This was definitely not what you had in mind when you went for a drink on the waterfront of your home town a few days ago. Now you're stuck in the depths of a ship, chained to an oar. Two armed guards keep all the slaves in line and a fat, bald Ibini drums out a cadence for you to keep up with.
You're determined to escape, and fortunately there appear to be a few other brave souls who refuse to end their lives as captives. You wonder if you can discuss a plan with the others, to try and escape your chains and somehow make a break for freedom…
About Me
I've been playing and DMing D&D for over 40 years (!) but am a novice to PbP and have never DMed a PbP game before. So you'll have to bear with me as I learn the PbP ropes. I am UK based and am in front of a computer Monday to Friday during working hours (8am to 5pm or so GMT) so expect me to be at my most active at that time, though I will post at other times. If that puts you off, not a problem.
About the Adventure
I am looking for a group of four or five players for an adventure set in my home world of Rodinia, in the Lucarcian Continent. You will start off as 1st level. I have material for a full campaign and more, but I plan only to start out small and walk before I can run. As such this adventure's scope is simply about escaping from the slave ship you find yourself in. If that works out well and people are interested we can continue the story after that.
Character Submission
Rodinia is a virtually entirely human world, so I'll give much more weight to human character submissions (variant is fine), though elves and dwarves do exist in small numbers in the world. I'm trying to keep things simple as possible, and a little old school, so I'm also going PHB only please. Feats and Multiclassing will be allowed in the game. We will be using milestone level advancement.
Anyone interested, please reply here with:
Name
Race
Class
Background
Ability Scores (Point Buy or Standard Array)
Short Backstory
Link to a character sheet in dndbeyond.com
EDIT: Added the starting region to the post to give more help to people making characters.
Vlad has lived, worshiped, studied, and worked in the local Monastery of Light ever since he was a young lad, but was by no means a shut in. The Monastery brewed ale for the local taverns, and it was one Vlad's jobs to deliver it. Depending on who you asked, this made him a hero to some (mostly the drunks), as he was there to make sure the kegs never ran dry. He had just finished his last delivery for the evening when he decided to let some of the locals buy him a round of ale.
Extremely interested, I love a fully-fleshed out homebrew world, and I admire your patience in transferring the whole thing over to WorldAnvil. I've still barely started adding my own world to it, and boy, is it a slog. Anyhoo, thinking of possibly making a hexblade. Are there any notable sentient artifacts/weapons that my boy, girl, neither, both, or in-between might draw their abilities from?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Extremely interested, I love a fully-fleshed out homebrew world, and I admire your patience in transferring the whole thing over to WorldAnvil. I've still barely started adding my own world to it, and boy, is it a slog. Anyhoo, thinking of possibly making a hexblade. Are there any notable sentient artifacts/weapons that my boy, girl, neither, both, or in-between might draw their abilities from?
So, Hexblade isn't technically PHB, though I am very familiar with the Patron having played one myself. I'd marginally prefer to stick to PHB if possible but if you're super keen on Hexblade I'm sure I can accommodate it.
Regarding a Patron, what sort of Alignment are you thinking of for it? Good, Neutral or Evil? And what sort of Alignment for your 'lock? Note that I'm not strict at all on Alignments for PCs but they are pretty fundamental for the Patrons as they define what sort of expectations you can have of them and their goals. I'm happy to facilitate partnership-type relationship if you're both Good for example, or a more strained relationship say you are good but your Patron is the Fiend. All this is mostly how you'd like to see the PC set up, I'm totally flexible on that.
There aren't (yet) any Excalibur type artifacts out there in Rodinia, but I'm happy to work with you on developing something if you're really keen on the Hexblade.
If you'd rather discuss these issues out of the public eye to have them hidden from the players as well as their characters, feel free to PM me on the subject - or just keep discussing it here.
Vlad has lived, worshiped, studied, and worked in the local Monastery of Light ever since he was a young lad, but was by no means a shut in. The Monastery brewed ale for the local taverns, and it was one Vlad's jobs to deliver it. Depending on who you asked, this made him a hero to some (mostly the drunks), as he was there to make sure the kegs never ran dry. He had just finished his last delivery for the evening when he decided to let some of the locals buy him a round of ale.
Heya! Really interested in this. Here's what I've come up with:
Name: Ralfi (the Rat) Race: Human (male) Class: Druid Background: Criminal Ability Scores: Point Buy Appearance: Standing at around 5'10'', the first thing one will notice about Ralfi is his hair - a striking mess of black and white streaks domesticated into a ponytail, it looks almost badger-ish. His eyes are a warm, olive green...one could easily get lost in these eyes. The young man often wears a long, black-cotton coat and fingerless, black-cotton gloves. Ralfi shields his face from suspicion by wearing a darkwood mask:
Backstory: Living in the gutters like a rodent is no easy thing. Ralfi knows this well, abandoned at birth in the dirty gutters of Rodinia. Maybe his affinity with bird and beast is fitting, for that is how he lives...begging or stealing scraps, sleeping under tables of charitable taverns. A notorious gang of dire rats are whom he considers his family, lurking deep beneath the soil which the sunlight dares kiss. They, and the gentle barmaid Elsi, who educated Ralfi in human things (such as reading, writing, and etiquette), and bestowed upon him his human name. And, every day, Ralfi goes about his business- to provide food for himself (and some for the rats), and keeps Elsi company in her lonely hours (for she is getting no younger, and is all alone). When none are nearby, Ralfi will sit with the quiet, unassuming trees and meditate...which only strengthens his unusual connection to the natural world, and his innate magic. (possibly more still to come)
Ah, I missed the part about PHB only, despite it being very much bolded. I might have just read it as PbP? Or I could just be stupid! I welcome all possibilities, especially the more likely ones, like the latter. One new character concept, coming right up!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Appearance - The first thing one notices about Toofs are his toofs. Well, teeth. But who needs proper spelling? Even for a half-orc, his tusks are massive, and they unfortunately give him quite the speech impediment. Gorn's face and tusks are scarred and damaged, though he hides as much of it as he can with a thick, brown beard, which possesses a few gray streaks. His hair is relatively long in the back, going down to about his shoulders. Gorn possesses a variety of weapons, though he primarily uses a worn and chipped glaive. He is rarely seen out of military garb, and the only thing that separates him from an ordinary soldier is the short cape on his back, which appears to be a shredded blue and gold banner, so worn and faded that it is nearly impossible to discern what it once showed.
Backstory - Toofs ain't new to dis business. He been captured before, carted off to who knows where. He sure don't know. But he always adjusted den, and he'd adjust now. Dun matter where he been took. Lookin back, he dun quite rememba where he first been. Growin' up haf orc wun't the nicest ting, but he endured. He got outta der real quick-like. People bin looked at him and said "He's a biggun, he is. He oughta go be a soldier boy. Ain't no other job fer him." It din't sounded worse den any other place, so he went off ta be a soldier boy. Weren't too hard fer him to get in, bein' the biggun he was, but he wun't satisfied. All dem other soldier boys is happy bein lil grunts, but not him. He bin wanted more. But all dem other soldier boys, dey looks at him, and dey listens to him, and they says "Dis one got too much brawn ta have brains. An' listen to him speak. He's a dullie, he is." But he wun't a dullie, but they din't know that. It takes some time, more time den it took fer any of de other soldier boys, but he finally becomes da leader of a troupe of soldier boys. But first ting that happens when he get promoted, is he get ambushed. His soldier boys is killed, and he barely live, and de other soldier boys look at him and they says "We was right, we made a mistake promotin' him. In fact, he shun't even be a soldier no more." And so they takes it all away from him, everything he ever worked for. And so he adjusts. He dun wanna be thought dumb no more, though, so he comes up with a plan. You gots to be smart to wield the void, so there ain't no better badge of smarts than wieldin' it himself. So he begin to learn how to do it. Ain't many out dere willin' to train a halfie like him, dey just thinks he ain't got the brains for it, but he learns bits and pieces here an' there. Soon, he thinks. Soon he'll be able to do it. An' then he get captured by slavers. Yet another group goin' "Look at him, he a biggun, he gon' fetch the big coin." The world is populated by idiots, he sometime thinks. People says don't judge a book by a cover, but they ain't say that about halfies. It's alright. He'll adjust.
(If you think the talkin' all funny-like is too much, let me know. I'll tone it down, if needed.)
I'd be interested in playing in this game as a human Eldritch Knight fighter.
Claire Beram
Human (female)
Fighter
Soldier
Standard Array
The Beram family has always served as proud knights of Albion, even as recently as in the Chaos Wars. The family fell into some disgrace after being tricked into supporting Artenach, who had been masquerading as the king at that time. Though the successor to Albion's throne officially pardoned the Beram family and others like them, the disgrace has tainted Claire's family like a dark cloud for longer than she's been alive. Expected to both follow in the family footsteps of knighthood, and prevented from developing her budding magical talent properly, young Claire decided to take refuge from the harsh constraints of her family's expectations at the pub. One drink too many, and she found herself on an unexpected new journey, about to test the strength of her family's teachings in a trial by fire.
I'd be interested in playing in this game as a human Eldritch Knight fighter.
Claire Beram
Human (female)
Fighter
Soldier
Standard Array
The Beram family has always served as proud knights of Albion, even as recently as in the Chaos Wars. The family fell into some disgrace after being tricked into supporting Artenach, who had been masquerading as the king at that time. Though the successor to Albion's throne officially pardoned the Beram family and others like them, the disgrace has tainted Claire's family like a dark cloud for longer than she's been alive. Expected to both follow in the family footsteps of knighthood, and prevented from developing her budding magical talent properly, young Claire decided to take refuge from the harsh constraints of her family's expectations at the pub. One drink too many, and she found herself on an unexpected new journey, about to test the strength of her family's teachings in a trial by fire.
Great job delving into Albion's history and making a character to fit - I'm impressed.
So the adventure/campaign takes place a long way from Albion across in the Lucarcian Continent (and a few years before the timelines described in that article). That said, there is no reason that Claire could not have made her way to Lucarica before being press-ganged. Or you'd be welcome to refactor her background to shift to Lucarica. I'm easy either way.
Appearance - The first thing one notices about Toofs are his toofs. Well, teeth. But who needs proper spelling? Even for a half-orc, his tusks are massive, and they unfortunately give him quite the speech impediment. Gorn's face and tusks are scarred and damaged, though he hides as much of it as he can with a thick, brown beard, which possesses a few gray streaks. His hair is relatively long in the back, going down to about his shoulders. Gorn possesses a variety of weapons, though he primarily uses a worn and chipped glaive. He is rarely seen out of military garb, and the only thing that separates him from an ordinary soldier is the short cape on his back, which appears to be a shredded blue and gold banner, so worn and faded that it is nearly impossible to discern what it once showed.
Backstory - Toofs ain't new to dis business. He been captured before, carted off to who knows where. He sure don't know. But he always adjusted den, and he'd adjust now. Dun matter where he been took. Lookin back, he dun quite rememba where he first been. Growin' up haf orc wun't the nicest ting, but he endured. He got outta der real quick-like. People bin looked at him and said "He's a biggun, he is. He oughta go be a soldier boy. Ain't no other job fer him." It din't sounded worse den any other place, so he went off ta be a soldier boy. Weren't too hard fer him to get in, bein' the biggun he was, but he wun't satisfied. All dem other soldier boys is happy bein lil grunts, but not him. He bin wanted more. But all dem other soldier boys, dey looks at him, and dey listens to him, and they says "Dis one got too much brawn ta have brains. An' listen to him speak. He's a dullie, he is." But he wun't a dullie, but they din't know that. It takes some time, more time den it took fer any of de other soldier boys, but he finally becomes da leader of a troupe of soldier boys. But first ting that happens when he get promoted, is he get ambushed. His soldier boys is killed, and he barely live, and de other soldier boys look at him and they says "We was right, we made a mistake promotin' him. In fact, he shun't even be a soldier no more." And so they takes it all away from him, everything he ever worked for. And so he adjusts. He dun wanna be thought dumb no more, though, so he comes up with a plan. You gots to be smart to wield the void, so there ain't no better badge of smarts than wieldin' it himself. So he begin to learn how to do it. Ain't many out dere willin' to train a halfie like him, dey just thinks he ain't got the brains for it, but he learns bits and pieces here an' there. Soon, he thinks. Soon he'll be able to do it. An' then he get captured by slavers. Yet another group goin' "Look at him, he a biggun, he gon' fetch the big coin." The world is populated by idiots, he sometime thinks. People says don't judge a book by a cover, but they ain't say that about halfies. It's alright. He'll adjust.
(If you think the talkin' all funny-like is too much, let me know. I'll tone it down, if needed.)
Great work. I'm more than happy with the talkin' - adds a great deal of flavour to the character.
A couple of observations, none of which are game-stoppers:
1. Half-orcs would be really rare in Rodinia. There are orcs around, usually in the wilds, but half-breeds would be very unusual. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you are happy to be particularly notorious? 2. I note that Toofs and Claire both appear to be heading towards Eldritch Knight Polearm Masters...? That could still work, of course...
Heya! Really interested in this. Here's what I've come up with:
Name: Ralfi (the Rat) Race: Human (male) Class: Druid Background: Criminal Ability Scores: Point Buy Appearance: Standing at around 5'10'', the first thing one will notice about Ralfi is his hair - a striking mess of black and white streaks domesticated into a ponytail, it looks almost badger-ish. His eyes are a warm, olive green...one could easily get lost in these eyes. The young man often wears a long, black-cotton coat and fingerless, black-cotton gloves. Ralfi shields his face from suspicion by wearing a darkwood mask.
Backstory: Living in the gutters like a rodent is no easy thing. Ralfi knows this well, abandoned at birth in the dirty gutters of Rodinia. Maybe his affinity with bird and beast is fitting, for he that is how he lives...begging or stealing scraps, sleeping under tables of charitable taverns. (more to come!!)
Character sheet: (to come)
Love this.
Druids in Rodinia have a formal global organisation (one of the very few global) known as the Old Faith.
As a druid (D&D class) you can choose to already be a member of the Old Faith, or to perhaps have that in your future, or to use the crunch of the druid class with none of the organisational fluff that comes with it, in which case you’d just be some sort of mystic with shape changing abilities. Utterly up to you how you’d like that to work for you.
that's easy to retcon: Beram knights, fallen into disgrace for supporting the oops Demon King in Albion, pack up and move to Lucarica to bury their shame. From there, everything can remain the same ;-)
Hmm, I didn't see Toofs got there first (sorry man!). Well, I really don't want to play a battlemaster or champion, but two polearm eldritch builds in one campaign is a bit much.
If you want to give first come first serve preference, I'll sink a little time into reflavoring this build into a ranger or something, but I have to pull out my PHB for that XD
Yes, sure, Claire is easily reflavored into a Light or Life cleric with much the same background story, so I can do that. No problemo ;-) She won't like the half-orc though, considering the big historical wars were always against demons or orcs, as an aside.
Revised Backstory: The Beram family has always served as proud advisors to the royalty of Albion, even as recently as in the Chaos Wars. The family fell into some disgrace after being tricked into supporting Artenach, who had been masquerading as the king at that time. Though the successor to Albion's throne officially pardoned the Beram family and others like them, the disgrace has tainted Claire's family like a dark cloud. They chose to flee to the continent of Lucarica in order to hide their shame and start anew, but the burden of the Beram family's ignorance still haunts their scions, even to this day. Expected to follow in the family footsteps of priesthood, young Claire decided to take refuge from the harsh constraints of her family's expectations at the pub. One drink too many, and she found herself on an unexpected new journey, about to test the strength of her family's teachings in a trial by fire.
(I personally feel like this background has a less compelling plot hook than the fighter version, because there is not controversial magical talent to explain the eldritch knighti-ness, so she is a bit more one dimensional as a rather vanilla cleric. But I can work with anything XD )
I too can't ignore excellent worldbuilding to explore. Thinking of a character something like this, hoping to work with you to make the details fit your world.
Name: Vaclav
Race: Variant Human (war caster)
Class: Wizard
Background: Noble
Abilities: Point Buy
Backstory: Vaclav is the studious son of a minor lord. Because he was never good at the traditional arts of being a knight his father's rivals always took this as a sign of weakness. His father recognized a different strength and brought in magical tutors to train him. Eventually he began to take Vaclav to the battlefields with him and there he learned the ways of spellcasting in battle. When his father was mortally wounded in battle his rivals seized the opportunity. Vaclav and a few other loyalists managed to escape before the keep fell. Now Vaclav searches for ways to build his skills and coin in order to take back what is his.
Heya! Really interested in this. Here's what I've come up with:
Name: Ralfi (the Rat) Race: Human (male) Class: Druid Background: Criminal Ability Scores: Point Buy Appearance: Standing at around 5'10'', the first thing one will notice about Ralfi is his hair - a striking mess of black and white streaks domesticated into a ponytail, it looks almost badger-ish. His eyes are a warm, olive green...one could easily get lost in these eyes. The young man often wears a long, black-cotton coat and fingerless, black-cotton gloves. Ralfi shields his face from suspicion by wearing a darkwood mask.
Backstory: Living in the gutters like a rodent is no easy thing. Ralfi knows this well, abandoned at birth in the dirty gutters of Rodinia. Maybe his affinity with bird and beast is fitting, for he that is how he lives...begging or stealing scraps, sleeping under tables of charitable taverns. (more to come!!)
Character sheet: (to come)
Love this.
Druids in Rodinia have a formal global organisation (one of the very few global) known as the Old Faith.
As a druid (D&D class) you can choose to already be a member of the Old Faith, or to perhaps have that in your future, or to use the crunch of the druid class with none of the organisational fluff that comes with it, in which case you’d just be some sort of mystic with shape changing abilities. Utterly up to you how you’d like that to work for you.
Sounds good to me. When I finish the backstory, I'll add this in! Most likely, Ralfi's been living under the radar of the Old Faith for years now. Maybe his joining would mark a turning point in his life;)
Not sure if you’re still accepting applications but your world looks intriguing
Oleander
Human (variant)
Rouge (Assasin)
Criminal
Standard Array
Still working this out and looking through your material. But first thoughts were a member of House Jade just starting out on their first solo ventures and looking to make a name for themselves.
Would you be willing to look at Wild Magic Sorcerers? I’ve been keen to play one, but I also understand that it’s pretty volatile with the wild magic table rolls. I’m happy to work with you to work out how you’d like the Tides of Chaos/Wild Magic Surges to to-and-fro.
Name: Hestios Whitecrest Race: Human (variant) Class: Rogue (possibly may be updated, but most likely not) Background: Charlatan Ability Scores: Point Buy
Backstory: Twenty years ago, a child was born in the rugged alpine landscape of the Stoneheart Mountains. His people, the hill-folk inhabiting those mountains, are a sturdy, hardy folk. Valuing hard work and keeping a no-nonsense attitude, these are the type of people the hill-folk are. To an indifferent spectator (or, gods-forbid, a child of the hill-folk), a life like this is normal, enjoyable, even. Gods no. The child hated every minute of the (aptly nicknamed) "slavery and drudgery", far preferring to spend his time running around, causing havoc, or even just sleep. Actually, sleeping and wreaking havoc were about the only things Hestios liked to do, along with tricking the other children into handing over whatever possessions they might value - not because he needed them, but rather because he enjoyed the trickery. Quite obviously, this didn't turn out well for Hestios. The hill-folk were disgusted with him, and would often force him into the most miserable jobs they could find to discipline him. In retaliation, Hestious would wreak havoc on their goats, sheep, and homes. On and on, the cycle repeated, until eventually the hill-folk grew tired of the now-teenaged Hestios's foolishness, and threatened to abandon him in the western mountains, where the orcs and goblins lived. With resentment and a tinge of fear, Hestios would sneak away in the night, running away from the place he had called home. Over the next few years, Hestios would wander from the lowlands of the Stonehearts to the southern coast of Manabas, the city of Southport, stow away on a ship headed towards Mamucium, and start his life anew there - continuing his lifestyle of trickery and deception, until the day he unknowingly conned the daughter of House Ruby, Melissa Ruby. Promptly arrested for his already-illegal trade, Hestios was sent to a slave ship, to serve out his life in the bowels of a galley.
I’m flattered by the interest in Rodinia. Thanks everyone.
Busy weekend with the family at the moment. I’ll get back in front of my PC on Monday morning and properly review all the PCs and respond to the PMs you’ve sent.
Introduction
This was definitely not what you had in mind when you went for a drink on the waterfront of your home town a few days ago. Now you're stuck in the depths of a ship, chained to an oar. Two armed guards keep all the slaves in line and a fat, bald Ibini drums out a cadence for you to keep up with.
You're determined to escape, and fortunately there appear to be a few other brave souls who refuse to end their lives as captives. You wonder if you can discuss a plan with the others, to try and escape your chains and somehow make a break for freedom…
About Me
I've been playing and DMing D&D for over 40 years (!) but am a novice to PbP and have never DMed a PbP game before. So you'll have to bear with me as I learn the PbP ropes. I am UK based and am in front of a computer Monday to Friday during working hours (8am to 5pm or so GMT) so expect me to be at my most active at that time, though I will post at other times. If that puts you off, not a problem.
About the Adventure
I am looking for a group of four or five players for an adventure set in my home world of Rodinia, in the Lucarcian Continent. You will start off as 1st level. I have material for a full campaign and more, but I plan only to start out small and walk before I can run. As such this adventure's scope is simply about escaping from the slave ship you find yourself in. If that works out well and people are interested we can continue the story after that.
Character Submission
Rodinia is a virtually entirely human world, so I'll give much more weight to human character submissions (variant is fine), though elves and dwarves do exist in small numbers in the world. I'm trying to keep things simple as possible, and a little old school, so I'm also going PHB only please. Feats and Multiclassing will be allowed in the game. We will be using milestone level advancement.
Anyone interested, please reply here with:
EDIT: Added the starting region to the post to give more help to people making characters.
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Extremely interested, I love a fully-fleshed out homebrew world, and I admire your patience in transferring the whole thing over to WorldAnvil. I've still barely started adding my own world to it, and boy, is it a slog. Anyhoo, thinking of possibly making a hexblade. Are there any notable sentient artifacts/weapons that my boy, girl, neither, both, or in-between might draw their abilities from?
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
So, Hexblade isn't technically PHB, though I am very familiar with the Patron having played one myself. I'd marginally prefer to stick to PHB if possible but if you're super keen on Hexblade I'm sure I can accommodate it.
Regarding a Patron, what sort of Alignment are you thinking of for it? Good, Neutral or Evil? And what sort of Alignment for your 'lock? Note that I'm not strict at all on Alignments for PCs but they are pretty fundamental for the Patrons as they define what sort of expectations you can have of them and their goals. I'm happy to facilitate partnership-type relationship if you're both Good for example, or a more strained relationship say you are good but your Patron is the Fiend. All this is mostly how you'd like to see the PC set up, I'm totally flexible on that.
There aren't (yet) any Excalibur type artifacts out there in Rodinia, but I'm happy to work with you on developing something if you're really keen on the Hexblade.
If you'd rather discuss these issues out of the public eye to have them hidden from the players as well as their characters, feel free to PM me on the subject - or just keep discussing it here.
Cheers!
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Looks great - thanks for being first to respond. :)
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Heya! Really interested in this. Here's what I've come up with:
Name: Ralfi (the Rat)
Race: Human (male)
Class: Druid
Background: Criminal
Ability Scores: Point Buy
Appearance: Standing at around 5'10'', the first thing one will notice about Ralfi is his hair - a striking mess of black and white streaks domesticated into a ponytail, it looks almost badger-ish. His eyes are a warm, olive green...one could easily get lost in these eyes. The young man often wears a long, black-cotton coat and fingerless, black-cotton gloves. Ralfi shields his face from suspicion by wearing a darkwood mask:
Backstory: Living in the gutters like a rodent is no easy thing. Ralfi knows this well, abandoned at birth in the dirty gutters of Rodinia. Maybe his affinity with bird and beast is fitting, for that is how he lives...begging or stealing scraps, sleeping under tables of charitable taverns. A notorious gang of dire rats are whom he considers his family, lurking deep beneath the soil which the sunlight dares kiss. They, and the gentle barmaid Elsi, who educated Ralfi in human things (such as reading, writing, and etiquette), and bestowed upon him his human name.
And, every day, Ralfi goes about his business- to provide food for himself (and some for the rats), and keeps Elsi company in her lonely hours (for she is getting no younger, and is all alone). When none are nearby, Ralfi will sit with the quiet, unassuming trees and meditate...which only strengthens his unusual connection to the natural world, and his innate magic. (possibly more still to come)
Character sheet: (to come)
Hi there! I'm a Christian musician based in Canada :)
Ah, I missed the part about PHB only, despite it being very much bolded. I might have just read it as PbP? Or I could just be stupid! I welcome all possibilities, especially the more likely ones, like the latter. One new character concept, coming right up!
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Name - Gorn "Toofs" Maggal
Class/Race - Half-Orc Fighter
Background - Soldier Boy
Abilities - Point Buy
Appearance - The first thing one notices about Toofs are his toofs. Well, teeth. But who needs proper spelling? Even for a half-orc, his tusks are massive, and they unfortunately give him quite the speech impediment. Gorn's face and tusks are scarred and damaged, though he hides as much of it as he can with a thick, brown beard, which possesses a few gray streaks. His hair is relatively long in the back, going down to about his shoulders. Gorn possesses a variety of weapons, though he primarily uses a worn and chipped glaive. He is rarely seen out of military garb, and the only thing that separates him from an ordinary soldier is the short cape on his back, which appears to be a shredded blue and gold banner, so worn and faded that it is nearly impossible to discern what it once showed.
Backstory - Toofs ain't new to dis business. He been captured before, carted off to who knows where. He sure don't know. But he always adjusted den, and he'd adjust now. Dun matter where he been took. Lookin back, he dun quite rememba where he first been. Growin' up haf orc wun't the nicest ting, but he endured. He got outta der real quick-like. People bin looked at him and said "He's a biggun, he is. He oughta go be a soldier boy. Ain't no other job fer him." It din't sounded worse den any other place, so he went off ta be a soldier boy. Weren't too hard fer him to get in, bein' the biggun he was, but he wun't satisfied. All dem other soldier boys is happy bein lil grunts, but not him. He bin wanted more. But all dem other soldier boys, dey looks at him, and dey listens to him, and they says "Dis one got too much brawn ta have brains. An' listen to him speak. He's a dullie, he is." But he wun't a dullie, but they din't know that. It takes some time, more time den it took fer any of de other soldier boys, but he finally becomes da leader of a troupe of soldier boys. But first ting that happens when he get promoted, is he get ambushed. His soldier boys is killed, and he barely live, and de other soldier boys look at him and they says "We was right, we made a mistake promotin' him. In fact, he shun't even be a soldier no more." And so they takes it all away from him, everything he ever worked for. And so he adjusts. He dun wanna be thought dumb no more, though, so he comes up with a plan. You gots to be smart to wield the void, so there ain't no better badge of smarts than wieldin' it himself. So he begin to learn how to do it. Ain't many out dere willin' to train a halfie like him, dey just thinks he ain't got the brains for it, but he learns bits and pieces here an' there. Soon, he thinks. Soon he'll be able to do it. An' then he get captured by slavers. Yet another group goin' "Look at him, he a biggun, he gon' fetch the big coin." The world is populated by idiots, he sometime thinks. People says don't judge a book by a cover, but they ain't say that about halfies. It's alright. He'll adjust.
(If you think the talkin' all funny-like is too much, let me know. I'll tone it down, if needed.)
Sheet - https://ddb.ac/characters/30652460/FMW8RK
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
I'd be interested in playing in this game as a human Eldritch Knight fighter.
Great job delving into Albion's history and making a character to fit - I'm impressed.
So the adventure/campaign takes place a long way from Albion across in the Lucarcian Continent (and a few years before the timelines described in that article). That said, there is no reason that Claire could not have made her way to Lucarica before being press-ganged. Or you'd be welcome to refactor her background to shift to Lucarica. I'm easy either way.
Let me know what you think?
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Great work. I'm more than happy with the talkin' - adds a great deal of flavour to the character.
A couple of observations, none of which are game-stoppers:
1. Half-orcs would be really rare in Rodinia. There are orcs around, usually in the wilds, but half-breeds would be very unusual. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you are happy to be particularly notorious?
2. I note that Toofs and Claire both appear to be heading towards Eldritch Knight Polearm Masters...? That could still work, of course...
Cheers!
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
Love this.
Druids in Rodinia have a formal global organisation (one of the very few global) known as the Old Faith.
As a druid (D&D class) you can choose to already be a member of the Old Faith, or to perhaps have that in your future, or to use the crunch of the druid class with none of the organisational fluff that comes with it, in which case you’d just be some sort of mystic with shape changing abilities.
Utterly up to you how you’d like that to work for you.
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill
that's easy to retcon: Beram knights, fallen into disgrace for supporting the oops Demon King in Albion, pack up and move to Lucarica to bury their shame. From there, everything can remain the same ;-)
Hmm, I didn't see Toofs got there first (sorry man!). Well, I really don't want to play a battlemaster or champion, but two polearm eldritch builds in one campaign is a bit much.
If you want to give first come first serve preference, I'll sink a little time into reflavoring this build into a ranger or something, but I have to pull out my PHB for that XD
Yes, sure, Claire is easily reflavored into a Light or Life cleric with much the same background story, so I can do that. No problemo ;-) She won't like the half-orc though, considering the big historical wars were always against demons or orcs, as an aside.
Build sheet of the cleric version of Claire:
https://ddb.ac/characters/30660616/AMFQ8C
Revised Backstory:
The Beram family has always served as proud advisors to the royalty of Albion, even as recently as in the Chaos Wars. The family fell into some disgrace after being tricked into supporting Artenach, who had been masquerading as the king at that time. Though the successor to Albion's throne officially pardoned the Beram family and others like them, the disgrace has tainted Claire's family like a dark cloud. They chose to flee to the continent of Lucarica in order to hide their shame and start anew, but the burden of the Beram family's ignorance still haunts their scions, even to this day. Expected to follow in the family footsteps of priesthood, young Claire decided to take refuge from the harsh constraints of her family's expectations at the pub. One drink too many, and she found herself on an unexpected new journey, about to test the strength of her family's teachings in a trial by fire.
(I personally feel like this background has a less compelling plot hook than the fighter version, because there is not controversial magical talent to explain the eldritch knighti-ness, so she is a bit more one dimensional as a rather vanilla cleric. But I can work with anything XD )
I too can't ignore excellent worldbuilding to explore. Thinking of a character something like this, hoping to work with you to make the details fit your world.
Name: Vaclav
Race: Variant Human (war caster)
Class: Wizard
Background: Noble
Abilities: Point Buy
Backstory: Vaclav is the studious son of a minor lord. Because he was never good at the traditional arts of being a knight his father's rivals always took this as a sign of weakness. His father recognized a different strength and brought in magical tutors to train him. Eventually he began to take Vaclav to the battlefields with him and there he learned the ways of spellcasting in battle. When his father was mortally wounded in battle his rivals seized the opportunity. Vaclav and a few other loyalists managed to escape before the keep fell. Now Vaclav searches for ways to build his skills and coin in order to take back what is his.
https://ddb.ac/characters/30659478/jumsHv
Gronk in Bastion, Kingdom of Medrin Elixisys in Talaveroth (Team 2) Uthal in Lost Continent of Theviranne
Sounds good to me. When I finish the backstory, I'll add this in! Most likely, Ralfi's been living under the radar of the Old Faith for years now. Maybe his joining would mark a turning point in his life;)
Hi there! I'm a Christian musician based in Canada :)
Not sure if you’re still accepting applications but your world looks intriguing
Would you be willing to look at Wild Magic Sorcerers? I’ve been keen to play one, but I also understand that it’s pretty volatile with the wild magic table rolls. I’m happy to work with you to work out how you’d like the Tides of Chaos/Wild Magic Surges to to-and-fro.
Name: Hestios Whitecrest
Race: Human (variant)
Class: Rogue (possibly may be updated, but most likely not)
Background: Charlatan
Ability Scores: Point Buy
Backstory: Twenty years ago, a child was born in the rugged alpine landscape of the Stoneheart Mountains. His people, the hill-folk inhabiting those mountains, are a sturdy, hardy folk. Valuing hard work and keeping a no-nonsense attitude, these are the type of people the hill-folk are. To an indifferent spectator (or, gods-forbid, a child of the hill-folk), a life like this is normal, enjoyable, even. Gods no. The child hated every minute of the (aptly nicknamed) "slavery and drudgery", far preferring to spend his time running around, causing havoc, or even just sleep. Actually, sleeping and wreaking havoc were about the only things Hestios liked to do, along with tricking the other children into handing over whatever possessions they might value - not because he needed them, but rather because he enjoyed the trickery. Quite obviously, this didn't turn out well for Hestios. The hill-folk were disgusted with him, and would often force him into the most miserable jobs they could find to discipline him. In retaliation, Hestious would wreak havoc on their goats, sheep, and homes. On and on, the cycle repeated, until eventually the hill-folk grew tired of the now-teenaged Hestios's foolishness, and threatened to abandon him in the western mountains, where the orcs and goblins lived. With resentment and a tinge of fear, Hestios would sneak away in the night, running away from the place he had called home. Over the next few years, Hestios would wander from the lowlands of the Stonehearts to the southern coast of Manabas, the city of Southport, stow away on a ship headed towards Mamucium, and start his life anew there - continuing his lifestyle of trickery and deception, until the day he unknowingly conned the daughter of House Ruby, Melissa Ruby. Promptly arrested for his already-illegal trade, Hestios was sent to a slave ship, to serve out his life in the bowels of a galley.
Character sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/30797394/33LyQr
Sylcan Naïlo - Eladrin Blood Hunter - DragonDenn's Dragonlords | Althaea Sylvaranth - Wood Elf Druid - JorvikDave's Storm King's Thunder | Ekane - Half-orc Warlock - Murk Over Gladerown | Aoth Meliamne - Aasimar Sorcerer - WoobyDoobyDoo's Vraleon
I also DM RemCultist's Frozen Sick
Hey all
I’m flattered by the interest in Rodinia. Thanks everyone.
Busy weekend with the family at the moment. I’ll get back in front of my PC on Monday morning and properly review all the PCs and respond to the PMs you’ve sent.
Thanks all!
My Author Page: www.peterjblake.com
Novels Published: Reynard's Fate, Kita's Honour, Okoth's War and Callindrill