Numerous small towns dot the fog-shrouded landscape of Ustalav. At first glance, these towns might all seem kindred spirits—cozy collections of quaint buildings surrounded by farmland, their skylines decorated by the steeples of Pharasmin churches or the steep rooflines of colorful taverns. Yet in Ustalav, appearances are often deceiving, and many of the nation’s towns and villages harbor sinister secrets. Such is the case in idyllic Ravengro, a town built originally to provide support for the notorious prison known as Harrowstone, but which today endures as a self-sufficient farming community with more than its fair share of secrets.
15th Pharast 4711, Ravengro, Canterwall, Immortal Principality of Ustalav
Sir/Madam ______________
It is my duty to inform you that after the passing of Professor Lorrimor on the 14th Pharast, you have been named in his last will and testament. You are hereby formally invited to his funeral and the reading of his testament on the 25th Pharast 4711.
The main point is that your character should have a connection to Professor Lorrimor such that he would conceivably mention you in his will.
Harrow points are being ignored, backgrounds adapted (see below).
Assume that any races not listed in the player’s guide are an uncommon sight. (For eladrin read the elves section. Dragonborn live in the Cinderlands – a harsh semi-desertic plateau and are referred to as Shoanti.)
If possible pick up a social skill: diplomacy, bluff, intimidate or insight; and a knowledge skill: arcana, religion, history, streetwise, nature or dungeoneering. Perception, stealth and athletics should also come in handy.
It shouldn’t be a secret that radiant damage will be useful in a module called the Haunting of Harrowstone.
Edition: 4e
Setting: Golarion (by Paizo) (You do not need to know the setting, but you can read about it here.)
Level: 1st
Point Buy: 22 points, custom method or array (PHB p. 17/18)
Alignment : any good or unaligned (team players please)
Classes: PHB1,2, hybrid, swordmage, artificer, asassin (no essentials)
Races: PHB1 and 2 races plus changeling, kalashtar, revenant, shadar-kai and orc
Background: General background fitting your character or player’s guide background (see below).
Player’s Guide background benefits are changed as follows: Chance Savior: +1 feat bonus to initiative Subject of Study: +1 damage vs either elemental, fey, shadow, aberrant, natural, immortal or undead Inspired by Greatness: gain one wizard multiclass feat for free Making Good on Promises: +2 feat bonus to saves vs fear On the Payroll: 150gp or +2 on monster knowledge checks Teacher’s Pet: same as general background with associated skills: arcana, dungeoneering, history, nature, religion
Feats/Powers/Items: You can use pretty much anything, plus essentials stuff, but I don't have that material so you'll have to provide the information to me. You get a free expertise feat at lvl5 (the vanilla +1/+2/+3 to attack feat without other boni). Usual gold for starting out.
Rituals: The transfer enchantment ritual is free and has no cost attached.
I reserve the right to veto any combination that’s utterly broken.
A character is not complete unless he has a background, appearance and personality.
Ka'alith Mar was a researcher at Lapidstadt and a colleague of Professor Lorrimor. He specilized in divinity research, a countert point to Lorrimor's arcane activities. Ka'alith's pet project was always Pharasma. He was fascinated by the goddess of Death, Life, Fate, and Rebirth.
He and Lorrimor would have long talks on the nature of divinity, on the arcane arts and sciences, on life and death, on the mundane joys of the world. Over the course of their professional relationship they became rather good friends via the bonds of mutual respect and interest.
Both men eventually retired from the realm of academia. The wizard knew that Ka;alith was planning on doing "experimental" research into the subject of Pharasma and very much wanted to find out the results. In what was to be their final face to face conversation Professor Ka'alith promised to visit Lorrimor one day, to share his coming research.
Ka'alith dove straight into his passion. He consulted other scholars, priests, clerics, mystics, and madmen. He found nothing to enlighten him any further as to the nature of the godess. He began to experiment with necromancy and black arts His skill at the arcane was never very strong and he made a fatal error very soon. Something went wrong and his spirit was pulled out of his body and into the netherworld. Little true memory remains from that time. Mostly it is jumble of feelings and pervasive loneliness. The only things he knows for sure are that he was given his life back by the godess for a singular purpose. He is to hunt down undeath in all its forms and eliminate it from the world.
Upon his return to life he found his body and mind greatly changed. He was now part of Pharasma's power, a being animated by it in fact. He could hurl bolts of searing light from his fingers and call lighting from the sky.
Immediately the need to find the undead consumed him. Luckily he had been travelling a great deal and him being gone for long periods of time was the norm. He left quickly, but not before sending a letter to Lorrimor explaining that he had found something amazing, that he would visit soon. But he never did. During all the ghost hunting and zombie unbinding he always meant to vist but never had the strength to talk about what had truly happened. Besides, the NEED was too great. As soon as one abomination fell he could feel the urge to find another.
The undead were rare though. He searched far and wide but only found a few in all the years. By the time he recived the letter he had not fought an undead in over a year and his skills had grown a bit rusty. The realization over came Ka'alith that he had, infact, deprived Lorrimor of knowledge by not seeing him. He had deprived his friend of his most basic joy. Overcome with grief he undertakes a pilgrimage to visit his dead friend and tell him everything.
Ka'alith was once a charmingly frantic man, content to study and ponder. No longer. Upon the return to his body his demeanor, his very soul is changed. He is now a dour, somber man. He is supremely confident in his own abilities but looks down over his spectacles at others, at least until they prove their worth.
A tall man, Ka'alith cuts an imposing black figure. His heavy chain armor is enclosed within 2 layers of supple, black leather. A long, leather overcoat drapes his tall, thick frame. Spectacles rest on his nose below black eyes and a bald head, covered in pale white skin. On his belt are two glass vials, stoppered with cork and filled with what appears to be water. I his hand is a tall staff made of gnarled black wood.
Bharhas, Level 3 Human, Warlord | Sorcerer Human Power Selection Option: Bonus At-Will power Languages: Common, Elven Theme: Gladiator
CURRENT STATUS: Phase of the Sun: *At the start of your turn, each enemy adjacent to you takes fire and radiant damage equal to your Strength modifier. *You also gain resist 5 cold.
VITALS AC: 18 Fort: 18 Ref: 15 Will: 17 HP: 40/40
Surges: 6/6 Surge Value: 10
Initiative: +1 Speed: 6
CURRENT ABILITY SCORES STR 18, CON 10, DEX 11, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 17
There are a TON now. Probably around 30? maybe more.
They generaly provide an encounter power or some type of static bump to something at 1st level. I like for additional flavor. They also pump up a level 1 PC a little more.
I am thinking of a Shadar-Kai. Are they a different human in this setting or a race unto themselves?
Play by Post Haven Stop by, join us, and sign up for some games while you are there Real Adventures Come join in and have some adventures, real ones!
Want even more Play-By-Post games? Head over to www.Nerdbound.com to check some more out. People there are playing lots of systems, not just D&D
Bharhas, Level 3 Human, Warlord | Sorcerer Human Power Selection Option: Bonus At-Will power Languages: Common, Elven Theme: Gladiator
CURRENT STATUS: Phase of the Sun: *At the start of your turn, each enemy adjacent to you takes fire and radiant damage equal to your Strength modifier. *You also gain resist 5 cold.
VITALS AC: 18 Fort: 18 Ref: 15 Will: 17 HP: 40/40
Surges: 6/6 Surge Value: 10
Initiative: +1 Speed: 6
CURRENT ABILITY SCORES STR 18, CON 10, DEX 11, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 17
No, theme are not critical at all. I just wanted to know what option I had to play with. I am thinking of Shadar-Kai as a shadow touched variant on human. Pale skin, straight black hair, tattoos, mutilations, piercings.
I am thinking a divine character. Likely a Raven Queen devotee if this game is running off the standard 4e pantheon.
Play by Post Haven Stop by, join us, and sign up for some games while you are there Real Adventures Come join in and have some adventures, real ones!
Want even more Play-By-Post games? Head over to www.Nerdbound.com to check some more out. People there are playing lots of systems, not just D&D
Bharhas, Level 3 Human, Warlord | Sorcerer Human Power Selection Option: Bonus At-Will power Languages: Common, Elven Theme: Gladiator
CURRENT STATUS: Phase of the Sun: *At the start of your turn, each enemy adjacent to you takes fire and radiant damage equal to your Strength modifier. *You also gain resist 5 cold.
VITALS AC: 18 Fort: 18 Ref: 15 Will: 17 HP: 40/40
Surges: 6/6 Surge Value: 10
Initiative: +1 Speed: 6
CURRENT ABILITY SCORES STR 18, CON 10, DEX 11, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 17
Bharhas, Level 3 Human, Warlord | Sorcerer Human Power Selection Option: Bonus At-Will power Languages: Common, Elven Theme: Gladiator
CURRENT STATUS: Phase of the Sun: *At the start of your turn, each enemy adjacent to you takes fire and radiant damage equal to your Strength modifier. *You also gain resist 5 cold.
VITALS AC: 18 Fort: 18 Ref: 15 Will: 17 HP: 40/40
Surges: 6/6 Surge Value: 10
Initiative: +1 Speed: 6
CURRENT ABILITY SCORES STR 18, CON 10, DEX 11, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 17
Yup, definitely interested. I think I'll run a halfling rogue, specifically a beloved character of mine who hasn't seen much playing time lately. JackShow
Jack was born into a travelling Szcarni circus which contained an odd bundle of his relatives. His mother was the only direct family member involved, but Jack was often surrounded by numerous uncles, aunts, and cousins. His father was taken by slave drivers when Jack was young. He was trained as an acrobat from a young age and performed in the circus. Uncle Wellby, who acted as a father figure for Jack, was a popular knife juggler within the circus. He began to train Jack in the art around Jack’s twelfth year and Jack turned out to be a natural. Around this time Jack also became aware of the ring of con artists, pickpockets, and hired thieves that permeated the circus. Jack learned the trade though watching these individuals do their work, by and large for the ringmaster himself.
Uncle Wellby and Jack did a show together for a few years, but Jack hated answering to the ringmaster, a cold and callous human male. Around seventeen Jack planned to run away from the circus, but just before he did, a fateful encounter occurred.
In his travels Professor Lorrimor happened upon this circus and attended a show one night. He was impressed with the show; as a man of fairly great renown he was allowed ‘backstage’ to speak with the performers. Uncle Wellby had a warm conversation with the Professor, introducing Jack to him. This was Jack’s first encounter with a human he liked; Jack toyed with the idea of asking to leave the circus with him.
Before he left, the ringmaster had marked the Professor as a target for his thieves. Jack realized what was happening. He didn’t want this to happen to the only decent human he had met in his life. So to keep things quiet, Jack pickpocketed the stolen goods from both of the thieves, and attempted to deposit them back into the Professor’s belongings…but the professor caught him. Before his anger could arise however, a thief that the professor had hired approached from a hidden position. The hired thief had seen the thieves and Jack, so he lay in wait, curious. he relayed the information to the Professor and noted how impressive a feat it was for someone Jacks age. The Professor immediately took a liking to Jack after this incident. Understanding that the ringmaster would punish Jack severely, the Professor allowed Jack to accompany him.
Jack went on to help him with a number of jobs as an informant and scout. He honed his skills under the teachings of Pectas, the hired thief who vouched for him that night. He even learned a bit of spellcraft in his time with the professor, though he still prefers his daggers when things get dicey. Pectas disappeared a few months before the Professors death, and Jack received the summons to his funeral between odd jobs. The Professor has been a source of inspiration for Jack, as well as the man who provided the opportunity to hone his talent.
Jack is a stout halfling, standing just under four feet tall. He keeps his hair short, which brings out it’s reddish brown hue as it tends to plaster to his head on top. He sports the sideburns common for male halflings, and almost always is wearing traveling clothes in earthy colors, a habit from his circus days.
Most people don’t see Jacks true personality; after leaving the circus he has learned to caution himself in dealing with others. When he is beginning to get to know someone, Jack is sardonic, loves to make fun at others expense, and a show off; traits that he developed from a life among circus performers and freaks. Those who truly earn his respect, usually by showing genuine and wholesome personalities or through feats of skill, he quickly befriends and will help them in a heartbeat.
Jack has a strong dislike for most magic. While he recognizes its utility and usefulness at times, he sees magic as a ‘cop-out’ for those without martial-inclined skill. This dislike is not enough for him to refuse to ally with magic users, but may be enough to cause him to poke fun at them a little more often. A partial exception goes to divine magic, as Jack is reverent, and fond of his god Erastil. At this time, Jack is just over 22 years old.
