Kingdom of Dust (D&D 3.5 original setting)

[SmilingFox]

The Dustlands. Historians have argued for centuries over where the Dustlands came from, and how. Some believe it to be a product of a natural phenomenon. That the sands in the great waste naturally seem to draw life and magic from all things that venture over it. Some believe that a natural disaster destroyed the area, creating the vast expanses of uninhabitable sand. Others believe that the Dustlands were created by mortal aspirations. That, whether intentional or not, some grand plan devastated the land, turning it into a sprawling desert rife with turbulent sandstorms.

There are tales, however, that there was once a kingdom out in the wastes. A lush utopia of magical ingenuity, a place where people lived without needs. A paradise of hedonism. They say that the mortals within studied magic for the sake of studying it, rising up above what mortals were meant to achieve and even challenging the gods. That the end result was the complete devastation of the kingdom and all that lies within it.

Most historians agree that such tales are flights of fancy. The wastes have existed for a thousand years at least, and any primitive society certainly couldn't have done what the great nations of today still struggle to do. Or at least... That's what the historians used to agree.

For now, in perhaps the first time in a millennia, the great storms of sand that always raged at the center of the waste have stilled, revealing the expansive ruins of a fallen kingdom. Archeologists from every nation have set out on an expedition to delve into its secrets, calling for the aid of any adventurer willing to risk life and limb for fame and fortune.

Only the brave or the foolish need apply.

So, this is my attempt at running a rather simple D&D 3.5 setting. I say simple in that I'm not looking for people to play optimized builds, and flavor and storytelling are going to be the main focus.

The setting is similar to that of FF12, if you've played it. There are several great nations and city states that exist in a tenuous balance with each other, what those nations are and how they act is something I'm willing to work with if you'd like something specific for your character's background, but in general... The world is filled with those who still fight with swords and shields, as well as magic. Magical weapons, rechargeable magical crystals, and airships are all common place.

Monsters are almost a common sight outside of city walls, with great guilds of adventurers who are hired to hunt down particularly bothersome individuals.

And at the very center of the explored world lies the Dustlands. A vast area of hostile desert where things just don't work right. Airships refuse to fly over it, most traders go around it, and the monsters within are twister mockeries of what are found elsewhere. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to escort a team of archeologists into the massive ruins of a city in the middle. Easy, right?

Starting characters are level 1, with about 2000g to spend on gear. Give me your best shot.

For flavor purposes, if you want to mess around with races, Ie. Keeping stats the same but changing appearances, I'm okay with that.

As always questions are welcome.

[Interdiction of words]

I say that it is time for me to step forward into the place of D&D since this realm is my perspicacity, I would love to join 

[Andi]

Would you permit a sha'ir (3.5 writeup appeared in Dragon magazine at some point and is in the Dragon Compendium released by Paizo a few years ago)?

[Rajah]

Would you permit a sha'ir (3.5 writeup appeared in Dragon magazine at some point and is in the Dragon Compendium released by Paizo a few years ago)?

The familiar is cute, but that class looks *INCREDIBLY* annoying to play. You have to "summon" every spell and make a check to see if it works, and you only remember spells for (level) hours and then you have to do it again? Admittedly the flavor is awesome and very fitting, but there are other ways to play a djinni-based spellcaster...or to expand your spell list if that's your goal there. You're gonna be making like 50 dice rolls every day just to see if you know your spells, and some of those are going to fail, and it's going to suck a lot.

[Andi]

Two points. One: I'm perfectly aware of the class mechanics - I've been playing sha'ir ever since the Complete Sha'ir Handbook fell into my hands back in Germany '98. Two: Fox stated storytelling over mechanics. That reduces mechanical concerns substantially.

[Thorne]

I'm also interested, although I was thinking to play something a little less forethought intensive - druid, mebbe.

[Interdiction of words]

What way will you do points?

[Green Goo Theory]

Any big things right off the bat that aren't allowed?  such as from a fluff stand point?  ToB, Psionics, certain books, dragon magazine, etc? 

[Rajah]

Any big things right off the bat that aren't allowed?  such as from a fluff stand point?  ToB, Psionics, certain books, dragon magazine, etc?

Gosh, I hope not those first two. A harsh desert wasteland full of aberrations and dark powers sounds like a fantastic setting for psionics - maybe even its origin point? - and something about deserts in general just makes me feel all tingly about esoteric martial arts and thrilling sword duels, the stalwart legionnaire and master of Army of One facing off across a grinning half dozen of efreet Desert Wind stylists...

(also they are so fun)

[SmilingFox]

Nothing is outright banned in broad strokes, for things coming from Dragon Magazine it'd be on a case by case basis. I'm trying to work in some other stuff that appears in other fantasy settings as well. Stuff like crystals that can be charged with magic (Give up a spell slot of an appropriate level) to cast a specific spell at a later time. Sort of a 'reusable potion' effect. They'd be rare and/or expensive of course but useful. Mostly thought here's going to be a lot of 'Oh, that's just X from D&D but with a shiny paint job' effects. So if you want a specific race of elves to be Bunny girls instead or something, it's doable.

As for stat points, I guess 32 point buy is fair. Keeps anyone starting arguments over rolls or getting shortchanged. (I literally rolled a cleric once with 4 strength. 4d6 and ditch worst, I rolled 1,1,1,2.)

[Interdiction of words]

Base ten or Eight?

[SmilingFox]

32 point buy, base 8.

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Tentative interest, thinking about a character at this point. Maybe a Ranger.

Fox, if you want an example of something you could perhaps model your crystal spell-storage rules on, there's something quite similar by Paizo:

This small, durable flask is designed to preserve alchemical extracts indefinitely. An extract stored in a preserving flask remains potent until it is consumed or otherwise removed from the flask.

Preserved extracts count against an alchemist's extracts per day on the day they are prepared, but not on subsequent days. Each flask is capable of preserving an extract of a particular level. An extract stored in the flask retains duration, caster level, and other properties it had when it was created. The flask works on extracts and infusions, but not mutagens.

Just substitute 'caster' for alchemist where appropriate, and you're basically done. Tossing a spell into the crystal costs you the spell on the day you do so, but then the spell is there in the crystal whenever you like and when you recover spells the next day the one in the crystal doesn't count. You could also do some variations on cost/quality to accept only lower or higher level spells in a manner similar to that used for Pearls of Power.

Psionics give me headaches.

(that was a joke!)

[Andi]

32 point buy, base 8.

So that's 26 in base 10? Wait, you were talking about the starting score to add points to, not the logarithmic base... ;)

[Marie Reynolds]

I might be interested would you be allowing the sandstorm book?

[SmilingFox]

I might be interested would you be allowing the sandstorm book?

Absolutely.

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Looking at the possibility of a Tibbit, if that's permissible? Appeared originally in Dragon Magazine #135 and then in the Dragon Compendium. Full rules are here.

To put it simply, they're housecat-weres with nominal ability scores (+2 dex, -2 str), darkvision, and the "my equipment changes with me" variety of supernatural shapeshift. They are harmed by everything under the sun, no silver required.

[Thorne]

Hm.. The concept I was planning on gets a hair complicated ... oh well. If I'm going to break my head with math, I might as well do it for something I enjoy, right?

Fox. Do you allow Races of the Dragon?
No, I don't want to play a half-dragon, I want to use the Draconic Heritage feats. >.>

[SmilingFox]

Looking at the possibility of a Tibbit, if that's permissible? Appeared originally in Dragon Magazine #135 and then in the Dragon Compendium. Full rules are here.

To put it simply, they're housecat-weres with nominal ability scores (+2 dex, -2 str), darkvision, and the "my equipment changes with me" variety of supernatural shapeshift. They are harmed by everything under the sun, no silver required.

That sounds fine.

[Andi]

Still waiting to hear about the sha'ir.

[SmilingFox]

Still waiting to hear about the sha'ir.

Oh, right, sorry. Yeah Sha'ir is absolutely okay by me.

[Muse]

*Waves*  Good morning, Fox, welcome to E. 

Do you have room for a few more?  What size of group are you looking for?  It sounds like you have a fun concept building here. 

(You might consider using the 'Eternal Wands' from Magic Item Compendium to represent some of your crystal tech?  The originals from Eberon even used Dragon Shards as part of their power source.) 

[SmilingFox]

I'm probably looking for 4 or 5 players, maybe 6 if I get a lot of interest. Yeah, eternal wands seem like a good place to start. Just for flavor things, like an outpost town having a crystal of Create Water that just needs to be recharged once a month or so. I think it's interesting to imagine a society structured around them.

[Muse]

*smiles* 

how are you going to choose?  Just the first six to sign up with viable concepts? 

*ponders concepts* 

Any arcane casters besides the Shair right now? 

[SmilingFox]

It's pretty much first come first serve at the moment. I've already got a bunch of NPCs floating around in my head to introduce as well, and a starting point too.

[Thorne]

That works. And the Races of the Dragon?

If yes, I've got a couple of other questions ...

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

HP at first level = Max for die?

[SmilingFox]

First level HP is max, beyond that Average of the die (4 for a d6, 5 for a d8 ect.)

Races if the Dragon is fine. Please no Dragonwrought Kobolds.

[Thorne]

... Dragon.. wr. . no. No kobolds of any breed. Cheerleader skirts or not.  ::)

I was thinking something a little less .. um .. scaly and short. Also, cuter. >.>

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

... Dragon.. wr. . no. No kobolds of any breed. Cheerleader skirts or not.  ::)

I was thinking something a little less .. um .. scaly and short. Also, cuter. >.>

*Implying kobolds in cheerleader skirts are not cute*

[SmilingFox]

Dragon girls can be cute. Even small dragon girls. I just would rather avoid people trying to swing a +3 to Int Wis and Chraisma by being 500 years old -.-

[Thorne]

No, they're adorable (and deadly), but I was not planning on playing one. This time. >.>

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

FWIW, with the confirmation of Tibbits, I have switched over to a Factotum, a lazily curious tomb-robber type (small cat vs. pressure plate usually results in cat 1, pressure plate 0 unless the trap-designers were really inspired, and hey, trip-wires are less of an issue when your eye level is only 8-10" above the floor) whose fingers silver simply will not stick to. Any wealth she can't carry gets transformed into fun...That's what it's for, right?

Fox, are there any particular languages that might be appropriate to a scholar of ancient tongues? Or should I just pick from the usual AD&D list and adjust accordingly?

[SmilingFox]

I'd say pick from the list and adjust. So far there haven't been any major requests to change the fluff of any races, so just grab whatever strikes your fancy.

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Sand-Sifter (Factotum 1, Tibbet, CN, female)

"Sandy" is a seeker after curiousities, a devourer of stories, lore, and knowledge for its own sake, preferably acquired first-hand from the libraries of the people who discovered it. To be more factual (and a bit less couth), she's a tomb robber.

She was born in the Western Desert, one of a small clan of ragamuffin tibbits who made their way in lazy migration from oasis to oasis, taking shelter from the sun in whatever caves or ruins were best available. Sandy was dangerously curious even for a tibbit, and got into trouble more than once as a kitten for sneaking off and wriggling her way into cracks and crevices that adults couldn't get through. More than once she found amazing things: walls covered with unreadable inscriptions; statues of ancient and terrible kings; scrolls of time-browned hardened parchment that crackled beneath her paws; and here and there, the warm glitter of gold, long-lost to the daylight. Punishment made her sulky and more careful about concealing her little exploring ventures and the tidbits of glitter and polished stone that she brought back with her. Eventually, like so many young tibbets, she left the clan to go wandering.

As she'd been told, the cities of the other peoples were loud, noisy, and crowded. Mice were easy to catch, and so long as she were careful in her judgement of character, tummyrubs and ear-scritches were available in plenty. She learned the hard way that yes, as her parents had foretold, most of the humanoid-folk would be frightened into violence if they saw her shift shape, and also that yes, they were often equally violent about enforcing the wearing of coverings when going about on two legs. She adapted...She was good at adapting...And she learned, something she was even better at.

The most wonderful thing about cities, however, were libraries. They weren't always easy to get into - in some places one could simply walk right in and ask for things to read, in others it was better to wait until nightfall and exercise discretion and stealth - but they were always worthwhile. She learned to read at a phenomenal pace, absorbing tomes and scrolls on diverse random subjects.

And then the few bits of gold and shiny baubles she'd brought with her ran out, and she was banned even from the 'open' libraries. Well, that was fine, she knew where there were more to be found, and when those ran out some of the books in some of the collections she had read hinted at other lost treasures from the beforetimes.

Whatever it took to keep the wine, the catnip, and the earscritches coming, she was determined to do it.

As time went by, she collected tools to aid her, and devoted more time to studying specific things - the construction of pressure plates, for example, was something it had never occurred to her to research until one very nearly killed her. She often found herself making multiple forays out to ancient sites, solving one puzzle or opening one door only to find herself driven back to the great libraries to try to research the safest means of proceeding. Too, it was rare for her to be able to carry off much of what she found. More than once, she returned to a rich treasure-room only to discover that others had been there in the meantime and cleaned it out. Occasionally, she even encountered some of these others, and learned just how untrustworthy they were. Investment in armor and weapons training was added to her other pursuits while in the city.

As gold and jewels opened more doors or attracted the attention of others, she also found herself pursuing a wide range of males and females to aid in her relaxation. There weren't too many who complained once she made her intentions known.

...And after all, what was the point of all the books and baubles and dusty old rooms, if not to provide more opportunities to enjoy life?

(I'm still hunting around for a decent picture for her humanoid form...Suffice for now to say that she looks like a very small desert-elf or sand-elf, not much more than a meter tall, with cinnamony skin and grey-shot brown hair.)

[SmilingFox]

Very nice! Welcome aboard!

[Rajah]

Asherati (Rewrite): These proud and hardy desert-dwellers have spread out in a diaspora across the world's forlorn places - a migration pattern that, traced by certain competent scholars, would put its original epicenter deep at the heart of the Dustlands. The Asherati tend to be both taller and sturdier than humans, with skin in a vivid range of hues across the spectrum between scarlet red and midnight blue, and their features are vaguely reminiscent of a mix of the brutal orcish visage and the more graceful countenance of elves. They have one especially curious trait: though physically hairless, many Asherati men and some women grow a kind of "hair" made of faint light in the various shades of flame, which they tend, style, and even cut by clever use of mirror-glass.

Glass is important to the Asherati; they build their buried temple-cities from it, using cunning artifice to blow whole caverns from melted sand, which often include at least one inverted pyramid sanctified to Solanil and filled with "greenhouse" horticulture. Culturally, they favor loose theocracies full of debate and philosophical discussion, proud warrior traditions emphasizing the skill and discipline of individuals over regimented soldiers or grand armies, and feel a close connection to fire in various literal and conceptual incarnations. Concepts of cold, water, and necromancy - the three are intrinsically linked for the Asherati - are considered perverse and have spawned a thriving counterculture movement emblemized by the occasional chilled bathhouse - a symbol of rebellion and, to many, revulsion for all but foreigners of other races, who often find such accouterments to be a rare delight in the perpetually-warm cities of the Asherati (who are more tolerant of tourist use - and revenue - than their own social dissidents).

They have a fondness for opulence and comfort but take an oddly fatalist view of wealth: "All things are transient," claim their philosopher-priests, "and one day even the immortal gods will be as dust howling through empty wastes. Live today as richly as you can, for the desert of infinity will make paupers of us all tomorrow. Only when the deserts grow as green as the oceans are blue may we trust in a work of permanence." Such is the wisdom Solanil has helped bring to the Asherati.

(According to 100% of Asherati in actual-play, the sole purpose of the Asherati are to become dry liches at level 13 and rock out forever. This is admittedly awesome, but I've always felt they had a little more potential than that.)

[Thorne]

Don't take the image /too/ seriously - she only wears /that/ getup for festival. :p

Eshana

Eshana   CR 1
Female Half-Elf Favored Soul 1
Diety: Cernunnos
NG Medium Humanoid
Init +2; Senses Low-Light Vision; Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven
---------------------
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13
. . (+2 Dex, +3 armor)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +6
---------------------
Speed 20ft.
Melee weapon Masterwork Spear +1 (1d8) and
. . Unarmed Strike +0 (1d3)
Ranged weapon Masterwork Sling +3 (1d4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +0; Grp +0

Combat Gear Bullets, Sling, Masterwork Sling, Masterwork Spear, Masterwork Studded Leather, Unarmed Strike
Favored Soul Spells Known (CL 1, +0 melee touch, +2 ranged touch):
1 (DC 14, 4/day) - Endure Elements, Shield of Faith, Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds
0 (DC 13, 5/day) - Detect Magic, Guidance, Purify Food and Drink, Create Water
---------------------
Abilities Str 10 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 14
SQ +2 to saves vs Enchantments, Draconic Bloodline - Favored Soul, Racial Skill Bonus, Subtype - Elf, Type - Humanoid
Feats Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Draconic Bloodline - Favored Soul, Shield Proficiency, Simple Weapon Proficiency - All
Skills Balance -1, Climb -3, Concentration +3, Diplomacy +4, Escape Artist -1, Gather Information +4, Heal +5, Hide -1, Jump -9, Knowledge: Nature +2, Knowledge: The Planes +2, Listen +4, Move Silently -1, Search +2, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +3, Spot +4, Swim -6
Possessions combat gear plus Backpack (28 @ 11 lbs), Candle, Cloak of Resistance, +1, Flask, Flint and steel, Holly and mistletoe, Holy symbol, wooden, Hot weather gear, Mirror, small steel, Money, Potion of Cure Light Wounds, Pouch, belt (8 @ 7.05 lbs), Rations, trail (per day), Soap (per), Sunrod, Traveller's Outfit (Free), Waterskin, Whetstone
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
Bullets, Sling - 0/10
Masterwork Spear - 0/1
Potion of Cure Light Wounds - 0/1
---------------------
+2 to saves vs Enchantments +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Draconic Bloodline - Favored Soul Gain bonus spells known according to ancestry.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Racial Skill Bonus You gain a bonus to some skills (already counted).
Subtype - Elf Subtype for a set of humanoids who share a common origin and language.
Type - Humanoid Unless otherwise noted humanoids have these features.

--------------------
Description:
She's quite tall. Most men look up at her, rather than the other way around. Few have seen her face, so rumour abounds as to whether she's horribly ugly or stunningly beautiful, or something inbetween - the truth ... well, the truth is somewhere inbetween. Her eyes flash blue and gold, although they appear black. Her hair also picks up gold and blue highlights, and some red, although it, too is black. Her skin is clear, a dusky bronze that does not seem to have any other unusual properties, other than a few scars.
Like most of the locals, she wears flowing robes made from the local rough-silk and cottons. Hide armor makes up at least one of the layers, if she's expecting trouble, and she generally carries a spear - a finely crafted weapon, indeed.

Background:
Even she doesn't know the entire story of her background - there are things her mother never told her before fever took her, and Eshana has never met her father, not that she is entirely certain which version of the story that Surlana told her is true. Either Zijian is a dragon, or he's a drifter that passed through, or ... Eshana has been looking for the answer to that question, and a handful of others ever since.
A drifter, well known to the locals as that 'sun-crazy druid', and to some few as a guide, or a healer, Eshana has been living in or around town for a long time. While she's not sun-crazed, she is certainly unusual.

Faleen   CR 1
Male Animal, Horse (Light) (Animal, Horse (Light) +3)
TN Large Humanoid
Init +1; Senses Low-Light Vision, Scent (Ex); Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages
---------------------
AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 12
. . (-1 size, +1 Dex)
hp 19 (3d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +2
---------------------
Speed 60ft.
Melee weapon Hooves x2 (Animal, Horse (Light)) -2 x2 (1d4+1) and
. . Unarmed Strike -1 (1d6+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +1; Grp +8

Combat Gear Hooves x2 (Animal, Horse (Light)), Unarmed Strike
---------------------
Abilities Str 14 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 2 Wis 12 Cha 6
SQ Endurance, Run, Type - Animal
Feats Endurance, Run
Skills Hide -3, Jump +14, Listen +4, Spot +4
Possessions combat gear plus Bedroll, Bit and bridle, Feed (per day), Money, Rations, trail (per day), Rope, silk (50 ft.), Saddle (Riding), Saddlebags (16 @ 72 lbs), Waterskin
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
. . -none-
---------------------
Endurance +4 to a variety of skill checks. Sleep in L/M armor with no fatigue.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Run You run faster than normal.
Scent (Ex) Detect creatures within 15+ ft & follow tracks by sense of smell.
Type - Animal Unless otherwise noted animals have these features.
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Contents copyright Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 'd20 System' is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is used with permission.

[SmilingFox]

Looks okay to me, both of you.

[Muse]

Oh!  Very nice thorn!

Looks like you'd benefit from a divine caster. 

Fox, do you have any pantheons for this world yet? 

[SmilingFox]

Nothing in particular. Feel free to choose any existing gods to bring in, or if you're feeling excessively creative, make something up. Nothing broken though, as far as domains and such go.

I once, for a game, invented Dibs: The god of Greed, Commerce and Wealth. For example. It basically just made calling 'dibs' on good items an actual thing, especially among those in touch with the divine.

Then again, that game had someone playing a Tauric Polarbear (Upper body of a man, lower body of a polarbear, like a centaur) Were-polarbear. So he could either look like a polarbear-centaur, or have the upper body of a werepolarbear, or just be a polarbear. It got silly, rather quickly.

[Green Goo Theory]

Gosh, I hope not those first two. A harsh desert wasteland full of aberrations and dark powers sounds like a fantastic setting for psionics - maybe even its origin point? - and something about deserts in general just makes me feel all tingly about esoteric martial arts and thrilling sword duels, the stalwart legionnaire and master of Army of One facing off across a grinning half dozen of efreet Desert Wind stylists...

(also they are so fun)

Well...yeah.  Because Dark Sun is amazing and should have been officially reprinted for 3.5

Dragon girls can be cute. Even small dragon girls. I just would rather avoid people trying to swing a +3 to Int Wis and Chraisma by being 500 years old -.-

I just feel obligated to point out that the +3 to all three mental stats without any drawbacks is only a tiny little point to the tip of a much larger iceberg of cheese involved in a Dragonwrought Kobold.



Also, to you fox...  Would the wedded to history feat be allowed? 

[SmilingFox]

While I think Golden Ager would be awesome in this setting, considering the story line. I don't think I'll allow Wedded to History. Having a character that old would go a long way towards spoiling the storyline.

[eBadger]

Is there still a spot available for a wizard? 

I'm thinking of following the steampunk aspects of your intro: playing a midshipman on an airship, who has joined the expedition for knowledge, adventure, and the hope of a nice find that will fund an airship of their own. 

Also, on the same lines, would you allow use of pistols (I would just follow the rules for crossbows)? 

[Interdiction of words]

I am currently working on a divine caster that is based loosely on the cleric so I will send that to you via email or dropbox if you wish or I can try to fill it out on here but it is very close to being done One question though is will you allow Catfolk into this?

[Muse]

Ack! 

Okay, no cleric for me. 

I'll come up with something else. 

[Interdiction of words]

Ehn sort of, no healing or true buffing more undead smiting and dealing with hell beasts 

[Muse]

... 

Okay, not sure what that is.  ^_^;; 

I'll get back to working out a cleric then.  :)

[Interdiction of words]

Weeper is the name for it.

[Andi]

*sigh* Modified HL output of a blank sheet, being how the damn program does not support Sha'ir...

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

AZMIR    CR 1
Male Human Sha'ir 1
N Medium Humanoid
Init +1 ; Senses Listen +2, Spot +2
Languages Common
---------------------
AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10
. . ( +1 Dex)
hp 5 (1d4+1)
Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4
---------------------
Speed 30ft
Melee weapon MW Quarterstaff +0 (1d6)
. . Unarmed Strike +0 (1d3)
Ranged weapon
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +0; Grp +0

Combat Gear MW Quarterstaff
Sha'ir Spells Known (CL 1,  melee touch,  ranged touch):
1 (DC 14, 3) - Grease, Mage Armor, Magic Missile
0 (DC 13, 5) - Detect Magic, Light, Read Magic, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand
---------------------
Abilities Str 10 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 14
SQ Type - Humanoid
Feats Combat Casting, Communicator
Skills Concentration +7, Diplomacy +6, Heal , Hide , Jump , Knowledge: Arcane +7, Knowledge: The Planes +7, Spellcraft +7
Possessions
Replenishing Waterskin, Backpack, Flint&Steel, Rations, Camping gear, Potion of Cure Light Wounds(x3), Belt Pouch, 100gp
--------------------

Mavi   CR 1
Male Outsider, Maridan (Water Gen)
TN Tiny Outsider
Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60'; Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages
---------------------
AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 12
. . (+2 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 6 (1d8+1)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4
---------------------
Speed 20ft, fly 60ft (perfect), swim 20ft
Melee weapon Slam x2 (1d2-2)
Space 2 1/2ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Base Atk +1; Grp -9

Combat Gear
---------------------
Abilities Str 7 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 13 Wis 15 Cha 10
Skills Concentration +6, Escape Artist +5, Hide +11, Know/Arcane +5, Knmow/The Places +5, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Search +5, Spellcraft +5, Spot +4, Survival +4, Swim +6
Possessions
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
. . -none-
---------------------
Combat Casting +4 to Concentration checks made to cast defensively
Darkvision 60ft Black and white only
Weapon Finesse Use Dexterity instead of Strength to calculate attack bonus with light weapons
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Contents copyright Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 'd20 System' is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is used with permission.

No image... couldn't find one this late at night. Will dig around tomorrow.

[Rajah]

Aimon Raheru, the Scarblossom

Race: Djinn-born (Asherati)
Class: Sublime Way something-or-other
Alignment: Lawful Neutral

"Destiny is a choice. If you are wise, you make it yours."

SKETCH: Aimon is a monk, previously a devotee of the crocodile-bodied Iselene, one of a trio of desert deities, whose noted purviews include life, nature, and knowledge. His former sect, the Navigators of the Green Sea, believed in the dream of a verdant and wasteless world, relying on drugs to seek visions of oases to be discovered or created - and for their own indolent pleasure, grown rich and lazy on the wealth of the drug trade they manage across a dozen nations.

He abandoned their ranks after a harrowing incident: sent to escort a trade shipment meant to join a tibbit caravan, he was ambushed by bandits motivated not by greed but by a powerful lich of the wastes, whose voice was grinding glass and whose shadow brought sunstroke and madness. Such creatures were not uncommon; the undead plague the deserts, and the Asherati are themselves strangely prone to joining their number, especially in recent years...but these things had been distant, vague and unimportant. They had no relation to the blistering heat of sunsoaked iron manacles searing Aimon's wrists, no suggestion or forewarning of how the stench of his own blood could make him retch and gag. No preparation for the world-dimming sensation of a scarab entering a wound. Tortured, broken, and made to renounce and violate every vow and principle he believed in, he learned that there is evil that cannot be bought off or bartered with...and pain that no amount of pleasure can erase. Aimon spent almost a year being unmade for the amusement of a monster warped beyond all recognition of ever having shared mortality with him...and did not escape by his own power, rather by the sacrifice of a noble paladin who had come to slay the lich and chose ensuring Aimon's freedom over her own survival. Aimon didn't watch her die, but her eyes before he fled spoke of an acceptance he had never found even while pleading for his life to be ended.

That moment shattered something in him agony and cruelty could not, and he recognized for the first time the pointlessness of all he had done and made of himself. He realized fully what it was to be hollow. Returning home, Aimon relayed only the generalities of what had befallen him, and then retreated from the world into the long-neglected libraries and tapestry-hall kept by the priesthood, abandoning the addictions that had once compelled him as soon as he realized that no dulling of his mind would fully submerge its fresh scars.

It was in meditations on his savior's devotion that he found some glimmer of purpose; it was in half-forgotten parables and mosaics depicting ancient martial arts that he uncovered a means to see it fulfilled. There were sublime traditions among the Djinn-born, but they earned respect only in their flourishes and had been shorn of their once-deeper meaning. He uncovered hints of older purposes, ancient orders, a true Green Sea...a kingdom now of dust. And a name for those who had carried that knowledge and died with it, those whose sacrifices, like the paladin he had left behind, had no one left to honor them. The Teeth of Paradise.

In the past few years since discovering the frustratingly-vague suggestions of a greater culture now vanished, Aimon has made something of a name for himself as a fierce warrior and hunter after things escaped from the Dustlands, a boon to many a lost traveler and dangerously circumspect caravan. Now that the dust has settled, he perceives the unmistakable touch of Fate and divine will...

Weeper is the name for it.

This one? They're neat. Good balance, great flavor, and they have their own little niche + general competency that doesn't crowd out anyone else. (Also, like all the best homebrew, they offer some interesting things if you dip INTO them but there's really no way to play prestige roulette OUT, meaning a dedicated Weeper has to actually be a dedicated Weeper.) I like Leziad's stuff as a general rule.

Definitely doesn't occupy the "cleric" slot if Muse wants to play a cleric. They can do a bunch of cleric-y things, but they don't have domains, healing, summoning, face-bashing, or the all-important 9th-level spellcasting. They're more about debuffs and support and high sustained cold damage.

[Muse]

Sounds interesting.  :) 

Danil Bron--exiled third son of a nobleman, priest of lathander, and good hearted lecher.  (Current traveling while an angry father forgets who is responsible for deflowering his daughter.) 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A3z7SzSdbP54HE0SiBwGONAydlWBvUSQXU6ZNHpryjY/edit

Sleep now...

[Marie Reynolds]

Would the Scout Class from complete Adventurer be allowed?

[SmilingFox]

Scouts are absolutely alright. So, Currently we have a Factotum, a Sha'ir, a Favored Soul, a Monk, with someone working on a Scout. Weeper is... Interesting, but a bit too powerful for me to be comfortable with as a homebrew. (Notably the 1d6/level ranged touched attacks at will, that eventually stuns on hit)

Also, if you're going Scout, look into the Swift Hunter feat. It requires a level of Ranger, but 'apply precision damage to favored enemies' will let you skirmish against undead and constructs. (*wink wink nudge nudge*)

[Interdiction of words]

The 1d6 touch attack at will I cut out, I instead changed it to 4 times a day

[SmilingFox]

The 1d6 touch attack at will I cut out, I instead changed it to 4 times a day

I'd be fine with it at will if you shifted it over to the warlock damage progression for Eldritch Blast. It's just... It really seems like they're trying to shove way too much stuff into the Weeper class. It's like a warlock with double the invocations. I mean they get a 'save or die' at will against undead creatures, and eventually a 'save or die' gaze attack against anything. I'd just prefer if you played a non-homebrew class.

[Interdiction of words]

I'd be fine with it at will if you shifted it over to the warlock damage progression for Eldritch Blast. It's just... It really seems like they're trying to shove way too much stuff into the Weeper class. It's like a warlock with double the invocations. I mean they get a 'save or die' at will against undead creatures, and eventually a 'save or die' gaze attack against anything. I'd just prefer if you played a non-homebrew class.

Alright but I want to pitch one more thing your way, it is called the Zen Archer. I know it is homebrew but I have seen it before and I like it. Not to extremely powerful and all it changes is the monk's unarmed strike it more archery type fighting. If it doesn't work out I can just do a monk.

*Nevermind I am going monk but first minotaur*

[SmilingFox]

Sure. That looks reasonable. Reminds me in a way of the Soul Bow class.

[Interdiction of words]

Sure. That looks reasonable. Reminds me in a way of the Soul Bow class.

I changed my mind a bit and I am going a minotaur first followed by a monk through Savage species

[Interdiction of words]

Thalos

Thalos   CR 1
Male Minotaur, Minotaur 1
Diety: Ehlonna
CG Large Humanoid
Str+2 Con +2 Int -4 Cha -2; Senses Dark Vision 60 feet;
Languages Common, Giant
---------------------
AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 12
. . (+1 Dex, +2 natural armor -1 size)
hp 12 (1d8+4)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4
---------------------
Speed 30ft.
Melee weapon Unarmed strike (1d4) Gore (1d4)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +1; Grp +0
Combat Gear Robes, loin cloth
---------------------
Abilities Str 16+2 Dex 12 Con 16+2 Int 10-4 Wis 14 Cha 8-2
Feats Improved Unarmed Strike, Gore
Possessions combat gear plus Backpack (28 @ 20 lbs), Flask, Flint and steel, Holly and mistletoe,  Hot weather gear, Mirror, small steel, Money, Potion of Cure Light Wounds, Pouch, belt (8 @ 7.05 lbs), Rations, trail (per day), Soap (per), Sunrod, Traveller's Outfit (Free), Waterskin, Whetstone, rope 10 feet, chain twenty feet wrapped around his body. Robes, loin cloth, water jugs.
--------------------
Description:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Think Dante's inferno with the chains

Background:
Raised in a home where good wasn't always present, Thalos tried to get along with the others of his kind but they slowly turned on him. Finding him a minotaur that wasn't worth the time or effort they threw him out of the cave they lived in. He raised himself in the wilds but instead he learned of other races but just watching them. This continued till one faithful day when a traveler had fallen down. Thalos helped the traveler back to his older feet; the traveler was blind so that he didn't know that Thalos was a minotaur. The traveler pleaded that he would teach him all he knew to the kind soul that had saved him. Thalos was raised day by day into the minotaur he is now; looking to becoming a monk soon but he still has a long way to go.

[SmilingFox]

Thalos

Thalos   CR 1
Male Minotaur, Minotaur 1
Diety: Ehlonna
CG Large Humanoid
Str+2 Con +2 Int -4 Cha -2; Senses Dark Vision 60 feet;
Languages Common, Giant
---------------------
AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 12
. . (+1 Dex, +2 natural armor -1 size)
hp 12 (1d8+4)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4
---------------------
Speed 30ft.
Melee weapon Unarmed strike (1d4) Gore (1d4)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +1; Grp +0
Combat Gear Robes, loin cloth
---------------------
Abilities Str 10 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 14 Cha 16
SQ Weeper, Racial Skill Bonus, Subtype - Catfolk, Type - Humanoid
Feats Improved Unarmed Strike, Gore
Possessions combat gear plus Backpack (28 @ 20 lbs), Flask, Flint and steel, Holly and mistletoe,  Hot weather gear, Mirror, small steel, Money, Potion of Cure Light Wounds, Pouch, belt (8 @ 7.05 lbs), Rations, trail (per day), Soap (per), Sunrod, Traveller's Outfit (Free), Waterskin, Whetstone, rope 10 feet, chain twenty feet wrapped around his body. Robes, loin cloth, water jugs.
--------------------
Description:

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Think Dante's inferno with the chains

Background:
Raised in a home where good wasn't always present, Thalos tried to get along with the others of his kind but they slowly turned on him. Finding him a minotaur that wasn't worth the time or effort they threw him out of the cave they lived in. He raised himself in the wilds but instead he learned of other races but just watching them. This continued till one faithful day when a traveler had fallen down. Thalos helped the traveler back to his older feet; the traveler was blind so that he didn't know that Thalos was a minotaur. The traveler pleaded that he would teach him all he knew to the kind soul that had saved him. Thalos was raised day by day into the minotaur he is now; looking to becoming a monk soon but he still has a long way to go.

There's a serious problem with your stats. We're doing a point buy, so you need to use a point buy calculator. Start with a stat base of 8 in each and apply your racial mod last. The way your stats are set up now, you've spent 52 points, rather than 32.

Also, what's up with "SQ Weeper, Racial Skill Bonus, Subtype - Catfolk, Type - Humanoid"

[Interdiction of words]

sorry I converted the sheet I had over but I forgot to change some things

[Interdiction of words]

There's a serious problem with your stats. We're doing a point buy, so you need to use a point buy calculator. Start with a stat base of 8 in each and apply your racial mod last. The way your stats are set up now, you've spent 52 points, rather than 32.

Also, what's up with "SQ Weeper, Racial Skill Bonus, Subtype - Catfolk, Type - Humanoid"

I think it is fixed

[eBadger]

Smilingfox, I don't think I got a reply: any room left for an airship officer wizard?

[Green Goo Theory]

Since we have a monk I think I'll stay away from the Unarmed swordsage I've been considering.  And someone's cnosidering a wizard. 

I really want to avoid stronger characters even though an Artificer would be awesome thematically for a game like this.  Thinking maybe a psion or the Dragonborn of Bahamut Dragonfire Adept. 

[Rajah]

Since we have a monk I think I'll stay away from the Unarmed swordsage I've been considering.

"Monk", not monk. It would be sinful to play an asherati and not make use of my next-to-free proficiency with the incredibly cool eagle's claw, and while I am working with something with a maneuver progression, it tops out at 11 / 5 readied compared to the swordsage's 26 / bajillion readied and has access to neither Desert Wind nor Shadow Hand. Which is a shame because both Desert Wind (dem boosts) and Shadow Hand (dat Shadow Blade) go great with TWFing, which I really want to do, but I'm thinking I'll just, you know, deal.

Aimon is a devout martial artist, not a punching guy. But I don't know. I hate his background now that I've woken up and looked it over. I will play SOMETHING fight-y in any case.

Not to discourage you from those other ideas, which also sound awesome, just noting I'm not really in that "space."

[SmilingFox]

I have a Favored Soul, a Sha'ir and a Minotaur who've put in character sheets. I'll call it at 6, so the next three with completed characters get a buy in. Wizard is fine, Tome of Battle is fine as well.

[eBadger]

Adding the final touches to my character sheet here.  Let me know if you can access it!

I'll have the fluff posted shortly. 

[SmilingFox]

Looks good. Two slots open now.

[Interdiction of words]

Well a Minotaur right now but I can make him into something else if I so desire but it will be either monk or something of the unharmed line.

[Rajah]

Aimon Raheru, the Scarblossom

Race: Asherati
Class: "Meditant"

Refluff and stuff

A nature-worshipping flurry whose fighting styles all have names and aesthetics embodying the primordial ferocity of the mythic Green Sea, a once-and-future promised land where mortal and monster live as one. Sword-summoning is a big theme of the class, so that gets refluffed as phantom beasts and the fangs of a long-maligned goddess. Something like Magic: the Gathering's Nayan godspeakers.

Would like to substitute Sleeping Goddess for Iron Heart, gaining Autohypnosis as a class skill. Would normally lose Balance, but Stone Dragon is also Balance.

Ability Scores: Strength 10, Dexterity 16, Constitution 12, Intelligence 16, Wisdom 14, Charisma 8
Languages: Asherati, Common, Ignan, Elven, Draconic
Feat: Weapon Finesse
Skill Points: Autohypnosis 4, Balance 4 Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Jump 4, Martial Lore 4, Tumble 4
Gear: A pair of masterwork eagle's claws made of ivory and obsidian (Sandstorm 96), a mithral shirt, a bracelet of Asherati koans written on papyrus and preserved in amber (masterwork Concentration tool), training manuals depicting the core concepts of half a dozen martial styles (masterwork Martial Lore tool), rations for a week

Maneuvers: Wolf Fang Strike (Strike), Ego-Wounding Strike (Strike), Blood in the Water (Stance)
Familiar: Mongoose (Rat)

Other Notes

I do want to redo the backstory in the next day or so, but that's the sheet completed. For the sake of expedience I don't have all the assorted derivative traits (Fortitude +3, Reflex +3, Will +4, HP 9, AC 17, et cetera) listed, because they're not choices I've made, they're just math. I'll put together a Google doc tomorrow with them in it.

M of B (pretentious name, I know) has all its design notes and stuff in-thread because jiriku does great documentation, and you can see some discussion and the relatively short revision history. The class is self-limiting with things like no bonus spells for high attributes and a very tightly controlled spell list, but like anything with any access to arcane magic whatsoever, there are stupid things you can do to break it. I will not do these things. I further offer my solemn vow I will not attempt to do anything shitty to your game, because I want to play in it.

If you're wondering what the class does in one sentences, it attacks, self-buffs, and summons swords that also attack. You can make something similar out of abjurant champion, except that doesn't really come into its own until like level 8 and then it's more like a full spellcaster that also kills things with swords on the side. M of B does a bunch less damage and is slightly less, I guess, "mage"-y than a duskblade but has much, much better utility. It does comparable damage to other ToB classes despite its slower maneuver progression. I personally might not, because I want to TWF, and ToB normally handles TWF through a trifecta of Desert Wind, Shadow Hand, and Tiger Claw.

[eBadger]

Lt. Charlotte Sterns

Stats are done: here. 

Lt. Charlotte Sterns of the Aeronaut’s and Navigator’s Guild

   

The Aeronaut’s and Navigator’s Guild represents a confederacy of merchants, crew, and mercenaries promoting trade in the airways.  By no means a monopoly, they are however one of the few civilian organizations which carefully monitor capability and professionalism; licensure as a Guild vessel is a powerful tool in negotiations and the organization is a powerful interest. 

Charlotte Sterns was born into this nationless fraternity, following at the heels of her father – an experienced and respected captain – ever since her mother died at young age.  It was a natural progression to apprenticeship.  Charlotte performed well by dint of courage, intelligence and moxy, earning her rank as a Lieutenant and midshipman on her father’s ship despite pirates, storms, and beasts. 

Nevertheless, professional life in the service and shadow of her father quickly began to chaff, despite their mutual fondness.   The expedition to the kingdom of Dust seemed like a perfect opportunity to prove her skills independently and, hopefully, obtain some riches that would purchase her own ship, or at least shares in the cargo she’s helping haul. 

Charlotte is generally open, ethical and honest.  She does possess a dry sense of sarcasm that isn’t always appropriate, but is usually formal and slightly aloof.  She prefers her Guild Marines uniform, with its embroidered frock coat, tall boots and shako, which lend her a military looks.  Her twin pistols rarely leave her side, and although she’s not remarkable for her combat prowess she does keep a level head. 

Her particular pleasures include romance novels, brandy, polished brass, quirky magical effects and lovely women, as well as a mercenary’s appreciation for coin. 

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

I have a Favored Soul, a Sha'ir and a Minotaur who've put in character sheets. I'll call it at 6, so the next three with completed characters get a buy in. Wizard is fine, Tome of Battle is fine as well.

You should also have a Tibbit factotum. Did you not see my sheet in my post the other day? It's the link in giant look-at-me-point-font under the image and above the background, where I usually see people put such things... Sorry if that wasn't obvious. :)

[SmilingFox]

You should also have a Tibbit factotum.

Right, sorry. That makes six then, welcome aboard. I'll throw up an OOC and IC thread later on today and we can get started. Thank you all for your interest.

[Interdiction of words]

Yeah here we go but one quick question, with my minotaur is it ok if I throw in some flavor with those chains?

[SmilingFox]

Alright, OOC thread is up here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=211338.0
Throw your sheets up there and have-at-it.

IC thread is right here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=211339.0
You may begin when ready.

[Green Goo Theory]

Are you still allowing more players or is that the cut off?

I also can't seem to get around how thematically fitting an Artificer is but I'm apprehensive about building one since they're generally so powerful.  I understand they can be held back though.  Would they be fine?  Especially going into something like the renegade mastermaker PrC and losing caster levels and such?