[Era of Fading Oak] Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition - Tier 3 - Epic Adventure

[Armphid]

Or someone could just take a Portable Hole for their rare item and we would be set. Or the DM could be super nice and give us one early.

That would be good too!  And it could serve as time out for anyone who's being a jerk.

[Blinkin]

could a sunsword be relabeled as a "sunrapier" or something similar? The mechinal effects would be exactly the same, just a matter of flavor.

To paraphrase a great Jedi Knight...

"- Not as clumsy or random as a longsword; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age"

[Sepulchritude]

Mmm... The major problem I see with this is that Arcane Trickster's do not gain access to every Enchantment spell, thusly how would you determine which Necromancy spells were part of the spell list and which are not?

A quick aside as I am looking over your sheet... You will need an actual alignment from the grid - as I mentioned, this represents your cosmic ripples so to speak, and potentially plays some role in the game. You just needn't block in your character's decision making based on that.

Second edit... After reading the sheet fully, I am torn. First, I love the character, and what you've set up. That's a lot of fun. However I'm not sure how it leaves her in a position to be recruited by Elauthin. He's recruiting "heroes" who have proven themselves as capable and done deeds that would make their names travel. What reason does Murmur have for accepting a summons? What are you envisioning as the reason she'd be getting a summons? They way I read it, she seems eager to continue her business where she's at - and this adventure will definitely not lend itself to allowing her to do that.

I'll respond in order then!

1. The ones on the wizard list, same as enchantments would have been. I'm not proposing access to any different spells, only that 3/4s of them have to come from illusion and necromancy, instead of illusion and enchantment. Less tricky, more terrifying.
2. It's hard to judge, for a reason that will come up just below, but the metrics I use would put her in NE. I'll edit that in.
3. The answer to most of this is: she's not Evil, just evil. Murmur is what happens to someone with lawful good goals, who has spent her entire life to date in a deeply corrupt, violent, and dangerous environment. As far as her experience has shown, "law" is only a shield against criticism, and "good" is a fairy tale for children. She likes "order", because when things are orderly, no one gets hurt except those who need to. And she believes in carefully-targeted brutality as the way to secure order with an actual minimum of violence. She has probably improved life for most of the paupers in the slums she runs: she thinks of them as a grand clockwork, and she doesn't want any of the parts to break. Sell all the drugs you want, but if it starts causing addicts to drop out of life, overdose, or start killing each other for a hit, you get shut down using whatever force is necessary. Everyone has to pay into her protection racket, but she actually goes to war to defend her vassals. She prefers assassination to slaughter, and recruits new troops like it's the Roman empire. And she maintains close ties to other people from her cohort at the Rising Arrow, so people who can't handle how rough it gets in her domain have spy rings, religious orders, and apprenticeships available.

As she sees it, the position she occupies in society is necessary, because you can never get rid of the powerlust that makes people turn cruel. The goodie-two-shoes types try to drive it out of society, and they just turn into heartless zealots or make vindictive enemies, anyway. She was stolen and planted in the shadow of the most brutal person alive, as far as she can tell, and she learned how effective that is at directing everyone else's cruel impulses. So she chooses to be brutal enough to rule the ugliest parts of the local underworld, so she could steer it for damage-control. She made herself a monster, so that she could set an upper bound in how monstrous people became.

So this quest is really just a world-scale extension of her idiom. Someone worse than her, maybe even worse than Gokkar was, is threatening to take over everything. Taking down worse monsters is what she does. That's definitely worth leaving Doan to a few lieutenants; she learned human drive and impatience, but she knows she might live so long she has to curate the future. Now, if that's not the kind of personality Elauthin would recruit, then there's really no resolving the matter. She would torture secrets out of a janitor to gain the access she needed to delay an army. She'd do it to protect an evacuation of civilians from their path, sure, but she's not gonna be making any devotion paladins comfortable, no matter what the end goal is. Her only potentially redeeming feature is that she is mostly driven by a sense of personal responsibility, so she tends to put herself in danger before risking anyone who doesn't know what they're getting into.

[Blinkin]

She reminds me of a quasi- Sandnman Slim. If you've ever read the series by Richard Cadrey.

Sandman Slim was a human who was sent to Hell (literally) where he is forced to do battle in an arena against monsters to entertain the masses. After 10 years in Hell, he becomes the personal assassin of a fallen angel... I forget which one, who is sent against rivals to kill them through a magical key that goes through a place called "The Room of Thirteen doors." bBut the key allows hhim to return to Earth to enact revenge against the people who killed his girlfriend and sent him to Hell to begin with. Heturns into something of aanti-hero who's main drives are to protect his friends 9(Ends up saving LA several times), piss off authority and deal with a variety of supernatural bad-guyes. He's a fasenating, irreverent character who is termed "The Monster Who Kills Monsters." One of his favorite responses to bad times is, "It could be worse, we could be in Fresno."

Anyway, Sandman was also reluctant to leave his domain, butreally was a locational character in a place that had a lot of troubles to begin with.

[Sepulchritude]

Well, I'm really not trying for some kind of vengeance schtick.  I wrapped that up in the backstory deliberately. 

[Blinkin]

I was just commenting that the character reminded me of a character in a novel, not that it was the character in a novel. I probably shouldn't of went on to explain the series' primary character motivations.

Sandman would absolutely not fit into this game. lol

[Mosos]

Still tinkering with my character, can't quite get what I want.

[Blinkin]

Still tinkering with my character, can't quite get what I want.

That's been part of every character that I've ever created, and that's a lot! I've never gotten a character perfectly in line with I want; most of the time, the system was just too limited.

[pdragon]

Would echo knight and swashbuckler be acceptable archetypes to use? Sorry it's a bit harder to keep track of what's official or not with 5th edition for some reason.

[Aethyrium]

Would echo knight and swashbuckler be acceptable archetypes to use? Sorry it's a bit harder to keep track of what's official or not with 5th edition for some reason.

Yes on both. :)

[JessLowell12]

Name: Thia Galanodel
Class: Monk 10 (Way of Shadow)
Alignment: Chaotic Nuetral
Race | Size: Wood Elf | Medium
Background: Folk Hero
Height | Weight: 6'4" 180 lbs
Age: 175 Years Old


Who were you before you started adventuring?

Thia Galanodel is the daughter of elder Shava Galanodel, a shadow monk of some renown. Thia's parentage destined her to a life of learning the Ways of Shadow, and as such, Thia was a student before she was an adventurer.

When Thia wasn't studying the ways of monastic life, she was helping around the village, running errands, hunting out in the forest, and even delivering letters for those who were unable to do so.


What adventure started you on your path, and led to everything that came next (levels 1-4)?

Thia was asked, after a long period of deliberation to seek aid from a nearby town against the raging beasts and trolls recently taken up attacking the small village of Jericho. This would be the first time she departed on an adventure, and would expand her desire to see the world. After her return to the village, she spent many nights studying maps, although most now outdated, and plotting places she wanted to go to learn more about the world. Eventually setting off on her own, Thia would take odd jobs up in the nearby town to earn coin, as people in Jericho didn't really need money, no one had a lot of it on hand.

Once she had saved up enough, Thia finally took off to travel the world, see sights, and expand her mind. The young monk would eventually be called back home however to a gruesome sight, and an epic battle.


What adventure are you known for, made you famous, and allowed you to retire (levels 5-10)?

Thia was in the middle of making her way north, to a great city rumored to hold ancient relics and great knowledge of the world when she got word that her village was under attack by a group of savage beasts the like of which no one at home had ever seen. Racing back home, Thia arrived just in time to see these beasts tear her family home apart.

Using her knowledge and cunning, she helped her fellow monks beat back this group of trolls one by one. Saving what was left of the village. Thia then resolved to stay home and help rebuild, and fix damages. It was what her parents would have wished her to do.




What is the name of the country/region/place you are from? A small distinct village called Jericho is where Thia grew up.
Where is this place located (North, East, etc)? This village is located in the Eastern region.
How big is this place (approximate population)? Jericho has no more then 1000 people.
What troubles does this place currently face? Jericho has run into some issues with local beasts attacking their livestock.
Briefly describe this place. The village's homes and buildings have been built in the trees of the surrounding forest, with a clearing used for livestock and farmland.
Who rules this place? A council of elder elfs control the day to day happenings of Jericho.
What is this places reputation and relationship with other places?The village of Jericho isn't exactly famous, its a tiny little village of wood elves located in the middle of a forest. But it is known for the small monastery run by shadow monks. Its not a big monastery, but its enough to train multiple warriors for the village

Skills

Acrobatics: +8
Animal Handling: +6
Arcana: +0
Athletics: +1
Deception: -1
History: +0
Insight: +2
Intimidation: -1
Investigation: +0
Medicine: +2
Nature: +0
Perception: +2
Performance: -1
Persuasion: -1
Religion: +0
Sleight of Hand: +4
Stealth: +8
Survival: +6

Proficiencies

Weapons: Simple Weapons, Shortswords, Longsword, Shortbow, and Longbow
Tools: Alchemist's Tools
Saving Throws: Strength (+5), Dexterity (+6)
Skills: Stealth, Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Survival
Languages: Common, Elven

Spells

Attribute:
Spell DC:
Spell Attack:

Cantrip:
1st (#/day):

Features

Background - Rustic Hospitality: Since you come from the ranks of the common folk, you fit in among them with ease. You can find a place to hide, rest, or recuperate among other commoners, unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them. They will shield you from the law or anyone else searching for you, though they will not risk their lives for you.

Race-Darkvision (60 ft)

Race-Fey Ancestry You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.

Race-Ability Score Increase Dexterity score increases by 2, Wisdom by 1 (Wood Elf).

Race-Trance Elves don't need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is "trance.") While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

Race-Elf Weapon TrainingYou have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.

Race-Fleet of Foot Base Speed Increases to 35ft.

Race-Mask of the WildYou can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

Class-Unarmored Defense Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.

Class-Martial Arts At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you master of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don't have the two-handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren't wearing armor or wielding a shield:
• You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
• You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
• When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven't already taken a bonus action this turn.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama).


Class-Ki
Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Ki Points column of the Monk table.
You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.
When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.
Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
Patient Defense
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
Step of the Wind
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.

Class-Unarmored Movement Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
Class-Monastic Tradition Way of Shadow

Class-Deflect Missiles Starting at 3rd level, you can use your reaction to deflect or catch the missile when you are hit by a ranged weapon attack. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d10 + your Dexterity modifier + your monk level.

If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile if it is small enough for you to hold in one hand and you have at least one hand free. If you catch a missile in this way, you can spend 1 ki point to make a ranged attack with a range of 20/60 using the weapon or piece of ammunition you just caught, as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack.


Class-Slow Fall Beginning at 4th level, you can use your reaction when you fall to reduce any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level.

Class-Extra Attack Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Class-Stunning Strike Starting at 5th level, you can interfere with the flow of ki in an opponent's body. When you hit another creature with a melee weapon attack, you can spend 1 ki point to attempt a stunning strike. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn.


Class-Ki-Empowered Strikes Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Class-Evasion At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon's lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.


Class-Stillness of Mind Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.

Class-Purity of Body At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.

Class-Shadow Arts
Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you can use your ki to duplicate the effects of certain spells. As an action, you can spend 2 ki points to cast Darkness, Darkvision, Pass without Trace, or Silence, without providing material components. Additionally, you gain the Minor Illusion cantrip if you don't already know it.


Class-Shadow Step At 6th level, you gain the ability to step from one shadow into another. When you are in dim light or darkness, as a bonus action you can teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see that is also in dim light or darkness. You then have advantage on the first melee attack you make before the end of the turn.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13	17	12	10	15	8
(+1)	(+4)	(+1)	(+0)	(+2)	(-1)

Armor Class	Initiative	Speed
16	+8	35ft

	Hit Points	Hit Dice
	59	10d8

Equipment

Worn
Ring of Feather Falling
Boots of Elvenkind
Cloak of Elvenkind
Longbow
Shortsword
Quarterstaff


Backpack
Bag of Holding

Money
C.P. 0
S.P. 8
G.P. 4,939
P.P. 0

Total Weight: 0.00lbs / #lbs

[pdragon]

Name: Lucifel Dornscar
Class: Fighter/Rogue
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Race | Size: Tiefling (Glaysa bloodline)/ Medium
Background: Entertainer
Height | Weight: 5'3 115lbs
Age: 20

background

Who were you before you started adventuring?

Like most of her kind, Lucifel was born to the tiefling ghettos of Gall Rikkin, her home city. Her parents where hard working and earnest, but unfortunately far too proud and prone to misfortune. After years of saving up money to open a shop in the market district of the city, one of the very first tiefling owned businesses outside of their segregated neighborhoods, her parents were victim to constant harassment from bigots and neglect from the city guard. One night a group of drunk young ruffians decided to break into their shop late at night, intending to rob and vandalize it, and when her parents attempted to force them out they were killed in the ensuing struggle.

Left orphaned with no other family, Lucifel was forced to fend for herself. As most street urchin did, she quickly picked up thieving and scamming as easy ways to make money, though her true profession came as an entertainer. Possessing a natural physical charisma and showmanship, and musical talent she had been practicing since before her parents passed, Lucifel became a street performer. Whether it was playing music in her home neighborhood that stirred others to tears, or playing a fool in the human districts, giving them a good laugh at the dumb little tiefling runt, she was able to draw in small crowds and make a decent enough living off of it, of course supplemented by picking a few pockets amongst the audience members.


What adventure started you on your path, and led to everything that came next (levels 1-4)?

Lucifel's adventuring career started when she was only 14 years old, barely more than a child, when a party of four warriors happened to stop in the city as part of a larger voyage. They had gathered at one of her street performances and, not understanding the local disposition to her kind, showed her a kindness and respect she had not often received from humans. This moment touched her heart...but did not, however, stop her from trying to slit their coin purses as they turned to leave. She was of course caught red (or purple in this case) handed, though instead of striking her down or turning her in to the guard, the gallant knights let her off with a stern talking to. They praised her skills and talents, but advised that they would be better used trying to help others. Further stirred by their words, she found herself fascinated with the kind foreigners, and ended up tailing them all throughout the city for the rest of their stay. And when they finally boarded their ship to continue their journey the young tiefling stowed away on board to join them. When they discovered her Lucifel was incessant in begging them to let her join their group, to take her away from her homeland and show her how to use her skills to help others, as they had said. Unable to turn back to the docks and unwilling to toss the girl overboard, the adventurers reluctantly accepted the young tiefling into their group.

Over the next few years she traveled all over the world with the group of warriors. Along the way they taught her all about adventuring and questing, trained her how to fight, and provided guidance as she grew into both adulthood and her strange new powers. Over time they would slowly allow her to join in on their more dangerous quests, giving Lucifel the opportunity to gain experience and prove herself a worthy party member. And in time they had not only raised her into a skilled fighter and experienced adventurer, but a respectable young woman as well...well, mostly...she never quite lost that mischievous streak of her's.

What adventure are you known for, made you famous, and allowed you to retire (levels 5-10)?

Lucifel's greatest adventure had taken her to a place she never expected to return to, the place where it had all started...home. One day the party had returned to one of the larger cities they frequently based themselves out of, only to find it flooded with refugees from Gall Rikkin. Lucifel's eyes widened in horror when she heard their reasoning: the Hell March had begun. It was an ancient curse placed on her homeland, one her parents had told stories of. Once every century, an incursion of demons, helmed by a fearsome fiend leader, descended upon the city, raping and pillaging and causes all manner of chaos. It was because of this regular invasion that there were so many tiefling's like her in the city, and why they were so deeply hated. While always horrific, the Hell March was usually actually quite low in casualties, as it was not an actual full invasion, but rather a sort of twisted festival for fiends, a bit of sport meant to merely play around with the mortals rather than exterminate them outright.

However this time was different, for the commanding fiend, a fearsome devil by the name of Rugaal Dorn, had shown to be particularly bloodthirsty. His forces outright slaughtered the citizens by the thousands, razed entire districts to the ground, and actually began enslaving men and women with the intent of taking them back to the infernal plane with them, something that was almost never done before, and certainly not in these numbers. One might think that Lucifel would be unphased by this, uncaring for the city that had scorned her, hated her, taken everything from her...however the news shook her deeply, a swell of sadness and sympathy welling in her chest. The morals and desire for justice that her guardians had instilled in her for all those years stoked a flame of indignation in her heart, and she was the first one to jump at the call for help.

At her behest the party set sail for Gall Rikkin to join the gathering resistance. The warriors fought gallantly through the Fiend's legion, desperately fighting for every inch as they pushed their way down the mountains and into the city. A powerful wizard had devised a plan to defeat the demon, an enchantment that would not only slay him, but seal away his soul so that it could not return to his realm. Eventually the wizard and her party alone found themselves standing before Rugaal Dorn, and it was there that for the first time Lucifel truly felt small and weak. Even with all her experience and training she lagged far behind the warriors that had raised her, and proved more a liability in the battle as they fought to protect her while trying to fight back the demon. And as all seemed lost, her party wounded and on their last breaths, Lucifel stepped up to Rugaal Dorn...and swore herself to him.

After all she was a daughter of fiends, the tieflings closer to them than they were to humans, and the people of Gall Rikkin had only ever caused her pain, so why should she give her life to protect the people who despised her? To turn on their human neighbors was actually not that uncommon for the city's tieflings during a Hell March, as the fiends rarely attacked them as they did the others, and they offered an escape from their oppression, so it only made sense that Lucifel do the same. The devil smiled, taking no greater joy than in the corruption and turning of the virtuous to evil, and happily accepted his infernal descendant to his side. And just as quickly he felt a blade piercing that side. When the Fiend dropped his guard Lucifel immediately launched a flurry of blows at him, her wounding blade penetrating his flesh and leaving wounds his magic could not repair. With her desperate attack she dropped the fiend to his knees, dying, and in a flash of the wizard's magic his soul was sealed away, his forces banished, and the portal closed.

And so the young tiefling street rat stood victorious, her charismatic acting finally paying off as she cut the demon down with her shrewd deception. Lucifel was heralded as the hero who had saved the city, given the name "Dornscar" in acknowledgement of her great deeds, and showered in enough gold to retire at a frankly vexingly young age, something she was quick to lord over every old person's head she met. Too young to loose her itch for travel and exploration, Lucifel became somewhat of a traveling bard, jumping from town to town playing the same songs and performing the same routines she had done as a young girl, not out of desperation and survival, but now just for the love of performing. She was also fond of telling (increasingly embellished) stories of her adventures, of the four noble knights who raised a young orphan into a glorious champion, and how she had single handedly slain an arch fiend who threatened to destroy the entire world with an army of over a million demons. And during these travels she would always take time to stop by the various home towns her warrior mentors had all retired to, spending precious time with the kind hearted men who had allowed her to become so much more than she was, who had essentially become her fathers.

homeland

What is the name of the country/region/place you are from?
Gall Rikkin

Where is this place located?
To the South, nestled among a wide coastal mountain region that acts as a natural border to surrounding kingdoms and city states.

How big is this place?
A rather large and densely populated city of about 125,000. Another 50,000 dot the surrounding plains and mountain lands that the city claims sovereignty over.

What troubles does this place currently face?
The city is still in the recovery period that always comes after a Hell March. Though the heroes managed to stem the invasion early, there is still a considerable death toll, damaged infrastructure, and social and economic instability that needs to be addressed. While the city is still strong, the regrouping of military forces has left the surrounding areas more vulnerable to crime and banditry. Also because Rugaal Dorn was slain, and the city saved, by a tiefling, there has been a massive push to end the segregation and persecution of the city's tiefling population. The city is widely divided on the issue and threatens further civil unrest and conflict.

Briefly describe this place.
Gall Rikkin is a large and prosperous city state on the southern coast. Sometimes called the Golden City or the Giants' Remnant, after the enlarged scale of some of it's architecture, the city is one of the wealthiest in the area. It's soil is forever fertile, it's crops never wilting, it's animals fat and healthy, it's waters crystal clear and always bursting with fish, it's trade winds always favorable, and it's mines never depleted no matter how deep they dig. This prosperity comes with a price however. Back when the city was first founded, the original founders made a deal with a powerful devil. In exchange for it's lands being blessed with wealth and bounty, the town would willingly play host to something called the Hell March.

Once every century, though never on the same date, a portal to the infernal plane would open, and a powerful fiend champion (crowned by some unknown contest specifically for this honor) and his forces would emerge and be given free reign over the city, during which time they had full roam to rape, pillage, and plunder to their hearts content. This would usually last a full lunar cycle, sometimes shorter and sometimes longer, and once the demons returned the portal would close and the town would be left to recover from the fiendish sacking. Usually when this occurs one or two groups will rise up to try to resist the invasion, though these are rather quickly snuffed out, and most citizens are content to simply lock themselves in their homes and pray they are passed over, or worse give themselves over to the demons willingly so that they might be spared the worst of their machinations. Though the experience of living through a Hell March is quite horrific, many consider it worth it to enjoy the wealth and prosperity the city has to offer, and most civilians live their lives simply gambling on the hope that the Hell March won't actually happen within their lifetime.

Because of the "mixed breeding" caused by the Hell March, the city has a much higher than average population of tieflings. These tieflings are seen as a mark of shame for the city: a grim, lingering reminder of the pain and humiliation they suffer at the fiends' hands, of the pride and dignity they've surrendered in exchange for good trade and healthy crops. As such the city is highly segregated between the tieflings and pretty much everyone else, with humans, elves, and all other races (even ones usually met with more scorn like goblins and orcs) coexisting in the richer parts of the city, and the tieflings often contained to their own designated districts and neighborhoods. Ghettos really.


Who rules this place?
The day to day operations are managed by a council of esteemed noblemen. The high ruler of the city is Lady Krelog, First of the Defiled, an ancient giant/elf half-breed who has ruled over the city for centuries. In exchange for her unchallenged power and authority, Lady Krelog bears the unenviable duty of being the first one to offer herself up the demons when a Hell March begins, thus the title, spending the extent of the crusade as a slave to their twisted whims and desires. Doing so is a gesture of the city's consent to the Hell March, and the sign for the fiend champion to enter the city on "peaceful" terms.

What is this places reputation and relationship with other places?
Many foreigners see Gall Rikkin as a fascinating marvel. A powerful city of great wealth and opportunity, but also a cursed place where fear and dread constantly hangs over the heads of it's citizenry. There are many mixed perceptions of the place. Some only see it's marvelous architecture and thriving economy and see a paradise, a cultural trade center that any would be envious just to see, let alone live in. Others see it a source of dangerous temptation, conflicted between the city's many allures and equally great dangers. Still others see the city as a blight, a blasphemous den of sinners who willingly offer themselves to fiends just for luxury and temporary pleasures. The city thusly has a rather strange relationship with the various religions of the world. Some try to establish churches there under the belief that they can save the city from it's fiendish harassers, while other avoid it like the plague.

Regardless of one's opinion of it, few will turn down the quality goods the city offers in trade. The city's population also tends to fluctuate at particular times within a given age. Within the last decade or so of a century where the Hell March has not yet taken place, citizens will begin to emigrate from the city in large  numbers, knowing that the event will inevitably happen soon. However in the months and years immediately following a Hell March foreigners will flock to Gall Rikkin in droves, as this is the safest time to do so, hoping to fill in the gaps left by perished citizens and take advantage of the reconstruction to get easy work, allowing them to get a foothold in the city.

Skills

Acrobatics: +8
Animal Handling: +1
Arcana: +0
Athletics: -1
Deception: +10
History: +0
Insight: +1
Intimidation: +2
Investigation: +0
Medicine: +1
Nature: +0
Perception: +5
Performance: +6
Persuasion: +6
Religion: +0
Sleight of Hand: +4
Stealth: +12
Survival: +1

Proficiencies

Weapons: simple, martial
Tools:thieve's tools, disguise kit, fiddle
Saving Throws: DEX, INT
Skills: Acrobatics, Deception, Stealth, Perception, Performance, Persuasion
Languages: Common, Infernal, Thieve's Cant

Spells

Attribute: CHA
Spell DC: 14
Spell Attack: 6

Cantrip:
1st (#/day):

Features

Racial - Darkvision: 60 ft darkvision

Racial - Hellish Resistance: resist fire

Racial - Legacy of Malbolge:
- minor illusion cantrip
- disguise self 1/day
- invisibility 1/day
long rest to replenish, CHA spell casting ability

Background - Popular Demand: You can always find a place to perform. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food of a modest or comfortable standard as long as you perform each night. In addition, your performance makes you something of a local figure. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have performed, they typically take a liking to you.


Rogue - Sneak Attack: 2d6 dam

Rogue - Expertise: stealth & deception, double proficiency bonus

Rogue - Cunning Action: Bonus Action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Rogue - Archetype: Swashbuckler:

Swashbuckler - Fancy Footwork: if you make a melee attack against a creature, that creature can't make opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn.

Swashbuckler - Rakish Audacity:
-bonus to your initiative rolls equal to your Charisma modifier.

-don't need advantage on the attack roll to use Sneak Attack against a creature if you are within 5 feet of it, no other creatures are within 5 feet of you, and you don't have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Fighter - Fighting Style: Two Weapon Fighting: When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second Attack.

Fighter - Second Wind: bonus Action to regain Hit Points equal to 1d10 + your Fighter level.
  short or Long Rest to replenish

Fighter - Action Surge: take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action.
  short or Long Rest to replenish

Fighter - Extra Attack: attack twice whenever you take the attack action

Fighter - Ability increase: +2 DEX

Fighter - Ability increase: trade for Dual Wielder feat

Feat - Dual Wielder:
- +1 bonus AC while wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.
- use two-weapon fighting even when the one handed melee weapons aren’t light.
- draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.

Fighter - Martial Archetype: Echo Knight

Echo Knight - Manifest Echo: bonus action to magically manifest an echo of yourself in an unoccupied space you can see within 15 feet of you. This echo is a magical, translucent, gray image of you that lasts until it is destroyed, until you dismiss it as a bonus action, until you manifest another echo, or until you're incapacitated.

Your echo has AC 14 + your proficiency bonus, 1 hit point, and immunity to all conditions. If it has to make a saving throw, it uses your saving throw bonus for the roll. It is the same size as you, and it occupies its space. On your turn, you can mentally command the echo to move up to 30 feet in any direction (no action required). If your echo is ever more than 30 feet from you at the end of your turn, it is destroyed.

You can use the echo in the following ways:

• As a bonus action, you can teleport, magically swapping places with your echo at a cost of 15 feet of your movement, regardless of the distance between the two of you.

• When you take the Attack action on your turn, any attack you make with that action can originate from your space or the echo's space. You make this choice for each attack.

• When a creature that you can see within 5 feet of your echo moves at least 5 feet away from it, you can use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that creature as if you were in the echo's space.

Echo Knight - Unleash Incarnation: Whenever you take the Attack action, you can make one additional melee attack from the echo's position.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier. you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Echo Knight - Echo Avatar:you can temporarily transfer your consciousness to your echo. As an action, you can see through your echo's eyes and hear through its ears. During this time, you are deafened and blinded. You can sustain this effect for up to 10 minutes, and you can end it at any time (requires no action). While your echo is being used in this way, it can be up to 1,000 feet away from you without being destroyed.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8	18	14	10	13	14
(-1)	(+4)	(+2)	(+0)	(+1)	(+2)

Armor Class	Initiative	Speed
17	+6	30ft

	Hit Points	Hit Dice
	80	7d10 / 3d8

Equipment

Worn
-

Rapier of Wounding(rare)

ATK: +8 - DAM: 1d8+4 - Finesse - 2lb

Hit Points lost to this weapon’s damage can be regained only through a short or Long Rest, rather than by regeneration, magic, or any other means.

Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an Attack using this Magic Weapon, you can wound the target. At the start of each of the wounded creature’s turns, it takes 1d4 necrotic damage for each time you’ve wounded it, and it can then make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, ending the effect of all such wounds on itself on a success. Alternatively, the wounded creature, or a creature within 5 feet of it, can use an action to make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check, ending the effect of such wounds on it on a success.

- Silver Rapier (ATK +8, DAM 1d8+4, Finese, 125 g, 2 lb)

- Studded Leather Armor (AC 12+DEX, 45g, 13lb)

cast off

You can doff this armor as an action.

-

Ring of Mind Shielding (uncommon)

While wearing this ring, you are immune to magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts, determine whether you are lying, know your alignment, or know your creature type. Creatures can telepathically communicate with you only if you allow it.

You can use an action to cause the ring to become invisible until you use another action to make it visible, until you remove the ring, or until you die.

If you die while wearing the ring, your soul enters it, unless it already houses a soul. You can remain in the ring or depart for the afterlife. As long as your soul is in the ring, you can telepathically communicate with any creature wearing it. A wearer can't prevent this telepathic communication.

-

Soul Coin (Rugaal Dorn) (uncommon)

Soul coins are about 5 inches across and about an inch thick, minted from infernal iron. Each coin weighs one-third of a pound, and is inscribed with Infernal writing and a spell that magically binds a single soul to the coin. Because each soul coin has a unique soul trapped within it, each has a story. A creature might have been imprisoned as a result of defaulting on a deal, while another might be the victim of a night hag's curse.

Carrying Soul Coins. To hold a soul coin is to feel the soul bound within it—overcome with rage or fraught with despair.
An evil creature can carry as many soul coins as it wishes (up to its maximum weight allowance). A non-evil creature can carry a number of soul coins equal to or less than its Constitution modifier without penalty. A non-evil creature carrying a number of soul coins greater than its Constitution modifier has disadvantage on its attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

Using a Soul Coin. A soul coin has 3 charges. A creature carrying the coin can use its action to expend 1 charge from a soul coin and use it to do one of the following:
-Drain Life. You siphon away some of the soul's essence and gain 1d10 temporary hit points.

-Query. You telepathically ask the soul a question and receive a brief telepathic response, which you can understand. The soul knows only what it knew in life, but it must answer you truthfully and to the best of its ability. The answer is no more than a sentence or two and might be cryptic.

Freeing a Soul. Casting a spell that removes a curse on a soul coin frees the soul trapped within it, as does expending all of the coin's charges. The coin itself rusts from within and is destroyed once the soul is released. A freed soul travels to the realm of the god it served or the outer plane most closely tied to its alignment (DM's choice). The souls of lawful evil creatures released from soul coins typically emerge from the River Styx as lemure devils.
A soul can also be freed by destroying the coin that contains it. A soul coin has AC 19, 1 hit point for each charge it has remaining, and immunity to all damage except that which is dealt by a hellfire weapon or an infernal war machine's furnace (see "Soul Fuel").

Freeing a soul from a soul coin is considered a good act, even if the soul belongs to an evil creature.

Hellish Currency. Soul coins are a currency of the Nine Hells and are highly valued by devils. The coins are used among the infernal hierarchy to barter for favors, bribe the unwilling, and reward the faithful for services rendered.

Backpack

- Love Letter of an Admirer
- Alchemist's Fire x5 (1d4 fire, 250g, 5lbs)
- Acid Vial x10 (2d6 acid, 250g, 10lbs)
- Oil x5 (5sp, 5lbs)
- Silk Rope 100ft. (20g, 10lbs)
- Crowbar (2g, 5lbs)
- Bedroll (1g, 2lb)
- Thieve's Tools
- Water Skin (2sp, 5lb)

-

shiftweave (common)

When a suit of shiftweave is created, up to five different outfits can be embedded into the cloth. While wearing the clothing, you can speak its command word as a bonus action to transform your outfit into your choice of one of the other designs contained within it. Regardless of its appearance, the outfit can't be anything but clothing. Although it can duplicate the look of other magical clothing, it doesn't gain their magical properties.

-

pipe of remembrance (common)

This long, delicate wooden pipe features a bowl made from smooth river stone. When the pipe is lit, smoke exhaled from it does not dissipate, instead lingering around the bearer. After 10 minutes, the smoke forms moving shapes that reenact the bearer's most impressive and heroic achievements for 5 minutes. When this realistic performance is complete, the smoke dissipates. The pipe can't be used this way again until the next dawn.

-

mystery key (common)

A question mark is worked into the head of this key. The key has a 5 percent chance of unlocking any lock into which it's inserted. Once it unlocks something, the key disappears.

-

Instrument of Illusions (fiddle) (common)

While you are playing this musical instrument, you can create harmless, illusory visual effects within a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on the instrument. If you are a bard, the radius increases to 15 feet. Sample visual effects include luminous musical notes, a spectral dancer, butterflies, and gently falling snow. The magical effects have neither substance nor sound, and they are obviously illusory. The effects end when you stop playing.

-

Charlatan's Die (common)

Whenever you roll this six—sided die, you can control which number it rolls.

-

broom of flying (uncommon)

This wooden broom, which weighs 3 pounds, functions like a mundane broom until you stand astride it and speak its command word. It then hovers beneath you and can be ridden in the air. It has a flying speed of 50 feet. It can carry up to 400 pounds, but its flying speed becomes 30 feet while carrying over 200 pounds. The broom stops hovering when you land.

You can send the broom to travel alone to a destination within 1 mile of you if you speak the command word, name the location, and are familiar with that place. The broom comes back to you when you speak another command word, provided that the broom is still within 1 mile of you.

-

Horn of Silent Alarm (common)

This horn has 4 charges. When you use an action to blow it, one creature of your choice can hear the horns blare, provided the creature is within 600 feet of the horn and not deafened. No other creature hears sound coming from the horn. The horn regains 1d4 expended charges daily at dawn.

-

Unbreakable Arrow

This arrow can't be broken, except when it is within an antimagic field.

Money
C.P. 0
S.P. 3
G.P. 2,707
P.P. 0

Total Weight: 60.30lbs / 120lbs

[Blinkin]

Welp, that's 3 rogues a-stealing,
2 swashbucklers a-twirling and
A partriage in a pair three.

*chuckles*

[Zaer Darkwail]

Indeed, lots of rogues  . Would make interesting party dynamic if all 3 rogues, who know thieves cant, join the group and communicate both normally and by rogue's secret language. Albeit swashbuckler gives similarities on basic rogue abilities (at least regarding how sneak attack works), but even if both Erin and Lucifel have Rogue/Fighter setup, our fighter sides differ greatly; Echo knight having some clone while battlemaster knows fancy tricks (and Erin's case has horn of valhalla, albeit not normally cursed but for story purposes, it is and has explained why he hadn't settled down despite years on road and explain his reputation as sort wandering general/hero).

Also, backgrounds have an interesting dynamic as even if Erin has lived off as vagrant he is actually a noble who started adventuring as means rebel vs his father and family duties. Myranda Mills and Erin are quite similar (lucky scoundrels, both noble backgrounds and rebel vs family), however, Myranda is more advanced as swashbuckler and has more female charming scoundrel style to boot (but less about fighter abilities, not even archetype yet).

But it would create very interesting line up in regards frontline; highly mobile skirmishes who causes lots of hit and runs onto enemies or able sneak around and do scoundrel/rogue shehanigans as a group.

[Blinkin]

If I had known that rogue and swashbuckler would be so popular, I might of gone for something... although it looks like most of the bases are covered. Oh well, good luck to all of us scoundrals. lol

[Sepulchritude]

Four rogues, then?

[Aethyrium]

Bwhahaha. So many rogues! It's a popular class. Interesting to see and read them all. Final decisions are coming, I promise. Just want to make sure everyone has a chance to submit for review. Been cooking up some of the gameplay stuff in the meanwhile.

[pdragon]

To be honest I didn't really look over the other sheets before making my character. I figured since there were so many applicants anyways I may as well just throw out whatever and let it sort itself out.

The idea of a bunch of rogues trying to run an elaborate con on an eldritch god is pretty amusing though.

[Blinkin]

Bwhahaha. So many rogues! It's a popular class. Interesting to see and read them all. Final decisions are coming, I promise. Just want to make sure everyone has a chance to submit for review. Been cooking up some of the gameplay stuff in the meanwhile.

Myranda sighed in relief, uncrossing her lovely legs before quickly recrossing them again, her signature wide brimmed hat returned to her crossed knees, "At long last!" Her slender fingers pressed through her long ebony locks as her lips curled upward into a bright smile, "Darling, I've been sitting here for days in anticipation and my bladder is about to explode! It feels like one of those international chariot races where everyone's just there to see the crashes. It's so exciting that no one wants to miss a thing." Her bright  smile faded slowly and she retrieved ascented hankie from her sleeve; a dagger clattered to the floor from the same sleeve. "On top of that, my butt has been numb since Sunday and... well, lets be honest, Darling, some of us are developing quite the... ah, aroma of a hard working dwarf!"

She waved the fine linen back and forth before her nose, "Couldn't we of gotten a room with some ventilation at least?"

[Aethyrium]

It occurs to me that I did not specify a time that I would be making the final calls today. I apologize for that. It's happening now, because this is when I have time to do it. So if you were trying to slip a sheet in last minute, I apologize.

This is always the hardest part of a game like this, selecting from such an array of fun ideas. Unfortunately, it is a game with limited spots and such decisions must be made. They were made on more criteria that I plan on listing here, but some of it is listed in the first post of this thread: story content, world content, party composition, etc. There was a total of 11 submissions reviewed for 4-6 proposed slots. Ultimately, I decided to settle on seven characters - this is my preferred group size anyway, and when accounting for player drop out, I feel it to be a safe bet. I'll list the character coming on this adventure before; if you were not selected, please know it was not for any one specific or particular reason, it really just boils down to I couldn't take everybody - so thank you for your time, interest, and effort, and hopefully I'll see you around elsewhere!

Velixia, by Elysian Incandescence
Angelique, by SilkenVenom
Erin, by Zaer Darkwail
Kalthiar, by Xunthrae
Rhalga, by Armphid
Murmur, by Sepulchritude
Thia, by JessLowell12

If your name was called, please join me here, where further instructions will follow.

[Mosos]

Dang, oh well at least I'll have a better grip on html for next time. Forgot to say this: Have a beautiful time and kick some booty!

[Blinkin]

Oh well, win some, lose some. I wish everyone who got in an amazing story to tell. For the rest of us, drinks are on me.