Hello all. I am looking to start a new campaign, doing Curse of Strahd, but it will be with my own unique spin on it.
Any class and race is acceptable, but in this weaving of the tale, it will be heavily influenced by the feywild and shadowfell, so keep that in mind when applying. If you lean into that, you are more likely to be chosen.
Every character will also already start at level 6. For your ASI, roll 4d6 7 times, drop the lowest dice, and the lowest roll.
Note: Include 1 special item. As an example: Do not make up stats for it, or say "+1longsword". Say "it is a longsword of my family, with a lion pommel" or something like that.
One thing I have noticed about RPG worlds is that you kill the bad guy, take his stuff, and you drop what you had (so to speak). But in movies and stories, that really does not happen. You don't see Legolas drops his bow for a downed badguy's item, or Gimly put on a new helmet.
To that end, I wanted each of you to pick 1 special item. Do not choose what is special about it. I will decide that, and as the story progresses, the weapon/armor/item will grow with you.
Also important note: I am looking for 1 post a day minimum during weekday. I run a very fast game.
Here is the information on the backstory. I did not realize that the post did not keep this part...
Legend speaks of a time when the universe as a vast cosmos of multiple planes of existence. It speaks of a time when Deities, Titan's and Devils roamed the planes, and influenced the planes. Legend speaks of a great war that broke out that stretched eons, and the End of Days began. It is said the war ripped apart the planes, first destroying the astral sea. Next, the Gods and the Devils battled, destroying the Abyss, the Nine hells, and the Celestial planes as well.
In their last act of good will, the Deities granted some of their power to the Archfey, hoping to give them enough time and power to prepare for the collapse of all life in the multiverse. In spite, the evil aligned super-powers granted their power to the Shadowfell lords.
Legend says that the collapse was happening to quickly, and the Archfey & Shadowlords were not able to halt the collapse completely. For the first time in history, these 2 groups worked together and wove their magic together, forceably taking pieces of the Elemental Planes and the Feywild & Shadowfell into the Prime material Plane. Using their magic, they created a barrier around the Prime Material Plane, sacrificing their own planes in the process.
Legend says that the world had a much different landscape then it does now. Legend tells of great cities of civilization. By bringing the other planes into the Prime Material Plane, and making the barrier, the "Time of Rending" began. Much of what was known is lost now, as centuries of the world reshaping itself took place.
After much death, destruction, and reshaping, the world settled. In doing so, the Archfey took up residence in the East, and assisted the mortals with rebuilding. They took up rolls of leadership, and became something a kin to kings, queens, and gods to the mortal realm. They named their new home "Athendrerdia" or in the Common tongue "the Fey Gardens" for it is but a garden compared to what the Feywild once was. Here on the east continent, the unique magic of the Feywild is ever present.
The Shadowlords took up residence to the west, and established a kingdom of their own. Not much is known about the west. To those in the east, the land is just known as the Shadowlands.
Between the 2 massive Continents, there is a thin strip of land that connects to a much larger continent. This Continent is known as " the Blight", and is a place of chaos. All of the planar entities that managed to escape the Great Collapse established themselves here. It is a savage place of beasts and dragons and aberrations.
As society rebuilt, more and more land was needed in the East. Pushing ever forward toward the Blight. These fringe towns need constant support, and the military of the Archfey is quite busy. But for special tasks, the Archfey pick uniquely gifted ones and train them almost from birth for important and legendary rolls.
There has been rumors coming out of the Blight. Rumors from the non-aligned races that have learned to live in the Blight. Rumors of a roiling black fog that rolls through the Blight, claiming more and more land. They are not sure if it is part of the Shadowlands, or if the fog has taken over that as well. Even the powerful dragons, Giants, and Aberrations stay clear of it, and are concerned with its approach. Choosing their newest group of Special Adventurers, the Archfey send you off to investigate, report, and potentially destroy this growing evil.
Cultures and Races
All other races: Many of the other races are included in and around the Fey Garden. Even creatures like Yuan-Ti, Firbolg, and Tabaxi.
Dwarves: Much of the Dwarves live in the Blight, under the mountains. Not much is known about them. There are a few communities of Dwarves that live and work closely with the Gnomes, and have found favor in the new society.
Half Orcs: Mostly in the Blight, but some have found their way into the Fey. They are not looked down upon per say, but do not have any positions of authority in most cases.
Half Elves: In this world, they are seen as a great boon to the culture, hoping to eventually completely assimilate humanity into the Fey.
Humans: Next to Elves, they are the most commonly seen peoples in the east.
Elves & Gnomes
Wood/High Elves are now the most common peoples within the world. They are seen as the most noble of beings, and favored by the Archfey.
Drow: Without the influence of Lolth, about 1/2 of the Drow returned to the fold of the Elves. They are not as common as the other races, but not uncommon. They are not looked badly upon.
Gnomes: Being creatures of the Fey, they are looked up favorably. They have an elevated status because they are responsible for the creation of the war forged, which serve as much of the guards against the Blight.
Sure. I think you beat Jessica to the punch... so to speak. But I dont think she was going to do open hand, so 2 monks as the "tanks" could be interesting ;)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
I'm all for doing Curse of Strahd, been wanting to try that one for a while. I'll roll stats then think about class. Happy to fill in a role based on what other people are doing right now.
Miflew was the half elven son of a local human lord. He was never publically acknowledged, but his father's family treated him well and he loved his siblings. As he grew he became a body guard for his brother (The new lord) and his family. Miflew loved them all and had a great life. Until one day a local rival lord arranged to have the family taken and killed. Miflew was taken with them and forced to watch as his brother was tortured for the information his rival needed. Miflew had never felt so helpless in his life. As he lay bleeding a voice in his head offered him a deal, He would be given the power to stop them, but at the cost of his soul. Miflew hated himself as he refused. It was not logical to give his soul up for the lives of the ones he loved, Eternal torment vs the few hundred years the family had combined left. The voice laughed at this and offered him another deal. He could keep his soul, but would have to do whatever the voice told him to, with the caviot the voice would not make him harm innocents in any way.
He agreed, and saved the family. As they looked at him with gratitude, the voice told him he had to leave them, without a word. He did, sadly and took off to see what his new life would be.
(Don't worry I've played with chaotic stupid people before, this will not be one of those characters.)
I could do a Circle of Dreams druid (either wood elf or human) with ties to feywild and the summer court. Maybe was trained as a druid by a dryad from the summer court. With a quarterstaff made from a branch from the tree inhabited by said dryad.
As a child, Desarian was separated from his parents and lost in the forest. Having gotten turned around in the trees, his attempts to find his way back to the road only got him further lost, moving deeper into the forest.
Eventually, as he wandered tired and hungry, he passed nearby a tree inhabited by a dryad. The fey creature was intrigued to find a small human child alone in the forest and approached him. The child was transfixed by the sight of the beautiful fey creature. Over time, as no other humans arrived to take the boy back, the dryad helped him to find food and shelter and cared for him.
Slowly, she also began to train him in druid magics, teaching him to live in harmony with and care for the forest and creatures around him. Eventually, seeing how naturally he took to magic and the potential the child contains, she decided to take him to the Moonshade Isles and present him to Titania. Before leaving, the dryad presented the child with a staff made from a branch of her home tree, which she said would help him focus his spells.
Titania also took an immediate interest in the child when he was presented to her and kept him on the isles to receive specialized training so that when he was grown he could be sent back out into the world as her agent. He always kept the staff given to him by the dryad, using it all though his training. On the day his training was declared complete and Titania was ready to send him into the world, she gave his staff a blessing of her own and told him that it would always serve him well.
Ok, so I want to be a half orc, but I found this really cool/pretty picture of a half orc monk that I am basing my character on... as Saute knows... my characters need to be pretty lol.... I talked to Dpad, and he is going to let me homebrew my race a little bit because "Kyra Tuskmoon" is from a half orc father, and a half elven mother from the moon elf tribe.
Her teeth are barely pronounced, and her skin is a soft green blue. She looks more like a half elf then a half orc.
Her father was a famous adventurer, her mother an acolyte in the Archfey of the Moons temple. She learned to fight, and as she left to her new assignment, her father returned to give her his old fighting wraps that felt... special somehow, and gave her their tribes tattoos on her face.
Special Item: A strange, deep purple tattoo sprawls across Robin's back. It shifts and changes slowly, creating new patterns and shapes. Robin owns a plain iron ring that, when worn, causes the tattoo to surge down that arm. It empowers his strikes with magic (hex weapon feature flavor). Robin suspects there are more abilities tied to this tattoo, but he doesn't know what they are. The ring was given to him by Tolivar, the Moonlit King.
Backstory/Shadowfell/Feywild Tie-ins: Chosen by Tolivar, his eyes were blessed with dark power to let him see through the darkness. Occasionally, he suffers nightmares where he falls through a dark void, ending when he lands and is surrounded by eyes. Normally, these nightmares start partway through any other ordinary dream, with the ground opening up beneath him or entering a different room, only to fall into this void. Every time he has this dream, he wakes in a cold sweat. He has never dreamed past the eyes.
I've never played Curse of Strahd, even though it's the only official module I own. I never managed to get a group to do it, so playing through a modified version sounds interesting.
I have a couple characters i'd like to a throw out. One is an aasimar hexblade from waterdeep. I had him in another PBP game that dried up, so i'm itching to get back into him.
Hexblade Backstory:
Ahriman hails from in the Field Ward of Waterdeep and got by stealing food and minor trinkets from Waterdeep's nobility. The proximity of the Field Ward to the North and Sea Wards (where the nobility lives), made it a tempting base of operations for an upstart thieves ring. Ahriman, far from a professional thief, thought that they would leave him alone if he kept to himself.
He was wrong, the criminal group put pressure on the pick-pocketing poor to give them a piece of the wealth they stole, not caring that most of what they stole was food and other necessities. The criminals began to make examples of those who couldn't pay their dues. The local authorities were looking the other way, mostly at the coin being dropped into their pockets.
Desperate to find a way to pay his due, Ahriman pushed further and further into the wealthy wards. One night he broke into a curio shop, sure he would find some trinket or bauble of value. He was drawn to a small, locked chest in a back room. Inside was the broken shard of a blade, its hilt wrapped in worn leather. He felt compelled to reach for it, to wrap his hand around the grip, to run its jagged edge across the throats of those who oppressed him. It was when he touched it that he heard the voice, soft and steady, offering him the power to stand up to those who stood on him.
He took the blade and the next day, he gave the collectors' their cut. He didn't stop there. Using his newly found power and years honed skills in stealth and burglary, he stole into the homes of the newly formed crime ring, and gave them their cut as well. Even the captain of the local guard wasn't spared from Ahriman's vengeance, an act he is now wanted for. The message was sent, and the remnants of the ring stayed away from Ahriman and his friends.
Occasionally, the voice of the blade calls out to him with tasks to complete. One such task took him on a weeks long trip into the mountainous north. He hiked for days through the wilderness before coming to a small pile of stones. The voice instructed him to arrange these stones into a geometric pattern and speak a word from a strange tongue. Seemingly nothing happened, but the voice was pleased just the same.
Another task had him steal a jeweled broach from a noble woman and deliver it to another. A week later the town rumor mill was buzzing with the story of prominent member of nobility embroiled in an affair with his political rival’s wife.
The voice has even tasked him with taking life. This is an uncommon ask and he is always assured that the life he takes is deserving of such a fate – that the throat he cuts is poised to cut the throats of others. Ahriman believes that there is something more behind the blade, some larger agenda that isn't yet clear, but it gave him to the power to free himself and so he is compelled to obey.
Since we already have two warlock types in the group, I have also have a human barbarian named Jorin Maul. I set him up with 1 level of fighter for two weapon fighting.
Fighter/Barb Backstory:
Jornin Maul is of the Bodt tribe, a small group of hunter gathers hewn from the rugged landscape of the northern mountains.
Many generations ago, his tribe came to the aid of a dwarven city under siege. They were able to break the siege and in return, the Dwarves offered to apprentice the Bodt blacksmith and his descendants in their forges. For many generations, the Maul family has sent their children to learn of the forge and smith for the clan.
Since the life of a blacksmith is a home-bound one, they get to go out into the world after their training with the Dwarves. This is known as K'harn, which loosely translates as 'World Eating' in common. The newly trained smith forges a weapon of his choice and then goes on to get adventuring experience. The Bodt believe that you can't forge a proper blade if you don't know how to use one. Jorin is in his last year of "world eating" and has found he has quite an affinity for strong drink and good friends.
Hello all. I am looking to start a new campaign, doing Curse of Strahd, but it will be with my own unique spin on it.
Any class and race is acceptable, but in this weaving of the tale, it will be heavily influenced by the feywild and shadowfell, so keep that in mind when applying. If you lean into that, you are more likely to be chosen.
Every character will also already start at level 6. For your ASI, roll 4d6 7 times, drop the lowest dice, and the lowest roll.
Note: Include 1 special item. As an example: Do not make up stats for it, or say "+1longsword". Say "it is a longsword of my family, with a lion pommel" or something like that.
One thing I have noticed about RPG worlds is that you kill the bad guy, take his stuff, and you drop what you had (so to speak). But in movies and stories, that really does not happen. You don't see Legolas drops his bow for a downed badguy's item, or Gimly put on a new helmet.
To that end, I wanted each of you to pick 1 special item. Do not choose what is special about it. I will decide that, and as the story progresses, the weapon/armor/item will grow with you.
Also important note: I am looking for 1 post a day minimum during weekday. I run a very fast game.
Here is the information on the backstory. I did not realize that the post did not keep this part...
Legend speaks of a time when the universe as a vast cosmos of multiple planes of existence. It speaks of a time when Deities, Titan's and Devils roamed the planes, and influenced the planes. Legend speaks of a great war that broke out that stretched eons, and the End of Days began. It is said the war ripped apart the planes, first destroying the astral sea. Next, the Gods and the Devils battled, destroying the Abyss, the Nine hells, and the Celestial planes as well.
In their last act of good will, the Deities granted some of their power to the Archfey, hoping to give them enough time and power to prepare for the collapse of all life in the multiverse. In spite, the evil aligned super-powers granted their power to the Shadowfell lords.
Legend says that the collapse was happening to quickly, and the Archfey & Shadowlords were not able to halt the collapse completely. For the first time in history, these 2 groups worked together and wove their magic together, forceably taking pieces of the Elemental Planes and the Feywild & Shadowfell into the Prime material Plane. Using their magic, they created a barrier around the Prime Material Plane, sacrificing their own planes in the process.
Legend says that the world had a much different landscape then it does now. Legend tells of great cities of civilization. By bringing the other planes into the Prime Material Plane, and making the barrier, the "Time of Rending" began. Much of what was known is lost now, as centuries of the world reshaping itself took place.
After much death, destruction, and reshaping, the world settled. In doing so, the Archfey took up residence in the East, and assisted the mortals with rebuilding. They took up rolls of leadership, and became something a kin to kings, queens, and gods to the mortal realm. They named their new home "Athendrerdia" or in the Common tongue "the Fey Gardens" for it is but a garden compared to what the Feywild once was. Here on the east continent, the unique magic of the Feywild is ever present.
The Shadowlords took up residence to the west, and established a kingdom of their own. Not much is known about the west. To those in the east, the land is just known as the Shadowlands.
Between the 2 massive Continents, there is a thin strip of land that connects to a much larger continent. This Continent is known as " the Blight", and is a place of chaos. All of the planar entities that managed to escape the Great Collapse established themselves here. It is a savage place of beasts and dragons and aberrations.
As society rebuilt, more and more land was needed in the East. Pushing ever forward toward the Blight. These fringe towns need constant support, and the military of the Archfey is quite busy. But for special tasks, the Archfey pick uniquely gifted ones and train them almost from birth for important and legendary rolls.
There has been rumors coming out of the Blight. Rumors from the non-aligned races that have learned to live in the Blight. Rumors of a roiling black fog that rolls through the Blight, claiming more and more land. They are not sure if it is part of the Shadowlands, or if the fog has taken over that as well. Even the powerful dragons, Giants, and Aberrations stay clear of it, and are concerned with its approach. Choosing their newest group of Special Adventurers, the Archfey send you off to investigate, report, and potentially destroy this growing evil.
Cultures and Races
Ability scores: 9 14 14 13 10 16 11
I want to see what my stats will be before I decide on a class and race. 14 14 13 10 16 11. Ok... gotta think.
Got room for warforged in this setting? Thinking of doing a kensei monk.
Ability scores: 14 7 16 15 11 12 13
Sure. I think you beat Jessica to the punch... so to speak. But I dont think she was going to do open hand, so 2 monks as the "tanks" could be interesting ;)
Cool... thinking of doing another cleric too.
Always good with a healer in the party too lol. Jessica said she wanted to make a monk tank, but with the rolls she got, she is not sure she can
I'm all for doing Curse of Strahd, been wanting to try that one for a while. I'll roll stats then think about class. Happy to fill in a role based on what other people are doing right now.
Ability scores: 16 12 11 15 12 13 8
Ability scores: 12 10 12 18 12 14 15
Name: Miflew Bigox
Race: Half elf
Class: Warlock
Background: Noble
Miflew Bigox <----- character sheet
Background: (Longer version available on request)
Miflew was the half elven son of a local human lord. He was never publically acknowledged, but his father's family treated him well and he loved his siblings. As he grew he became a body guard for his brother (The new lord) and his family. Miflew loved them all and had a great life. Until one day a local rival lord arranged to have the family taken and killed. Miflew was taken with them and forced to watch as his brother was tortured for the information his rival needed. Miflew had never felt so helpless in his life. As he lay bleeding a voice in his head offered him a deal, He would be given the power to stop them, but at the cost of his soul. Miflew hated himself as he refused. It was not logical to give his soul up for the lives of the ones he loved, Eternal torment vs the few hundred years the family had combined left. The voice laughed at this and offered him another deal. He could keep his soul, but would have to do whatever the voice told him to, with the caviot the voice would not make him harm innocents in any way.
He agreed, and saved the family. As they looked at him with gratitude, the voice told him he had to leave them, without a word. He did, sadly and took off to see what his new life would be.
(Don't worry I've played with chaotic stupid people before, this will not be one of those characters.)
I could do a Circle of Dreams druid (either wood elf or human) with ties to feywild and the summer court. Maybe was trained as a druid by a dryad from the summer court. With a quarterstaff made from a branch from the tree inhabited by said dryad.
Edit: Character sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/5828232/iZANw7
Expanded backstory:
As a child, Desarian was separated from his parents and lost in the forest. Having gotten turned around in the trees, his attempts to find his way back to the road only got him further lost, moving deeper into the forest.
Eventually, as he wandered tired and hungry, he passed nearby a tree inhabited by a dryad. The fey creature was intrigued to find a small human child alone in the forest and approached him. The child was transfixed by the sight of the beautiful fey creature. Over time, as no other humans arrived to take the boy back, the dryad helped him to find food and shelter and cared for him.
Slowly, she also began to train him in druid magics, teaching him to live in harmony with and care for the forest and creatures around him. Eventually, seeing how naturally he took to magic and the potential the child contains, she decided to take him to the Moonshade Isles and present him to Titania. Before leaving, the dryad presented the child with a staff made from a branch of her home tree, which she said would help him focus his spells.
Titania also took an immediate interest in the child when he was presented to her and kept him on the isles to receive specialized training so that when he was grown he could be sent back out into the world as her agent. He always kept the staff given to him by the dryad, using it all though his training. On the day his training was declared complete and Titania was ready to send him into the world, she gave his staff a blessing of her own and told him that it would always serve him well.
All those ideas sound good to me.
On the special item, is it a magical or mundane item that has a story behind it?
Ok, so I want to be a half orc, but I found this really cool/pretty picture of a half orc monk that I am basing my character on... as Saute knows... my characters need to be pretty lol.... I talked to Dpad, and he is going to let me homebrew my race a little bit because "Kyra Tuskmoon" is from a half orc father, and a half elven mother from the moon elf tribe.
Her teeth are barely pronounced, and her skin is a soft green blue. She looks more like a half elf then a half orc.
Her father was a famous adventurer, her mother an acolyte in the Archfey of the Moons temple. She learned to fight, and as she left to her new assignment, her father returned to give her his old fighting wraps that felt... special somehow, and gave her their tribes tattoos on her face.
Just... something. It can be armor, a weapon, a trinket... like kyra's gloves... I am helping get off screen.
I got this idea from a Podcast and I really liked it.
http://we-are-rogue.tumblr.com/image/142519803085
I can't figure out how to post this as an image
Robin Flintvale, Human Sorclock
Ability Scores: 5, 17, 10, 11, 9, 11, 14
Special Item: A strange, deep purple tattoo sprawls across Robin's back. It shifts and changes slowly, creating new patterns and shapes. Robin owns a plain iron ring that, when worn, causes the tattoo to surge down that arm. It empowers his strikes with magic (hex weapon feature flavor). Robin suspects there are more abilities tied to this tattoo, but he doesn't know what they are. The ring was given to him by Tolivar, the Moonlit King.
Backstory/Shadowfell/Feywild Tie-ins: Chosen by Tolivar, his eyes were blessed with dark power to let him see through the darkness. Occasionally, he suffers nightmares where he falls through a dark void, ending when he lands and is surrounded by eyes. Normally, these nightmares start partway through any other ordinary dream, with the ground opening up beneath him or entering a different room, only to fall into this void. Every time he has this dream, he wakes in a cold sweat. He has never dreamed past the eyes.
I've never played Curse of Strahd, even though it's the only official module I own. I never managed to get a group to do it, so playing through a modified version sounds interesting.
I'll play anything. Very active.
Ability scores: 12 9 14 15 9 13 16
So we have a tanky monk, a cleric? from Salute, a druid from Vanderbilt. A drow warlock and a sorlock?
I can do rogue, ranger, or barbarian?
What do you prefer eremis
I have a couple characters i'd like to a throw out. One is an aasimar hexblade from waterdeep. I had him in another PBP game that dried up, so i'm itching to get back into him.
Hexblade Backstory:
Ahriman hails from in the Field Ward of Waterdeep and got by stealing food and minor trinkets from Waterdeep's nobility. The proximity of the Field Ward to the North and Sea Wards (where the nobility lives), made it a tempting base of operations for an upstart thieves ring. Ahriman, far from a professional thief, thought that they would leave him alone if he kept to himself.
He was wrong, the criminal group put pressure on the pick-pocketing poor to give them a piece of the wealth they stole, not caring that most of what they stole was food and other necessities. The criminals began to make examples of those who couldn't pay their dues. The local authorities were looking the other way, mostly at the coin being dropped into their pockets.
Desperate to find a way to pay his due, Ahriman pushed further and further into the wealthy wards. One night he broke into a curio shop, sure he would find some trinket or bauble of value. He was drawn to a small, locked chest in a back room. Inside was the broken shard of a blade, its hilt wrapped in worn leather. He felt compelled to reach for it, to wrap his hand around the grip, to run its jagged edge across the throats of those who oppressed him. It was when he touched it that he heard the voice, soft and steady, offering him the power to stand up to those who stood on him.
He took the blade and the next day, he gave the collectors' their cut. He didn't stop there. Using his newly found power and years honed skills in stealth and burglary, he stole into the homes of the newly formed crime ring, and gave them their cut as well. Even the captain of the local guard wasn't spared from Ahriman's vengeance, an act he is now wanted for. The message was sent, and the remnants of the ring stayed away from Ahriman and his friends.
Occasionally, the voice of the blade calls out to him with tasks to complete. One such task took him on a weeks long trip into the mountainous north. He hiked for days through the wilderness before coming to a small pile of stones. The voice instructed him to arrange these stones into a geometric pattern and speak a word from a strange tongue. Seemingly nothing happened, but the voice was pleased just the same.
Another task had him steal a jeweled broach from a noble woman and deliver it to another. A week later the town rumor mill was buzzing with the story of prominent member of nobility embroiled in an affair with his political rival’s wife.
The voice has even tasked him with taking life. This is an uncommon ask and he is always assured that the life he takes is deserving of such a fate – that the throat he cuts is poised to cut the throats of others. Ahriman believes that there is something more behind the blade, some larger agenda that isn't yet clear, but it gave him to the power to free himself and so he is compelled to obey.
Since we already have two warlock types in the group, I have also have a human barbarian named Jorin Maul. I set him up with 1 level of fighter for two weapon fighting.
Fighter/Barb Backstory:
Jornin Maul is of the Bodt tribe, a small group of hunter gathers hewn from the rugged landscape of the northern mountains.
Many generations ago, his tribe came to the aid of a dwarven city under siege. They were able to break the siege and in return, the Dwarves offered to apprentice the Bodt blacksmith and his descendants in their forges. For many generations, the Maul family has sent their children to learn of the forge and smith for the clan.
I'd be happy to play either!
Ability scores: 11 14 17 14 8 15 10