In the forests of The Empire is a town called Hampstead. Surrounded by farms and woodland, it's been relatively peaceful. Then people started disappearing. What was behind these disappearances? What lies in the woods? Can Hampstead be saved?
What kind of game to expect: Some roleplaying and some combat. A little mystery and exploration. As a note, part of my motivation for this is to test out some things I plan on running with some friends of mine. So there may be some on-the-fly balancing of some combats. (Either reducing enemies or adding more.)
Boundaries: No sex stuff. No hard gore. Let's keep this PG.
Number of players sought: 4 Stat Generation Method: Point Buy
Restrictions
Race: No Variant Human Feats: No Class: No Critical Role classes. No Twilight Cleric. Multiclassing: Probably not, but we can see on a case-by-case if you've got an idea. Spells: No Silvery Barbs Homebrew: Original homebrew not allowed. But if there's official material you don't have access to on DDB but want to homebrew a copy of that's fine. Just let me know. I also have a couple spells homebrew-copied so I might already have one you're looking for.
What to put in an application
Character Name: Race: Class: Subclass: Background: Character Sheet: <link> Additional Equipment: <explained below> Backstory (2-3 sentences): Brief characterization and motivation for wanting to help Hampstead. (Please do not have your character living in Hampstead.)
Special Bonuses
You may add one Oil of Sharpness OR 1 2nd Level spell scroll to your inventory. If neither of these really apply to your character, let me know and we'll find another option.
You may use 100gp to buy additional equipment from what you started with. Please list these purchases under Additional Equipment in your application. (Note for archers: We won't worry about your ammo.)
Notes about Gameplay
Dice: I prefer using the campaign log for die rolls. The forum roller has a tendency to change results of the initial die roll whereas once you roll in the log it's guaranteed to be the same. As another note, I plan on using a non-DDB dice roller for DM rolls. For the sake of speeding things up, I might also roll some non-optional rolls for your character. (Ex: initiative so that an initiative order is established and we can get straight to the fight without a delay of waiting for people to roll it and then starting combat.)
Posting: Please post at least once a day. If there's a need to break off for a couple days, please inform in advance.
Reactions: If you plan on using a reaction during combat, please make note of it if it's foreseeable. (Ex: If the enemy runs away I will make an opportunity attack on it. To-Hit: X, Damage: Y.) Obviously not all things are going to be foreseeable, but it helps speed things up when possible.
Levelling: Milestone.
Death: If a character dies, no biggie. We can either find their identical twin that happened to be in the area or a same level adventurer that was in town and had no interest in the quest until now.
Character Name: Mizaki Bale Race: Centaur Class: Cleric Subclass: Grave Background: Hermit Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/104099575/xcsgmK Additional Equipment: Oil of Sharpness Backstory (2-3 sentences): Mizaki, or Zaki, is a quiet man for someone of his stature. Comforted by the silence of the cemeteries, Zaki always wondered what people were so afraid of? The dead were just like the living, and should be treated with the same respect. When the outside world was loud, the dead provided solace and quiet. Zaki liked to bring flowers to the unattended graves, to offer soft words to those long forgotten. He was raised to be a knight, a paladin, an upkeeper of peace. The church that took him in taught him honor, but he always felt ostracized due to their principles of what was good and what was not.
Tired of trying to simply educate him verbally, the knight order that trained him sent him to investigate the newest problem- the disappearances of Hampstead. Happy to leave the temple for the first time, Zaki happily obliged.
— δ cyno • he/him • number one paladin fanδ — making a smoothie for meta ——————| EXTENDED SIG |—————— Φ • redpelt’s biggest fan :) DM, minmaxer, microbiology student, and lover of anything colored red • Φ
Character Name: Hirg Elriksson Race: Dwarf (Hill) Class: Bard Subclass: College of Lore Background: Sage (one of the freebies, which is all I have access to. The idea is that he is sort of a Skald/storyteller of epic tales) Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/104100416/M87YKq Additional Equipment: Well, I imagine it would take DM approval, but I'd like to go for the second level spell scroll for the spell Magic Mouth (I've never used it before, it looks neat and rather flavorful, plus is lasts until dispelled, so a bit of mischief with such a thing might be highly amusing, if played rightly) and then I wouldn't mind dropping the full hundred gp on a pearl in order to cast the material component of the spell Identify, which is very appropriate for this particular bard. You have to know what you are looking at if you are going to turn it into a song! Backstory (2-3 sentences): For Hirg, and all sons of the venerable skald Elrik of the Hearth, storytelling is more than just an art - it is a generation-spanning legacy. Since it was first raise, none are allowed to stand in the Halls of Song without first acquiring a tale to tell, leading many of the Elrikssons to rove far and wide, seeking such tales of wonder, and on occasion taking a fairly direct role in their creation. Hearing of strange disappearings in Hampstead, some two week's journey from the Clanholdings of the Elrikssons, Hirg set out to find a story worthy of the Halls of Song, to record great deeds and try his hand at a few of them himself, should to opportunity arise.
Character Name: Drogan Thunderfang Race: half orc Class: Paladin Subclass: oath of conquest Background: outlander Character Sheet: <https://ddb.ac/characters/103451333/ThnP83> Additional Equipment: <explained below> Backstory (2-3 sentences): Drogan is the last member of the Thunderfang clan. He’s seeking glory for his family so their name will live in legends. Hearing of the trouble in Hampstead, he came to seek adventure and glory.
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Writer • Podcaster • Professional Gamemaster
playing Jin Wei, human (Kara-tur) way of the Four Elements Monk in the Princes of the Apocalypse
@Cynophobia, looks nice. As a reminder, any of the 100gp not put towards items can be put in your gold-bank. So that I know, which class are you planning to take with the lv5 level up? (Cleric/Fighter seems like an okay multiclass.) For the knightly order, how large of a role would you want it in the roleplaying? (Getting the mental gears running on how to play off it.)
@Branahan, looking forward to seeing what the character concept looks like.
@chrisbodmann, Still openings right now. With the seeking glory for a clan name, thinking of Drogan as being the first to get renown or for there to be someone else in the family lineage that may have had some renown too? (Looking at ways I could tie it in.) Also, could swap out the Orcish Fury feat for an ASI? This campaign isn't using the optional feats rule. I'm guessing the Starship Weapons tool proficiency is a leftover from a prior campaign? And like Cyno, any of the 100gp not used for items can be added to gold. (And don't forget to choose Oil of Sharpness or lv2 spell scroll.)
Got some nice ideas out here so far. And for others, feel free to keep adding your own applications to the mix. I'd love to see your ideas too.
Character Name: Relic Race: Warforged Class: Fighter Subclass: Eldritch Knight Background: Soldier Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/104169790/pKktk8 Additional Equipment: oil of sharpness Backstory (2-3 sentences): Relic is a being from a bygone era... built to wage war on behalf of some long-forgotten kingdom. But the war was lost and Relic lay dormant beneath the ruins of that kingdom for centuries. Five hundred years passed before a posse from Hampstead stumbled upon him while searching for the lost townsfolk, and, when he found himself re-activated, Relic decided to make helping those who had found him his new purpose.
Additional equipment : Oil of sharpness, 2nd short sword, studded leather armor, poisoner’s kit.
Backstory :
"Sometimes you have to know when an item is too hot, when you just need to leave it alone." Raker remembered these words from his fence and they stuck with him. It's a shame that Mesach will be going to someplace called Revel's End with those words replaying themselves in his mind. Roku shrugs and thinks to himself "Better him than me. That would have slowed me down significantly."
Raker grew up in Neverwinter near Beggar's Nest, and he quickly became valuable as a member of a group of four that stuck together, helped each other pull themselves out of poverty, through shady means. "The Four Pillars", the meathead called them, Raker always felt that it was a dumb name, but whatever. They had many ways to throw the hounds off their trail when necessary. This time, matters were a little more… sticky, shall we say.
When they stole an extremely hot artifact, Raker knew that it was too much. It's a shame that Mesach didn't have that same realization, and now he's paying the price for that. For now, the Four are laying low, but it has given Raker time to think. "I'm not really getting anywhere with these guys. What is my end game here? We seem to be going around the same, endless cycle. No knowledge. No growth. Living hand to mouth. I need to get on with my life.”
He leaves the Four during this period of laying low, seeking out knowledge, feeling that he has graduated into something more… he leaves his “place to avoid the rain”, leaving his Cobbler and looking for “fresh vegetables” - open jobs, more interesting work that furthers his purposes. He makes his way to Hampstead, initially to set up a new den of operations, but when he learned about the disappearances, he figured that he should investigate further before staying. Curiosity would get the best of him one of these days…
Personality: Raker is quick to judge situations, make calculations in his head about what he is looking for, his odds of achieving that. He views the standards and norms of this world as inconveniences, minutiae and frivolity that get in the way of what is truly important. He has no patience or understanding of societal norms, customs, or “proper” behavior, he merely sees what is important for him to get what he wants and advance his knowledge, and impediments to getting there. He has an excellent memory, can recall minute details of stories that he is told, lore that he has read. He has an irrational habit of gambling with dice when the opportunity arises, he looks on his behavior later with disgust when he gets lured into a game. He has a habit of clicking his tongue or tapping his finger when he’s thinking or nervous, something that he tries to hide. He is overly sensitive when pressed about things that are important to him and can have a bit of a temper if provoked.
Desire: Raker seeks knowledge that is hidden, to know the dark secrets of the world, beyond the visible, beyond that that his senses can touch. Like all Kenku (and more than most), he wishes to gain the knowledge of flight. Not through some rudimentary flapping of his arms, but real flight, effortless flight. He feels that the Kenku have had knowledge and skill robbed from them somehow. He is not afraid to search the dark places that most won’t tread in order to obtain them. He has an open mind to other planes if necessary that he is not aware of yet, anywhere that could hold the answers the the questions that he has.
Alignment: Raker’s view on the world is very transactional. He sees everything through the lens of a means to an end, and the end that is foremost in his mind is attaining flight, learning secrets, and restoring the abilities and future that he feels might have been robbed from his species. He feels that everyone is motivated similarly to him, trying to obtain what they want, whether it be enlightenment and knowledge, or gold, class or status, power, what have you. Therefore, Raker’s alignment is Neutral.
Oops the starship weapons was something else I was playing with. Yes I can drop Orcish fury for ASI. I think the Thunderfang clan would have had others with renown but it’s been a while. His grandfather probably had a reputation, along with the ancestral axe he carries. I’ll add in the 100 gp of stuff and oil of sharpness.
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Writer • Podcaster • Professional Gamemaster
playing Jin Wei, human (Kara-tur) way of the Four Elements Monk in the Princes of the Apocalypse
@Branahan, saw the character sheet. Looks interesting. Magic Mouth is perfectly fine. With the Pearl of Power, I'm gonna say no to that so it would be better to use it for the mundane items. Though I will keep it in mind as an item you'd like if I give some magic items to the party.
@Mister_Whisker, looks like a neat concept. Though the hexblade/wizard multiclass is something I'm leaning against. If you keep the wizard side of it, any spells in particular you'd have a hankering to find and add to your spellbook?
@Twombley, looks nice. With the backstory, would you like to draw some threads from it? Or more just use it as understanding his characterization? I'm thinking Neverwinter could be a city in a different country than Hampstead. For the ancient curse part of Kenku lore, how heavily would you like to lean into the "can't speak original words, must mimic?" (Just wondering if it's something you want to lean into or more handwave.)
@chrisbodmann, awesomesauce.
I'm thinking I'll probably be leaving this recruiting thread open until ~Thursday evening/night and probably looking to start ~Friday. (Need to get an opening post in the works and think of some ways to tailor some aspects of the quest to the party.)
@VitusW - I can draw some threads together with other characters if that will help. Will change out Neverwinter, but I don’t know any other cities in your world, and you said that we should not be from Hampstead. If you have additional information we can work the backstory to have it fit, I imagine Raker as being from a larger city. For the ancient curse, at his age and 4th level, I would think that he would have heard many words and would have the ability to carry on a conversation, but unusual words or phrases, things that he has not heard might trip him up and I would lean into it then. At first level or a younger age I think it would be even more prominent, but I would like for him to be functional and conversational with the other players. Let me know if there is anything else to help with the lore of the world / backstory and I’d be glad to modify. Raker would like to blend in with a new crew, seeking to establish new connections.
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A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Honestly... without Armor of Agathys and decent armor/weaponry it would kind of defeat the purpose of being a melee wizard. The character would probably would probably work better as either a full Hexblade or an Eldritch Knight than a Wizard if multiclassing is off the table. Artificer (Armorer) could work as well.
Character Name: wip (imagine not having a name) Species: Leonin Class: Barbarian Subclass: Beast (um... obviously) Background: Outlander Character Sheet: my homebrew leonin species is a work in progress... it's coming soon, though. Additional Equipment: We'll use the oil of sharpness. For additional equipment, I was thinking Backstory (2-3 sentences): I'm looking to put some names of locations into my backstory; I was wondering if you would be able to supply some.
Our friend {insert wip name} once lived far far away... in the *insert desert name* desert. He belonged to the
@VitusW - I can draw some threads together with other characters if that will help. Will change out Neverwinter, but I don’t know any other cities in your world, and you said that we should not be from Hampstead. If you have additional information we can work the backstory to have it fit, I imagine Raker as being from a larger city. For the ancient curse, at his age and 4th level, I would think that he would have heard many words and would have the ability to carry on a conversation, but unusual words or phrases, things that he has not heard might trip him up and I would lean into it then. At first level or a younger age I think it would be even more prominent, but I would like for him to be functional and conversational with the other players. Let me know if there is anything else to help with the lore of the world / backstory and I’d be glad to modify. Raker would like to blend in with a new crew, seeking to establish new connections.
For the threads part, tying together with other characters is great. Simultaneously, while rereading what I wrote, I think I wasn't the clearest. I was asking more on the lines of if you'd want to have the possibility of finding an old acquaintance/enemy from your old dealings or if you'd rather not.
For the mimicry, sounds good to me.
Being from Neverwinter is perfectly fine by me, particularly if it helps you with your role playing. Personally, I don't know a lot of the official D&D lore so that's part of what had me thinking, "Problem: I don't know how to roleplay an NPC that has knowledge of Neverwinter. Solution: Make it a foreign city?" That said, if you'd like to go the way of creating a closer larger city, that's also fine by me.
And as for setting lore, while Hampstead is technically lifted from a homebrew setting my friends and I have been using with each other, a big goal for me is reorienting that setting so that it fits the party that's here. Which also means I want to have an open mindset of, "You want to have a little of X in your backstory? Let's see if we can find a way to fit it in here." as opposed to a mindset of, "No. It would break some lore that doesn't even matter on the pbp-version." So, barring some wacky exception I haven't seen yet, it shouldn't be a concern to modify a character to fit the setting as I'd rather modify the setting to fit the character.
Honestly... without Armor of Agathys and decent armor/weaponry it would kind of defeat the purpose of being a melee wizard. The character would probably would probably work better as either a full Hexblade or an Eldritch Knight than a Wizard if multiclassing is off the table. Artificer (Armorer) could work as well.
Those sound like great ideas to me. I'm excited to see what you have in mind.
Character Name: wip (imagine not having a name) Species: Leonin Class: Barbarian Subclass: Beast (um... obviously) Background: Outlander Character Sheet: my homebrew leonin species is a work in progress... it's coming soon, though. Additional Equipment: We'll use the oil of sharpness. For additional equipment, I was thinking Backstory (2-3 sentences): I'm looking to put some names of locations into my backstory; I was wondering if you would be able to supply some.
Our friend {insert wip name} once lived far far away... in the *insert desert name* desert. He belonged to the
wip had to go bye
Legacy content is fine. (Though what legacy version of the Leonin is there? I didn't see that tag next to the Leonin class.) And thanks for the heads up on the homebrew-copy.
As for locations, what kind of locations are you looking for? I might be able to draw from some things if there's particularly things you' have in mind. If you're looking for a desert, the Daha Desert would be something within the empire and to the North on its borders, populated by things likes Lamia, Jackalweres, and Gnolls. But if you'd like, feel free to create some names/place. I'm open to player input on the wider worldbuilding. (I'm looking at it from the perspective that while I technically have some larger lore, I also recognize that like 98% of it doesn't matter for this specific campaign so I'd rather tailor things to the players than create unnecessary obstacles to character-creation.)
@Cynophobia, looks nice. As a reminder, any of the 100gp not put towards items can be put in your gold-bank. So that I know, which class are you planning to take with the lv5 level up? (Cleric/Fighter seems like an okay multiclass.) For the knightly order, how large of a role would you want it in the roleplaying? (Getting the mental gears running on how to play off it.)
I’ll probably level up cleric so I can get more spells, the fighter dip was to emphasize being trained by knights and to give him more of a martial/physical feel than a spellcaster feel cause it fits his character. I don’t really mind how large the role is for the knight order! Whatever fits the campaign better :)
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— δ cyno • he/him • number one paladin fanδ — making a smoothie for meta ——————| EXTENDED SIG |—————— Φ • redpelt’s biggest fan :) DM, minmaxer, microbiology student, and lover of anything colored red • Φ
Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
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Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
If you're able to get the needed gold by selling off goods at the standard 1/2 price or want to choose starting gold instead use the extra 100gp to afford the splint armor, sounds fine.
Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
If you're able to get the needed gold by selling off goods at the standard 1/2 price or want to choose starting gold instead use the extra 100gp to afford the splint armor, sounds fine.
Would starting gold be randomized, maximum (in this case, 200 gp), or the average?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
If you're able to get the needed gold by selling off goods at the standard 1/2 price or want to choose starting gold instead use the extra 100gp to afford the splint armor, sounds fine.
Would starting gold be randomized, maximum (in this case, 200 gp), or the average?
Quick-post: I'll be honest I don't have the exact gold costs of items in my head. So I might change this answer later when I can add things up.
Let's assume average for the moment. Does that get you affording what you're looking for? If not, how short would you be?
Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
If you're able to get the needed gold by selling off goods at the standard 1/2 price or want to choose starting gold instead use the extra 100gp to afford the splint armor, sounds fine.
Would starting gold be randomized, maximum (in this case, 200 gp), or the average?
Quick-post: I'll be honest I don't have the exact gold costs of items in my head. So I might change this answer later when I can add things up.
Let's assume average for the moment. Does that get you affording what you're looking for? If not, how short would you be?
Depends whether you would calculate the average die roll as 2 or 2.5 ... in the former case, it would come out to 200 gold which is the exact cost of splint armor, so I could start with splint armor and literally nothing else. In the latter case, it would come out to 225... which would be enough to start with splint armor, a shield, and a battleaxe... which tbh would be pretty in-character for a robot originally designed for war to carry nothing except his blade and his shield.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
If you're able to get the needed gold by selling off goods at the standard 1/2 price or want to choose starting gold instead use the extra 100gp to afford the splint armor, sounds fine.
Would starting gold be randomized, maximum (in this case, 200 gp), or the average?
Quick-post: I'll be honest I don't have the exact gold costs of items in my head. So I might change this answer later when I can add things up.
Let's assume average for the moment. Does that get you affording what you're looking for? If not, how short would you be?
Depends whether you would calculate the average die roll as 2 or 2.5 ... in the former case, it would come out to 200 gold which is the exact cost of splint armor, so I could start with splint armor and literally nothing else. In the latter case, it would come out to 225... which would be enough to start with splint armor, a shield, and a battleaxe... which tbh would be pretty in-character for a robot originally designed for war to carry nothing except his blade and his shield.
225 for the splint/shield/battleaxe seems reasonable to me. Go for it and feel free to keep another 10gp on you.
In the forests of The Empire is a town called Hampstead. Surrounded by farms and woodland, it's been relatively peaceful. Then people started disappearing. What was behind these disappearances? What lies in the woods? Can Hampstead be saved?
What kind of game to expect: Some roleplaying and some combat. A little mystery and exploration.
As a note, part of my motivation for this is to test out some things I plan on running with some friends of mine. So there may be some on-the-fly balancing of some combats. (Either reducing enemies or adding more.)
Boundaries: No sex stuff. No hard gore. Let's keep this PG.
Number of players sought: 4
Stat Generation Method: Point Buy
Restrictions
Race: No Variant Human
Feats: No
Class: No Critical Role classes. No Twilight Cleric.
Multiclassing: Probably not, but we can see on a case-by-case if you've got an idea.
Spells: No Silvery Barbs
Homebrew: Original homebrew not allowed. But if there's official material you don't have access to on DDB but want to homebrew a copy of that's fine. Just let me know. I also have a couple spells homebrew-copied so I might already have one you're looking for.
What to put in an application
Character Name:
Race:
Class:
Subclass:
Background:
Character Sheet: <link>
Additional Equipment: <explained below>
Backstory (2-3 sentences): Brief characterization and motivation for wanting to help Hampstead. (Please do not have your character living in Hampstead.)
Special Bonuses
You may add one Oil of Sharpness OR 1 2nd Level spell scroll to your inventory. If neither of these really apply to your character, let me know and we'll find another option.
You may use 100gp to buy additional equipment from what you started with. Please list these purchases under Additional Equipment in your application. (Note for archers: We won't worry about your ammo.)
Notes about Gameplay
Dice: I prefer using the campaign log for die rolls. The forum roller has a tendency to change results of the initial die roll whereas once you roll in the log it's guaranteed to be the same.
As another note, I plan on using a non-DDB dice roller for DM rolls.
For the sake of speeding things up, I might also roll some non-optional rolls for your character. (Ex: initiative so that an initiative order is established and we can get straight to the fight without a delay of waiting for people to roll it and then starting combat.)
Posting: Please post at least once a day. If there's a need to break off for a couple days, please inform in advance.
Reactions: If you plan on using a reaction during combat, please make note of it if it's foreseeable. (Ex: If the enemy runs away I will make an opportunity attack on it. To-Hit: X, Damage: Y.) Obviously not all things are going to be foreseeable, but it helps speed things up when possible.
Levelling: Milestone.
Death: If a character dies, no biggie. We can either find their identical twin that happened to be in the area or a same level adventurer that was in town and had no interest in the quest until now.
Question?: Please ask.
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Hi! This looks cool :)
Character Name: Mizaki Bale
Race: Centaur
Class: Cleric
Subclass: Grave
Background: Hermit
Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/104099575/xcsgmK
Additional Equipment:
Oil of Sharpness
Backstory (2-3 sentences):
Mizaki, or Zaki, is a quiet man for someone of his stature. Comforted by the silence of the cemeteries, Zaki always wondered what people were so afraid of? The dead were just like the living, and should be treated with the same respect. When the outside world was loud, the dead provided solace and quiet. Zaki liked to bring flowers to the unattended graves, to offer soft words to those long forgotten.
He was raised to be a knight, a paladin, an upkeeper of peace. The church that took him in taught him honor, but he always felt ostracized due to their principles of what was good and what was not.
Tired of trying to simply educate him verbally, the knight order that trained him sent him to investigate the newest problem- the disappearances of Hampstead. Happy to leave the temple for the first time, Zaki happily obliged.
— δ cyno • he/him • number one paladin fan δ —
making a smoothie for meta
——————| EXTENDED SIG |——————
Φ • redpelt’s biggest fan :) DM, minmaxer, microbiology student, and lover of anything colored red • Φ
Thanks for your time in consideration!
Character Name: Hirg Elriksson
Race: Dwarf (Hill)
Class: Bard
Subclass: College of Lore
Background: Sage (one of the freebies, which is all I have access to. The idea is that he is sort of a Skald/storyteller of epic tales)
Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/104100416/M87YKq
Additional Equipment: Well, I imagine it would take DM approval, but I'd like to go for the second level spell scroll for the spell Magic Mouth (I've never used it before, it looks neat and rather flavorful, plus is lasts until dispelled, so a bit of mischief with such a thing might be highly amusing, if played rightly) and then I wouldn't mind dropping the full hundred gp on a pearl in order to cast the material component of the spell Identify, which is very appropriate for this particular bard. You have to know what you are looking at if you are going to turn it into a song!
Backstory (2-3 sentences): For Hirg, and all sons of the venerable skald Elrik of the Hearth, storytelling is more than just an art - it is a generation-spanning legacy. Since it was first raise, none are allowed to stand in the Halls of Song without first acquiring a tale to tell, leading many of the Elrikssons to rove far and wide, seeking such tales of wonder, and on occasion taking a fairly direct role in their creation. Hearing of strange disappearings in Hampstead, some two week's journey from the Clanholdings of the Elrikssons, Hirg set out to find a story worthy of the Halls of Song, to record great deeds and try his hand at a few of them himself, should to opportunity arise.
Not sure if there are openings still but…
Character Name: Drogan Thunderfang
Race: half orc
Class: Paladin
Subclass: oath of conquest
Background: outlander
Character Sheet: <https://ddb.ac/characters/103451333/ThnP83>
Additional Equipment: <explained below>
Backstory (2-3 sentences): Drogan is the last member of the Thunderfang clan. He’s seeking glory for his family so their name will live in legends. Hearing of the trouble in Hampstead, he came to seek adventure and glory.
Writer • Podcaster • Professional Gamemaster
playing Jin Wei, human (Kara-tur) way of the Four Elements Monk in the Princes of the Apocalypse
@Cynophobia, looks nice. As a reminder, any of the 100gp not put towards items can be put in your gold-bank. So that I know, which class are you planning to take with the lv5 level up? (Cleric/Fighter seems like an okay multiclass.) For the knightly order, how large of a role would you want it in the roleplaying? (Getting the mental gears running on how to play off it.)
@Branahan, looking forward to seeing what the character concept looks like.
@chrisbodmann, Still openings right now. With the seeking glory for a clan name, thinking of Drogan as being the first to get renown or for there to be someone else in the family lineage that may have had some renown too? (Looking at ways I could tie it in.) Also, could swap out the Orcish Fury feat for an ASI? This campaign isn't using the optional feats rule. I'm guessing the Starship Weapons tool proficiency is a leftover from a prior campaign? And like Cyno, any of the 100gp not used for items can be added to gold. (And don't forget to choose Oil of Sharpness or lv2 spell scroll.)
Got some nice ideas out here so far. And for others, feel free to keep adding your own applications to the mix. I'd love to see your ideas too.
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Character Name: Relic
Race: Warforged
Class: Fighter
Subclass: Eldritch Knight
Background: Soldier
Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/104169790/pKktk8
Additional Equipment: oil of sharpness
Backstory (2-3 sentences): Relic is a being from a bygone era... built to wage war on behalf of some long-forgotten kingdom. But the war was lost and Relic lay dormant beneath the ruins of that kingdom for centuries. Five hundred years passed before a posse from Hampstead stumbled upon him while searching for the lost townsfolk, and, when he found himself re-activated, Relic decided to make helping those who had found him his new purpose.
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Name : Raker
Race : Kenku
Class : Rogue, Arcane Trickster, level 4.
Background : Criminal / Spy
Character sheet : https://ddb.ac/characters/94462691/n9L8xG
Additional equipment : Oil of sharpness, 2nd short sword, studded leather armor, poisoner’s kit.
Backstory :
"Sometimes you have to know when an item is too hot, when you just need to leave it alone." Raker remembered these words from his fence and they stuck with him. It's a shame that Mesach will be going to someplace called Revel's End with those words replaying themselves in his mind. Roku shrugs and thinks to himself "Better him than me. That would have slowed me down significantly."
Raker grew up in Neverwinter near Beggar's Nest, and he quickly became valuable as a member of a group of four that stuck together, helped each other pull themselves out of poverty, through shady means. "The Four Pillars", the meathead called them, Raker always felt that it was a dumb name, but whatever. They had many ways to throw the hounds off their trail when necessary. This time, matters were a little more… sticky, shall we say.
When they stole an extremely hot artifact, Raker knew that it was too much. It's a shame that Mesach didn't have that same realization, and now he's paying the price for that. For now, the Four are laying low, but it has given Raker time to think. "I'm not really getting anywhere with these guys. What is my end game here? We seem to be going around the same, endless cycle. No knowledge. No growth. Living hand to mouth. I need to get on with my life.”
He leaves the Four during this period of laying low, seeking out knowledge, feeling that he has graduated into something more… he leaves his “place to avoid the rain”, leaving his Cobbler and looking for “fresh vegetables” - open jobs, more interesting work that furthers his purposes. He makes his way to Hampstead, initially to set up a new den of operations, but when he learned about the disappearances, he figured that he should investigate further before staying. Curiosity would get the best of him one of these days…
Personality: Raker is quick to judge situations, make calculations in his head about what he is looking for, his odds of achieving that. He views the standards and norms of this world as inconveniences, minutiae and frivolity that get in the way of what is truly important. He has no patience or understanding of societal norms, customs, or “proper” behavior, he merely sees what is important for him to get what he wants and advance his knowledge, and impediments to getting there. He has an excellent memory, can recall minute details of stories that he is told, lore that he has read. He has an irrational habit of gambling with dice when the opportunity arises, he looks on his behavior later with disgust when he gets lured into a game. He has a habit of clicking his tongue or tapping his finger when he’s thinking or nervous, something that he tries to hide. He is overly sensitive when pressed about things that are important to him and can have a bit of a temper if provoked.
Desire: Raker seeks knowledge that is hidden, to know the dark secrets of the world, beyond the visible, beyond that that his senses can touch. Like all Kenku (and more than most), he wishes to gain the knowledge of flight. Not through some rudimentary flapping of his arms, but real flight, effortless flight. He feels that the Kenku have had knowledge and skill robbed from them somehow. He is not afraid to search the dark places that most won’t tread in order to obtain them. He has an open mind to other planes if necessary that he is not aware of yet, anywhere that could hold the answers the the questions that he has.
Alignment: Raker’s view on the world is very transactional. He sees everything through the lens of a means to an end, and the end that is foremost in his mind is attaining flight, learning secrets, and restoring the abilities and future that he feels might have been robbed from his species. He feels that everyone is motivated similarly to him, trying to obtain what they want, whether it be enlightenment and knowledge, or gold, class or status, power, what have you. Therefore, Raker’s alignment is Neutral.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Oops the starship weapons was something else I was playing with. Yes I can drop Orcish fury for ASI. I think the Thunderfang clan would have had others with renown but it’s been a while. His grandfather probably had a reputation, along with the ancestral axe he carries. I’ll add in the 100 gp of stuff and oil of sharpness.
Writer • Podcaster • Professional Gamemaster
playing Jin Wei, human (Kara-tur) way of the Four Elements Monk in the Princes of the Apocalypse
@Branahan, saw the character sheet. Looks interesting. Magic Mouth is perfectly fine. With the Pearl of Power, I'm gonna say no to that so it would be better to use it for the mundane items. Though I will keep it in mind as an item you'd like if I give some magic items to the party.
@Mister_Whisker, looks like a neat concept. Though the hexblade/wizard multiclass is something I'm leaning against. If you keep the wizard side of it, any spells in particular you'd have a hankering to find and add to your spellbook?
@Twombley, looks nice. With the backstory, would you like to draw some threads from it? Or more just use it as understanding his characterization? I'm thinking Neverwinter could be a city in a different country than Hampstead. For the ancient curse part of Kenku lore, how heavily would you like to lean into the "can't speak original words, must mimic?" (Just wondering if it's something you want to lean into or more handwave.)
@chrisbodmann, awesomesauce.
I'm thinking I'll probably be leaving this recruiting thread open until ~Thursday evening/night and probably looking to start ~Friday. (Need to get an opening post in the works and think of some ways to tailor some aspects of the quest to the party.)
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@VitusW - I can draw some threads together with other characters if that will help. Will change out Neverwinter, but I don’t know any other cities in your world, and you said that we should not be from Hampstead. If you have additional information we can work the backstory to have it fit, I imagine Raker as being from a larger city. For the ancient curse, at his age and 4th level, I would think that he would have heard many words and would have the ability to carry on a conversation, but unusual words or phrases, things that he has not heard might trip him up and I would lean into it then. At first level or a younger age I think it would be even more prominent, but I would like for him to be functional and conversational with the other players. Let me know if there is anything else to help with the lore of the world / backstory and I’d be glad to modify. Raker would like to blend in with a new crew, seeking to establish new connections.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Honestly... without Armor of Agathys and decent armor/weaponry it would kind of defeat the purpose of being a melee wizard. The character would probably would probably work better as either a full Hexblade or an Eldritch Knight than a Wizard if multiclassing is off the table. Artificer (Armorer) could work as well.
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Is legacy stuff okay? If so, then I'll use this:
Character Name: wip (imagine not having a name)
Species: Leonin
Class: Barbarian
Subclass: Beast (um... obviously)
Background: Outlander
Character Sheet: my homebrew leonin species is a work in progress... it's coming soon, though.
Additional Equipment: We'll use the oil of sharpness. For additional equipment, I was thinking
Backstory (2-3 sentences): I'm looking to put some names of locations into my backstory; I was wondering if you would be able to supply some.
Our friend {insert wip name} once lived far far away... in the *insert desert name* desert. He belonged to the
wip had to go bye
DMing:
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Playing:
None sadly.
Optimization Guides:
Literally Too Angry to Die - A Guide to Optimizing a Barbarian
For the threads part, tying together with other characters is great. Simultaneously, while rereading what I wrote, I think I wasn't the clearest. I was asking more on the lines of if you'd want to have the possibility of finding an old acquaintance/enemy from your old dealings or if you'd rather not.
For the mimicry, sounds good to me.
Being from Neverwinter is perfectly fine by me, particularly if it helps you with your role playing. Personally, I don't know a lot of the official D&D lore so that's part of what had me thinking, "Problem: I don't know how to roleplay an NPC that has knowledge of Neverwinter. Solution: Make it a foreign city?" That said, if you'd like to go the way of creating a closer larger city, that's also fine by me.
And as for setting lore, while Hampstead is technically lifted from a homebrew setting my friends and I have been using with each other, a big goal for me is reorienting that setting so that it fits the party that's here. Which also means I want to have an open mindset of, "You want to have a little of X in your backstory? Let's see if we can find a way to fit it in here." as opposed to a mindset of, "No. It would break some lore that doesn't even matter on the pbp-version." So, barring some wacky exception I haven't seen yet, it shouldn't be a concern to modify a character to fit the setting as I'd rather modify the setting to fit the character.
Those sound like great ideas to me. I'm excited to see what you have in mind.
Legacy content is fine. (Though what legacy version of the Leonin is there? I didn't see that tag next to the Leonin class.) And thanks for the heads up on the homebrew-copy.
As for locations, what kind of locations are you looking for? I might be able to draw from some things if there's particularly things you' have in mind. If you're looking for a desert, the Daha Desert would be something within the empire and to the North on its borders, populated by things likes Lamia, Jackalweres, and Gnolls. But if you'd like, feel free to create some names/place. I'm open to player input on the wider worldbuilding. (I'm looking at it from the perspective that while I technically have some larger lore, I also recognize that like 98% of it doesn't matter for this specific campaign so I'd rather tailor things to the players than create unnecessary obstacles to character-creation.)
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I’ll probably level up cleric so I can get more spells, the fighter dip was to emphasize being trained by knights and to give him more of a martial/physical feel than a spellcaster feel cause it fits his character.
I don’t really mind how large the role is for the knight order! Whatever fits the campaign better :)
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Guess I'll just go for a straight Eldritch Knight tank. Backstory hasn't changed. I can't think of anything that I could both afford and would actually want with the extra 100 gold... if we can sell off starting equipment for the gold value then splint armor would be nice.
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If you're able to get the needed gold by selling off goods at the standard 1/2 price or want to choose starting gold instead use the extra 100gp to afford the splint armor, sounds fine.
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Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
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Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 48, 5/23/25, Immaculate Mary
Would starting gold be randomized, maximum (in this case, 200 gp), or the average?
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Quick-post: I'll be honest I don't have the exact gold costs of items in my head. So I might change this answer later when I can add things up.
Let's assume average for the moment. Does that get you affording what you're looking for? If not, how short would you be?
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Depends whether you would calculate the average die roll as 2 or 2.5 ... in the former case, it would come out to 200 gold which is the exact cost of splint armor, so I could start with splint armor and literally nothing else. In the latter case, it would come out to 225... which would be enough to start with splint armor, a shield, and a battleaxe... which tbh would be pretty in-character for a robot originally designed for war to carry nothing except his blade and his shield.
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225 for the splint/shield/battleaxe seems reasonable to me. Go for it and feel free to keep another 10gp on you.
This is a signature. It was a simple signature. But it has been upgraded.
Belolonandalogalo, Sunny | Draíocht, Kholias | Eggo Lass, 100 Dungeons
Talorin Tebedi, Vecna: Eve | Cherry, Stormwreck | Chipper, Strahd
We Are Modron
Get rickrolled here. Awesome music here. Track 48, 5/23/25, Immaculate Mary