So I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your interest, and to welcome you to Rise of the Runelords. There are a few things I would like to mention up front, and then I'll turn the thread over to you all for comments, questions, chatter, etc...
First of all, as promised, I selected this group based simply on the fact that I felt strongly about you all as players, and about the manner in which you have presented your characters thusfar. I feel like this particular group was strong in the areas of storytelling and roleplaying, and that the characters presented here are all strong and unique personalities that will play off of each other very well.
Despite the fact that I am using a published module as the vehicle here, this story is first and foremost about you and your characters. That is something that I feel is important to establish up front. We will be taking this adventure path and shaping it to fit these five personalities. I look forward to working with you all in that regard.
The group I've chosen is a bit unconventional for a campaign like this in several ways. From the perspective of background, it's important to note that we have a party with only one human member, that being Mick's Brego, and even he has a bit of an outsider feel to him, what with being an escapee and a fugitive. Therefore, the hackneyed "save the civilized world" routine may be a hard sell on this group, since they are essentially a bunch of individuals who don't have a strong connection with civilization in the first place. I, for one, think that this presents a delicious opportunity to explore all sorts of other motivations for why they've come to follow the given plot arc of this campaign. More on that as the story unfolds.
On that same topic, another point of interest are the two elven characters. Elven adventurers are an enigmatic bunch to begin with, and here we have two, who both also happen to be magi, one a ranger, one a rogue. These two characters scream to be divided into two seperate groups, but I just couldn't do it. Both LucianV's Saitylvaness and Karsh's Aegon Skye were so beautifully written, that I was fascinated at the opportunity of dropping them into the same world. And despite their similarities, they have vastly different pasts and futures, so it should be interesting.
The other three characters were also well-written and/or well-played, and I feel they sort of share a common theme. Half-elves (Veritas) and halflings (Gozzik) both carry a certain stigma in this world that brings with it vast opportunity for plot and character development, and possible friction with the world around them as well, and Brego the Minstrel falls into a similar category, for reasons that a I mentioned above.
And all five characters are well-traveled and driven by the desire to explore and learn, or as Veritas put it in the pregame, "spiritual journey(s) to reach the apex of enlightenment."
On the mechanical side of things, there are limitless possibilities on who might fill what role. It is important to note that among the five of you, there are exactly zero full casters. I think this will allow for a more gritty atmosphere deeper into the game than is normally the case. Your most obvious front-liner seems to be Veritas the synthesist/monk, but he also happens to be one of the more prominent magic users. Gozzik will also compete for most effective in direct combat, and would probably be quite upset to think that his size precluded him from top billing in that area.
Brego, who is a fighter, is also a powerful magician relative to the rest of the group, and this presents all sorts of options. And then there are Sai and Aegon, the twin magi; it will be interesting to see how they use similar paths to grow in different directions.
Anyway, that's about enough of me rambling.
First thing we'll need to do to get set for the game is to get all of your sheets and mechanical details in order, so if anyone has any questions, let me know. Decide if you'll be taking any archetypes that have not yet been mentioned. Finalize variable class features. Make your final spell selections. Buy equipment. I'm figuring it will take us a few days to a week to get fully prepared. No rush, of course.
And if anyone has anything to add to the rest of what I've laid out here, I'd love to hear it.
