difficult to blend into crowds in the city, but a young girl alone on the open roads was harder to miss, and before long she was forced to head off into the countryside. North was her only destination for weeks, traveling by the light of the stars, hiding by day, terrified that the hunters on her tail would find her. In Absalom she’d heard stories of a goddess of the stars who protected travelers. She couldn’t even remember the benevolent deity’s name, but she prayed desperately each night under the pale silver light of the moon. Whether through sheer luck or divine guidance (though with Desna there’s no saying luck isn’t divine guidance) she managed to cross the border into Molthune.

Few details of the next seven year of her life are known for sure. Inspired by her miraculous escape, Esta continued north, eventually finding her way to Varisa and one of the rare temples dedicated to Desna. She joined the Song of Spheres’ clergy, immediately departing on a pilgrimage with a senior priestess. She learned much, but before long it was clear that her path would take her far further than her aging mentor could lead. The priestess bid Esta farewell, but not before giving her two significant gifts; a beautifully crafted silver holy symbol, the same one she’d been given by her own mentor years and years ago, and her last name, replacing that of the girl’s father, which she’d forsaken long ago.

She traveled far and wide, following vague portents seen in her dreams like a leaf drifting aimlessly on the wind. Leaving founders marks in strange, exotic locals, aiding those in need, and bringing the sting of the righteous down upon the heads of any evildoers she encountered, she slowly became a powerful force for good. Ever on the move, the theatrical, charismatic young woman is a well-known figure in many of the areas her wanderings have taken her, both revered and reviled, depending on which side of her starknife you found yourself on. Slavers in particular seemed to bring out a terrible wrath in the normally unseen in the normally kind, merciful girl.

Eventually she found her way to distant Thuvia, where her younger sister had been taken, and secured her freedom. Not long after that her visions led her to Taldor, and after the events that led to the formation of her House she did the unprecedented and decided to halt her travels, at least for the time being.

Lady Sita Avarae (Druid/Expert 3, Expert/Aristocrat 3) NPC

The younger sister of the Kephale, Sita is the only true blood relative of the head of House Avarae. Born into slavery just as Esta was, the pair were split apart at a young age (Sita 5 and Esta 10) when the elder sibling was purchased first. Too young to be of much use to most buyers, Sita spent a full year on Misery Row before being purchased by a trader from distant Thuvia and delivered to one of his associates, a scholarly woman attempting to find a way to cultivate sun orchids artificially. She was trained to revere nature, eventually making pacts with the local nature spirits to gain the magic of the druids. As long as she diligently did her work, she was treated kindly. While it wasn’t a particularly happy life it could have been far worse, and when five years later a strange young woman appeared, claiming to be Sita’s sister, the young gardener was more baffled with anything.

Esta’s uncanny way with words secured her sister’s freedom, and a hesitant Sita soon followed her after some daft dream sent them off to Taldor. Though Esta clearly loved her, Sita could remember little from their childhood since the pair had been split apart at such a young age, and struggled to reconcile her lackluster feelings towards her “rescuer”. The older girl was clearly trying so hard to make things safe and comfortable for her though, Sita held her tongue and tried to go along with her sister’s plans.

When it turned out they would be settling down in Oppara, at least for a while, Sita was thrilled. Travel had never sat well with her; boats made her nauseous and overland travel bored here terribly. The fact that she suddenly found herself a noblewoman was pretty nice too. She now attends the Planudes Academy for the Enlightened Arts and Sciences, taking to high society like a fish to water. Though she still struggles with conflicted feelings for her sister she is, for the moment, content with her life.

[There will be a handful of adopted Avarae's here, but they are currently off managing the little province Esta inherited with her title and thus aren't of much relevance to anyone else's characters at the start of the game]


Strengths of House Avarae

Pick of the litter - Created from nothing via a boon from Grand Prince Stavian III two years ago, House Avarae is quite small (currently coming in at a grand total of 11 members) but what they lack in size they make up for in skill. Aside from her younger sister, Esta has hand-picked the 9 young woman who now bear her surname, seeking out individuals with the skill and drive to do good in the world but who lack the social status that would grant them access to the means required to rise above Taldor’s misogynistic, class-dependant glass ceiling

Deceptively competent - Made up of foreigners and peasants, almost no members of Oppara’s ruling class pay much heed to the fledgeling house beyond their famous leader - at least until they meet one of them. Over the past two years the Avaraes have gotten much practice in using this to their own ends and make no attempts to bolster their social standing

Weaknesses of House Avarae

Who are you again...? - Though most nobles know who Esta and those of her house are perfectly well, it wouldn’t do to be seen giving too much respect to the upstarts.

Uppity peasants - Though those from the lower class are granted titles on occasion, Esta and her House have the gall to actually act as if they are just as good as the real nobility, a fact that rubs many of the more traditionally-minded houses the wrong way.

Too good for their own good - Moral nobility and unwavering principles serve one well in the church, but they are much more of a hinderance than a boon when dealing with labyrinthine high society social networks.

Martially lacking - Though magic, both divine and arcane, is common in the house no members are similarly skilled with blade or bow.

Small coffers - The reward that came along with Esta's title and the income from her fortunetelling and spellcasting services are more than enough to keep the small House comfortable, but they lack the wealth and resources that longer-established Houses have built up over the generations.

Vulnerable to Absorption - There is an underlying assumption that Esta will soon produce a son to inherit her rewards, something in which she has absolutely no interest. Similarly a line of suitors, from down on their luck royals angling to grab a bit more wealth and power for their lines to senators looking to "marry up" look at Esta as a prime opportunity to leverage into marriage somehow, more an object than a person.

Foreign Relations Worth Noting

With little political clout, House Avarae has almost no direct influence on things in Oppara let alone beyond Taldor’s borders, but Esta has a number of foreign ties from the years she spent adventuring

Cheliax - Even ten years later, Esta’s escape has not been forgotten by her former mistress. While she’s unlikely to be assaulted by diabolical lackeys, she knows her Mistress keeps tabs on her and is in no hurries to cross into Cheliax’s borders again. There’s also her whole crusade against slavery, which they probably don’t appreciate.

Varisia - Most of Esta’s ties to the Desnan church lead back to Varisia, where she got her start and where her former mentor walks her constant circuit around the country, tending to Desna’s roadside shrines and rare temples

Absalom - The city of Esta and Sita’s birth, and the home still of their merchant prince father. Though generally hesitant to return, Esta has made several trips to Absalom over the years and has on many occasions tried to pressure the first Spelllord to abolish slavery once more, to no avail

    {{A/As updated 5/8}}           

Shaitan

As far as the princess biting it, that's just fine, can easily be accounted for, I'll get that event added into the timeline later today.

Kolbrandr

Quote from: Shaitan on June 10, 2013, 05:05:40 AM
As far as the princess biting it, that's just fine, can easily be accounted for, I'll get that event added into the timeline later today.


I note it largely as something to keep aware of mostly and something your character might have some opinion on. Such as your character was involved in reads to have happened well before that. Beyond that.. you're cool with the non hereditary knighthood thing?

Shaitan

The non-hereditary knighthood makes total sense, it's both a reward and a slap in the face, and after a few years of experience on the battlefield to find out that the woman who helped influence his knighthood is dead, whether he realizes how much she influenced it or not doesn't matter. It can serve as the final turning point in his realization of how far down Taldor has gone from it's glory days and inspiration to try to shed the dead weight as it were. Might be interesting if it turns into him trying to stage a revolution of some kind, any kind really, since though he has leadership experience he's a lone wolf, pun intended. Which just adds to the story.

Kolbrandr

Quote from: Shaitan on June 10, 2013, 06:05:35 AM
The non-hereditary knighthood makes total sense, it's both a reward and a slap in the face, and after a few years of experience on the battlefield to find out that the woman who helped influence his knighthood is dead, whether he realizes how much she influenced it or not doesn't matter. It can serve as the final turning point in his realization of how far down Taldor has gone from it's glory days and inspiration to try to shed the dead weight as it were. Might be interesting if it turns into him trying to stage a revolution of some kind, any kind really, since though he has leadership experience he's a lone wolf, pun intended. Which just adds to the story.

It's more than half a military rank besides, which don't really bop to kids. Some other notes.. your unit probably didn't really have a lot of or probably any rebellions to put down in their doings, as, while broken isn't really the word, the Taldan populace is a blended cocktail of worn down, getting by just enough not to care, or entirely buying into their own national self image even on a lowly level.

And hey, you could always try and find out what happened with the coup, though of the two people who probably know the most of it, one is the ruler of Taldor, and the other just got exiled from it. The house Branas writeup and overview fleshes out the overall situation of that somewhat more. https://elliquiy.com/wiki/House_Branas

General notes otherwise.. on the dragon stuff, dragonhide is an actual in the rules special material that you can make armor and crap out of, that is actually as hard as steel, so the bow (the bones being as hard as steel themselves isn't some huge stretch given the hide) and such is fine, but if you want the equivalent of a mithral chain shirt, just have the affectation of that it uses dragonscale for the flourishes on it, or covers it or some such. That sort of thing is thin enough that you can get away with it anywho. PF anyway doesn't have called shot to ignore armor rules, it's not really like you need to truck in fuller coverage. Basically when dragonhide is an actual thing of stuff, I'd rather mithral only work like mithral.

Kolbrandr

Oh, as I was asked, obviously at least something would get out about something like an attempted coup on the throne by the Imperial Princess, and in rough what is mostly known as this: It seems on the face of it that Eutropia was working to lure her father to a rendezvous outside the capital (perhaps at some family estate in the hinterlands), where such few guards as with him could be sidelined, and he himself either killed, imprisoned, or otherwise compelled to name her ruler. Maxentian, apparently, uncovered this, and intercepted her and her people with his before it could be put into effect at nearly the 11th hour, Eutropia dying in the clash. Both testimony (of people who seem to have just vanished afterwards) and supplementary evidence (including a printing press readied to make relevant proclamations to be sent across Taldor, go the stories) support this to the point that when the Senate attacked Maxentian over his actions, the coup itself couldn't be debated as being real or not, so much as its real threat impugned and his response to it maligned as catastrophic bungling.

Now obviously missing from this is why she expected this to work as far as what support she would then have had, who might have been helping her, what prompted her to do this and a variety of other details some would see as rather critical and perhaps also part of why the Grand Duke was exiled, somehow.

EroticFantasyAuthor

Quote from: Kolbrandr on June 10, 2013, 03:31:33 AM
You gather a group of men around you by finding toughs, thugs, down on their luck warriors, or going to where mercenaries otherwise congregate and trying to gather some into a group, then hire yourselves out for mercenary work.

Or you're a military unit that gets cashiered out and goes into business for themselves, as it were.

Or.. any number of ways really.

Note: If this isn't actually something you want to do, don't feel forced to do it, just, again, mercenary assassins don't otherwise necessarily come in with a lot of setting buy ins for me to work with and I'll work off what you can provide in a backstory for where I'd otherwise place you at.

I'd like to work something out, especially with what we discussed in PMs. And think a mercenary battalion could work well for it. I was just having troubling picturing how they'd go about actually forming the group. Partly, I over-think things too much heh, and I work best if I have a good example to spring board off of.

kckolbe

So much good stuff.  Loved Meliai's write up.  Nice to see another small House, though they are even weaker than Tarton. 

As for ignoring armor, I believe there is an enchantment that does it, brilliant energy. 

As for the merc battalion, I am sure that plenty exist, and perhaps EFA's char was part of one and just became the leader when the previous one died or retired?
Ons/Offs  A/A  Oath of the Drake
(From the Penis Game) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Penis
I love a wet nymph.  "Letting some guy have [her] just to have another woman is a losing trade"

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer(IC#2)
Intro Thread

Kolbrandr

More royal house write-ups! These guys actually exist canonically, they have a bit of a blurb in Knights of the Inner Sea, I'm just picking up that ball and running with it as far as fleshing it well out. Between these hombres, the Branas, and the Durahan (also canonical!), it may seem like a rush of goodness, but don't worry, the amorally self interested to outright douchebag parade will resume afterwards.

House Eiredor, in a couple of parts

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide
House Eiredor

Overall House Alignment: A mix of Lawful Good and Neutral (see below)

Common Classes: Cavalier, Fighter, Paladin, Aristocrat, Bard

Rarer, but not unheard of: Ranger, Cleric

Rare: All others

Favoured Deity: Various of the Empyreal Lords are popular, along with Shelyn. While the house might seem a perfect fit for Iomedae, well, she is Chelish, after all.

House Blazon: A silver tower with four stars of gold at either point on a field of purple

House Motto: As Is Just

House Structure: As a house of knights, the Eiredor have an internal feudal hierarchy to differentiate between themselves and assign land and responsibilities, all ultimately answering to the Lord Marshal. Each member of the house is all the same allowed a yearly period of errantry to compete in the tournament circuit. As is tradition, the leadership of the house may be challenged for in the lists, a means of encouraging Eiredor sons to keep their skills sharp. Sons, not daughters, for in contrast to the Branas or Durahan, Eiredor wives and daughters are kept well away from martial practices, instead schooled in politics, courtly grace and estate management to let them serve as counsellors and handle tasks to allow the men to focus on pursuit of chivlary (and some would argue, making the women the behind the scenes rulers of the house).

Overview: Of the great warrior houses of the royal caste, the Branas’ military might can sometimes feel cold as the stone of their resolve, and the Durahan seem like a brawling mob of adventurers. It falls then to the Eiredor to be the shining paragons of Taldor’s remaining chivalric traditions, a responsibility they hold as sacred. Masters of the tournament field, the Eiredor fill Oppara’s streets with swooning maidens and hapless suitors alike during their great parades, many hoping for the path to luxury and prominence that is a marriage into the Eiredor family.

Knights par excellence, the Eiredor affect a demeanor so courtly as to seem embodied poetry. The ladies of their house schooled in grace and etiquette to a degree of polish that drives a healthy spate of favour trading and outright buying time for other daughters of Taldan high society to serve in their retinues and hopefully absorb even some of their elegance.

Controlling a large swath of farms and ranches in Taldor’s long pacified interior, the Eiredor are well moneyed from supplying a Taldan Cavalry they have no small influence over. Extravagantly generous, they are beloved even by the common man, who are as dazzled as any by the sheer splendor of the family.

While the Eiredor cannot trace themselves back to the Azlanti, they have a pedigree they take no less of a fierce pride and inspiration from. Bohemond Eiredor was knighted by Aroden himself in his wandering years, invoking his authority as the Last Azlanti to do so. The one day god had been much impressed by the valor and victories of what had to that point been a far more rough and uncouth warrior. The new knight would vow to make himself worthy of the ennobling, but despaired of making a mockery of the wizard lord’s beneficence in proper society, barely literate and blood soaked as he was. The legends say that Shelyn herself heard his laments and manifested on Golarion to teach him the grace by which he could turn personal courage into a refined standard to enlighten and inspire others. Bohemond would go on from those lessons to craft the codes of chivalry themselves, fusing martial skill with courtly elegance, forming a brotherhood of knights to champion a worthy society and help elevate it through deed and word.

As far as it goes, the ancient Azlanti token the house holds as a sacred relic lends credence at least to having received some kind of commendation from Aroden in his pre ascended days. As far as the rest, there are those inclined to speculate that Bohemond Eiredor was a jumped up barbarian warlord who the temple of Shelyn managed to dazzle enough with performance and art to tutor his children, who would go on to become more refined warriors as a result. With that said, such speculation tends to be made nowhere near an Eiredor’s face, lest a duel ensue.

There is a question that remains all the same hanging over the Eiredor, amidst pageantry and chivalry, amidst noble knights and wise ladies guiding their martial lords. Whatever the truth of their origins, that their history is a litany of knightly deeds and triumphs cannot be denied. Yet Taldor is the fallen state that it is entirely despite them. Have they not noticed? Do they not care? Have they become so complacent in their own legend that they tilt blindly down the lists towards irrelevance and annihilation?



Notable Historical Eiredor


Bayard I, The Shining Prince (Paladin? Cavalier? Fighter?)

The ascent of a man like Bayard might have never been possible, but for the rampages of Tar Baphon. Which is to say that had Tar-Baphon not killed his father and several older brothers, the line of succession for Grand Prince would never have come to a youth unbloodied and untested, seen as callow. Yet it was Bayard, wearing the bloodstained and savaged tabard of his father that would go unrepaired throughout his lifetime, that rallied the forces of Avistan and Garund behind the Shining Crusade. Indeed, it was Bayard that called forth that effort in the first place. It was a curious thing for the young man to have come into such blazing potential, he had seemed almost bookish, cloistered with strange and mystical foreign tutors, rumoured to be taught such useless frippery as “how to be a bird”.

And yet when the time came, Bayard did not simply show the courage and skill innate to his family, but an ability to understand and reach across race, creed and culture alike. It was this ability that allowed him not simply to go to war against evil, but to build the coalition of nations and peoples that would rally behind Taldor’s vanguard. He would spent thenext 47 years of his life in unending war against Tar Baphon’s forces, his death coming not from seeming any one specific wound, but his spirit blazing so forcefully as to simply wear out his body, letting out his last breath only when it had been confirmed that a beachhead had finally been secured in the heart of the enemy’s territories.

Bayard’s chief legacy is obvious, but 47 years of warfare does not otherwise leave behind much in the way of monumental construction, or sociopolitical development. His personal journals are however much republished as treatises on a man maintaining his chivalric code in the depths of absolute horror. Speculation abounds to this day as to who his teachers might have been.


Caradoc Eiredor, the Perfect Knight (Cavalier/Bard)

Truth be told, the most recent, centuries spanning war between Taldor and Qadira was a brutal, ugly mess. But for Caradoc Eiredor, no stories fitting for courtly ballads might have come out of it at all. An almost one man force for gallantry in the midst of abattoirs of attrition, Caradoc heartened his people, inspiring them to remember what they fought for. The most venerated Knight Captain in the history of Taldor, not necessarily for any strategic or tactical acumen, but instead for sheer determination and ability to compel men to impossible assaults and stands. It was said that Caradoc Eiredor could rally a company to attack a position again and again until its defenders were sundered from the sheer battering of their spirits. Men pushed themselves past all limit of possible endurance for Caradoc Eiredor, caught up in the thunderstorm of his force of personality, and this would have been enough to make him a legend. His constant place as the point of the spear in all battles, the reducing of his personal fortune to penury to provide care for the wounded and veterans of his forces, and the courtly grace he showed even his own enemies made him greater beyond even that. When monsters in either nation would attempt to take advantage of the battles to rampage, it was Caradoc who most regularly flung himself against them, only to return to the wars as if such incidents were but a brief vacation.

A typical tale of Caradoc involved his managing to seize a Qadiran town with a double handful of his regulars, fighting past where fatigue and injury should have claimed them, but did bring low their opponents. Convalescing in the mansion of local nobles, he learned of a nearby battle he rushed to join before he was fully recovered, yet not before repaying the family for the use of their home with the very sum of money the Qadiran Satrap had sent to ransom them with.

The Perfect Knight died holding a bridge against wave after wave of enemy soldiers, succumbing to his injuries at the battle’s conclusion, his last contented words on being told that his sacrifice had carried the day “as is just”. His family changed the house motto to honour him.

Xerial

Ok, done a weekend of work, get a half day off, so today is writing day. I have ideas cooking, a family tree done up, Leadership to read up on, the majority of the Ultimate Campaign read, and am armed... now to pull the trigger and fire words out of my brain.

Ebb

Houses Avarae, Eiredor and Tarton added to the Wiki. Go here and follow links: https://elliquiy.com/wiki/Taldor

Melai - I went with "Avarae" over "Aravae", though both spellings showed up in your writeup. Let me know if you want that reversed.


I don't have plans to update these pages -- that's on the individuals doing the writeups. Just changing text should be pretty straightforward. Go the page, hit Edit, and then edit just like you were editing a post (although all of the markup is different...). Let me know if you need help, but my goal here is not to be a bottleneck for all "official" information going on the Wiki. I'm just here to help people get started.

(GM excepted, of course, if you need me.)

Xerial

Ebb, you remain my hero for starting the wiki up and seeding initial info.

Ebb

Quote from: Xerial on June 10, 2013, 03:07:17 PM
Ebb, you remain my hero for starting the wiki up and seeding initial info.

Thanks, Xerial!

Also new: The History of Taldor (and other less important cultures):

https://elliquiy.com/wiki/Taldor--History

(See Wild Tables in Captivity for the First Time Ever! Step Right This Way!)


Ebb

More Wiki Madness:

Main page updated and cleaned up:

https://elliquiy.com/wiki/Taldor

The big new thing is the table of characters. I've tried to go through and put in the names and short descriptions of everyone who has sounded in on this thread. This table isn't official -- just because it's up on the page doesn't mean it's been approved by the GM, or that it's true in game. And UNKNOWN doesn't mean that you didn't supply the information; it just means that in the single pass through the recruitment thread that I just did, it didn't jump out at me. Or it looked like it was still in flux. Or something. Don't be offended, just update it.

Please take the time to edit your character name or description if they're inaccurate, or as your character evolves.

I hadn't realized until I put together the table that we actually have 11 players already! That's right, Kolbrandr is running a mid to high-level gestalt Pathfinder game with 11 players. Isn't hubris adorable?

I'm turning off the wiki-spigot for a while so I can focus on getting my own stuff written up and maybe even spend some time on my sadly neglected 1-on-1 games. I'll probably do another update near the end of this week. As always, though -- you are more than welcome to edit the wiki yourself. Yes, this means you. The wiki keeps all history of edits, so if you're worried about screwing something up, rest assured that we can easily restore anything that gets munged.


Kolbrandr

Quote from: Ebb on June 10, 2013, 04:02:40 PM
More Wiki Madness:

Main page updated and cleaned up:

https://elliquiy.com/wiki/Taldor

The big new thing is the table of characters. I've tried to go through and put in the names and short descriptions of everyone who has sounded in on this thread. This table isn't official -- just because it's up on the page doesn't mean it's been approved by the GM, or that it's true in game. And UNKNOWN doesn't mean that you didn't supply the information; it just means that in the single pass through the recruitment thread that I just did, it didn't jump out at me. Or it looked like it was still in flux. Or something. Don't be offended, just update it.

Please take the time to edit your character name or description if they're inaccurate, or as your character evolves.

I hadn't realized until I put together the table that we actually have 11 players already! That's right, Kolbrandr is running a mid to high-level gestalt Pathfinder game with 11 players. Isn't hubris adorable?

I'm turning off the wiki-spigot for a while so I can focus on getting my own stuff written up and maybe even spend some time on my sadly neglected 1-on-1 games. I'll probably do another update near the end of this week. As always, though -- you are more than welcome to edit the wiki yourself. Yes, this means you. The wiki keeps all history of edits, so if you're worried about screwing something up, rest assured that we can easily restore anything that gets munged.

I'm no more chock full of hubris than a guy trying to put together and maintain a wiki for said game ;p Also, thank you for putting together and maintaining a wiki for said game.

And, eh. I played in a 7 year spanning 4th and 5th gen elder vampire campaign that had something like 8 players in it. This sort of thing can be done.