Amongst the Flames — OOC

Post by **Namelessjake** » Thu May 01, 2014 1:26 pm

Character Creation Rules
System: 4e
Level 1
Stats: 25pt buy.
Race: Any published, refluffed as human, orc, elven or dwarven (Most of the party should be human).
Class: Any published.
Feats: Free expertise feat.
Themes: Allowed.
Background: +2 to a skill or add a language.
Equipment: Take your choice of one armor and one weapon or implement that you are proficient in for free, and then 50 starting gold to spend on other things.
Skills: There are no class skill restrictions; any class can train any skill. You still must take the mandatory/bonus skills granted by your class as usual (e.g. Arcana for a wizard).
Rituals: Component costs for all rituals are reduced to ¼ their normal values to encourage ritual use. Also, Raise Dead will not be allowed in this game – dead is dead, though we hope that doesn’t have to be an issue.
Inherent Bonuses: Yes
Languages: We will not be using the standard 4e languages, but instead the ones listed below. If by (mechanical) race or some other means you are granted a language other than common, pick one language from this list instead, even if you would normally have no choice in the matter (such as elves receiving Elven). Everyone should know Serran, and then as many other languages from the list of their choice equal to the number of additional languages they would normally be granted. Basically, for this campaign Serran is akin to Common, as in this time setting Common has yet to emerge and Serran is the common language of Voreld due to the Kingdom's reach in the past years.

[SHOW]: Tulrissian – The national language of Tulrisse, a primarily human agricultural-based kingdom.

Serran – The primary language spoken by the many small kingdoms of an expansive arid region known as the Serran Desert, which consist mostly of humans and orcs. Serran is akin to common in this game due to the kingdom's influence over the world in this time setting. The present day common language evolved from Serran after the kingdom's influence deteriorated.

Imardanian – The national language of the Imardin Thalassocracy. It is a very diverse nation, but humans still make up the majority.

Forellian – The native language of the people who inhabit the Forellian Archipelago, a cluster of islands consisting of many city-states located in the Forelle Sea. Primarily human.

Kurnish – The language of the orc tribes of Kurnhuelde, a region primarily consisting of snowy hills on the Kurn Peninsula.

Dwarven – The common language of the many dwarf kingdoms that occupy the mountains that run down the center of Voreld.

Elven – A catch-all term in Voreld for any of the many distinct dialects spoken by the elf natives of Quellam, a continent to the east.

[SHOW]

Setting

It is the 275th year of the Second Era. After disastrous wars early in the era, The Serran Kingdom, now reduced to its traditional borders, began to experience desertification of the plains and savannah that made up its realm. Some regions were hit worse than others and began to struggle to feed their people. Much of The Serran Kingdom is now desert and life is harder everywhere. The process has been ongoing for almost a quarter of a century and the people have adapted but the Kingdom is still struggling to feed its people and unrest is everywhere.

Rakhul Ierra Unbalik, the monarch of the Serran Kingdom, is a weak and old ruler. One month ago the general in command of the Serran Legions in Azkahir, a major military city, declared independance and styled himself Rakh Kel'ic Jurhas of Azkahir and seized control of Bravais.

For reasons known only to yourself, you were part of a large group of refugees fleeing south from Azkahir towards Nhai. The group came under attack and after a short battle you were left for dead. You awake in a sparsely furnished room. As your eyes adjust to the light and you look around the room, you see people on beds much like the one you have woken up in. Some of them you recognise from the road earlier, although not from more than a glimpse of a face in the crowd. As your senses return to you, you notice some of the others rousing too.

[SHOW]: Serran

Crescent Bluff- The capital of the Serran Kingdom. As the nation's largest trade port, it is the ruling seat of the Rakhul and also houses the temples of Sek-bas and Sera-nua.

Azkahir- Home to a large detachment of the Serran Legions, due to its central position. It is home to a large arena and is the capital of the newly formed Kingdom of Azkahir.

Eagle Cliff- Home to the main temple of El-unod, Eagle Cliff consists of little more than the giant ziggurat temple that juts out over the ocean, and a small town which mostly serves to house the priests and pilgrims.

The Great Library- The library is the main headquarters of the Tenants. It is colossal in size, containing almost every known scripture. Most tenants will study there for a time before returning to one of the other libraries spread out across the region.

Zurakhul-

Nhai- Nhai is where most of the trade inland from Crescent Bluff passes through, making it a bustling trade city, famed for its water gardens which take water from the lakes to the south of the city.

Kessar-

Bancur-

Shivan- The main slave port in Serran due to it's proximity to Kurnheulde. Slave ships from the north often frequent it, auctioning off their cargo before heading back north. It also houses the main temple to Asa-hari.

Bravais-

Thesus-

Nisos-

Kruos-

Torusi-

Ariol-

Tektite-

Merenn-

[SHOW]: Sarab El'kidd - The merchant from Nhai who rescued the party and sent them on a journey to deliver a scroll to one of his contacts in Thesus.

Fred the Freed - The leader of the group of slaves the party freed on the road to Thesus.

Kanan - A strange old man who turned out to be a member of the legendary Golden Spears.

[SHOW]: Day 1 - After being attacked and wounded, the party awakes in the warehouse of Sarab El'kidd, in Nhai. In exchange for saving their lives, he gives the party a scroll to be delivered to an associate in Thesus. They set off for Thesus, eager to be done with their task as soon as possible. As the day comes to a close the party chooses to spend the night at a small inn by the side of the road.

Day 2 - Waking early, the group prepares to continue on their journey, however outside they are greeting by a small scouting party belonging to the bandits who attacked them before. They dispatch their attackers, capturing one alive, however in the process they set fire to the inn which has to be saved before they continue. Later in the day they come across a slaver who offers to buy their captive, however Shira'stasa tricks the slavers out of their slaves, who she then releases.

As the party makes its way past a canon they are attacked by Hyenas, which are fought off, but at the cost of the lives of two of the freed slaves. One of the remaining Slaves introduces himself as Fred and the group makes camp for the night.

Day 3 - The group continues making its way to Thesus, however at noon a sandstorm reveals the entrance to a temple, long forgotten beneath the sands. The slaves wait outside with the prisoner while the rest of the party investigate. Inside they find evidence of a battle between a legendary mercenary group, known as the Golden Spears, and some other foe. Descending into a library they battle swarms of scarab beetles, however they discover the library's books have all been destroyed. Further into the temple they find a large red gemstone, which releases a strange red and black mist like entity, when Shira'stasa touches it. This entity begins to possess statues in the room and it is only eventually defeated after Cleo collapses the ceiling on top of it, using a shuriken.

Back outside, they find a man examining the bodies of the ex-slaves and their prisoner, although Fred is mysteriously missing. With the element of surprise the group is able to capture the man and interrogate him. He reveals himself to be Kanan, a member of the Golden Spears, he tells them of the entity they encountered, Vor-kaleth, and the danger it poses. However the group chooses not to reveal what happened in the temple. The party accompanies him to his nearby home where they spend the night.

Day 4 - Kanan joins the party and they reach Thesus by midday. He goes to find a boat to the capital, wanting to tell his comrades in Ariol of the temple, while the group delivers Sarab's scroll. After searching the market, they find a man called Tor'ac who takes the scroll and pays them. Shira'stasa and Cleo go to visit the city's temples while the others shop in the market. At a temple to El-unod they discover signs of corruption linked to the ex-malachite blades who attacked them days before. Geral and Eoli eventually make their way to the temple too, and the group decides to stay and investigate, apart from Cameryn who decides to stay with Kanan and travel to Ariol.

Cleo is invited back to the temple later that evening by a priest named Jandar. Her and Shira'stasa, decide to search for evidence of the corruption, under the guise of meeting with him, while the others stand ready to help in the temple's courtyard. While on a tour of the temple, Cleo slips away and discovers a stockpile of valuables in the High Priest's chambers. She then finds a room occupied by who she assumes are the bandits. She sets fire to the door and rejoins Shira'stasa and Jandar, who then takes the tour back out into the courtyard, where Eoli and Geral had met the Imardanian Juliette. Fleeing from the fire, the bandits break a window and drop down into the courtyard coming face to face with the party. Their leader kills Jandar, who is reanimated by Shira'stasa, and a fight ensues. The party is victorious however the fire in the temple has spread and Cleo rushes back inside She finds the High Priest dead so instead she rescues his cat.

The group discusses what to do, however their talks are cut short when the temple is destroyed by siege weapons as Rakh Kel'ic Jurhas attacks the city, after consolidating power in Azkahir and Bravais for a month. The party flees to the harbour joining other civilians leaving the city. They find themselves on a boat bound for the capital, after capturing one of the bandits who ran from the temple.

Day 9 - The party arrives in Crescent Bluff on the river barge they fled Thesus on. Cleo, Shira'stasa and Juliette head to the temple of Sek-bas, whilst Geral and Eoli take their prisoner to a Malachite Blade camp outside the city.

Geral and Eoli hand over the prisoner and Geral is given a mandate by the Pommel of the Blades to lead an attack against the rogue mercenaries who attacked the party before.

Meanwhile Cleo talks her way into a room at the temple so she can stay and study before snooping around in cat form. Shira'stasa and Juliette follow some guards after they arrest a priest for speaking out against the Rakhul. Seeing the guards beat the priest, Shira'stasa intervenes and a fight breaks out. Geral and Eoli come across the fight on their way to the temple to search for the others, and join in.

After dispatching the guards they head back to the temple where Cleo spots them from a rooftop and rejoins the group. The party then spends the night at the Malachite Blades' camp.

Day 10 - The group wakes up to find Eoli absent, having left the camp in the night. They decide to leave without him and spend the day on horseback travelling. After passing Nhai they soon pass the site of where they were ambushed before.

Further up the road they come across another group of travellers who demand the party's valuables. They refuse and are attacked by the travellers and hidden archers. After defeating the attackers, it is discovered they were members of the group the party is hunting down.

That night the bandits attack the party's camp although they are defeated once more.

Day 11 - The party arrives in Azkahir in the early afternoon. They are refused entry to the city by guards by Shira'stasa uses magic to convince the guards to let them pass. Once inside the city Shira'stasa and Cleo go to visit Shira's mother while the rest of the party go to stock up on supplies. After restocking the party leaves the city and heads for the bandit camp.

Day 12 - The party arrives at the party camp and plans their assault, before attacking and quickly abandoning the plan. Juliette and two of the Blades are killed but the party is ultimately victorious.

They free two treasure hunters held captive by the bandits, Amir and Ghaliya, who join the party sharing details of the treasure they currently seek. The horses are loaded up with what remains of the bandits' loot and the group heads back towards Azkahir.

Day 13 - On the road to Azkahir....

Post by **Namelessjake** » Thu May 01, 2014 1:29 pm

Ten-Minute Background

Shamelessly stolen from here.

You know the deal.

Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged but not required. Don't feel pressured or at a loss due to unfamliarity with the Ganoltir campaign world! I'm more than happy to provide elements and more to assist in the process.

[SHOW]: 1) Birth - Karth was born as the offspring of Queen Gwarta of Bridged City and one of her many guards. During her pregnancy it was assumed she would be giving birth to another of her husband's children, but when the child turned out to be a half-elf this was quickly proven to be false. The king consort, enraged by the discovery, demanded his wife reveal who the father was. Not wishing for controversy, she quickly revealed who the information and Karth and his father were banished and sent away in secret. The royal family told the public that the pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage and held a grand funeral for the supposed deceased prince. Meanwhile, Karth's father travelled with his newborn son to the city of Mithril to start a new life.

2) Early Life - Karth's father settled in the Harbor City section of Mithril and began taking whatever odd jobs he could find. As Karth got older he would sometimes help, but he usually caused more harm than good and was sent away. It was these times that he first began following the other boys around town, participating in various acts of thievery and creating bonds of friendship.

3) Later Life - As he got older, Karth began to grow bored with petty thievery. After all, it was his destiny to become king of Bridged City and he wasn't going to do that by pickpocketing the various merchants who came to Harbor City. He wanted more, but he didn't exactly know how to get it. Lucky for him his old friend Faust was an ambitious one, and when he stole a ship from the harbor he invited Karth and the other thieves who grew up together to join as his crew. Karth saw this as an opportunity, not only to relieve his boredom but also to gain more riches than he'd ever be able to scrounge alone.

4) The Magnificent Manslayer - As is custom among the Conspicuous Oils, Karth has a nickname that he goes by. When thinking up the names with the others he initially came up with such ideas as "Karth the Glorious", "The Radiant Ruffian", and "The Most Gorgeous Pirate Known to Man." These were all quickly shot down by the others, who said the point of the nicknames were to strike fear. Faust suggested he go by "The Manslayer" since he was always a ruthless fighter when the need arose, and reluctantly Karth accepted. However, it quickly came to everyone's attention that he was reffering to himself as "Karth the Magnificent" outside of their presence. They tried to get him to follow the captain's suggestion, only to be told that "the title simply does not express my greatness as well as it should." After some discussion they finally all came to a compromise, and Karth's nickname was officially made to be "The Magnificent Manslayer."

5) Appearance - Karth is somewhat tall, standing 6'3", with a fairly slender build. He has long, silver hair due to his elven heritage and he is very protective of it - many men have scars (or worse) to show as a result of touching Karth's hair. His manner of dress is never very fancy as he has always been of the lower class, but whatever the clothing he always wears it in a way that gives off an air of nobility. Even while at sea he makes a point to look his best, and can often be found tending to his precious hair. On his belt hangs a mirror that, while useful for some raids, spends most of its time reflecting Karth's face back at him.

6) Personality Traits - As a narcissist Karth tends to be very confident in his abilites, and his self-esteem is never low. He goes into every battle without fear, completely assured of his victory from the start. He is always looking to make friends with new people (no one should miss the opportunity to gaze upon his gorgeous face, after all), though this is often made difficult due to the arrogance that often manifests in social situations due to his narcissism. He is extremely loyal to the few people he truly respects, and despite his overconfidence he is still a formidable opponent on the battlefield, so to some it might be worth earning that respect.

Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.

[SHOW]: 1) Karth ultimately desires to become the king of Bridged City. He feels he was wrongly banished, and that as retribution he deserves to gain the throne in place of his half-sister Hannatha.

2) I'd like Karth to get a chance to return to Bridged City so that I can develop that part of his story. He need not actually ever gain the throne as he wants, but I'd at least like to have him come to terms with royalty who are against him in some way, and perhaps meet his mother for the first time.

Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I may also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect the unexpected.

[SHOW]: 1) Karth is actually the son of Queen Gwatra of Bridged City, making him royalty in the city-state. He ultimately plans to use this to become king and rule the city-state as he feels he deserves.

2) Karth was made a divine champion of Enkili without his knowledge, and most of his success and combat skill is a result of this. Enkili chose him for his personality, and as such the divine powers he possesses are triggered by him acting in line with his natural narcissism. Acting against this can sometimes have negative effects.

Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.

[SHOW]: 1) Karth's father is his only real family, and he cares deeply about his only son. He is the one who filled Karth's head with the idea of becoming king, and thus is directly responsible for Karth's narcissism.

2) Captain Faust is an old friend and Karth has a great deal of respect for the quirky man. He is one of the few people Karth views as an equal.

3) Queen Gwatra, Karth's mother, has a somewhat neutral opinion of him. As her own child she cannot hate him, but she was not sad when he was banished from Bridge City with his father. She wants to avoid a succession dispute just as much as the other royals who know of his existence, but would be torn somewhat if that were ever to happen.

4) The king consort of Bridged City was furious when he learned that Karth was not his son, and when he found out he immediately had the boy and his father banished from the city. He loved his wife enough to forgive her for her affair, but he hates Karth and his father and would likely go to any means to keep them from returning or gaining any sort of prominince in Bridged City.

Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.

[SHOW]: 1) Karth is very much a narcissist, and can sometimes be quite arrogant due to his self-absorption. Ironically, these personality traits are the direct cause of his successes in life, as well as his skills in combat, due to them triggering his divinely-granted abilities.

2) He has a very fuzzy memory of the palace interior from the time he was born. Occasionally it is the setting of his dreams, where he is revered by the citizens of Bridge City as a great leader.

3) He absolutely hates for anyone to touch his hair unless they are a very close friend, and even then he is not completely comfortable with it. Touching Karth's hair is one of the few ways to anger him (and the quickest), and has occasionally resulted in the injury or death of the unfortante offender.

Background - Family/Class/Profession/Institutions

Who raised you and how did they shape your life? What social class do you belong to, and how did that change your opportunities and your outlook? What do you do for a living, and have you changed careers in the past? What social institutions (religions, governments, civil society, businesses) are you a part of or interact with? Do you have a spouse? Children? Did you at one time?

I add this last bit because I like to tie characters into the world around them. Often, people go for very individual or personal stories - long-lost love, bad guy killed my parents, mysterious birth, etc. But I find that this can make characters somewhat disconnected from the world around them, and the world becomes rather too much of a two-dimensional backdrop. Both in reality, you'd expect people to be profoundly shaped by their society and the institutions around them.

[SHOW]: Family - Karth's only real family is his father, and older elven man who was once a guard at the Queen's palace in Bridged City. While he is related by blood to the Bridged City royalty, most of them are unaware of his existence. The ones who do know of him want him kept a secret, so as not to cause a succession dispute.

Class - On his mother's side he is a member of the Bridged City royalty, on his father's side he is a common peasant. He was raised by his father in Mithril as a simple commoner, but his royal blood cannot be denied.

Profession - Karth is a pirate and he is good at it. He has been First Mate of the Quina Vjeta for a long time under Captain Faust, and not without reason. He was one of the few to survive the fateful encounter with the guarded merchant ship, and one of the even fewer to survive who was also a companion of Faust in his youth.

Institutions - he is a member of Faust's Crew, the Conspicuous Oils.

Drives - Primary/Secondary/Tertiary

Here's where I like to get a bit more personality than backstory, because an overly historical concept only really gives you a good grounding in what your character did, what happened to them, rather than what they'll do in the future. So I generally try to ask what motivates a character at any given moment: Revenge? Wealth? Fame? Personal Excellence? Curiosity? Survival? Instinct? Reason? Power? Emotions? Loyalty? Etc.

[SHOW]: Primary - Karth's feeling of entitelement towards the throne of Bridged City is his primary motivating factor. He deserves to rule the city as he sees it, and he will do everything in his power to obtain the position he views as rightfully his.

Secondary - His years as a pirate have also fostered in him a desire for wealth. He has incorporated this lesser desire into his ultimate goal of becoming King of Bridged city by deciding that he will not yet return to the city-state until he has first amassed considerable wealth. This amassing of wealth will surely make it easier for him to obtain the influence he needs gain the throne, but he also wants it for the luxury as well.

Tertiary - Karth is always looking to make new friends, having grown up with very few. His personality tends to hinder him in his pursuit for companions, so one could say it is a never-ending search for those patient and accepting enough to handle his presence on a regular basis.

Goals - Short-Term/Medium-Term/Long-Term

Similar to your Step 2, I think that goals give a character a higher order of drive, and can make for a nice character arc that gives level progression some meaning beyond mechanics. In addition, as you point out, it can also be a good hook for DMs.

[SHOW]: Short Term - Meet and befriend the new crewmembers. More friends are always nice.

Medium Term - Continue earning coin with Faust, until Karth as enough to return to Bridged City in style and live there comfortably.

Long Term - Win the hearts of the people of Bridged City and take over as monach instead of his half-sister Hannatha.

Allegiance

Which of the Rakhii would your character find themselves supporting the most. Not all of them are apparent yet so this will not be too important early on. Your character could support any number of the 6 Rakhii; The Rakhul, the original ruler of the Kingdom of Serran, The Commander of the armies of Azkahir, The High Priest of the temple of Eagle Cliff, Philosopher King of The Northern Tenants, The Merchant Families of Crescent Bluff or The Rakh of The Silver Winds. Alternatively your character may be indifferent to who is in power and where.

[SHOW]: Karth supports none of the Rakhii as he does not exist in the same universe as any of the Rakhii, the Serran Desert or even the world of Ganoltir itself.

Post by **Fialova** » Thu May 01, 2014 1:38 pm

Tenant Cleo, Scholar of Sek-bas

[SHOW]: Cleonamus Amkhara, Cleo to everyone, was born in Nisos to a fairly well-off family. Her father was a self-made merchant, primarily selling locally-caught fish to Bravais using a special preservative of his own devising. Her mother came from a wealthy family that was down on its luck at the time of the marriage, hoping the match with Cleo's father would pick them back off their feet - it did not.

While her mother's family struggled, Cleo's own family thrived. By the time she was came into the world, her father had already managed to afford a nice chunk of prime real estate near the river and had begun construction on a lovely estate of his own. By the time she was 4 the place was finally finished. However, she would not get to spend much time in it because by the time she turned 7 she was ready to be sent off to the local Tenant academy.

Cleo had always been a bright girl growing up, if a bit hot-headed. Her parents knew early on that she was drawn to the scholarly lifestyle, and that one day their little girl would be a Tenant. Her father kept a special chunk of money set aside to pay for her education and living expense down the line, so that her life would be much easier than his own had been.

To say she was sent away is a bit inaccurate since the academy was only a couple of miles away, in the heart of the city. Her parents would visit her regularly and her mother often had treats sent over, so apart from sleeping in large room with other students instead of her own bed it was as if she never really left. At least until she reached age 14.

The first 7 years of schooling seemed to go by too fast in hindsight, because it seemed like she had barely done anything when it was finally time to move from the local academy up north, to the Grand Library. This time was a real separation, one that Cleo had not felt before, and she threw a fit that lasted for days before finally accepting that she would be away from her family for real this time. She was taken in a caravan with the other children who passed all of the examinations (it was not a very large group) and they treked through the desert until they finally reached the center of all knowledge in the world.

Cleo was completely dumbfounded the first time she saw the Library. To call it a library, even, does not do it justice: the place is a city of knowledge. Many buildings - more than she had ever seen in one place - made up the large complex that was the headquarters of all the Tenants in Serran, and their most prestigious school. Soon she would be learning from the most knowledgeable people in the world, and she was both excited and terrified at the prospect.

Unlike her old school, Cleo's new living quarters were quite nice. She a had a room (albeit a small one) all to herself, with a bed and a small desk and a free supply of quill and parchment. She had unlimited access to many sections of the library's various branches, and daily lectures from Tenants on various subjects ranging from the history of Serran to proper cooking techniques to military strategy to sacrificial rites. She soaked everything in, becoming particularly engrossed by all things pertaining to the Serran pantheon, and after another 7 years' time, at the age of 21, she was taking and passing yet another set of exams, culminating in her graduation as a Tenant. Her mother and father came for the ceremony, as the Elder Tenants draped her in the ceremonial multi-colored robes that symbolized the multitude of subjects she had to master to earn it. It was by far the happiest moment of her life, and it quickly passed.

After the initial awe and euphoria of graduation, the reality set in that to be a Tenant, Cleo would now have to study even harder than before and also, eventually, begin to teach as well. She already knew what she wanted to focus on, that being the goddess Sek-bas, the sun goddess. The pantheon had always fascinated her, but Cleo felt a particular affinity with Sek-bas that she could never quite explain. She would often find herself reading stuff that wasn't assigned to her simply because she was almost obsessed with learning all she could about the goddess, and so she made up her mind - she needed to visit her temple.

It took some time for her to convince her superiors to approve the vacation, and to scrape together the cash, but after a few months and another birthday Cleo was on her way south. However, as luck would have it she ended up in Azkahir only shortly before the legion commander of the city declared himself Rakh and revolted against the wise Rakhul. Not wanting to get caught in the middle of a rebellion, Cleo fled the city with the other refugees....