Back in 1st edition a group of friends got together and created a homebrew setting called Q’rath Set. Decades later that campaign setting has been the home to games run by three generations of players, one of them being my wife. With my father-in-law's passing away, the family decided that we would cobble together the mountain of disorganized notes and maps created over the years and actually turn them into a published book. To create new mechanics has been something of a family tradition, but to actually put them into a published work requires more play testing, hence this campaign.
Submission
To apply, post your character’s name, concept, calling, key factors about their backstory, and their first agenda and destiny. I’ll select submissions by January 7th. After that I’ll ask characters be completed within the week, and work with players to do so.
The Setting
Being decades in the making, there's a lot of material that already exists to flush out the setting, and I can't really expect players to know all of it, or even most of it. It’s suggested that you read whatever parts are relevant to your character and whatever parts interest you, and ignore the rest at least for now. Those parts are available in the links below. All of these are Google Docs and are open to comments, so please do feel free to comment on the docs themselves.
The broad Strokes are important to know about the setting are these; In the ancient past the cataclysmic event, called the Q’rath, damaged the world physically and mystically. The underlying structure of reality has been damaged, such that, in certain places or certain times reality is less than reliable, with certain laws being bent or suspended, or the walls between this world and another being thinner or porous, this does permit some stable travel between worlds, and this peoples of many civilizations can be found Q’rath Set, as well as many stranger things.
The setting is pre-industrial, with steam power just becoming important. Technology similar to firearms exists. A series of global conflicts came to an end a generation ago, with large fleets of hot-air sky ships and conventional naval ships being decommissioned. This has led to the current era of piracy, as many of these decommissioned fleets left equipment and personnel with nothing better to do.
I will work with players to help integrate their characters into the setting.
The Premise
The group will contain six characters acting as the crew of a small sky-ship acting as priveteers for the nation of Can Tinodius. Your charter permits you to raid orcish and goblin settlements of the Northern Plains, as well as any who don’t bear the colors of an established nation. Strictly speaking this allows for Lawful alignments. Evil alignments are allowed (just don’t go murder-hobo, as you’ll find the modified milestone system won’t let you advance), and you really can play villains. Moderate amount of player-on-player conflict is allowed/encouraged.
What You Need to Know About the Mechanics
We're testing out a number of new rules, but the base system is the same. Here's a breakdown of general new rules / house rules:
Outside of combat, you can make any number of posts, but give players a chance to respond to anything they are likely to want to respond to. In combat, post no slower than once a day, and more often as your time permits.
To facilitate play by post, we won’t be rolling Initiative. You will have a set Initiative score, equal to your Dexterity plus you are Initiative Modifier. Ties are broken by the highest Wisdom score. Try to make sure you know when you act in a round.
You can have more than one instance of Inspiration at a time, with no cap. In terms of play style I often reward creativity with Inspiration. Both creative actions and evocative descriptions will often be rewarded. This helps take advantage of the play by post format, and helps to encourage the use of Flaws, Personality Traits, Ideals and Bonds. You can choose to use Inspiration after you see the result on a roll.
You can choose, once per encounter, to designate any failed roll you make as a bollixs. A bollix is a fumble or critical failure. You can suggest ideas for what that bollix should be, though the form is ultimately up to the DM. Electing to take a bollixs grants you Inspiration.
Character advancement will work differently. We use a variation of the Milestone system. Choose one or more Agendas for your character and a Destiny. Each level increase comes with reaching these Milestones.
An Agenda is a goal your character has. The number of these required increases with each tier. You have to have an Agenda item listed on your sheet prior to the encounter in which it’s satisfied for it to count. Try to make these personal to your character. While the completion of a mission can be an Agenda, try to be a little more specific than that. Also make sure it’s clear when the Agenda is fulfilled. ‘Endear myself to the Baron’ is not as good as ‘Endear myself to the Baron by fixing his reputation problem.’
A Destiny is an event you, the player, want to have happen to the character. It helps the DM know what you want to see in the plot, and it can help you to make sure you get the roleplay opportunities you need to explore your character.
Remember that you level by completing your Agenda and fulfilling your Destiny, so it doesn't need to be as grandiose as the term 'Destiny' might a imply. If you have a 'big' Agenda or Destiny, you might want to break it down into smaller parts. Like if you had an Agenda to take down a crime syndicate to avenge your brother, instead of listing that as your Agenda on the sheet, list, 'Identify an agent of the syndicate', for one Agenda, followed by 'Uncover the syndicate's lynchpin operation.' for the next level, etc. That way you map out a whole revenge story arch. You can change each one at any time before the encounter you complete it in, so the plan can change as events unfold. The same mapping can be done for Destiny.
What You Need to Know About Character Creation
You’ll need to use the character sheet found here, for reasons that will become clear below. Save a copy, then share it back to me at elrinfable@yahoo.com. Leave editing permission open, so that I can add information to it as the game progresses.
Choose 2 backgrounds. You have the benefits of each. You do need to make these make sense together in your character's backstory. The backgrounds from any published book should work, if with a little tinkering in some cases. The custom background option from the player's handbook is also viable.
Classes are called Callings, with Subclasses called Subcallings. All classes from the player's handbook are viable, though please do not use (sub)classes from other books. Variant class options from Tasha’s Cauldron are acceptable (and encouraged for Rangers). There are also a number of new options for this setting, which you are encouraged to use, but not required to use. Feel free to submit feedback on these even if you don’t intend on playing them.
We will be using a different system for race. You do not mechanically have a race. Instead you can choose 5 Feats at character creation. These may or may not relate to your racial identity. These starting Feats may be any of those from the new Feats list or from any sourcebook. You essentially build your race, and nothing stops you from being a human/dwarf/elf/dragonborn, or what-have-you. Any race that you feel you can represent with this system is acceptable. Similarly, you don’t have to have all the traits associated with your race, for whatever reason you feel like putting into your backstory.
You may have only one Species Feat, which must be selected first, if at all. This replaces the usual 5 starting Feats.
Where it says Race under the descriptive traits, put the race(s) your character identifies as, if any.
You can play as any race you can build with those traits, but if you want background info for the setting, the following races are common to the area;
Arau - The Gnome-Spiders.
Chaszmyrians - The Deadfolk.
Ruxalfier (Red Elves) - Aggressive and fiery, pseudo Greek/Italian.
Nixalfier (Blue Elves) - Harsh frost-dwelling descendants of the drow and grey elves.
Dragonborn - Additional chromatic dragonborn related to Tiamat’s sister: Cyan, Indigo, Ocher, Pink, Violet.
Mawn - an urbane descendants of the Tabaxi, a housecat people.
Omolo - Ooze and jelly people.
Note that in this system Tieflings and Nephilim (the setting’s term for Aasimar), are not races, but qualities of heritage. Thus you are a member of another race with celestial or fiendish blood if you are a Nephilim or a Tiefling.
Let me know if you want more information on any of these.
Use the Standard Array for ability scores.
Hit points use the set amounts.
Start at level 3 with a chosen subcalling, no multiclassing to start with.
You start knowing up to two languages of your choice, plus any granted by other selections.
Starting Equipment, + 1000gp, which you can spend ahead of time if you like, and one common magic item from this list, or the DMG.
You have the option of starting out Proficient with Sky Vehicles. If you choose not to, take that as a Flaw.
Firearms are considered martial weapons. They are not considered starting equipment, but can be purchased with starting gold, as can their ammunition. Use the Renaissance Itemtable in the DMG for the appropriate stats. Explosive items from the Renaissance Item table can also be purchased, though no class has proficiency with them.
The Way of the Panarmatum is showing I have to request to access to see it.
I am interested in playing but would like some time to look through the resources to make decisions.
Also, and you may touch on this in the resources, but with the rise of steam powered technology how does magic play into the world? Is it a bit like in the Eberron setting where magic is used to facilitate technology? ex. Fire Elementals being bound to furnaces to convert water to steam without the need for costly fuel?
I know I gave a lot of info there, so I understand if it's going to take time to digest.
Steam tech is less integrated in Q'rath Set than in Eberron, and with more variation. For one, it hasn't been around as long, and two, there's been more social contention related to it. Magic is still the established way of things in most of the setting, with established power structures built on it and trusting it. In many places steampower is considered a disruptive influence to the old order. In other areas it's turned poverty into prosperity, and the rising powers sing it's praises.
There are two major conflicts related to this; The Brass vs The Iron, and The Mordannians vs The Monarchists.
The first of those relates a god called Rodinus (see the Pantheon link above), who is a god of something approaching science through a philosophy of empiricism. Most of his followers are gnomes and hobgoblins, living in South Shires. The convergence of these two has been heavily associated with Rodinus and steamtech, and there are elements of both cultures which don't like that. Some blame the influence of steamtech/Rodinus. In South Shires there's no stigma, but it varies elsewhere. In particular, the hobgoblins are the rulers of the Iron Empire, a traditional enemy of the nation of Can Tinodius, which South Shires is a a part of. Hobs and gnomes that are partisan to the integration, or follow Rodinus, or who are steamtech enthusiasts, sometimes call themselves 'Brass Folk', and tend to wear the new fashions, called steampunk. The Iron Empire and it's Iron Legions usually take the term as a personal rebuke. Some in the Empire associate this with a point of view on magic on traditional goblinoid religion, further complicating matters.
As for the second conflict, it's mostly considered a dwarven problem, but as the dwarves are the biggest exporters of metal and stone products, as well as most of the architects in the setting, it ends up everyone's problem; The Monarchists represent the dwarven establishment. They have a state religion of hero worship, with a set of semi-divine matriarchs that all the noble house claim descent from. Their religion requires a form of divine monarchy, and outlines extensive social rules and a class hierarchy, including what qualifies as appropriate magic. The Mordannians follow a heavily modified variant of that religion, rejecting hero worship in favor of a form of religious communism that resembles Confucianism with it's focus on social harmony. They have a strong sense of blue-collar pride and a distaste for hierarchy. Traditionally the Mordannians have embraced innovation, and steampower in particular has allowed their way of life to survive the aggressions of the Monarchists. They produce most of the airships, and all of the railroads. As the Mordannians become wealthier due to their economic strength, the Monarchists are loosing power and becoming bitter towards steamtech. Most of the Mordannians are Chasmic (Hill) Dwarves, with most of the Monarchists being Cavern (Mountain) Dwarves, so there's a potential racist element in there too.
Hello, sounds fantastic though a bit bittersweet, impelled by a death in the family. I am sorry for your loss.
Here's my idea for a character, with most of the information in the Spoiler. Your Scholar Archetype sounds fun!
Name: Eclipse Faraway Race: Mawn Calling: Rogue Subcalling: Scholar Archetype Feats: 1. Darkvision 2. Keen Senses 3. Parkour 4. Performer - guitar, ukelele, tres, or oud, or lute (and could probably master them all with a bit of practice) 5. Keen Memory
ABILITIES (Standard Array) STR 10 DEX 14 CON 8 INT 13 WIS 12 CHA 15
Backgrounds and Backstory:
Backgrounds: Charlatan (False identity. Actually, three separate lives: performer, scholar, and adventurer)(I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone.)(I insinuate myself into people’s lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes.)(Aspiration. I’m determined to make something of myself. )(Bond: I swindled and ruined a person who didn’t deserve it. I seek to atone for my misdeeds but might never be able to forgive myself.)(Flaw: I’m convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others.) Entertainer (singing) I know a story relevant to almost every situation. (Ideal: Creativity. The world is in need of new ideas and bold action.)(Bond: I want to be famous, whatever it takes.)
Backstory Eclipse Faraway is, literally, a rogue. His father had done a kindness to a noble, and when the father & mother perished, the noble took in the son, and Eclipse was raised as a ward. Not to say that the noble was kindhearted. No, the family was political, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic. The boy saw how the wealthy live, and learned fast. He ingratiated himself with them, almost getting himself into the will and pushing out the rightful heirs, while he was still a teenager. This involved some serious deception, and when he was discovered, he ran away, taking a considerable sum, which he spent down to the last copper, within a few months. A Jack-of-all trades, he is an avid reader and remembers everything he reads (Keen Memory feat). He is a compelling storytelling, never forgets a song or a tune, has an excellent ear, and has what it takes to be a world-famous performer. But behind the veneer, he abandons himself as his parents abandoned him when they died. He lives as a swashbuckler, constantly risking death, always in discomfort, and for no good reason. And he can't stop, and won't stop until he proves to the world that he is important and worth showing up for. He has a drug or alcohol problem perhaps, and his body is not as strong as his ambition. Agenda: Perform in three different cities in the next three months. Destiny: To be beloved by the entire world.
This is a really interesting concept -- I'm eager to be involved! I'm going to read up on some of the documents and will try and post a character soon.
So, I'm going to go a bit wild. If this is too much, let me know and I'll submit something else, but with the "build a race" options I want to give this a shot.
Awkward Body Winged Resistant (fire) Darkvision Dragon's Blood ASI (+1 CON / +1 CHA)
Abilities:
STR 8 DEX 14 CON 13 (+1) INT 12 WIS 10 CHA 15 (+1)
Backstory:
“My Little One” is what her mother, Arratraxa, called her. “Runt”, “Whelp”, and “Squishy” is what the rest of her clutch called her. Laitraxa hatched with a clutch of four other brass dragons just over fifteen years ago. For whatever reason, be it a challenge of Bahamut or a sad twist of nature, she was always smaller than the rest of her clutch-mates. Her mother explained her egg was almost half-sized, and while her clutch-mates grew fast and were able to spread their wings and fly, Laitraxa stayed small. Her scales were not nearly as hard as her clutch-mates, her claws not nearly as long, her wings only able to hold her in a glide if she climbed one of the rocky bluffs that surrounded her mother’s desert canyon lair. But where her siblings had raw strength, Laitraxa found she could finely control the arcane ember that burned hot in her being. Thus, she survived. She was an inquisitive wyrmling, and her mother taught her many languages and many facts of the people outside their desert. Laitraxa developed a love for the stories of humans and elves and dwarves, spending her non-hunting time buried in the tomes found in Arratraxa’s horde.
As it must, though, her “childhood” came to its end. After all her siblings had left the nest to find their own lairs and thrive, so did Arratraxa encourage her smallest daughter to do the same. “I would only smother you here, my little one. You will never grow as you should hiding forever under my wing.” Still small by a young dragon’s standards, and still not quite strong enough to fly, Laitraxa left her mother’s lair to discover the world on her own. And she did alright, for a while.
A year or so after she left her mother’s lair, Laitraxa found herself in a bind. Well, several of them. A tribe of nomadic goblins had come across her lair, and ambushed the young dragon as she returned from a hunt. When fiery discourse had failed (she didn’t speak their dialect, and might have accidently insulted their shaman?) and fiery spells also failed (there were a lot of them, and she hadn’t quite mastered “big breath of fire” yet) they had captured her. She was tied down via dozens of ropes to the deck of some sort of wonderous flying ship, which definitely did not bear the markings of having been crafted by the goblins now crewing it. While she couldn’t see much from her vantage point on the deck her instincts told her that the ship had been flown out of the desert, judging by the abundance of puffy clouds and smell of greenery.
Laitraxa saw it before the goblins did – a glint in the sky above, coming from the sun. Classic hunting tactic. Shame the goblin shaman had been so rude, she might have been inclined to give a warning otherwise. She watched as a second sky-ship descended on the goblins, flying colors that she recognized from the stories as belonging to the nation of Can Tinodius. The battle was over swiftly, the goblins dispatched, and a friendly-seeming person cut away Laitraxa’s binds with an offer. That person could use a dragon ally, could provide plenty of food, if she would join forces and help others that the goblins had captured or enslaved. Laitraxa surprised that person by asking if her payment could include books... and a chance to really explore the world and meet its people.
Thus, the sky-ship got a dragon.
(As a note, I left the person who freed Laitraxa vague. If there is an NPC captain of the ship, could be that person. Could be another PC. I’m very flexible regarding this entire backstory, depending on what could make a better narrative!)
Backgrounds: Outlander/Far Traveler (modified to replace instruments with more languages)
Agenda: To free someone captured by goblins or other slavers, sparing them the same fate that might have befallen her.
Destiny: She will converse with a king or queen, and both will find the conversation enlightening. She will prove her worth to her clutch-mates. She will grow into a great, full-sized dragon, so that she can better protect those she cares about.
Description:
Laitraxa, were she to stand straight up on her hind legs and extend her neck fully, would stretch to eight feet tall, and still have her tail coiled behind her. She is of slim build, almost snakelike in some regards, and is maybe half the mass that a fifteen year old brass dragon should be. Her scales are a warm dark-gold color, with a bit of shine but without reflection. Her head is framed by long curved natural plates extending from either side just past the eyes to form a crest. Her wings, tapering like a triangle to the tip of her tail, transition from a green-gold color at the roots to a bright orange at the tips, framed by brassy spines.
She wears some humanoid-type equipment, adjusted and adapted to her frame. A leather-and-steel headband is attached to the top of her head, framing the crest, upon which is set a citrine crystal and a small diamond (part of her arcane focii). She has what could best be described as a leather harness, with small reinforced pouches within reach of her front claws, and wears a converted backpack between her main wing-arms. She can't reach this bag with her arms, but can turn her head far enough to look at it and manipulate it with an arcane Mage Hand that appears as a draconic claw wreathed in harmless spectral flame.
His first memory was waking up, flat on his back, staring into a full moon shining in the sky, a wild boar snuffling his bones, curiously, fleeing in terror when it became clear that there was still life in there. For a moment before the existential horror of his new condition hit him, he thought it was unbelievably beautiful, and the memory of that moment was the main thing that kept him from descending into insanity until, with the help of a Chaszmyrian counselor and eventual friend, Tangly Twisty Vines, Brightly Shining Moon finally embraced his state of 'unaliveness' and adopted his name based on that memory
In the years since, Brightly Shining Moon has traveled far and wide, to all parts of the world, seeking to collect more and more information about the animals he met, hoping to eventually gather enough material to produce a book for other Chaszmyrians that Moon has provisionally titled Studies upon Animalkind and their Reactions to the Unfleshed. His studies of these animals have extended to learning somehow to adopt their forms, albeit unfleshed (I'd love to discuss how to adapt Wild Shape for an Unfleshed deadfolk). After decades of building this magnum opus, Moon takes a job on an airship in service of the kingdom of Can Tinodius, hoping to gain more exposure to animals of the air, and to get closer to the brightly shining orb that gave him his name. Given his seemingly inborn connection to animals, Moon is also feeling a little curiosity stir his bones about who this person was that forms his shell and what exactly the boar doing there. Was it a beloved pet? A companion? A simple scavenger? Moon keeps returning to these questions in his head and eventually hopes to find an answer -- after completing his book, of course.
Agenda: To complete and ultimately gain royal patronage for his manuscript on the relationship between deadfolk and the various fauna of the world so it can be published and widely distributed.
Destiny: To uncover his own personal connection to the living person that once occupied his body to determine if his connection to and sympathy for animals is innate to him or some personal stirring of the person he once "was."
Leonardo Hillbuckle - He’s a Halfling tempest cleric serving as an agent of a wind deity. This is not so much worship as it is an agreement. He gets the occasional task to smite the disloyal worshiper, and plays pirate the rest of the time. Leonardo enjoys his time on sky ships more than anything except taking ships and loot from somebody else.
Agenda: to leave a suitably “pirate” impression on the next ship they encounter. Swing over on a rope with a knife in his teeth. Have a duel with an opposing officer. Throw someone overboard, etc etc.
Destiny: to find someone who’s heard of him, and fears him based upon his reputation.
I’m not sure how to take this sheet and make it something I can save and edit. Do I need permissions?
This looks really interesting. How much travel is there between planes/worlds. Is it more things bleed in, or are there actual portals or something to travel between the planes. How long have steam power and airships been around. Is it reasonable that my guy is an air ship mechanic? Or would he be more likely a steam engine mechanic that is now on an air ship working on it. I figure an air ship that's a fairly new technology would need lots of care and handling. I also image him having a giant wrench as his weapon. Something he uses to fix the ship. I would love any more info on these dwarves to get a better backstory. I imagine he's a young just out of apprentice work with a steam engine/blacksmith type and he's going out to find out about the world. He's interested in visiting everywhere.
Name: Tyrod (some dwarven family name) Age: 45
Race: Chasmic Dwarf (Mordannian)
Calling: Artificer
Subcalling: Air Ship engineer (Battle Smith)
Feats:
Enduring: +1 CON
Great weapon wielder, ( If you do not move on your turn, and you are wielding a heavy weapon, add an additional die of damage when you roll for damage with that weapon.)
Lore of Artifice,
Resilient, +1 CON, You gain proficiency in saving throws using the chosen ability.
Proficient with Sky Vehicles
Abilities:
STR: 13
INT: 15
WIS: 12
DEX: 8
CON: 14 (+2 from feats)
CHR: 10
Agenda: Keep the ship aloft for the next month (or something else like this, or maybe some to do with modifying the ship maybe)
Destiny: Design and construct the largest air ship ever made.
Background:
outline:
Born in Stonehelm
Worked in the forges like a normal dwarf, like ancestors before him.
Not too happy, but content with what his life had in store. Nothing too exciting, he could see himself in his parents shoes in the future.
One day saw a flying air ship and his life changed. He was instantly enamored with it. That is the day that changed his life. He dropped everything and moved to the Southshires. The hub of air ship development and innovation.
Working as an apprentice in air ship building and designing, he realized that they didn't know much more then he did what with the technology being so new. Learning what he could he knew the best place for him to fulfill his destiny was out working on an air ship. Figuring out how to make them bigger, and faster, and better.
\\...How much travel is there between planes/worlds. Is it more things bleed in, or are there actual portals or something to travel between the planes. How long have steam power and airships been around. Is it reasonable that my guy is an air ship mechanic? Or would he be more likely a steam engine mechanic that is now on an air ship working on it. ...//
\\...I also image him having a giant wrench as his weapon...//
\\...I would love any more info on these dwarves to get a better backstory...//
There are a few stable portals between worlds, which are mostly situated in major cities and well known. Most people haven't been off-world, but for a some people it's a day-to-day event as they engage in trade. The Deadlands have a few portals to the Shadowfell, Deep Port has a handful of portals to different locations (the notes have contradictions we're working out), and it's assumed there are others left undefined. Plenty of places 'bleed' into other planes, such as lava flowing into the mountains around Akamah from the elemental plane of fire. There's also a number of places that either connect to unformed planes or are partially unformed themselves, like an area of 1200 cubic feet in Kragmor where gravity doesn't work and Lord Rankant built a nursery playground for his children. There also isn't an Underdark, as the equivalent space is called the Deep Realms, and it subtly transitions into the Plane of Dreams. The subterranean peoples live in the Betweening, the earth above the Deep and below the Surface, and contend with whatever finds it's way out of the Deep and the universal subconscious.
Steamtech is only decades into it's existence, and it's been an explosive change for the setting. One of the major hubs for steamtech is Southshires, which has only been around half a century and now boasts a population of one and a half million. I imagine there are members of the older peoples, like elves, who walk into the valley and say things like "Where the hell did all this come from?" You could definitely play as a steamtech technician. It would be a hip, up-and-coming profession. As far as the wrench, I always allow things that are cosmetic reskins, so just use the stats for an existing weapon. Currently the subcallings for Artificers are just the published ones. There isn't a defined Airship Engineer, though that's not a bad idea...
Dwarves, like most of the races, have their info scattered through the material, but you may want to look up Mordrain/Mordanni in the Pantheon, Stonehelm in the Lands document, and there's the entry for dwarves in the Peoples doc.
Also, and this applies to a few people; Remember that you level by completing your Agenda and fulfilling your Destiny, so it doesn't need to be as grandiose as the term 'Destiny' might a imply. If you have a 'big' Agenda or Destiny, you might want to break it down into smaller parts. Like if you had an Agenda to take down a crime syndicate to avenge your brother, instead of listing that as your Agenda on the sheet, list, 'Identify an agent of the syndicate', for one Agenda, followed by 'Uncover the syndicate's lynchpin operation.' for the next level, etc. That way you map out a whole revenge story arch. You can change each one at any time before the encounter you complete it in, so the plan can change as events unfold. The same mapping can be done for Destiny.
So, as an example, I currently have Laitraxa's agenda as: "To free someone captured by goblins or other slavers, sparing them the same fate that might have befallen her." and just a big-picture "if we hit level 12+ ish" destiny of "To grow into a great, full-sized dragon, so that she can better protect those she cares about."
With the new guidance, would it be more appropriate to have, say, the "story arc" Destiny is "I want to disrupt and destroy slaver operations in the Northern Plains, sparing people the same fate that might have befallen me."
Agendas are then related to that destiny, such as: "capture a Goblin shaman or chieftain an interrogate him", "figure out where the slaves are being sold", "find and release a slave", etc etc.
I guess, is Destiny sort of tier based (ie, a Destiny for tier 1 levels 1-4, another for Tier 2, so on) and perhaps we only need to focus on the nearest rocks for this initial Destiny? Thus, keeping that big-ticket destiny as a "very far down the road, I want to grow into the full size dragon, but it's going to be an effort to get there."
Backstory key factors: Ended up learning woodcarving because he was good with his hands, even did it as his job for a while, but his temper wasn't really good for dealing with customers. When the chance came he joined a combat academy. He was hoping to take part in the running conflicts, but peace was reached before his graduation. Might have worked a bit on some lesser pirate ships or as mercenary before joining the current sky-ship crew, depending on how long it would have been between his graduation and the game starting.
Agenda: Prove my excellence to the crew by challenging one of them to a body-count competition when appropriate and winning.
Destiny: Someone I see as my lesser saves my life.
So, as an example, I currently have Laitraxa's agenda as: "To free someone captured by goblins or other slavers, sparing them the same fate that might have befallen her." and just a big-picture "if we hit level 12+ ish" destiny of "To grow into a great, full-sized dragon, so that she can better protect those she cares about."
With the new guidance, would it be more appropriate to have, say, the "story arc" Destiny is "I want to disrupt and destroy slaver operations in the Northern Plains, sparing people the same fate that might have befallen me."
Agendas are then related to that destiny, such as: "capture a Goblin shaman or chieftain an interrogate him", "figure out where the slaves are being sold", "find and release a slave", etc etc.
I guess, is Destiny sort of tier based (ie, a Destiny for tier 1 levels 1-4, another for Tier 2, so on) and perhaps we only need to focus on the nearest rocks for this initial Destiny? Thus, keeping that big-ticket destiny as a "very far down the road, I want to grow into the full size dragon, but it's going to be an effort to get there."
Destiny and Agenda are similar mechanically, but they don't have to relate to each other. Agendas are things your character wants and Destiny are things the player assigns to the character and the character doesn't know about (though they might suspect it). Think of a Destiny as a minor prophecy. 'Free a slave' works as an agenda, particularly if the character has backstory, an Ideal or Personality Traits related to that. Making it the first part of disrupting the slave trade is likewise appropriate. The Destiny probably shouldn't be growing, since that happens so long as the character doesn't die.
In-world, destiny is probably assigned by the gods, or some kind of impersonal fate-force, but out of character a Destiny allows a player to steer the plot some, expose your character to things you think would be interesting, and provoke entertaining situations.
I submitted my character concept through email, but I'll also put it here:
Name: Balachi
Concept: Large Aasimar Zealot Barbarian who is on a path of Redemption
Calling: Barbarian (Path of the Zealot)
Description: Balachi is an imposing figure at 8'1" tall, 400lbs of muscle, and a large set of white and light blue wings on his back. He wears a helm with two large horns protruding from the front that reach another foot in height. He carries an oversized longsword and tower shield, and around his neck is a red metallic Double Headed Lion Choker.
Backgrounds:
Inheritor
Soldier
Backstory Key Factors:
Fell from grace as a servant of Pelorious
Had no memory when he arrived
Joined the military where he fell in order to give himself time with purpose to figure out his past
Has now parted ways with the military and is looking to continue advancing his agenda.
Current Agenda: Explore my new found freedom from the military by raiding the orc and goblin villages and finding a worthy foe for my blade
Destiny (WIP): Discover who I am and what my connection is to my inheritance
Setting Note: Aasimar are called Nephilim in Q'rath Set, and like Teiflings, they aren't a race, they're an aspect of heritage, so you have a race-identity (usually), and being a Nephilim or Tiefling is a fact of your ancestry. As an example, there's a family of Tiefling gold dragons living above Stonehelm.
Given your backstory, you probably wouldn't have another race identity, unless you appear to have obvious celestial heritage or interpret yourself in a particular light. Some of the people that found you might suggest that you're a half-giant, or have goliath blood or anything along those lines. It's be up to you what your character thinks of that.
Intro
Back in 1st edition a group of friends got together and created a homebrew setting called Q’rath Set. Decades later that campaign setting has been the home to games run by three generations of players, one of them being my wife. With my father-in-law's passing away, the family decided that we would cobble together the mountain of disorganized notes and maps created over the years and actually turn them into a published book. To create new mechanics has been something of a family tradition, but to actually put them into a published work requires more play testing, hence this campaign.
Submission
To apply, post your character’s name, concept, calling, key factors about their backstory, and their first agenda and destiny. I’ll select submissions by January 7th. After that I’ll ask characters be completed within the week, and work with players to do so.
The Setting
Being decades in the making, there's a lot of material that already exists to flush out the setting, and I can't really expect players to know all of it, or even most of it. It’s suggested that you read whatever parts are relevant to your character and whatever parts interest you, and ignore the rest at least for now. Those parts are available in the links below. All of these are Google Docs and are open to comments, so please do feel free to comment on the docs themselves.
Pantheon, Non-theistic Religions, History, Lands, Peoples
What You Need to Know About the Setting
The broad Strokes are important to know about the setting are these; In the ancient past the cataclysmic event, called the Q’rath, damaged the world physically and mystically. The underlying structure of reality has been damaged, such that, in certain places or certain times reality is less than reliable, with certain laws being bent or suspended, or the walls between this world and another being thinner or porous, this does permit some stable travel between worlds, and this peoples of many civilizations can be found Q’rath Set, as well as many stranger things.
The setting is pre-industrial, with steam power just becoming important. Technology similar to firearms exists. A series of global conflicts came to an end a generation ago, with large fleets of hot-air sky ships and conventional naval ships being decommissioned. This has led to the current era of piracy, as many of these decommissioned fleets left equipment and personnel with nothing better to do.
I will work with players to help integrate their characters into the setting.
The Premise
The group will contain six characters acting as the crew of a small sky-ship acting as priveteers for the nation of Can Tinodius. Your charter permits you to raid orcish and goblin settlements of the Northern Plains, as well as any who don’t bear the colors of an established nation. Strictly speaking this allows for Lawful alignments. Evil alignments are allowed (just don’t go murder-hobo, as you’ll find the modified milestone system won’t let you advance), and you really can play villains. Moderate amount of player-on-player conflict is allowed/encouraged.
What You Need to Know About the Mechanics
We're testing out a number of new rules, but the base system is the same. Here's a breakdown of general new rules / house rules:
What You Need to Know About Character Creation
You’ll need to use the character sheet found here, for reasons that will become clear below. Save a copy, then share it back to me at elrinfable@yahoo.com. Leave editing permission open, so that I can add information to it as the game progresses.
Choose 2 backgrounds. You have the benefits of each. You do need to make these make sense together in your character's backstory. The backgrounds from any published book should work, if with a little tinkering in some cases. The custom background option from the player's handbook is also viable.
Classes are called Callings, with Subclasses called Subcallings. All classes from the player's handbook are viable, though please do not use (sub)classes from other books. Variant class options from Tasha’s Cauldron are acceptable (and encouraged for Rangers). There are also a number of new options for this setting, which you are encouraged to use, but not required to use. Feel free to submit feedback on these even if you don’t intend on playing them.
We will be using a different system for race. You do not mechanically have a race. Instead you can choose 5 Feats at character creation. These may or may not relate to your racial identity. These starting Feats may be any of those from the new Feats list or from any sourcebook. You essentially build your race, and nothing stops you from being a human/dwarf/elf/dragonborn, or what-have-you. Any race that you feel you can represent with this system is acceptable. Similarly, you don’t have to have all the traits associated with your race, for whatever reason you feel like putting into your backstory.
You may have only one Species Feat, which must be selected first, if at all. This replaces the usual 5 starting Feats.
Where it says Race under the descriptive traits, put the race(s) your character identifies as, if any.
You can play as any race you can build with those traits, but if you want background info for the setting, the following races are common to the area;
Let me know if you want more information on any of these.
Use the Standard Array for ability scores.
Hit points use the set amounts.
Start at level 3 with a chosen subcalling, no multiclassing to start with.
You start knowing up to two languages of your choice, plus any granted by other selections.
Starting Equipment, + 1000gp, which you can spend ahead of time if you like, and one common magic item from this list, or the DMG.
You have the option of starting out Proficient with Sky Vehicles. If you choose not to, take that as a Flaw.
Firearms are considered martial weapons. They are not considered starting equipment, but can be purchased with starting gold, as can their ammunition. Use the Renaissance Item table in the DMG for the appropriate stats. Explosive items from the Renaissance Item table can also be purchased, though no class has proficiency with them.
Questions welcome.
This is really cool, I’ll have to get back to this later when I can really sit down and dig in though.
some of your links aren’t working correctly, btw. It all links to the bardic college, instead of to the other subclasses.
Paladin - warforged - orange
Thanks. That's been corrected now. It also prompted me to remember that I forgot to add The Way of the Panarmatum.
The Way of the Panarmatum is showing I have to request to access to see it.
I am interested in playing but would like some time to look through the resources to make decisions.
Also, and you may touch on this in the resources, but with the rise of steam powered technology how does magic play into the world? Is it a bit like in the Eberron setting where magic is used to facilitate technology? ex. Fire Elementals being bound to furnaces to convert water to steam without the need for costly fuel?
Thanks,
Ok, I just changed that on Panarmatum.
I know I gave a lot of info there, so I understand if it's going to take time to digest.
Steam tech is less integrated in Q'rath Set than in Eberron, and with more variation. For one, it hasn't been around as long, and two, there's been more social contention related to it. Magic is still the established way of things in most of the setting, with established power structures built on it and trusting it. In many places steampower is considered a disruptive influence to the old order. In other areas it's turned poverty into prosperity, and the rising powers sing it's praises.
There are two major conflicts related to this; The Brass vs The Iron, and The Mordannians vs The Monarchists.
The first of those relates a god called Rodinus (see the Pantheon link above), who is a god of something approaching science through a philosophy of empiricism. Most of his followers are gnomes and hobgoblins, living in South Shires. The convergence of these two has been heavily associated with Rodinus and steamtech, and there are elements of both cultures which don't like that. Some blame the influence of steamtech/Rodinus. In South Shires there's no stigma, but it varies elsewhere. In particular, the hobgoblins are the rulers of the Iron Empire, a traditional enemy of the nation of Can Tinodius, which South Shires is a a part of. Hobs and gnomes that are partisan to the integration, or follow Rodinus, or who are steamtech enthusiasts, sometimes call themselves 'Brass Folk', and tend to wear the new fashions, called steampunk. The Iron Empire and it's Iron Legions usually take the term as a personal rebuke. Some in the Empire associate this with a point of view on magic on traditional goblinoid religion, further complicating matters.
As for the second conflict, it's mostly considered a dwarven problem, but as the dwarves are the biggest exporters of metal and stone products, as well as most of the architects in the setting, it ends up everyone's problem; The Monarchists represent the dwarven establishment. They have a state religion of hero worship, with a set of semi-divine matriarchs that all the noble house claim descent from. Their religion requires a form of divine monarchy, and outlines extensive social rules and a class hierarchy, including what qualifies as appropriate magic. The Mordannians follow a heavily modified variant of that religion, rejecting hero worship in favor of a form of religious communism that resembles Confucianism with it's focus on social harmony. They have a strong sense of blue-collar pride and a distaste for hierarchy. Traditionally the Mordannians have embraced innovation, and steampower in particular has allowed their way of life to survive the aggressions of the Monarchists. They produce most of the airships, and all of the railroads. As the Mordannians become wealthier due to their economic strength, the Monarchists are loosing power and becoming bitter towards steamtech. Most of the Mordannians are Chasmic (Hill) Dwarves, with most of the Monarchists being Cavern (Mountain) Dwarves, so there's a potential racist element in there too.
Definitely interested, will delve a little further and come up with a character concept tomorrow :)
Hello, sounds fantastic though a bit bittersweet, impelled by a death in the family. I am sorry for your loss.
Here's my idea for a character, with most of the information in the Spoiler. Your Scholar Archetype sounds fun!
Name: Eclipse Faraway
Race: Mawn
Calling: Rogue
Subcalling: Scholar Archetype
Feats:
1. Darkvision
2. Keen Senses
3. Parkour
4. Performer - guitar, ukelele, tres, or oud, or lute (and could probably master them all with a bit of practice)
5. Keen Memory
ABILITIES (Standard Array)
STR 10
DEX 14
CON 8
INT 13
WIS 12
CHA 15
Backgrounds and Backstory:
Backgrounds:
Charlatan (False identity. Actually, three separate lives: performer, scholar, and adventurer)(I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone.)(I insinuate myself into people’s lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes.)(Aspiration. I’m determined to make something of myself. )(Bond: I swindled and ruined a person who didn’t deserve it. I seek to atone for my misdeeds but might never be able to forgive myself.)(Flaw: I’m convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others.)
Entertainer (singing) I know a story relevant to almost every situation. (Ideal: Creativity. The world is in need of new ideas and bold action.)(Bond: I want to be famous, whatever it takes.)
Backstory
Eclipse Faraway is, literally, a rogue. His father had done a kindness to a noble, and when the father & mother perished, the noble took in the son, and Eclipse was raised as a ward. Not to say that the noble was kindhearted. No, the family was political, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic. The boy saw how the wealthy live, and learned fast. He ingratiated himself with them, almost getting himself into the will and pushing out the rightful heirs, while he was still a teenager. This involved some serious deception, and when he was discovered, he ran away, taking a considerable sum, which he spent down to the last copper, within a few months. A Jack-of-all trades, he is an avid reader and remembers everything he reads (Keen Memory feat). He is a compelling storytelling, never forgets a song or a tune, has an excellent ear, and has what it takes to be a world-famous performer. But behind the veneer, he abandons himself as his parents abandoned him when they died. He lives as a swashbuckler, constantly risking death, always in discomfort, and for no good reason. And he can't stop, and won't stop until he proves to the world that he is important and worth showing up for. He has a drug or alcohol problem perhaps, and his body is not as strong as his ambition.
Agenda: Perform in three different cities in the next three months.
Destiny: To be beloved by the entire world.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
This is a really interesting concept -- I'm eager to be involved! I'm going to read up on some of the documents and will try and post a character soon.
So, I'm going to go a bit wild. If this is too much, let me know and I'll submit something else, but with the "build a race" options I want to give this a shot.
Name: Laitraxa
Race: Young Brass Dragon
Calling: Sorcerer (Draconic - Brass)
Feats:
Awkward Body
Winged
Resistant (fire)
Darkvision
Dragon's Blood
ASI (+1 CON / +1 CHA)
Abilities:
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 13 (+1)
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 15 (+1)
Backstory:
“My Little One” is what her mother, Arratraxa, called her. “Runt”, “Whelp”, and “Squishy” is what the rest of her clutch called her. Laitraxa hatched with a clutch of four other brass dragons just over fifteen years ago. For whatever reason, be it a challenge of Bahamut or a sad twist of nature, she was always smaller than the rest of her clutch-mates. Her mother explained her egg was almost half-sized, and while her clutch-mates grew fast and were able to spread their wings and fly, Laitraxa stayed small. Her scales were not nearly as hard as her clutch-mates, her claws not nearly as long, her wings only able to hold her in a glide if she climbed one of the rocky bluffs that surrounded her mother’s desert canyon lair. But where her siblings had raw strength, Laitraxa found she could finely control the arcane ember that burned hot in her being. Thus, she survived. She was an inquisitive wyrmling, and her mother taught her many languages and many facts of the people outside their desert. Laitraxa developed a love for the stories of humans and elves and dwarves, spending her non-hunting time buried in the tomes found in Arratraxa’s horde.
As it must, though, her “childhood” came to its end. After all her siblings had left the nest to find their own lairs and thrive, so did Arratraxa encourage her smallest daughter to do the same. “I would only smother you here, my little one. You will never grow as you should hiding forever under my wing.” Still small by a young dragon’s standards, and still not quite strong enough to fly, Laitraxa left her mother’s lair to discover the world on her own. And she did alright, for a while.
A year or so after she left her mother’s lair, Laitraxa found herself in a bind. Well, several of them. A tribe of nomadic goblins had come across her lair, and ambushed the young dragon as she returned from a hunt. When fiery discourse had failed (she didn’t speak their dialect, and might have accidently insulted their shaman?) and fiery spells also failed (there were a lot of them, and she hadn’t quite mastered “big breath of fire” yet) they had captured her. She was tied down via dozens of ropes to the deck of some sort of wonderous flying ship, which definitely did not bear the markings of having been crafted by the goblins now crewing it. While she couldn’t see much from her vantage point on the deck her instincts told her that the ship had been flown out of the desert, judging by the abundance of puffy clouds and smell of greenery.
Laitraxa saw it before the goblins did – a glint in the sky above, coming from the sun. Classic hunting tactic. Shame the goblin shaman had been so rude, she might have been inclined to give a warning otherwise. She watched as a second sky-ship descended on the goblins, flying colors that she recognized from the stories as belonging to the nation of Can Tinodius. The battle was over swiftly, the goblins dispatched, and a friendly-seeming person cut away Laitraxa’s binds with an offer. That person could use a dragon ally, could provide plenty of food, if she would join forces and help others that the goblins had captured or enslaved. Laitraxa surprised that person by asking if her payment could include books... and a chance to really explore the world and meet its people.
Thus, the sky-ship got a dragon.
(As a note, I left the person who freed Laitraxa vague. If there is an NPC captain of the ship, could be that person. Could be another PC. I’m very flexible regarding this entire backstory, depending on what could make a better narrative!)
Backgrounds: Outlander/Far Traveler (modified to replace instruments with more languages)
Agenda: To free someone captured by goblins or other slavers, sparing them the same fate that might have befallen her.
Destiny: She will converse with a king or queen, and both will find the conversation enlightening. She will prove her worth to her clutch-mates. She will grow into a great, full-sized dragon, so that she can better protect those she cares about.
Description:
Laitraxa, were she to stand straight up on her hind legs and extend her neck fully, would stretch to eight feet tall, and still have her tail coiled behind her. She is of slim build, almost snakelike in some regards, and is maybe half the mass that a fifteen year old brass dragon should be. Her scales are a warm dark-gold color, with a bit of shine but without reflection. Her head is framed by long curved natural plates extending from either side just past the eyes to form a crest. Her wings, tapering like a triangle to the tip of her tail, transition from a green-gold color at the roots to a bright orange at the tips, framed by brassy spines.
She wears some humanoid-type equipment, adjusted and adapted to her frame. A leather-and-steel headband is attached to the top of her head, framing the crest, upon which is set a citrine crystal and a small diamond (part of her arcane focii). She has what could best be described as a leather harness, with small reinforced pouches within reach of her front claws, and wears a converted backpack between her main wing-arms. She can't reach this bag with her arms, but can turn her head far enough to look at it and manipulate it with an arcane Mage Hand that appears as a draconic claw wreathed in harmless spectral flame.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Name: Brightly Shining Moon (Moon)
Race: Chaszmyrian (Unfleshed)
Calling: Druid
Subcalling: Circle of Moon
Feats:
Chaszmyrian
Battle Magic
Spy
Polyglot
ABILITIES:
STR 8
DEX 14
CON 12 (+1 from race)
INT 10
WIS 15 (+2 from race)
CHA 13 (+1 from Feats)
Background/Agenda/Destiny
Backgrounds: Sailor & Spy
His first memory was waking up, flat on his back, staring into a full moon shining in the sky, a wild boar snuffling his bones, curiously, fleeing in terror when it became clear that there was still life in there. For a moment before the existential horror of his new condition hit him, he thought it was unbelievably beautiful, and the memory of that moment was the main thing that kept him from descending into insanity until, with the help of a Chaszmyrian counselor and eventual friend, Tangly Twisty Vines, Brightly Shining Moon finally embraced his state of 'unaliveness' and adopted his name based on that memory
In the years since, Brightly Shining Moon has traveled far and wide, to all parts of the world, seeking to collect more and more information about the animals he met, hoping to eventually gather enough material to produce a book for other Chaszmyrians that Moon has provisionally titled Studies upon Animalkind and their Reactions to the Unfleshed. His studies of these animals have extended to learning somehow to adopt their forms, albeit unfleshed (I'd love to discuss how to adapt Wild Shape for an Unfleshed deadfolk). After decades of building this magnum opus, Moon takes a job on an airship in service of the kingdom of Can Tinodius, hoping to gain more exposure to animals of the air, and to get closer to the brightly shining orb that gave him his name. Given his seemingly inborn connection to animals, Moon is also feeling a little curiosity stir his bones about who this person was that forms his shell and what exactly the boar doing there. Was it a beloved pet? A companion? A simple scavenger? Moon keeps returning to these questions in his head and eventually hopes to find an answer -- after completing his book, of course.
Agenda: To complete and ultimately gain royal patronage for his manuscript on the relationship between deadfolk and the various fauna of the world so it can be published and widely distributed.
Destiny: To uncover his own personal connection to the living person that once occupied his body to determine if his connection to and sympathy for animals is innate to him or some personal stirring of the person he once "was."
Leonardo Hillbuckle - He’s a Halfling tempest cleric serving as an agent of a wind deity. This is not so much worship as it is an agreement. He gets the occasional task to smite the disloyal worshiper, and plays pirate the rest of the time. Leonardo enjoys his time on sky ships more than anything except taking ships and loot from somebody else.
Agenda: to leave a suitably “pirate” impression on the next ship they encounter. Swing over on a rope with a knife in his teeth. Have a duel with an opposing officer. Throw someone overboard, etc etc.
Destiny: to find someone who’s heard of him, and fears him based upon his reputation.
I’m not sure how to take this sheet and make it something I can save and edit. Do I need permissions?
Paladin - warforged - orange
You'd want to save a copy for yourself. You can edit the copy.
This looks really interesting. How much travel is there between planes/worlds. Is it more things bleed in, or are there actual portals or something to travel between the planes. How long have steam power and airships been around. Is it reasonable that my guy is an air ship mechanic? Or would he be more likely a steam engine mechanic that is now on an air ship working on it. I figure an air ship that's a fairly new technology would need lots of care and handling. I also image him having a giant wrench as his weapon. Something he uses to fix the ship. I would love any more info on these dwarves to get a better backstory. I imagine he's a young just out of apprentice work with a steam engine/blacksmith type and he's going out to find out about the world. He's interested in visiting everywhere.
Name: Tyrod (some dwarven family name) Age: 45
Race: Chasmic Dwarf (Mordannian)
Calling: Artificer
Subcalling: Air Ship engineer (Battle Smith)
Feats:
Abilities:
Agenda: Keep the ship aloft for the next month (or something else like this, or maybe some to do with modifying the ship maybe)
Destiny: Design and construct the largest air ship ever made.
Background:
outline:
Tyrod - Sky-Pirates of Q’rath Set: Crew of the Reaver's Word
There are a few stable portals between worlds, which are mostly situated in major cities and well known. Most people haven't been off-world, but for a some people it's a day-to-day event as they engage in trade. The Deadlands have a few portals to the Shadowfell, Deep Port has a handful of portals to different locations (the notes have contradictions we're working out), and it's assumed there are others left undefined. Plenty of places 'bleed' into other planes, such as lava flowing into the mountains around Akamah from the elemental plane of fire. There's also a number of places that either connect to unformed planes or are partially unformed themselves, like an area of 1200 cubic feet in Kragmor where gravity doesn't work and Lord Rankant built a nursery playground for his children. There also isn't an Underdark, as the equivalent space is called the Deep Realms, and it subtly transitions into the Plane of Dreams. The subterranean peoples live in the Betweening, the earth above the Deep and below the Surface, and contend with whatever finds it's way out of the Deep and the universal subconscious.
Steamtech is only decades into it's existence, and it's been an explosive change for the setting. One of the major hubs for steamtech is Southshires, which has only been around half a century and now boasts a population of one and a half million. I imagine there are members of the older peoples, like elves, who walk into the valley and say things like "Where the hell did all this come from?" You could definitely play as a steamtech technician. It would be a hip, up-and-coming profession. As far as the wrench, I always allow things that are cosmetic reskins, so just use the stats for an existing weapon. Currently the subcallings for Artificers are just the published ones. There isn't a defined Airship Engineer, though that's not a bad idea...
Dwarves, like most of the races, have their info scattered through the material, but you may want to look up Mordrain/Mordanni in the Pantheon, Stonehelm in the Lands document, and there's the entry for dwarves in the Peoples doc.
Also, and this applies to a few people; Remember that you level by completing your Agenda and fulfilling your Destiny, so it doesn't need to be as grandiose as the term 'Destiny' might a imply. If you have a 'big' Agenda or Destiny, you might want to break it down into smaller parts. Like if you had an Agenda to take down a crime syndicate to avenge your brother, instead of listing that as your Agenda on the sheet, list, 'Identify an agent of the syndicate', for one Agenda, followed by 'Uncover the syndicate's lynchpin operation.' for the next level, etc. That way you map out a whole revenge story arch. You can change each one at any time before the encounter you complete it in, so the plan can change as events unfold. The same mapping can be done for Destiny.
I'll add that explanation up top as well.
So, as an example, I currently have Laitraxa's agenda as: "To free someone captured by goblins or other slavers, sparing them the same fate that might have befallen her." and just a big-picture "if we hit level 12+ ish" destiny of "To grow into a great, full-sized dragon, so that she can better protect those she cares about."
With the new guidance, would it be more appropriate to have, say, the "story arc" Destiny is "I want to disrupt and destroy slaver operations in the Northern Plains, sparing people the same fate that might have befallen me."
Agendas are then related to that destiny, such as: "capture a Goblin shaman or chieftain an interrogate him", "figure out where the slaves are being sold", "find and release a slave", etc etc.
I guess, is Destiny sort of tier based (ie, a Destiny for tier 1 levels 1-4, another for Tier 2, so on) and perhaps we only need to focus on the nearest rocks for this initial Destiny? Thus, keeping that big-ticket destiny as a "very far down the road, I want to grow into the full size dragon, but it's going to be an effort to get there."
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Name: Riardon Xistsrith
Concept: Ruxalfier Hand Crossbow Fighter
Calling: Fighter (Battlemaster)
Backstory key factors: Ended up learning woodcarving because he was good with his hands, even did it as his job for a while, but his temper wasn't really good for dealing with customers. When the chance came he joined a combat academy. He was hoping to take part in the running conflicts, but peace was reached before his graduation. Might have worked a bit on some lesser pirate ships or as mercenary before joining the current sky-ship crew, depending on how long it would have been between his graduation and the game starting.
Agenda: Prove my excellence to the crew by challenging one of them to a body-count competition when appropriate and winning.
Destiny: Someone I see as my lesser saves my life.
Destiny and Agenda are similar mechanically, but they don't have to relate to each other. Agendas are things your character wants and Destiny are things the player assigns to the character and the character doesn't know about (though they might suspect it). Think of a Destiny as a minor prophecy. 'Free a slave' works as an agenda, particularly if the character has backstory, an Ideal or Personality Traits related to that. Making it the first part of disrupting the slave trade is likewise appropriate. The Destiny probably shouldn't be growing, since that happens so long as the character doesn't die.
In-world, destiny is probably assigned by the gods, or some kind of impersonal fate-force, but out of character a Destiny allows a player to steer the plot some, expose your character to things you think would be interesting, and provoke entertaining situations.
I submitted my character concept through email, but I'll also put it here:
Setting Note: Aasimar are called Nephilim in Q'rath Set, and like Teiflings, they aren't a race, they're an aspect of heritage, so you have a race-identity (usually), and being a Nephilim or Tiefling is a fact of your ancestry. As an example, there's a family of Tiefling gold dragons living above Stonehelm.
Given your backstory, you probably wouldn't have another race identity, unless you appear to have obvious celestial heritage or interpret yourself in a particular light. Some of the people that found you might suggest that you're a half-giant, or have goliath blood or anything along those lines. It's be up to you what your character thinks of that.