Way of the Wicked (Pathfinder) Recruitment Thread

[Bandita]

The story so far:

Six inmates of Bleakguard prison find themselves somewhat tortured (Branded with an elaborate "F" and some of them beaten.) One of the group is taken for questioning, however the questioner has an ulterior motive.  He hands the Asmodean Priestess a scrap of cloth, with strange symbols on it.  He then proceeds to break her nose for the sake of making it look like she was questioned more fiercely.  The Priestess goes back to the cell, is rechained, and tells the others in her cell about what happened. After discussing strategy, the six prisoners go back to the cloth, and make use of it, pulling the symbols off and recieving items that will help in their escape, a window, some knives, lockpicks, etc. 

Later that night they use their items, and somewhat awkwardly escape, killing a few guards.  Two more prisoners are found in another cell, and are also set free on the concept of strength in numbers. The group explores the prison, gets into the armory and finds weapons and takes the guards' armor. 

Meanwhile, the corruption of the corrections facility has led to the sergeant killing off a group of guards on his way out.  He had been embezzling, and freaked out when the questioner came.  This led to an easy escape, up until the group decided to take on the warden.  After killing off the wizard warden and his familiar, they escape to the outer bridge.  There the group meets up with two more guards, more elite stock.  The battle in the snow ends in the group getting away, and walking.

Out of pure curiosity they meet up with the questioner who kept them all from either death or life in prison. The questioner turns out to be a man named Merlin, who leads them all to a repurposed hunting lodge.  The lodge is the base of operations of the Tyrant of Asmodeus, a mortal chosen by the god himself to serve his will, who is outside the normal ranks of the secret and illicit church. There is no freedom of religion in the lands of the God Sol Invictus, and King Darius. (the goody two shoes who rules the land with a careless fist)

All eight of them are recruited, however one of them disappears.  .  Eight members remained, (replacements) however, to swear their services away to Asmodeus.  They meet the Illustrious Constantine Thorn, a woman of incredible beauty and power, and also the Tyrant.  She convinces them all to attend a ceremony, with a devil officiating.  (Convinces in some cases with threat, implied or explicit.)  Eight swear, but not all eight will survive, in a scouting trip gone wrong, another member of the party dies.

The Ninth also meet the Seventh circle, a circle Thorn has other plans for, and they spend some time training and watching each other. The Seventh seems to have a different mission in store, however, and leave before the Ninth are ready for their assignment.

After getting to know each other, training, and getting more efficient, Thorn's Ninth Circle is about to go out on their first real mission.  Before that can happen, however, a party of guards has come to the door, elite guards.  And Thorn isn't home.

[Ebb]

Step 1: The Pitch

Craeth - L3 Human Sorcerer, Infernal Bloodline

Craeth was born into the wrong family. His father and his three brothers were lumberjacks. His mother and his two sisters were also hard working, salt of the earth peasant women. Within their small community all seven were considered shining examples of the virtue of hard work and charity for one's fellow man. But every family has a dark side. Craeth was a runt, weaker than even his sisters and quickly judged unsuitable for men's work. It was said that his blood was impure, that he was cursed at birth. He grew up as a virtual slave to the others, with no possibility of relief or escape. Who in their village would believe his tales of abuse, against the word of his noble parents?

He was fourteen when he made his last attempt to run away from home, after three previous failed tries. Deep within the woods, starving and tired, he was caught by his eldest brother Delcrin. Something erupted inside Craeth that night, and fire flew from his fingertips, horribly burning the young man. Craeth fled, and only learned later that his brother had died that night. No further attempts to find him were made, and the remaining family members never speak of Craeth.

In time he learned to use his innate magical talents, and learned a bit of their origin. An old oracle told him that he had the blood of devils in his veins, and that it would bring great ruin. Craeth has embraced this. Ruin it will bring, but not to him. He will watch the world burn, for it is a place where every virtuous face hides a dark sin, every promise made is a lie, and love is nothing but a tool that the weak use to manipulate the strong. He has learned that there are things far more powerful than a woodsman's axe, and that claiming this power is his destiny.

[Bandita]

Okay, after reading over some of the stuff here, I'm gonna have to say:  Remember, people, this is an EVIL pathfinder game.  If you're playing a hero, the 9 foot tall half demon is just 'misunderstood'.  But here, there's no mistaking him even with appearance changing magic. 

I'm not saying that it wouldn't be fun as hell to play that character, but it's not going to work well for this game. It would end up being a problem every time we went into a town, every time we encountered people.  And they are hunting us already.

I am, of course, not the GM, however I'm going to guess that he's not going to allow something that conspicuous in the game. 

That said, there is still plenty of room to make awesome characters.

[Thorne]

Well, /yes/. That IS part of his problem - he's massively conspicuous. Pun intended.
I'm hoping you didn't mean to come off as condescending as that sounded, though. >.<

I have given some thought to how a tiefling with the deck stacked that high against him might survive for a while in a place where his appearance alone is enough to earn him a death sentence, without consideration for his morals (what few he has).

I do want to hear the GM's take on this before I do anything else.

[Anon315]

I resubmit my previous applicant, the nameless prophet. Kitty

Still very much interested, and think that I would be a marvelous addition to the group. In addition to healy magics, I bring a bevy of other abilities which make me a marvelous candidate. Not least of which is how cuddly and adorable I am. *plays with yarn*

[Bandita]

I apologize, I didn't mean to come off as condescending at all. The character is one of those "Evil game!!!! Lemme do something awesome here!!!" kind of characters.  It's a cool concept, it's just that our party has already gotten it's share of police attention, and the whole evil game thing is really hard to pull off.  Our characters are hunted, and putting one's self into the idea of an evil game can be different from a mostly good one.   A nine foot tall character would be kind of counterproductive to the types of espionage/stealth/undermining the current regime we're trying to accomplish, and if we get arrested in every town we enter it's going to stymy the game.

In response to Anon, I'd just like to say:  If you play a nameless character, the first thing the party will probably do is name you. :)

[Kdyami]

Wait for me! I want in on recruiting :p

Anyway......hi everyone. Some pretty cool character concepts. Tough I do agree I you play a nameless one. We're going to name you.

[Thorne]

Accepted, Bandita.
I'm with you on 'subtle' - I'm just .. nrgh. I play a lot of 'subtle' characters that get along or disappear into crowds. Or otherwisedly roll with things. I was hoping to play someone who has to /work/ to be overlooked, literally or otherwise. If there's no challenge, what's the point?
I've done the 'evil game' thing before (generally devolves into PVP madness, or completely unsubtle 'murder all the things' fests), and I was kind of looking forward to something that avoided both.

I am curious, though. Where did you get 'misunderstood' from what I originally posted?
That was not the impression he should be giving, and if that's what you got, I need to fix that. ^^;

[Bandita]

Oh, no.  I meant that if you were playing a nine foot tall demon in a 'good' game you could go for that angle.  That's all.  And you don't have to be all that subtle, I mean, here are two of the current characters:

pictures

That's Mingan and Anna.  Mingan is already hard enough to conceal, at 6'9".  And Anna wears her hair in a samurai style topknot, and is covered in prison tats.  But the main thing is that they are both within concealment (with magical items.)  Even at close to seven feet he's still buyable as a town blacksmith or somesuch.  So yeah, you don't have to be vanilla human, you can go a little crazy, but it's still pathfinder, and there could be blowback for obvious unnatural bloodlines in the medieval style setting.

Also: Welcome to the conversation K.  What's the Half-orc think of all this craziness?

And Yeah, I posted your pic. :P  Eat it Orcy.

[Thorne]

Hrm. Yrss, I see what you mean.
There's only so much can be done with armor-styling and a heavy cloak (armor to cover disguise hooves and mitigate horns, cloak to cover the tail, everything to cover dark skin). I did give that some thought - 'Tris makes his own armor and does his own repairs when he can get his hands on a suitable forge and materials.

I'll go back to the drawing board, see what else I might have lurking around the back that might be useful. *gets out the Fork of Character Prodding and wades into the Peanut Gallery*

[Pointless Digression]

I'm happy to see that you're still interested, Thorne. I am inclined to agree with Bandita; a nine-foot tal,l red-skinned tiefling is a little...much.

Or would that be a lot...much?

[Thorne]

Heh, fair enough. And yes. He's a lot much. On the flip side, you could probably hide half a party behind him (a whole party, if they were all gnomes, and he didn't get it into his pointy head to start throwing them...). Um. Digression. Sorry, brains. Need more tea, clearly. Or a food. In the meantime!

How 'bout this?

Eztli'eyal
Eztli is broader and heavier than most elves, and a little shorter, with slightly bowed legs, leading to many a joke about his mother fraternising with dwarves. This has lead to more than one 'accident' over his lifetime, eventually culminating in his dishonourable discharge. That, however, is not what really got him into trouble. Ask him, he'd swear it was all a big misunderstanding. Ask the authorities, and you'd get the truth - that he was heavily involved with a notorious protection racket. He got away. Most of the others weren't so ... lucky?

Eztli'eyal stands about 5'10". He's frequently taken for human - he's got that build - but a good look at him tells a different tale. Those sharp features are handsome enough, broken nose and all, but his slanted grey eyes are hard, with little laughter in them. On the rare occasion he's caught out of his armor, he's actually leaner than he appears, with an assortment of minor scars striping his pale skin. He wears fairly heavy armor, plain, but well-made, and carries a shield as big as he is, unmarked, but equally well made.

[Anon315]

In response to Anon, I'd just like to say:  If you play a nameless character, the first thing the party will probably do is name you. :)

Oh he'll have a name if accepted, I just give him no name until accepted, so he doesn't gain life.

[Roketto]

Heh, fair enough. And yes. He's a lot much. On the flip side, you could probably hide half a party behind him (a whole party, if they were all gnomes, and he didn't get it into his pointy head to start throwing them...). Um. Digression. Sorry, brains. Need more tea, clearly. Or a food.

The issue with disguising a 9 foot devil-dude, is that the general form of magic we use to conceal ourselves is Disguise Self, which wouldn't let him appear human, elven, dwarven, etc. because the spell specifically says you can disguise yourself as another subtype within your creature type, which for a tiefling is Outsider.  Not many human-looking, or widely accepted, outsiders, I'm afraid.

[Bandita]

A question for Anon...

Your cat-guy is neat, but I was wondering what he's like, other than religious.  He seems to be a collection of beliefs, but I'm guessing there's more to him than that.  I can't tell from your description anything about what his build is, or what his place in the party would be.  Just curious, not a judgment....

[Roketto]

A question for Anon...

Your cat-guy is neat, but I was wondering what he's like, other than religious.  He seems to be a collection of beliefs, but I'm guessing there's more to him than that.  I can't tell from your description anything about what his build is, or what his place in the party would be.  Just curious, not a judgment....

There's also a slight (potential) issue, in that part of the whole plot is we're overthrowing a church and breaking down the religion as we're taking over this kingdom.  If he respects all religions, is he going to handle that well?

[Anon315]

There's also a slight (potential) issue, in that part of the whole plot is we're overthrowing a church and breaking down the religion as we're taking over this kingdom.  If he respects all religions, is he going to handle that well?

Well by the original story, he was going to be imprisoned, go a little kooky, and seek revenge. But, even without that, they outlaw the worship of all other deities. That's religious fascism. He is for the free expression of belief without infringing upon others. They've obviously crossed that line.

A question for Anon...

Your cat-guy is neat, but I was wondering what he's like, other than religious.  He seems to be a collection of beliefs, but I'm guessing there's more to him than that.  I can't tell from your description anything about what his build is, or what his place in the party would be.  Just curious, not a judgment....

Well, my build focuses on incapacitating foes and keeping allies from the same. I have a bevy of heal spells, and a few illusion/conjurations to aid. He's generally a pacifist though, so he won't be actually killing anything sentient unless you're all somehow incapacitated. No qualms about incapacitating things, summoning things to eat faces, or what have you.

[Kdyami]

I think the characters so far are looking pretty cool.  I cant lie I was thinking it would be cool to have to go around hiding the tiefling, but thats just my thought.

[Thorne]

The issue with disguising a 9 foot devil-dude, is that the general form of magic we use to conceal ourselves is Disguise Self, which wouldn't let him appear human, elven, dwarven, etc. because the spell specifically says you can disguise yourself as another subtype within your creature type, which for a tiefling is Outsider.  Not many human-looking, or widely accepted, outsiders, I'm afraid.

Yhesss... Normally, I'd have an argument for this, but it's moot.

Now, if any of you see any problems with my alternate pitch, I'm interested to hear what they might be. *grin*

[Bandita]

Um, Anon... if all the other players are incapacitated, your character, and all of the others, are dead. 

[Anon315]

Um, Anon... if all the other players are incapacitated, your character, and all of the others, are dead.

Well generally. But I meant if an effect caused the rest of the party to be incapacitated. Or dying/dead/unconscious.

[Roketto]

Well generally. But I meant if an effect caused the rest of the party to be incapacitated. Or dying/dead/unconscious.

Unfortunately, it's been my experience that if the entire party, save for one person, is incapacitated, it's almost always a lost cause.  There's only been one encounter I've been in where literally everyone in the party was incapacitated except for one person and the "party" actually won.  Of course, everyone but the alchemist was dead, but he barely managed to finish off the last vampire before she 1-shotted him, too.

The thing is, we're going to be sent to slaughter and assassinate from time to time, and if a character really has an issue with that, it could be difficult for them to handle the mission.  I'm not saying that having quirks is a bad thing by any means, but just be aware of the type game you're looking to join here.

[Anon315]

Oh I'm entirely aware. And he has no issue if the things he does cause others to die, he just won't be the one holding the blade if there are alternatives. And if this bars me from participation, so be it, but that's who this character is. Anyone who is dead does not have time to repent for his actions. Death is a rather final solution. This applies of course only to sentient beings. Anything non-sentient is free reign to destroy, but don't expect me to have much in that vein. As an oracle, I'll be buffs, heals, and some disables / debuffs. I'm not a wizard with explosions or even a druid with lightning bolts. I plan on aiding others and helping without killing anything. Color Spray however makes it very easy for the REST of the party to kill stuff, and I have no qualms with my actions indirectly causing death. It's a fine distinction, but that's what the character holds to.

[Bandita]

Okay, peoples.  I'm trying to drum up some business here (by posting and making the thread seen again).  There have been some good submissions to the request for characters.  Pointless Digession is considering some of them, mulling it over.  That said... ALL of the proposed characters have been male.  Any female characters?  Anyone wanna make a badass evil chick?  We could use a hot kickass chick up in this joint! Or whatever type of female y'all prefer....  Or really any character y'all prefer, PD likes variety.

So please, keep them coming.  I think there is still one slot open.  (that's what she said)  Maybe more.  PD's still considering...

[Andi]

So you guys know, I'm still working on the detailed writeup PD requested. PD, would you like that by PM or in here?