Interest Check - D&D 5e, Battle of the Band!

[AndyZ]

Alisandra Starfire

Reborn - Celestial Warlock - Waterdhavian Noble

Alisandra Starfire began her life as a noble of small note, with no real magical ability or fighting prowess.

As the bards tell her story, she was sent out as part of the glory of the Starfire noble house to prove their solidarity and aid in the world, but she was betrayed by a rival house who has yet to be revealed.  When she died fighting against remnants of the darkness, it proved the nobility and worthless of House Starfire that even a third daughter would die in defense of her people.

Usually, such nobles stay dead.  As the bards tell her story, the gods weighed her heart and found her pure, that House Starfire is of such absolute virtue that having her spend the afterlife in paradise would be a waste.  Instead, she was sent back, granted angelic power, and finished off the hordes.  Ever since, she's roamed the world in defense of goodness, justice, and the innocent, doing everything she can to be worthy of the power she's been given.

How much of the bards' tales are true?  She honestly isn't sure.  Having only died the once, she hasn't been able to ask questions, and she only remembers fragments.  What matters to her far more about the tales are that she can help people, and that those who meet her aren't horrified by her quasi-undead appearance.

[pdragon]

Unfortunately, that does nothing to help me narrow them down since, quite frankly, most of them seem like they could be a lot of fun!  If there's one really calling out to you, develop it!

Do you have in mind what our exact starting level is going to be? I think that would help narrow down what to go with for me.

[Alleron]

Mal!  Lookit!  I got approved! 

I've got 2 concepts brewing in my head that aren't quite fully-formed yet.

Concept 1:

Alliandre decided when she was young that her destiny was to join a Band.  Some were in it for the riches, the fame, the men, the women...And those were remarkably tempting.  But she was in it fort he rush.  The danger.  The risk.  Early in her career, she made a few bad choices, and her only way oput was to make a deal with a strange Power.  She became a warlock.  The Warlock, to many.  She lived for the rush of danger, and more often than not, led her band into trouble, time after time.  Since they disbanded, she's fallen in with other Bands, and even done a solo tour or two of her own, unable to ever really settle down.

Concept 2:

Korwin was raised by his parents, retired adventurers who'd never made it big, but did well enough in their younger days to live comfortably off their old, poorly-reflected glory.  He loved to hear their stories, and when he was old enough, he even convinced them to train him to fight, hoping to follow in their footsteps.  As it turned out, he wasn't good.  He was...well, he handled a sword like his movements were a work of art.  He fought with blinding speed and a mad precision and flourish that few warriors could ever hope to easily replicate.  By the time his first band fell by the wayside, he'd developed his own reputation as the wild swordsman, Slash.

While he did retire when the band broke up, he didn't go quietly, instead traveling, learning new styles and techniques, and occasionally joining up with a promising band for a while to help them build credibility, even if his heart wasn't in it as much without his old friends.

Oh, and if anyone else reads this far, Malara's a friend of mine (she convinced me to join the site).  She's going to be away a few days, so I think we'll all be ignored for a bit.

[Isengrad]

All good.

I'm finding images for my concepts, always the hardest part.

[Zaer Darkwail]

A second concept if first one too 'edgy/moody'

Name: Sir Laylot
Race/Class: Human (variant)/Paladin (of Glory)
Sex/Gender: Male, both anatomically and psychologically.
Kinks: besides ons/offs more specific;
Yes: Orgies, Rough-Housing, Polyamorous, Slutty exotic races/monster girls. 
No: Male x me, Bestiality, Necrophilia, Mutilation/Torture, Scat/Vore.
Brief Description: Sir Laylot is a strikingly handsome man, some say celestial, godly alike. He moves and walks with inspiring stride and power which inspires courage in face of fear and replaces despair with hope and longing in women. He is dawn after a long dark night and dozens of other descriptions are depicted by various bards (both charmed and hired). He is, in simpler terms, a well-armored man carrying a magical powerful polearm with shining golden blond hair, shining blue eyes with a graceful soft-featured face. Standing over six feet tall with a muscular athletic build.

Brief Background: Sir Laylot hails from a long line of heroes, all his ancestors banded heroes who have in the distant past gifted nobility, and their descendants were born into nobility and thusly granted all training and means become a shining hero. He did make his usual traditional journey as a hero as demanded by his birthright to place his own claim to glory. Naturally, his family has lots of influence to smoothen things over, but he proved his mettle proudly and soundly in various athlete contests, martial arm contests and also in conflict with a variety of monsters to create his own legends besides riding on wings of his family legacy.

But after he did his initial claims he grew a bit bored, even lazy even (refusing to do lesser heroics), riding on his own glory and fanbase which adores him as he's handsome and the most wanted playboy. So the rifts return gives him chance to renew the fading spark of his glory anew to last well beyond retirement age or even to his death.

[Isengrad]

Name: Kormack Ulfson
Race/Class: Goliath Fighter(Rune knight)
Sex/Gender: Cisgendered Male
Kinks: Size Diference, feminine look, scratching, cumplay, Polyamory, Multiple partners.
Brief Description: Large and boisterous, He enjoys to go with the flow and is the kind of guy to laugh at a joke made at his own expense if it's a good one. He is always willing to grab a drink, a bite to eat or have a good dust up as long as others around him are laughing. While making friends with him seems easy, really earning his respect can be hard but rewarding. For those that have both there is very little this man won't do, and is usually the first to throw a punch when someone steps on the name of someone he cares about(Probably a little to fast.)

Brief Background: Making a name for himself outside his own tribe was certainly the impetus it took for this man to leave the home he knew with naught but the armor strapped to his back, a few days of food and water and the book of runes gifted to him by the Elder. Tapping into the might of Giants made it all the easier to really get out there and take a stab at life. Joining a Band was always the goal, he just did not know how fun and far that would take him.

It all came to an end eventually, they had enough to move on from the life, to move to something safer. As the band broke Kormack found himself wandering for a bit, enjoying the life until he felt it was a little empty. He ended up settling in the capital and used a majority of the wealth he had left over to open a Gym, one where he trained the front men of the next Up and coming bands. Still, with the rifts reforming...maybe it was time to step out of retirement.

Name: Vexeal Yorlin
Race/Class: Blue Dragonborn Wizard(Bladesinger)
Sex/Gender: Cisgendered Male
Kinks: Sense play, creative use of cantrips, polyamory, multiple partners
Brief Description: A wizard with a sense of style and presentation, the Dragonborn does life with a flourish. A graceful sweep of the hand, a saucy wiggle of his tail and a glance that could...do something. Really the guy thinks he's much more suave than he actually might be, but damn does he put on a show of it. When you get him started on a topic he is interested in he can go on, and one, and on and (you have to tell him when to stop, or if you need to head out). Still like most people he enjoys good food, good friends and watching his students hang on his every word.

Brief Background: Blade singing had long been the purview of Elves for most of history. As adventuring became the new thing to do, the new form of entertainment and the marker of high society the mages college decided to let the secrets of the blade song be shared for all. Vexeal was one such student, A dragonborn with a sense of the dramatic, with style to spare and a passion for the arcane unbound. His inclusion in the band was a forgone conclusion as he had taken the opportunity to really try and branch out, Bolstering his band mates on the front line while punishing their opponents.

Eventually though, the limelight faded and the band broke up. Vexeal returned to the college and soon became a professor for the same art he so eagerly learned long ago.

[Malara]

I'm back everyone!  To address a couple of things:

Zaer, AndyZ and Isengrad: all some fun and cool concept ideas.  I could see any of them working nicely in a party in general.

Alleron: you made a fighter who's like an artist...with metal...and called him Slash...I could either hug or strangle you for that one.

Starting level will be either 12, or 16.  Possibly determined with a coin flip!

[Zaer Darkwail]

Alleron: you made a fighter who's like an artist...with metal...and called him Slash...I could either hug or strangle you for that one.

He could be Bard from the college of swords . But fun concept also even if a plain fighter with a sense of flair.

[pdragon]

Name: Mirror
Race/Class: Alien (changeling) / Druid (circle of stars)
Sex/Gender: Female
Kinks: Transformation, Polyamory, Multiple partners.

Brief Description: In her true form Mirror is an eldritch creature, almost insectile in nature, of indiscernible origin. She stands 5'5, 140 lbs. Her flesh and skin are as firm and durable as a regular humanoid's, but they have an almost gel-like texture. Her skin is translucent with swirling rainbow hues visible just below the surface. She is covered all over by protrusions that appear similar to horns and spines, but are actually soft and slightly squishy to the touch, as is the thick tail that trails behind her. Her face is mostly featureless save for her large, iridescent eyes, though she can easily grow any orifices she needs at a moment's notice (mostly for eating as she can talk, hear, and smell without forming the equivalent parts). Her body is shapely and feminine, with all the functions of other humanoid females, suggesting her race does have separate sexes despite their natural shape changing abilities.

Having spent her early years sheltered, Mirror is a naturally curious and explorative person. She enjoys seeing new places and meeting new people. Despite her strange and perhaps unsettling appearance she is very friendly and quick to trust and befriend, sometimes to a fault. Unlike most shape shifters, Mirror makes no attempt to hide her nature, and will actually spend most of her time in her true form, regardless of how much it might disturb and frighten others. She does, however, have the odd quirk of mimicking people she meets and talks to, and when in a group she will sometimes even shift mid conversation to mirror whoever is currently speaking, or whoever's side she's taking in an argument.


Brief Background: Mirror's true race and origins are unknown. All that is known is that she was discovered as an egg when an adventuring band were exploring a different dimension on a quest to slay an outer demi-god. Intrigued by the discovery, the party's wizard, Gundren the Guilesome, took the egg back with him to their world, and from that egg Mirror would eventually hatch. While he had initially planned to experiment on the creature, when he realized she was self aware and sapient he instead chose to raise her as a daughter. Mirror spent all of her early life with her father, who kept her from the outside world out of fear of how people would react to her. However her yearning to see the world eventually wore the old man down, and he reluctantly agreed to let her leave the safety of his tower to follow her own path, though only on the condition that she joined a band who could look after her. She would go on to have many adventures with said band, growing in wealth and fame beyond imagine. Not only had the world accepted her, they treated her like a star.

After retiring Mirror continued to travel the world, her powers easily allowing her to control how much time she spent in the public eye. She also did her best to keep in touch with all of her old party members, but with them all parting ways it's been nearly impossible to get them all in the same place at once. The opening of the rifts proved to be the perfect excuse to finally get all of her old friends back together again.

Name: Darli Dark-Dagger
Race/Class: Shadar-Kai / Warlock-Rogue
Sex/Gender: Futanari
Kinks: Pansexual, Rough, Anal (giving), Size Difference, Bondage, Breeding, Cum Play, Public, Polyamory, Multiple partners.

Brief Description: Stands 7'2, 360lbs with a long, slender figure. She has ashen skin, bone white hair, and piercing red eyes that glow in darkness.

Darli was known for her dark "bad-girl" persona. Ruthless, fearless, and dripping with confidence, the rogue went to great lengths to cultivate and maintain an alluring mystique about herself, which eventually developed into a cult of personality. She was the wildcard, the anti-hero, an icon for the weird and rebellious. This generated no small amount of controversy, especially since it created a surge of occult activity and fiend worship amongst the youth at the time, however the band was so successful and popular that it made her almost untouchable to any groups that spoke out against her.

Brief Background: Darli was born to The Cult of the Shadow Blades, an order of assassins who slew in the name of their shadowy patron using blades forged from pure darkness. Not exactly the most heroic faction around, and in fact villains to countless adventuring bands. However there was one quirk that would sometimes see them fighting for "good": their patron craved death, but did not discriminate the source. Thus during some of history's direst conflicts, such as the original Rift invasion, the Shadow Blades would actually help fight against whatever cataclysmic threat would arise. As such there are a strange number of stories and historical events where The Cult of Shadow Blades are regarded as heroes, and there are stretches of time where public perception of the cult is actually fairly positive.

Darli came up during such times, the Shadow Blades enjoying a period of good faith with the public. So good were relations, in fact, that some Shadow Blades would even integrate with more heroic adventuring bands, Darli being one of them. While she never completely shed her more malicious tendencies, she got along well with her companions, and helped stop many evils far greater than herself, so everyone more or less called it even. After retiring Darli took some time to enjoy her well earned fame, which primarily involved fucking her way through her legions of fans, siring a small army of illegitimate children, the exact number of which she's never bothered to keep track of. To her credit she has offered to help raise some of her kids, so long as the mother agrees to have them join The Cult of the Shadow Blades, otherwise she just throws them some gold and tells them to take care of it themselves. All the while Darli has continued to take assassin contracts, needing to keep her patron appeased, and to that end she sees the return of the Rifts as just another job opportunity.

Name: Ur-Gatha (Urga)
Race/Class: Goliath / Barbarian (Wild Magic)
Sex/Gender: Female
Kinks: Pansexual, Rough, Size Difference, Polyamory, Multiple partners.

Brief Description: A truly towering woman, Urga is 7'11, 580lbs of thicc curves and hard muscle. As beautiful as she is deadly, she often strides into battle with naught but a few strips of cloth between her and her enemies. As a result her body bears no shortage of scars, which she considers remembrances of her most worthy foes.

Once upon a time Urga would have been considered a "gentle giant". Sure she was a terrifying force on the battlefield, a raging goddess of death and destruction, but outside of it she was kind and nurturing, essentially the team mom. However after her breakdown those softer parts of her are blurred behind a veil of unhinged anger and paranoia. Almost like a wild animal, she can appear calm one moment, then go into a fury at the slightest provocation.

Brief Background: Ur-Gatha was never really meant for the limelight. She was a simple woman who sought simple pleasures: good food, good companionship, and a good fight. For a time she had all three, adventuring with her band, slaying monsters, stopping bad guys, and feasting like kings after every victory. She looks back fondly on her time in the band without any regrets, save one, the fact they allowed their exploits to be broadcast across the land. While the others may have enjoyed the swell of fame and celebrity that came with it, Urga hated the ceaseless attention and badgering. It was especially hard for her as a goliath, since there was no way for her to ever blend in with a crowd to avoid paparazzi. Eventually the stress got so bad that she ended up having a very public breakdown, raging through the streets with a jar on her head raving about how she needed to "shut out the world" and "wage a war for silence against the leering hordes". This earned her the humiliating nickname of "Jar Knight Urga".

At the end of the day all Urga wants is peace of mind, and she's reluctantly rejoined the band in the hopes that stopping the Rifts will somehow help achieve it.

[Alleron]

I've got one more to toss out that seemed fun:

Name: Pantera
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Sex: Hermaphrodite

Background: The nearly parts of Panera's life were marked by disappointments.  Not Ork enough to be accepted by her father's tribe, she was abandoned to die.  Rescued by humans, she was too Ork to be accepted by "decent" society, and left to fend for herself on the streets.  What no one could have foreseen was that the half-starved, scrawny, abused scrap of a girl had a survival instinct stronger than adamantine.  She didn't merely survive.  She found ways to thrive, becoming an underground fighter, working in fighting pits against captured monsters for the amusement of the rich and easily-bored.  Of course, few ideas are worse than turning a half-feral girl into a living weapon, then trying to keep her enslaved.  She eventually escaped, and was pursued to the gates of a cemetery rumored to be cursed.

Cornered, for the first time in she could remember, she prayed to a higher power than her own arms for help...And was answered by the God of Death.  Empowered to serve as a weapon of vengeance against the unrighteous in the world, she did what anyone else would; she joined a band, looking to spread her God's divine justice.  She was a dangerous warrior, and her blade ended countless evil lives.  When the band disbanded, she found a temple to stay at, and at the urging of her God, would occasionally go back out into the world to wreak havok in the name of her diety, though she couldn't help yearning for her time with her Bandmates.

[AndyZ]

One thing I want to check: what are plans for starting gear?  Presumably we have a decent number of magic items by this point?

[Zaer Darkwail]

A third concept to possibly fill niche in the party for more scoundrel oriented char (all depending on what everyone picks);

Name: Xe'Nedra
Race/Class: Elf (dark elf/drow), Arcane Trickster-Fiendlock or Bladesinger
Sex/Gender: Pansexual, female
Kinks: besides ons/offs more specific;
Yes: Multiple Partners, Orgies, Rough-Housing, Polyamorous, Exotic races/monsters, Hardcore sex, BDSM. 
No: Necrophilia, Mutilation/Torture, Scat/Vore.
Brief Description: Xe'Nedra (Xi for friends) stands five foot and six inches tall, with platinum blond hair and dark skin with golden eyes. She is above average in the bust and figure how most elves go but closer to what's standard for dark elves. She wears revealing clothing, confident entirely on her body and beauty in display but despite curves, her body is deceptively agile and fast. Most of her defense comes from pair of magical bracers and she wields a pair of daggers in battle.

Brief Background: Xe'Nedra was in the beginning an ambitious trickster with a seductive flair that enthralled the audiences who watched her during her career. Casual flirts and innuendos left viewers steaming one way or another and she much pulled her own audience than the audience connected to the bands she joined. But she joined the long-term band and formed a long-standing legend. She was addicted to excitement and action but then as the band stopped, she did stop as well and settled more down as well (at least a phase).

However, her chosen partner (can be a fellow band member or just NPC, basically spouse) had died because of a spiteful last blow by her old nemesis and she needed money for true resurrection, considering there was a time limit when the spell is possible to make she turned to one thing which she knew would draw an audience's generosity; to become a sexually oriented performer. Cash started flowing in from her performances, but not enough in doing plain striptease or lewd acts with objects, she had to get more and more hardcore things done to entertain her audience. Including monster fucking. To endure the pains of the extreme experiences, she depended on powerful potent aphrodisiac drugs...and knowingly became addicted. Believing once she achieves her goal she can sever the addiction. She managed to gather money for true resurrection and her partner was returned back alive wholly intact.

She, however, underestimate her will and resolve to handle the rehab by getting rid of the influence of the drugs, she continued using them and she literally exhausted her partner completely and was left...unsated. It spiraled out of control, and she started to continue her work, despite the protest of her partner but she managed to persuade her partner that it was work, at least until she brought work back to the home they shared one night and it was the final straw and they broke up. Since then she had continued her career, albeit close to her can notice she is harder and more jaded than before.

When news of rifts appearing and the old band summoned back together was sent, she picked and dusted off her daggers. Pondering if can she find herself once more if she joins back to the fray of proper adventuring instead of being a celebrated ex-adventurer slut.

[Muse]

*Dances*

i'm excited! 

[Malara]

The good news is all the interest!  The bad news is I think I have more interest than room for a party I'm comfortable running.  I'll try to figure out what seems like a fun group, and start setting up threads by tomorrow evening.

[Zaer Darkwail]

*cheers*

Naming the PC's indicates which of the three (or other players multiple applications) you prefer :)

[Hatless]

Reworked the idea slightly to fit into a tiefling shell. Dumping everything here to make the submission all official-like.

Name: Nathiri Stromdreth
Race/Class: Tiefling Sorcerer
Sex/Gender: Female
Background:

The spotlight has been shining on Nathiri since before she was even born. Her parents were adventurers: a devout paladin blessed with radiant beauty and a devious rogue that had a way of endearing himself to those he met. There was always a sexual tension between them that fueled endless gossip, and it all finally came boiling over during a months-long expedition to clear demon-infested lands. By the time their grand quest had been completed, Nathiri's mother was starting to show the first signs of pregnancy, and the rumor mill ran wild with speculation.

Speculation turned to scandal when Nathiri was born. Two humans, not an ounce of demonic blood between them, had just produced a daughter with prominent horns, a spaded tail, and skin as red as cherries. Prying minds immediately leapt to infidelity. A symbol of purity and chastity laying with a demon behind her partner's back -- how shameful! Nathiri's mother vehemently denied the tales whenever she appeared in public, but she never could offer an explanation that completely satisfied the viewers. The only theory that she ever put forward is that the unborn Nathiri, still frail and malleable in the womb, had somehow been tainted by prolonged exposure to demons or perhaps cursed in some way.

With a child to raise, the couple retired from their band. Nathiri's supposed father stuck around for awhile, but some nagging jealousy or insecurity eventually drove him away before his daughter was old enough to form any lasting memories of him. As far as Nathiri knows, her father got right back into the band business, but she's never had any success tracking him down. Nathiri suspects that her father might have met an adventurer's abrupt end, but she still holds onto hope that something will one day lead her to him.

It was only natural that Nathiri would grow into an adventurer herself. Her mother tried to model Nathiri after the teachings and lessons of her order, but it was a doomed venture from the start; Nathiri was too headstrong and the relationship between mother and daughter was too strained. Besides, Nathiri felt the rigorous training to be unnecessary. Whatever had contributed to her ancestry -- whether it be the demonic blood of an infernal father, a suffusion of abyssal energy, or some curse turned boon -- had now bestowed upon her an instinctual mastery of fire magic.

The first few years were the hardest. At times, it felt like Nathiri was riding on the tattered remnants of her mother's coattails -- a curiosity for those that remembered the scandal to point and gawk at. Nathiri had a charismatic magnetism to her, though. She commanded the scrying orb's attention, spoke to it as though the audience were there and shared whispered asides with them when her companions' attentions were elsewhere. When the morning came and it was time to cast a new viewing spell, Nathiri would inevitably find herself filling in the audience on everything that occurred behind the curtains: who had gotten drunk and embarrassed themselves, which members of the band had found another's bed to sleep in, and the things that she heard through the thin walls of an inn or tent.

For the action junkies in the crowd Nathiri was as much their dream as she was a nightmare for the members of the band. Hours of planning? Fuck that, torch these losers. Cleverly outwitting and outmaneuvering her foes? Nah, if brute force isn't working it's just because she hasn't thrown enough fire yet. Explosions followed Nathiri wherever she went. Battlefields were left charred and ruined in her wake. No challenge was too large. Audiences loved it.

Gradually though, Nathiri started to lose her spark. Fame had made her aloof and fortune had made her averse to risk. Before, Nathiri had nothing to lose. Now, with all of life's vices piled in front of her and so easily accessed, gambling it all away on an endless string of life-or-death struggles felt foolish. Her retirement blindsided the community. Nathiri was still in her twenties; she was near the peak of her career! How could she do something like this?

These days, Nathiri is effortlessly coasting on her fame with no plans to touch adventuring again. She largely stays relevant by moving from town to town, selling performances to live audiences, usually retellings of famous moments she shared with the band that are accompanied by Nathiri's own magical pyrotechnics to really immerse the crowd. Nathiri has also recently gotten into a side hustle of selling all manner of branded potions, tinctures, oils, cosmetics, and lotions. Her top seller is currently a tonic that promises to "reignite your fire." Nathiri doesn't have a clue what's actually in the stuff, but the alchemist that produces it for her assures her that it probably works.

[Malara]

So...awkward etiquette question?  I may have been around for a while, but this is my first time running a group game here.  I have more interested players than I feel comfortable running a game for.  What's typical E protocol for letting people know who's in, and who isn't?

[AndyZ]

Just posting the list of who’s in works ^_^

[Malara]

Well ok then! :)

The group I'm going with (Player and character)are:

Hatless - Nathiri Stromdreth
Zaer Darkwail - Xe'Nedra
Alleron - Pantera
Muse - Gawain Andor
Isengrad - Vexeal Yorlin

Everyone else, in the event someone drops out, I will start hunting some of you down and going "Pleeeeeease?  Pretty please?"

Lastly, hey, look, a thread somewhere to start doing things with stuff!  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349363.0

[AribethAmkiir]

Thanks for the amazing idea, Mal.

G'luck. Hope you all have fun!

[AndyZ]

If you do end up needing a substitute, full permission given to PM me ^_^

[Captain America]

Happy to jump in should a PC fall out as well. Sounds fun!