Keante
-
Posts
88 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Articles
Downloads
Character Sheets
Posts posted by Keante
-
-
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 9/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions: Frightened 2
Lira's heart is racing now with fear and pain from Grakk's assault. But her new allies still stand with her, and much of her wound is already alleviated by Aquila's magic. She picks up her starknife again from where the raven dropped it beside her, and she tries to end Grakk's life before he can do the same to her.
OOC
...
Mechanics
Main Hand: Starknife
Off Hand: Lantern Implement
Action 1: Interact to pick up starknife.
Action 2: Strike Grakk.
Action 3: Strike Grakk with -4 MAP.
ACTIONS Strike (Starknife) +6 to hit, 1d4+2 piercing or slashing, deadly d6 (on crit add 1 die) (the +2 damage is from Implement's Empowerment)
Exploit Vulnerability Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits. -
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 11/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions:
Her shoulder smarts from the hard fall after Hookshanks tripped her, but Lira gets back up quickly and makes two more attempts to stab him with her starknife.
OOC
...
Mechanics
Main Hand: Starknife
Off Hand: Lantern Implement
Action 1: Stand to end Prone's -2 to attack rolls as well as the accompanying Off-Guard's -2 AC.
Action 2: Strike Hookshanks. Attack: +6 usual +1 inspire courage; Damage: +2 implement's empowerment +1 inspire courage +3 personal antithesis
Action 3: Strike Hookshanks. Attack: +6 usual +1 inspire courage -4 MAP; Damage: +2 implement's empowerment +1 inspire courage +3 personal antithesis
ACTIONS Strike (Starknife) +6 to hit, 1d4+2 piercing or slashing, deadly d6 (on crit add 1 die) (the +2 damage is from Implement's Empowerment)
Exploit Vulnerability Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits. -
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 17/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions:
As Carthen gets the fight started, Lira takes an inquisitive look at Lamm's halfling underling, sizing him up before moving in closer to strike at him with her starknife.
OOC
EDIT: I forgot about Inspire Courage, so the attack and damage rolls from my Strike should each get an additional +1.
Mechanics
Main Hand: Starknife
Off Hand: Lantern Implement (not lit at this time)
Action 1: Exploit Vulnerability against Hookshanks the halfling. See roll attached to post, it is against a standard DC for Hookshanks' level. Because of the Diverse Lore feat: "when you succeed at your check to Exploit a Vulnerability, compare the result of your Esoteric Lore check to the DC to Recall Knowledge for that creature; if that number would be a success or a critical success, you gain information as if you had succeeded at the Recall Knowledge check."
Action 2: Stride to move 10ft to be adjacent to Hookshanks.
Action 3: Strike, with Implement's Empowerment granting 2 additional damage per weapon damage die. See roll attached to post.
ACTIONS Strike (Starknife) +6 to hit, 1d4+2 piercing or slashing, deadly d6 (on crit add 1 die) (the +2 damage is from Implement's Empowerment)
Exploit Vulnerability Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits. -
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 17/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions:
Lira watches as Ihrin disappears into the building, and her shoulders tense as she wonders what may happen next while the rest of them wait outside.
OOC
...
Mechanics
Main Hand: Starknife
Off Hand: Lantern Implement
Action 1: Your action goes here.
Action 2: Your action goes here.
Action 3: Your action goes here.
ACTIONS Exploit Vulnerability Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits. -
-
Lira will always be carrying her lantern, even when she doesn't light it, as it is her thaumaturge implement and so it's used for the ability that improves her damage.
As long as Lira is around you'll have a light source, and others won't need to carry one if we stick close enough. Although with a group this large there could certainly be line of sight issues with one light source while we're coming around a corner or in other similar situations which are common enough.
-
33 minutes ago, Zen Gypsy said:Lira & Carthen, respectively, failed the Check. Reminder that a Hero Point expenditure will change a failure to a success. If you wish to spend a hero point please let me know here.
I would like to spend my Hero Point to succeed on Lira's check, yeah.
-
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 17/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions:
As the others speak of their plans, Lira nods along, as they all sounded reasonable enough.
"I'm going to remain here for a while longer," she says. "The mystical energies that were gathered here to allow my mother to communicate with us in the way she did are worth lingering in some more. It may be that the echoes of Lamm's crime against my family could lead me somewhere, if I can just listen properly."
OOC
I'm using option #3: Intuition. See my Esoteric Lore roll attached to the post.
EDIT: Spending Hero Point to change the check from a failure to a success.
Mechanics
Main Hand: Starknife
Off Hand: Lantern Implement
Action 1: Your action goes here.
Action 2: Your action goes here.
Action 3: Your action goes here.
ACTIONS Exploit Vulnerability Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits. -
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 17/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions:
Lira's eyes were closed as the vision ended, and she stroked the scarf resting on her shoulders, almost as if it had been a loved one's hand there and not simply an object. She whispered, "Mother," and a tear glistened for a moment on her cheek before she wiped her eyes with the kapenia and opened them to see in their natural state the figures that had joined her here.
"Hello," she began in a voice stronger now than that of her earlier whisper. "My name is Lira. I wonder if you have begun to suspect that it was I who gave you those cards to summon you here today, but it was not. Zellara is my mother, whom I have not seen for many months now. I don't know by what means she communicated with all of us here today, but I assure you I am no spellcaster, capable of magnificent illusions."
Mechanics
Main Hand: (Starknife is put away, not in hand)
Off Hand: Lantern Implement
Action 1: Your action goes here.
Action 2: Your action goes here.
Action 3: Your action goes here.
ACTIONS Exploit Vulnerability Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits. -
-
None of Lira's features are really combat-related, except that if she succeeds on an Esoteric Lore check against an enemy, she'll get to do some bonus damage against them (the thaumaturge's Exploit Vulnerability action). Her attack bonus is +6. I'm not sure how that compares to any benchmark. I do think she'll be in melee because if she throws her starknife she won't have any other weapons until she picks up the starknife again. And I have used up basically all of my money--a fine Harrow deck is expensive (for starting character wealth)!
The thaumaturge's Esoteric Lore is a very versatile Recall Knowledge skill, made even more so by my first class feat choice of Diverse Lore. And Lira's lantern implement can give us all a bonus to visual Perception checks and Recall Knowledge checks against creatures within 20 feet. The GM will also roll secret checks for me to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors).
-
Pending a little background re-write--the NPC Zellara Esmeranda is going to be Lira's mother, rather than the woman I made up with a name and nothing else.
-
In a potentially violent or otherwise highly confrontational situation, Lira is much more likely to try to deflect a prejudiced antagonist than to engage them head-on, if an escalation can be avoided. She fights prejudice in a more gradual and subtle way--anyone who comes to her for a Harrow reading is influenced by her to some degree, and by these small degrees Lira slowly makes a mark on her world here in Korvosa.
This is simply an effect of Lira providing guidance, however--she does not view the Harrow as an avenue for her to wield influence and enact her own will through others.
Lira's half-elf heritage, especially with the elven father totally absent, has always left her feeling confused about who she is and what her purpose might be. Her mother and the other Varisians she grew up among taught her well how to live in the moment, so she is not frequently melancholy, but the desire for answers about identity and purpose still persist. Lira believes that every Harrow reading she performs, even though they may be for others, could reveal some new bit of truth to her, and this makes her always eager to perform a reading for anyone who asks.
-
I think story elements like these are at their best when multiple people have a hand in where they go, so I would think it was really cool for the GM to run with the backstory I created for Luke and give it a twist.
-
I don't know that this would work if the game world is limited to one monoculture, but if we have some different nations or regions which differ enough culturally, I'd like there to be one in the mix that really focuses on and exaggerates the colorful art associated with Día de los Muertos. The revenants there would all be very brightly decorated skeletons, for example.
-
Style?
in Discussion
Adapting modules is a good idea, and that's probably what I'll do. I see no need to make up everything myself. I'm not an endless fountain of creativity, I need lots of inputs to provoke my own thoughts.
I will always be delighted to hear an idea a player has and work it into what we're doing. And they can be gigantic ideas, too. I really want to impress upon everyone that while I will be the one ruling over decisions as the GM, I have not fleshed out a whole detailed world all my own such that other people's ideas would be intrusions upon my precious creation.
-
For races I imagine something like typical Pathfinder. Lots of members of the Core races, others are around but not as common as Core races. Probably no Androids, in keeping with the lack of higher technology.
-
Great questions. Let me be clear first off that I don't have answers decided for all this already.
I can try to make those decisions on my own, but would actually be more interested in hearing others say what they would like.
If pressed to decide it all myself I'd probably make this a sort of mini-plane similar in scale to Ravenloft so that I need not invent multiple whole nations. But if others wanted to pitch in, I'm happy for it to be a bigger world.
I do have something of an opinion on technology, though--I like early firearms in my Pathfinder, but not higher tech.
-
Style?
in Discussion
The style I feel naturally inclined toward is Sword & Sorcery, except that I wouldn't be holding to the low magic characteristic. I expect magic to be a bit more accessible than that.
I'm really not much of a Noir or Intrigue guy, and certainly not Horror. This will also mean that social interactions are never going to be the biggest focus.
-
On 11/20/2023 at 5:20 PM, Keante said:
I'm not ready to set up an actual game yet, but I'll save in this post some stuff I'm putting together.
The World of Ossenheim
In the world of Ossenheim, the veil between life and death is gossamer thin. Necromancy is not reviled here, but seen as a venerable art that honors the dead. Under the blessing of Revenor, the Skeleton King and Lord of the Dead, practiced necromancers ritualistically bind willing spirits to their preserved mortal remains. These undead, called revenants, retain their living memories and personality. They serve their descendants as revered ancestral guardians and guides.
Families keep the bones of their ancestors in crypts and mausoleums, awaiting the time when a necromancer may come to awaken their forebears. Though unnatural in strength and tirelessness, revenants are not mindless zombies. Rather, they are held to their purpose by magical contracts and familial piety. Most citizens of Ossenheim see their undead ancestors as a continuity with the past, not an abomination.
Balance is maintained between the realms of life and death by Ossenheim's pantheon of gods. Vita the Maiden nurtures the living while Revenor shepherds the dead. Mystic Mortus reads the unseen threads of destiny that govern both. Wise Lathos keeps records of history and ritual so that new generations of necromancers can safely follow their art. Caelo the Ever-Changing brings the seasons that shift the veil between realms with her storms and mists. And over all looms Tempus, measuring out every mortal life and unlife with his eternal scales.
Here in Ossenheim, time and tradition have reconciled mortality's impermanence with the enduring influence of ancestors. The customs of this land allow the bones of the past to support the present, and the present to honor the past in turn. Death is but the continuation of life's duties by other means.
The Pantheon of Ossenheim
Revenor, god of death
Revenor manifests as a towering skeleton draped in voluminous dark robes, accented with gold threads depicting funeral processions and weeping mourners. His naked skull is crowned with a circled of woven cypress branches, the tree associated with death. In one hand he grips a ceremonial scepter carved from human femurs, symbolizing his authority over mortal remains.
As lord of the dead, Revenor dwells in the cold and misty realm of the afterlife. Here he oversees the transition of newly deceased souls into his keep, weighing the deeds of their past life. Many he deems ready for eternal peace, releasing them from the burden of corporeal existence. But some spirits he returns to the mortal plane as revenants - undead servants created by the necromancers of Ossenheim.
These revenants retain their living memories and personality, bound back into their preserved mortal bodies by solemn ritual. Unlike mindless zombies, they serve willingly - duty and magic-bound to aid their living descendants however they can. Revenor judges each case where necromancers petition for a soul’s return. He allows only spirits he deems fit for renewal back into the wheel of life and service.
To living mortals, Revenor may seem stern and pitiless. But he understands better than any god that death comes for all in its proper time. He shepherds willing souls to what comes after with dignity and compassion. And for those granted a temporary reprisal as revenants, he binds their spirits into unlife’s purpose that both realms - mortal and beyond - may remain in balance.
Vita, goddess of life and fertility
Vita appears as a young woman in the full blossoming flower of youth and beauty. Her russet hair tumbles in lustrous waves across her shoulders, adorned with fresh flower buds that continuously open and transform into new varieties. Her skin gives off a warm glow of vitality, flushed with gentle color as though lit from within by the first blush of sunrise.
Vita dresses in gowns of embroidered silk that hug close to the curves of her body before spilling forth into gauzy skirts and sleeves, echoing the petals of an opening rose. The fabric constantly changes in rippling hues - emerald, sky blue, dusky rose, buttercup yellow - like a field of wildflowers waving in the wind.
When Vita walks, new grass and tiny field blossoms emerge from the soil beneath her feet. Birds alight hopefully on her outstretched fingertips, and furry woodland creatures gather adoringly around her legs. Bees and butterflies trail in her footsteps, drunken on the honey-sweet perfume that envelops Vita'spresence.
Vita dwells in a hilltop palace surrounded by lush gardens in endless bloom. Fountains burble, vines cling to open archways, and golden bees buzz lazily through the fragrant air. Within her halls, youths engage in joyful arts and lovers chase one another laughing through rose bushes heavy with blossom. An aura of innocence, devotion and carefree contentment infuses Vita’s domain - a refuge from worldly troubles and the ravages of time.
Yet Vita is not just goddess of youth but of the full cycle of fertility. She oversees pregnancy, birth, and the nurturing of new families. Hers are the blessings that yield abundant crops, fertile animals, and protection over mothers and their offspring. For even in winter's barren chill, Vita’s gifts prepare seeds for their next flowering come spring.
Mortus, god of dreams and omens
Ever shrouded in mystery, Mortus appears as a lithe young man with wild raven hair and skin as pale as moonlight. He dresses in a dark hooded cloak. This cloak shifts and drifts around him like mist, obscuring his form and casting his face in shadow.
When the hood pulls back, it reveals Mortus’ eyes - luminous pools of quicksilver that reflect an ancient wisdom far beyond his youthful appearance. Some find his gaze unsettling, as though Mortus sees into the depths of their soul and discerns their secret shames.
Mortus wanders the shadowy realms of dreams and visions, drinking in the unspoken fears and desires of mortals. He reads the omens written in the patterns of moonlight and cloud, hearing prophetic whispers on the wind. With a soft voice he murmurs cryptic pronouncements and sibylline verses, weaving strands of fate.
His dreams insinuate themselves into mortal minds, bringing portents and revelations. Those who can interpret Mortus’ symbols find guidance, while the unwary risk madness and ruin. Even other gods tread carefully with Mortus, for he sometimes sees destinies to which even they are bound.
Lathos, goddess of history and memory
Lathos typically manifests as a silver-haired woman with a back slightly hunched from long hours studiously poring over ancient texts. Her keen eyes gleam with relentless curiosity behind half-moon spectacles. Lathos dresses in simple robes the color of parchment, with myriad pockets and straps to hold scrolls, quills, and strange measuring instruments.
She dwells in the Great Archive, a library filled with skyscraping shelves stacked high with books, tomes, tablets, and unfurled scrolls. Owls glide to and fro amongst the shelves carrying more manuscripts in their beaks to deposit. Each document contains some snippet of history, prophecy, ancestry or ritual across all races and realms. Lathos meticulously studies them all, ever seeking connections and insights.
At the center of the archives is a great oaken table where Lathos pieces together scroll fragments, compares accounts from multiple sources, and scribbles down timelines and genealogies. When not engaged in these works of scholarship, Lathos flits through the archives plucking scrolls seemingly at random but always guided by some eldritch inspiration.
Lathos values meticulous research, disciplined curiosity, and rigorous verification of claims against evidence. She urges all to drink deeply from the great pool of history to learn its lessons well. But she warns that the past can be slippery - records degrade, eyewitnesses err, and objectivity fades over time. One must parse truth from falsehood by cross-referencing multiple sources when possible. For it is only by honoring the complex messiness of lived truth that the future may progress wisely.
Tempus, god of time and destiny
Tempus appears as an elderly man with a long, flowing beard as white as hoarfrost. His back is stooped with the weight of eons, and he leans heavily on an ornate staff carved with ouroboros serpents and arcane symbols. Tempus' robes are voluminous and heavy, colored in hues of deep umber, slate, and iron gray. The fabric is embroidered with hourglasses, clocks, sundials, and other icons of time's passage.
On his wrist Tempus wears a bracelet formed from a bronze gear, ever turning. In his veins runs not blood but silvery sand, each grain representing a mortal life he measures. In one gnarled hand he clutches an hourglass of mammoth proportions, filled with this glittering sand. With the other he holds aloft a set of scales, weighing human souls and deeds.
Tempus' face is a craggy landscape of wrinkles, like eroded mountains and valleys carved by ageless rivers. His eyes are pale and rheumy on the surface, yet their milky depths swirl with eons of memory and foresight. Above his snowy beard, Tempus' lips are pressed into a thin line, never smiling or frowning. His is an impartial countenance, frozen in eternal observation.
Tempus dwells outside the normal movement of time, such that a minute for him may be an epoch for mortals. He observes the weaving of past, present and future simultaneously. The march of days means little to eternal Tempus. Only the grand cycles of seasons, ages, and aeons have meaning in his calculations. All things mortal will crumble to dust before Tempus' endless reign concludes.
Caelo, goddess of sky and seasons
Caelo is the capricious goddess of sky and seasons, given to sudden shifts in mood that are reflected in the weather of the mortal realm. She appears as a lithe woman with windswept auburn hair, clothed in diaphanous robes that flow and flutter about her. Caelo's most striking features are her constellation of prismatic eyes that gaze down upon the world below.
Caelo resides in a great cloud palace that drifts across the heavens. From here she observes the comings and goings of mortals. When she is in a foul mood, Caelo conjures up thunderheads and sends driving rains or blizzards to pummel the land. But in fair weather her laughter rings clear as birdsong, and a warm breeze ruffles meadows and rooftops.
Caelo often flies down to earth, her passage marked by sudden gusts of wind that stir up leaves and whip clothing about. She is closest with her brother Mortus who reads the omens in cloud patterns and understands Caelo's mercurial moods. Mortals know that when Caelo is calm and skies are clear, the veil between living and dead is firmest. But when storms roll in, the spirits grow restless and stir.
Few dare entreat Caelo directly, for her wrath is terrible to behold. But all honor her place in Ossenheim's web of life and death. Though at times destructive, Caelo's storms also nourish the land and bid seeds to sprout. Her rains echo the endless cycle of mortal lives, withering some while bringing renewal to others.
Society in Ossenheim
Family Dynasties - Wealth and status are concentrated in aristocratic households who maintain a long lineage of ancestral revenants that they can call upon for power. The oldest families dominate politics.
More on family dynasties
- The most esteemed lineages can trace their great ancestral revenants back for hundreds of years. The antiquity of one's line brings prestige.
- Ruling dynasties often keep rolls of their most prominent ancestors, the feats they achieved as revenants, and their years of service.
- Inheritance and succession emphasizes not just the living heirs but also the wisdom of their undead forebears. Elders consult the family's ancestral advisors for guidance on decisions that will impact generations to come.
- Necromantic training focuses on preserving lineage - binding revenants, recording histories, maintaining ancestral crypts. Multi-generational master-apprentice relationships reinforce dynastic continuity.
Ancestor Cults - Less organized than a formal clergy, each region/town has its own cultural practices and belief system about honoring the dead. Local revenants become objects of veneration.
More on ancestor cults
- Revenants of extraordinary renown or deeds sometimes attract followings who venerate them independently of familial relation. Their tombs or crypts become shrines with devoted cultists.
- These cults keep candlelight vigils, bring offerings befitting the revenant's life story, and spread folk tales about their subjects across the region. They may ask to commune with or seek blessings from revenants they revere outside of their lineage.
- In more remote areas, towns fashion (or embellish) a shared mythical ancestor. This "village guardian revenant" becomes the center of their oral history and traditional rituals passed through generations.
Barter Economy - The labor and knowledge of revenants is a key commodity that living relatives can trade for mutual benefit. Favors may be exchanged between families.
More on barter economy
- The labor, memories and arcane talents of revenants are all negotiable commodities between dynasties or cults. A family may "lease out" one of its undead ancestors temporarily in return for social bonds, knowledge, or resources.
- Inter-family disputes may be resolved through "ancestor tribunals." Venerated revenants from neutral lineages hear arguments and dispense wisdom, which families agree to abide by.
- Indeed contracts signed "before the ancestors" carry great sacrosanct weight. Oaths sworn under the eyes of one's venerated dead are rarely broken, lest they convey dishonor into the afterlife and beyond...
Ethical Codes - With necromancy so prevalent, cultural mores and codes of ethics have arisen around what is considered acceptable treatment/use of the dead. Taboos limit abuses.
More on ethical codes
- The bones of intelligent mortals who die with their mental faculties intact are consecrated exclusively for revenant transformation. Desecrating consecrated remains prevents them from returning as revenants to guide future generations.
- However, the bones and bodies of non-sentient beasts may be used for spells or rituals requiring the animation of temporary undead servants. These mindless skeletons and zombies are no different than using other tools and pose no affront to the soul.
- The use of bloody or violent rituals to damage souls or bind them against their will is forbidden. Necromancy at its heart should employ respect, not tyranny.
- One's ancestry and progeny deserve consideration, even when deceased. The unethical handling of any mortal remains risks curses carried into the afterlife and beyond. Revenants remember those who wrongly used their bones.
The Umbral League
This clandestine group of noble scions has a radical notion - to someday abolish the nepotistic reliance on ancestral revenants in politics and society. They advocate for a future where a citizen's worth is judged by their own merits, not the renown of their long-dead forebears.
Such blasphemy against cherished traditions around lineage, ancestry and honoring the dead must be whispered for now. So the skeptical youths who make up the Umbral League use secrecy, coded missives, and anonymous publications to share their controversial ideas without risking familial disfavor or exile.
The League has silently been gathering resources and marginal support amongst minor houses and commoner associations. The embittered and disenfranchised make willing (if surreptitious) recruits. If one day the movement gains enough backing, the Umbral League hopes to pressure Ossenheim into a cultural reformation.
The Order of the Immortal Archive
This monastic order split off generations ago from Lathos' clergy, dissatisfied with disorganized local histories and risk of knowledge being lost without rigor. The ascetic scholars of the Order dedicated themselves to systematically collecting and preserving records from across Ossenheim.
To fund their libraries, scriptoria and research, the Order sells access to their meticulously cross-referenced archives for fees - from confirming noble genealogies to providing property deeds or unique documents.
The white-robed brothers and sisters have established regional chapterhouses and annexes across the country. Their neutrality and reputation for reliable recall has only grown, even as old dynasties begrudgingly pay tithes to ensure accurate accounting of their households for posterity.
Still not advertising for players yet, but I have created the game forum here: https://www.myth-weavers.com/index.php?/clubs/1260-ossenheim/
Right now its status is Open so that everyone can see everything. The Discussion page is open for anyone to start a topic if you feel like commenting or have ideas you want to share (that kind of musing will help me get excited and spur me along, as well as help me make actual decisions about what the game should be like).
-
For my planned archetype, I'd be interested in taking the Harrower archetype, which appears to be from another adventure path called Stolen Fate. I don't actually know anything about that adventure path, I'm just very interested in the Harrow stuff.
-
1 hour ago, Zen Gypsy said:
I am going to say Yes, but ... specifically there is an in-game source to learn a cool feat like that from, so no to start, but yes, if you want it we will find a way to have you discover a teacher for, or unlock the ability to, read psychometric resonance.
Cool! I'll just leave the free skill feat blank for now. The other ones available with my proficiencies weren't speaking to me really.
-
On 1/31/2024 at 7:36 AM, Keante said:
Read Psychometric Resonance is a feat of Uncommon rarity--may I have permission to take it? If it makes a difference, I kept all three of ancestry, background, and class to Common options. This feat reminds me very much of the Pathfinder 1e psychic spell and the Occultist's equivalent class feature, Object Reading, and I think it would be a great fit for my thaumaturge.
-
Zen Gypsy said:
Regardless of your specific tie with Gaedren Lamm, you gain an additional Skill Feat related to that tie. You must, however, still meet all requirements for that feat. Please note that the above is in addition to your, specific, Background.
Did you mean to assign skill feats to these, or are we to pick our own that we justify as being related to the specific tie?
Edge of Anarchy: Harrowing Fortunes
in Our Story
Posted
Lira Esmeranda - Half-Elf Thaumaturge 1 • application • Pathbuilder sheet
AC: 17 | HP: 9/17 | Fortitude: +6 | Reflex: +6 | Will: +6 | Perception: +6 | Conditions: Frightened 1
Her heart still racing, Lira looks at the last enemy standing in the room and feels around in a pouch for the right object to bring out against him. She moves into the room where she has a clear line to throw her starknife at Tarth, and then she does just that, sending the blades whirling toward him.
OOC
...
Mechanics
Main Hand: Starknife
Off Hand: Lantern Implement
Action 1: Exploit Vulnerability (Esoteric Lore check).
Action 2: Stride.
Action 3: Strike Tarth by throwing her starknife.
Lantern Initiate Benefit
While you hold your lantern, its burning light leaves secrets no place to hide. You can light or extinguish your lantern as a free action once each turn with nothing but a thought, which has the concentrate trait. The lantern shines bright light out to 20 feet and dim light out 20 feet further; this has the evocation, light, and magical traits (the counteract level against magical darkness is equal to half your level rounded up).
The lantern's magical light attempts to reveal the unseen. You and your allies in the lantern's area of bright light gain a +1 status bonus to visual Perception checks to notice anything that is also within the bright light, and a +1 status bonus to checks to Recall Knowledge against creatures within the bright light, as the light exposes their true natures. During exploration, even if you aren't Searching, the GM rolls a secret check for you to find traps, environmental hazards, haunts, and secrets (such as secret doors). The GM rolls each time a given hazard or secret comes within 20 feet of you and within the lantern's bright light. These effects have the divination, magical, and revelation traits.