Heroes of Myth [Pathfinder - Path of War] - Interest check

[TheGlyphstone]

Eldon, The Ghost Who Laughs
TN Male Halfling Stalker (Vigilante) 6



http://plothook.net/RPG/profiler/view.php?id=14051

Background

Many years ago, there was a cheerful young halfling by the name of Eldon Firetongue, known for the razor's edge of his wit and the cheerful, if good-natured, abandon he employed it with. Eldon was a good lad, full of cheer and heart, and it was inevitable that he would draw the eyes and hearts of the halfling lasses that he met. Only one drew his eyes in return, though, by the name of Eloise. They were a perfect couple - well-matched in mind and pleasing to each other in body; Eldon was an accomplished tailor with a solid career, and Eloise came from a good family happy to see her safe and provided for. When Eldon woke on his wedding day, he was giddy with anticipation, and decided to calm his nerves with a walk to the orchards outside of town, intent on a basket of apples to bring back as a gift to his new bride.

The shouts that whispered  across the fields as he plucked fruit might have been cries of joy, but the thick columns of smoke that billowed from the village were not the smoke of celebratory bonfires. When he realized there was trouble, Eldon rushed home at all speed, but was too late for anything but mourning. The marauder band had swept in on horses out of nowhere, killing and looting with reckless abandon, before galloping away with an inferno at their backs.  Eldon buried Eloise, still in the wedding dress he had not seen till that day, and the fire that had warmed his tongue turned to ice. Having never known his would-be wife, he could not simply let her go, but the realms of the dead were no place for ordinary men. Now grimly determined, Eldon sought out isolated monasteries and immersed himself in the teachings of the assassin-monks that lived there. He learned the ways of the bow and the blade, and the many means by which the darkness could be used to bring death to one's enemies. His was a grim quest, a self-imposed penance for failing on the day that mattered most to him. He would travel the world, hunting a route that would lead him to the realm of Melfia. It was said that The Inevitable One would not begrudge the souls of those who had died before their destined time, and his sweet Eloise was nothing if not a soul taken too early. He would find the realms of death, and seek his beloved's freedom - and if the goddess of death would not freely give up Eloise's spirit, then Eldon would steal it from her instead.

Yet he knew the gates of death would not be easy to find, nor lightly guarded, and first he would test himself against the greatest and most dangerous foes the world had to offer. Either they would reveal the secrets he sought, or killing them would hone his skill further. And wherever he went, he smiled, preserving his betrothed's memory in the laughter she treasured so much. His smile took him to the timeless glades of the Summer Sidhe, where his skill at archery won the favor of the Faerie Queens and an enchanted quiver to hold his arrows. His laughter led him to the feasting halls of the corsair lords of Mortelheim, besting a dozen pirates in single combat to the death in search of a clue regarding the identities of the raider band responsible for his loss. When the Tyrant King of the Smoking Mountain was found dead in his bedchambers in the middle of a hundred loyal soldiers, it was said the corpse held an arrow clutched in its fist. When the fortress of Silver Peak was besieged by ogres and giants, a mysterious stranger shot an arrow with a note attached from the highest tower to the army garrison half a mile away in the valley, summoning relief in the nick of time. He was everywhere, and he was nowhere, seemingly already with one foot on either side of the grave. A phantom, with a gleaming arrowhead in the night and a quiet chuckle that heralded one's doom. A ghost, laughing without humor in perpetual mourning for the fallen.

[eternaldarkness]

Oh, man. Have I got a Stalker for this...I'll stay melee so's not to toe-step. (Though that archery discipline is fantastic! I don't like Solar Wind's fire-focus, that's EXACTLY what ranged should be).

How do you feel about Riven Hourglass?

VERY interesting discipline! I rather like it, and if you're interested in joining that actually makes 6 potential players, which is one more than what I can handle without a co-GM, but I may still try it with 6 anyway in case someone drops.

[TheGlyphstone]

VERY interesting discipline! I rather like it, and if you're interested in joining that actually makes 6 potential players, which is one more than what I can handle without a co-GM, but I may still try it with 6 anyway in case someone drops.

There's always the possibility of a reserve list- characters you like but don't have room for, to be quickly tapped to replace someone who drops from the original group.

[eBadger]

Starting with more is usually better, as it's a lot easier to drop characters than add them; and a couple players will inevitably drop out. 

Spent the whole night pondering ideas (there was a feisty naga in there for awhile) before returning to pretty much my original concept: Aesa Wyrmborn, an arcanist intent upon finding and destroying the dragon who raped her mother. 

  Sheet (in progress)

[yaracyrrah]

A first draft:

Thiora

Far to the northwest, separated by a dangerous wilderness from the realms of men, lies the domain of the legendary Amazons, the daughters of the goddess Aete.  It is said that even the least of the Amazons is stronger and faster than any mortal man.  It is said that they hunt for sport both the fiercest beasts and the hobgoblin nomads of the steppes.  And it is said that even the Amazons themselves revere the prowess of the warrior Thiora.

All of these things are true.

Thus, in time it came to pass that Thiora grew bored with the slaying of beasts and hobgoblins, and asked permission of her goddess to leave her homeland and seek new challenges in the world of men.  Aete granted her wish, and blessed her champion with even greater power, that men should witness the greatness of the goddess and her people.  Thus the mightiest of the Amazons came to the lands of men.

Already Thiora's deeds are becoming legend.  When she was ambushed by brigands, she slew a dozen men without shedding a single drop of her own blood.  When she heard of a marauding river beast whose scales were tougher than steel, she went and slew it with a single blow of her bare hand, and made armor of its hide.  In another village whose oxen were all slain by a plague, she drew plows for three days and nights without rest to allow the fields to be sown at the proper time.

None of these feats, however, even began to test the mettle of the champion of the Amazons.  Thus she has come to the great city of Ampolion, drawn by the news that King Therus has summoned the greatest heroes of the land to attempt a seemingly impossible task.  Perhaps this will finally allow Thiora to prove that the daughters of Aete are even mightier than the legends say.

I've tentatively built Thiora as human, but if I may be so bold, I propose the following crunch for added awesomeness:

Custom Race: Amazon (7RP)

( http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/creating-new-races )
Type: Humanoid (0RP)
Size: Medium (0RP)
Base Speed: 30' (0RP)
Abilities: Flexible: +2 to any two ability scores (2RP)
Languages: Standard (0RP) (Common and Amazon [which might be a dialect of Celestial])
Traits:
*Advanced Strength: +2 S (4RP)
*Sprinter: +10 speed when running/charging (1RP)

[rotburn]

You can put me on the back burner for other people who actually have characters ready.

I've been working on this character and I either must be of low mental capabilities, or all this information is eating me away. Like subskills, those random changeable spells, checking stats back and forth, adding more points everywhere else, and what traits I can or can't have because of class or race.

By the Dark Gods I've lost myself somewhere in the thick of things.

[yaracyrrah]

If help would help, so to speak, you can PM me what you have and I can try to fix it up for you, or at least highlight the major choices you need to make.

[eBadger]

Still need to sort out some gear and details, and I've left the recent stuff vague to fit into however we start the game, but this is the gist of it all.  Tried to take the notion of magic as the scary unknown and run with it. 

   

Aesa Wyrmborn
Arcanist 6


It was clear from her birth that Aesa was no ordinary elf, with her flame-bright eyes and feverish skin.  As a toddler she began playing with flames, laughing as she held her hand within them as though it merely tickled.  As a child, she began to focus her will into magic. 

It was not unexpected.  Years before a massive dragon had descended from the sky upon the wooded mountain village, great beats of its ruby wings sending waves of ash through the streets.  It demanded sacrifice, and Aesa's mother Aella was chosen as the most beautiful maiden, chained in the forest and left for dead as the beast instructed.  But she was not devoured; for months she served the creature - both as beast and when it took the form of a man.  Finally, having stolen as many riches as it could find, it departed with barely a word.  Aella was abandoned pregnant on a remote peak; she took weeks returning to her village and never fully recovered, dying during Aesa's childhood. 

The clan accepted the child as they had accepted Aella's sacrifice: stoically and honorably.  Not compassionately.  The girl was too different, too full of rage, anger, and destructive magic.  For her part, Aesa wished little to do with the near strangers who had left her mother to her death.  She took their courtesy as her due, devoured the knowledge of their library and minor talents, apprenticed with craftsmen and prepared for the day she would seek revenge. 

With little more than her magic, clothes, and a sword she secretly crafted herself, Aesa set out to find her father Ciamar and devour his heart.  She quickly came to realize how kind the elves had been.  In time, she would even come to think fondly of the home she'd exiled herself from, where no one reviled her eyes or grew terrified of a simple cantrip.  Where no one turned to violence against the outsider.  Aesa soon learned to use the fear for protection: to intimidate or manipulate those who would otherwise turn against her, to keep them cowed for their own safety.  It was a surprisingly easy lesson. 

She has spent the intervening years pursuing her quest, chasing rumors of a massive, scarred red dragon across the land and beyond the sea, burning anyone - and anything - that dared to stand in her way. 

[TheGlyphstone]

Rebuilt Eldon slightly to pick up Hide In Plain Sight with a Shadowdancer dip. He's not technically as fantastic a sniper anymore (though he can still hit something out to 720ft. at no penalty, further than he can actually see a target with Perception), but he's much more stealthy.

[eternaldarkness]

A first draft:

Thiora

Far to the northwest, separated by a dangerous wilderness from the realms of men, lies the domain of the legendary Amazons, the daughters of the goddess Aete.  It is said that even the least of the Amazons is stronger and faster than any mortal man.  It is said that they hunt for sport both the fiercest beasts and the hobgoblin nomads of the steppes.  And it is said that even the Amazons themselves revere the prowess of the warrior Thiora.

All of these things are true.

Thus, in time it came to pass that Thiora grew bored with the slaying of beasts and hobgoblins, and asked permission of her goddess to leave her homeland and seek new challenges in the world of men.  Aete granted her wish, and blessed her champion with even greater power, that men should witness the greatness of the goddess and her people.  Thus the mightiest of the Amazons came to the lands of men.

Already Thiora's deeds are becoming legend.  When she was ambushed by brigands, she slew a dozen men without shedding a single drop of her own blood.  When she heard of a marauding river beast whose scales were tougher than steel, she went and slew it with a single blow of her bare hand, and made armor of its hide.  In another village whose oxen were all slain by a plague, she drew plows for three days and nights without rest to allow the fields to be sown at the proper time.

None of these feats, however, even began to test the mettle of the champion of the Amazons.  Thus she has come to the great city of Ampolion, drawn by the news that King Therus has summoned the greatest heroes of the land to attempt a seemingly impossible task.  Perhaps this will finally allow Thiora to prove that the daughters of Aete are even mightier than the legends say.

I've tentatively built Thiora as human, but if I may be so bold, I propose the following crunch for added awesomeness:

Custom Race: Amazon (7RP)

( http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/creating-new-races )
Type: Humanoid (0RP)
Size: Medium (0RP)
Base Speed: 30' (0RP)
Abilities: Flexible: +2 to any two ability scores (2RP)
Languages: Standard (0RP) (Common and Amazon [which might be a dialect of Celestial])
Traits:
*Advanced Strength: +2 S (4RP)
*Sprinter: +10 speed when running/charging (1RP)

Your amazon custom race is okay. They're basically just a variety of human, and they are very cool and will now be a standard race in this setting, and Aete will now be added to the pantheon as a demigod. All characters thus far look awesome too - i'm writing the info about the dark gods now.

[eternaldarkness]

Alrighty! Since interest is pretty well established, i'll make an OOC thread in ESG and link it here shortly, with all the campaign info compiled in the first post. Start thinking/talking about any connections your characters may have to eachother. And also, we may have a Co-GM!

[Rhynarion]

It seems like I am late to the party, but is there room for a melee stalker based on the Steel Serpent and Veiled Moon disciplines?

Failing that, a Psion Telepath or a Wilder Pirate Captain?

I hope it is not too late, because finding people willing to do PoW is obscenely difficult.

[TheGlyphstone]

We be Stalkin' all up in this place!

I think that is 3 Stalkers so far and a Warlord suggested so far. Surprised no one wants to be a Warder, just for the novelty of effective tanking.

[eternaldarkness]

It seems like I am late to the party, but is there room for a melee stalker based on the Steel Serpent and Veiled Moon disciplines?

Failing that, a Psion Telepath or a Wilder Pirate Captain?

I hope it is not too late, because finding people willing to do PoW is obscenely difficult.

Keep your eye on this, and feel free to follow the game when I put the OOC threadup. If I get my Co-GM, i'll start a second group that will be based out of the capital city. Knight-King Kaine is not the type to sit back while other people do all the hard work, after all.

[TheGlyphstone]

If variant races are okay, would you object to a quick alteration of the default Halfling race for this setting, giving them +10ft. speed boost instead of the Fearless save bonus? It's a net +0 change in RP, and somehow feels very fitting; in a world this crazy and mythic and full of monsters, being able to outrun danger seems like it'd be a lot better as a survival trait than not being scared of it.

[eternaldarkness]

If variant races are okay, would you object to a quick alteration of the default Halfling race for this setting, giving them +10ft. speed boost instead of the Fearless save bonus? It's a net +0 change in RP, and somehow feels very fitting; in a world this crazy and mythic and full of monsters, being able to outrun danger seems like it'd be a lot better as a survival trait than not being scared of it.

I should have said - feel free to modify races up to 13 RP if you so desire, and that goes for everyone. As for why you're better than other members of your race - you're heroes, and probably descended from a deity or two somewhere in your ancestry. Or maybe you're just that awesome.

[TheGlyphstone]

I should have said - feel free to modify races up to 13 RP if you so desire, and that goes for everyone. As for why you're better than other members of your race - you're heroes, and probably descended from a deity or two somewhere in your ancestry. Or maybe you're just that awesome.

...Well heck then. Time to go make myself an Uberhalfling. :D

As for how/why - his Extreme Training at the Acolyte of the Arrow monastery upped his badass level. It worked for Batman, after all, and Eldon is basically Batman crossed with Orpheus, if Batman used arrows instead of batarangs.

[eternaldarkness]

...Well heck then. Time to go make myself an Uberhalfling. :D

As for how/why - his Extreme Training at the Acolyte of the Arrow monastery upped his badass level. It worked for Batman, after all, and Eldon is basically Batman crossed with Orpheus, maybe a bit of Green Arrow thrown in.

I wish I had another hand so I could give this three thumbs up. And i'll tell you guys why i'm erring on the side of letting you all be insanely powerful: I plan on there being a great deal of action in this game, and it has been my experience that powerful PC's get through mechanics-heavy sections of a game much faster in PbP by virtue of having numerous ways to solve a problem decisively. Overwhelming amounts of damage, massive skill bonus, special abilities - these things speed up combat, exploration, and everything else immensely. A lot of your enemies and the challenges I set up will be designed so that there is one specific way to end the challenge instantly if you figure it out, and monsters will generally be hard-hitting but comparatively fragile. I'll use a lot of mobs of weaker enemies, because how does one show that you are a total badass except by chewing through lesser opponents like a jedi mowing down stormtroopers? Also, players with PC's who are tough enough to stand up to some serious harm are more likely to take daring and potentially dangerous actions just because they're cool as hell.

[TheGlyphstone]

Logical. Okay, so if I did the math right, here is The Goddamn BatmanHalfling:

Small Size (0 RP)
Normal Speed (0 RP)
Standard Language (0 RP) - Common, Halfling
Advanced Ability Scores (4 RP) +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +4 Int, -2 Cha
Lucky, Lesser (2 RP)
Swift as Shadows (3 RP)
Bonus Feat: Dodge (2 RP)
Bonus Feat: Mobility (2 RP)

Total: 13 RP, and who the hell do you think he is?

[eternaldarkness]

Logical. Okay, so if I did the math right, here is The Goddamn BatmanHalfling:

Small Size (0 RP)
Normal Speed (0 RP)
Standard Language (0 RP) - Common, Halfling
Advanced Ability Scores (4 RP) +2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, +4 Int, -2 Cha
Lucky, Lesser (2 RP)
Swift as Shadows (3 RP)
Bonus Feat: Dodge (2 RP)
Bonus Feat: Mobility (2 RP)

Total: 13 RP, and who the hell do you think he is?

The Goddamn batman, that's who.

[yaracyrrah]

You Batman. I Superwoman :D .  Or would DR 10/magic (6RP) be too awesome for the Chosen of Aete?  It wouldn't be worth much against fantastic beasts, of course, but hopefully it would help Thiora mow through those hordes of mooks with reckless abandon.  I could go with Fast Healing 1 instead, but that's not nearly as awesome, even though it might be a better strategic option overall.

[eternaldarkness]

You Batman. I Superwoman :D .  Or would DR 10/magic (6RP) be too awesome for the Chosen of Aete?  It wouldn't be worth much against fantastic beasts, of course, but hopefully it would help Thiora mow through those hordes of mooks with reckless abandon.  I could go with Fast Healing 1 instead, but that's not nearly as awesome, even though it might be a better strategic option overall.

nah, it's fine. Give me a story for why she has steely flesh.

[TheGlyphstone]

Blessing from her demigod patron?

Literal buns of steel?

[eBadger]

Literal buns of steel?

No butt play for you!  Ouch. 

Tweaked Aesa's racials around because hey, why not, and the options are endless and I could spend another night playing with them. 

Outsider 3
Immunity Fire 4
Resist 5 cold 1
Elven Weapon Fam 2
Skill Training 1
Elemental Affinity 1
Fast 1

Couldn't swing wings or being an actual dragon, and not sure I wanted scales.  But apparently daddy is all about fire.  Amusingly, if she ever does catch up with him, mutual fire immunity will likely make for a pretty feeble battle, so will have to give that a think.  Perhaps that's why she's hanging out with you lot?  ;)

[yaracyrrah]

<< Blessing from her demigod patron? >>

Exactly.  It's the special blessing Aete gave her when she allowed/sent her out into the wider world.

<< No butt play for you! >>

For me that's a feature not a bug :p .

<< mutual fire immunity will likely make for a pretty feeble battle >>

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats/elemental-spell-metamagic ?