The Scarlet Moon: A gothic horror Pathfinder adventure

[TheHangedOne]

Hehe, Eileen was one of my favorite characters in that game. "A hunter must hunt" actually sounds like something Grosvenor's father would say.

[Argent Adonis]

Woo!  Glad to see this has picked up steam.

I've added background skills to Jael's mythweaver sheet (Perform [dance] 2, Profession [barrister & scribe] 4 each, Sleight of Hand 6).

[EndofDivine]

Actually, this is the chance to play that evil necromancer or vampire you've been wanting to all along, as long as you can exercise enough self-restraint to cooperate with the rest of the party and obey the Silver Truce.

*squirms* Why are you doing this to me?

That makes sense. Here are my two cents, feel free to do with them as you wish: On the one hand, he has that "kill or be killed" mentality with the dead, which would naturally affect her (she could very well fear for her family and friends, even though he's not strictly a vampire hunter). On the other hand, he is very strict and thorough in his abiding of the Truce (in keeping with his Lawful Neutral alignment), so on the professional level, there might be a little room for some amount of respect, even if it's grudging?

They might have been running into each other much more frequently; since the Scarlet Moon began. I'd imagine the chaos had all the Enforcers working 'double shifts' and generally a bit frazzled, and uncertain of what to do (like most of the population, I'd imagine), at least until some semblance of order was restored. Which makes me wonder: what's her take on the bells?

Not sure if respect is the term I would use. While she would respect his right to do what he does, Zora probably thinks Grosvenor is an idiot with a death wish. If he'd just stay inside and mind his own business, then Zora wouldn't have to one day deal with him or whatever undead creature he pissed off after tempers inevitably boil over thanks to his nightly escapades. Zora probably sighs and mutters "Not again..." every time an investigation leads her to Grosvenor's door.

As for the whole bell thing, Zora appreciates it. Growing up as a mortal among vampires, she's seen how little restraint the dead can have firsthand. There's very little doubt in her mind that if the threat of retaliation wasn't there, she probably would have been a vampire's snack early in her life. Having a system in place to deter undead from acting on their baser impulses makes a lot of sense to her and is probably the first step toward a more stable coexistence. As a half-vampire, I'm thinking she probably has a lot of the same urges herself, especially when she drinks her mutagen. I figure with the whole wisdom penalty thing she would become a little more prone to getting carried away and indulging herself in a taste or two. She might not actually gain sustenance from drinking blood but it doesn't stop her from enjoying it.

[TheHangedOne]

*squirms* Why are you doing this to me?

Not sure if respect is the term I would use. While she would respect his right to do what he does, Zora probably thinks Grosvenor is an idiot with a death wish. If he'd just stay inside and mind his own business, then Zora wouldn't have to one day deal with him or whatever undead creature he pissed off after tempers inevitably boil over thanks to his nightly escapades. Zora probably sighs and mutters "Not again..." every time an investigation leads her to Grosvenor's door.

As for the whole bell thing, Zora appreciates it. Growing up as a mortal among vampires, she's seen how little restraint the dead can have firsthand. There's very little doubt in her mind that if the threat of retaliation wasn't there, she probably would have been a vampire's snack early in her life. Having a system in place to deter undead from acting on their baser impulses makes a lot of sense to her and is probably the first step toward a more stable coexistence. As a half-vampire, I'm thinking she probably has a lot of the same urges herself, especially when she drinks her mutagen. I figure with the whole wisdom penalty thing she would become a little more prone to getting carried away and indulging herself in a taste or two. She might not actually gain sustenance from drinking blood but it doesn't stop her from enjoying it.

Heh. Exasperation, maybe even some bickering, could work. "You should stay indoors, like a good mortal..." "Nah, that's okay. I prefer to be out here, culling the herd.*Grin with demon-fangs.*"

Though if she has urge control issues, maybe he can help her with that. Though then again, maybe it's not really an issue; Urgathoa is god of excesses, so it all fits, right?

[Blinkin]

I'm starting to think that as the only non-monsterish character that Lydia may end up in the Danger Prone Daphine category...Although I'm not big on having to be rescued. *chuckles*

[Argent Adonis]

Actually make that two, if Jael makes the cut, as a NG half-elf Inquisitor of Sarenrae.

[MisoThe Mouse]

Sheet

Gavril Ata was born in the mountains of Ester’s Wall, on an island city North East of Feldran named “The Glistening Stone” in a Fae Dialect. The Stone is home to many different families and tribes of Fae blooded creatures, living in relative stability for thousands upon thousands of years. Stable, but not peaceful. Much like humans they have a warlike past, both rich with culture and stained with treachery. The tomes and elders tell of six great heros, of which the settlements where named, who banded their tribes together to fight dark forces that came from the sea. After defeating the evil threatening their likeness, the six heroes taught their ways and cultures to one another. The history was recorded, and corroborated throughout the different tribes and families. The result, a small cluster of soon to be progressive cities with respect for one anothers ways. That is not to say all was solved, but there was control.

Of the six major settlements, Ester’s Wall was home to one of the higher populations of Asimar and Gnome. So naturally, when Gavril’s gnome mother settled in Ester’s Wall, it was no surprise that she found an Asimar blooded Elf to settle down with. This was all he knew of his parents, because they where both put to death for the practice of the dark arts soon after his birth. They thought because Ester’s Wall was so nurturing to those with magical inclinations, she would be safe from persecution. Their only son was sent to be raised in the military, as was the law for those orphans born of criminal parents. No matter how much he pleaded, he was never told the extent of his parent’s crimes. “Your Mother and Father are the faith and the blade.” was the most common response given from Elder Fetal, lord of the Vulpe (Stealth Based Unit of Battle Mages).

Aside form pure arcane energy, the magic style of the Vulpe leaned heavily on the two elements of Blood and Fell Magics. Mobility and precision where paramount, and so coupled with sword play, the blessed rage was used to amplify their sacred arts of war. Cyclones of deathly fast wind wrapped around blades, arcs of frozen blood jabbed into the parts of the brain to easily incapacitate, even rudimentary form of flight, to travel soundlessly past enemy lines. Gavril learned and learned well. And it was to be put to use, honed, and mastered throughout the course of his life.

Politics on The Stone was a tricky business. When those in power consider hundreds of years the natural course of a war, yet have lived long enough to have seen the horrors of the last hardship. When your leaders have the patience to watch you starve, and yet have seen the last few generations of your tribe flourish into productive worldly beings. One had to be delicate to say the least. And over the course of some forty odd years, Gavril took a close backseat to the efforts of Elder Fetal and the others on the council try and keep the hostilities with Ulna’s Tooth from boiling into a full blown war.

This was where the Vulpe and their brand of war crept slowly into more and more use. Leaders needed to know that the things they set into place could be undone in a few short months of tragic accidents. Rowdy politicians needed to know that their families need not suffer the consequences of their reckless ways. Gavril was noticed for both his battle field prowess, and for his way with the men. He could speak in a way that earned him the adoration of the common people, and the attention of the Elders. His talents where considered indispensable in the “Scorch or Subdue” of Ulna’s tooth. The Elders felt it was time give Gavril the chance to build upon the Ata name, and that of Ester’s Wall.

A month after his name day, Gavril is now forty three. He is invited to a meeting amongst the elders, In the Temple of Onai. The shadow conflict was over for some time now, and Gavril had had time to make himself known amongst the common folk a little more. Many of the Vulpe lived solitary lives when they where not being used for matters of state, but Gavril had the urge feel accepted by the common folk. The good deeds, thieves caught, roofs repaired, children fed, they where all shadows of what he had seen in the faces of politicians and abbots of the church. As genuine as he was, he still weaved through the rivets of social hierarchy like a true tactician, and won hearts like he won battles. Upon arriving at the temple, he found his old mentor lying unconscious on a table.

They explained how Elder Fetal, like his parents, worshiped Urgathoa in secret. Apparently there was a cult, a secret sect of the society who wanted to plunge the world back into the old ways, to worship only the earth and their own will. The Ang Mak felt that the only way to advance was to wipe clean their cities and begin a new, until unity was achieved. The ways of Urgathoa seemed the most time efficient path to total war, and a clean slate. It was here that his life took a turn. He was forced to kill the only man that he could have called family. This act left  deep hole in his heart, a hole that in a cruel twist of fate, would lead him into the arms of Urgathoa's embrace.

As far as his sect knows, he in in Urgasburg to infiltrate the cult ruling it, and one day return home to rally a force to destroy it. Yet Nell, as he is called now, has found himself enjoying his new role. Attends the services and sacrifices, even enjoys them. The House of Excess accepted him, and he has become sort of a household name since his Arrival 9 years ago. His name rings bells, and stories of his grand parties reached many ears. There is even a rumor floating around, that he is attached to "The Plague", a sick killer who goes around murdering in the night in a doctor's mask.

He, like other followers of Urgathoa, is trying his damnedest to find a way to bring the goddess into the world. When the time comes, he is not sure what he will do...

As "The Plague"

His Face

[LtFox]

Well now, this is a thing.  A great thing, as the topic immediately got me thinking of Tsukihime and Touhou.

After reading the intro blurb, Touhou flashbacks only intensified, added with a healthy dose of Bloodborne.  The setting description alone got me hooked, especially since I've been reading Occult Adventures material recently, and this seems to fit in that sort of stuff like, well, a glove.

Onwards from that, I'd thought to try my hand in the Gish thing again after a while, and there was a build that is exactly what the doctor ordered and suits the campaign well.  That is, a Paladin-Sorcerer going into Eldritch Knight.  And the Sorcerer is specifically of the Psychic bloodline from Occult Adventures, making the character as a whole more of a divine investigator and occult incident resolver rather than a more mundane fist of god.  Easy enough to see why he shows up at the city after the Scarlet Moon began.  The whole thing just reeks of some occult mystery.

Now, without further ado, a character bio and background:

Description

Aidan Naheen is tall for a half-elf, with a darker skin coloring and pale hair, indicators of his strongly expressed drow heritage.  His eyes also are a lilac color fading into steely grey, and seem to often be slightly squinting during the day.  His body proportions are well-defined, and the mix of darker skin tones with a somewhat angular face makes a surprisingly striking combination, allowing him to easily command attention.

Long hours of wearing heavy armor and swinging a sword have honed his body well beyond most of his peers, giving his muscles more definion that is common among those with elven ancestry, yet he manages to make it all look asthetically pleasing instead of out of place.  Yet while many would call his face charming, even attractive, there is a haunted, skittish quality in his eyes that changes his demeanor subtly for those who can notice it.  That often fades while engaging him in conversation, as his voice has a soothing and pleasant quality, easily drawing people in.

Background

Aidan was originally raised in a small commune of half-elves, most of them having been disillusioned about their treatment among human or elven settlements.  Yet even there, Aidan was something of an exception.  With his unusually tall stature and his strongly visible drow heritage, he easily stood out among the other youths in the village.  His mother was always very tight lipped about who his father had been, and despite years of whispers from townsfolk and inquiries by Aidan himself, he never got any closer to finding out if his father had, in fact, been a full drow instead of just another halfblood.  He had occasionally wondered whether he had been the result of evil, of bad luck and force.  Yet her mother seemed to hold no shame about his conception, instead she seemed to remember the past fondly whenever Aidan could get her to talk about times before he was born.

After he entered puberty and his drow blood began to express itself more prominently, the town's general atmosphere seemed to gradually become more hostile.  To prove more to himself rather than others that some quirk of birth wouldn't dictate his life, he took a trip to a larger human settlement some ways away, and petitioned a temple for training.  In the temple he didn't find any answers, but he did find peace.  His body, so unusual in his home village, fit well into the more martial sect of the temple.  Even his personality was well suited for the pursuit of law and upholding the tenets of the faith, so he was quickly inducted into the ranks of holy warriors.

It was only a few years later when things started going wrong for Aidan.  He was on a solo job investigating a fishing village where some disturbing rumors had been heard from, on what should have been a simple cult dismantling mission.  The cult had been far worse than a few deranged cultists. It was only when Aidan collapsed in the town's inn from a poisoned meal the he began to suspect the scope of the problem being perhaps the entire village itself.  He was dragged into a cave where the cultists practiced their deranged rituals, the very fabric of the world distorted by things beyond mortal undestanding.  His strength returned in time to break free from his captors, but the restless shades of other unfortunate victims and twisted horrors from beyond snapped at his heels as he forced his way forward, to the ritual chambers itself.  There he smashed the occult altar just as something large was starting to manifest in the room.  The backlash closed the portal and set everything on fire.  He barely made it to the water hole in the cave leading outside to the sea before everything collapsed.

He eventually healed enough to make the journey back to the temple, but the experience had forever changed him.  He shifted his normal focus from the general duties of his order to study magic and mysteries in order to combat the more occult threats to people and the faith.  Some even called him obsessed, but he cared not.  He delved into all the occult texts he could find and pushed himself to develop the power needed to guard people from horrors beyond imagining.  He quickly made a name for himself as slightly crazy but effective as he went around smashing cults and exorcising hauntings.

Now information of a new occult threat has found its way to him, the Scarlet Moon phenomenon.  That seems like a major occult incident right there, so Aidan quickly started toward Urgasburg to get to the root of this thing before it endangers the whole world.  Of, and apparently the city has a major undead problem, too, but that's not really his priority.

***
I have a character sheet mostly worked out, now if I only got the damn thing working online... anyone got any good recommendations for online sheets these days?  I've lost faith in mythweaver and some others as well.

Edit:  Used Google docs for the sheet, for now.  It is by no means a super-optimized character, going for flavor over mechanics most of the time.
Aidan

Some ideas for a personal Trait:
Occult obsession
Aidan casts psychic spells with +1 caster level

Hatred of spirits
Aidan has +1 attack bonus against incorporeal enemies and other occult foes

[TheHangedOne]

LtFox: Never used them, but did a quick google search, and got this: http://charactersheet.co.uk/pathfinder/#/login

Mythweavers has always worked well for me.

[Cessali]

Updated my previous post in this thread with a prospective sheet.

Link for reference -- https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=266555.msg13172605#msg13172605

<flag waving yay>

[Autocad]

Player List

Blinkin - Lydia Lovelady, Swashbuckler
Argent Adonis - Jael Ansel, Inquisitor of Sarenrae
EndofDivine - Zora, Dhampir Silver Truce Enforcer
Jarick - Jasper, Wizard
TheHangedMan - Grosvenor, "The Dragon"
LtFox - Aidan, Paladin / Sorcerer

OOC thread is up: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=267317.0

Please post your character sheets there.

With regards to the second custom trait, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm going to make it optional so you can either pick a regular trait from Paizo or discuss a custom trait with me.

[MisoThe Mouse]

Sooo are you still taking characters for the game? Or is that just the list so far?

[Vonandi]

It did get busy! I'm going to have rescind my interest then, unfortunately. In the recent chaos I've been living though I've neglected to finish a char in another game that I showed interest in, and I need to get on that one before I think about posting elsewhere. Good luck with your game though.