Application questions

[Sunless Echo]

@Escheton You're not restricted to one stat in a 27-point buy, it can help with more exact choices in stat creation though. Also, I have seen some weird stuff so i don't know about cliche's. Contributing to combat or even stat rolls for other players by aiding them in some way is not just about your numbers. Advantage is great to have, you are rolling yourself along with them (fun to do) and Strategy is just as important. You rolled pretty Fairly I'd say, just a little above even across the board. I've given you guys a lot of freedom on races, class/subclass, feats, etc.

You can still make dang near any character you want. Being one or two points off isn't too big a deal. I've known players with +10's in some skills near lvl 4 (I am one of them) who roll so poorly. If your worried about proficiency then you have many ways to correct it by changing and mixing, race, class, feats. I might be missing another way.

 

[Laird_Thorne]

1 hour ago, Sunless Echo said:

Interesting proposition. I'll allow you to make your own like that if you pay 150 gold for expenses and find some way to make yourself proficient with smithing or tinkers tools. Taking the gold as a reward and trying to use a kit to craft one of your own is clever but you'll need proficiency to make one work properly.

You'll need to pay for any ammunition yourself on top of that. Powder is sold by the ounce for one Gold piece (one load and you can store that in whatever you want but be aware of weather conditions). Bullets are 3 gold pieces.

• Bolt case - 1 GP
• 20 Bolts - 20 GP (1 GP per)

Thank you. :)

Since Monk's only start with 5d4 (and I ended up with 11), I still have to collect the other say 100 GP to be able to even afford that, but going into things without his favorite weapon is intriguing. Perhaps he recently lost the one he had in escaping from somewhere and he was only able to get together a small amount of funds to replace it...

 

[Escheton]

47 minutes ago, Sunless Echo said:

@Escheton You're not restricted to one stat in a 27-point buy, it can help with more exact choices in stat creation though. Also, I have seen some weird stuff so i don't know about cliche's. Contributing to combat or even stat rolls for other players by aiding them in some way is not just about your numbers. Advantage is great to have, you are rolling yourself along with them (fun to do) and Strategy is just as important. You rolled pretty Fairly I'd say, just a little above even across the board. I've given you guys a lot of freedom on races, class/subclass, feats, etc.

You can still make dang near any character you want. Being one or two points off isn't too big a deal. I've known players with +10's in some skills near lvl 4 (I am one of them) who roll so poorly. If your worried about proficiency then you have many ways to correct it by changing and mixing, race, class, feats. I might be missing another way.

 

Well, the thing is, if you have option of everything you could want character-wise, point buy when high stats are available but gatekept by luck-privilege is irksome. Because you know what you want and it's just not quite what it could be. Now that there are more constraints because it needs to not overlap with the existing group too much, etc, it actually helps in the creative process.

Now, tech level is pretty high here and there, so trade-law and such is likely a bit more developed as well. Currently thinking an Azorius Functionary Wildfire Druid. Think Union Lawyer Squatting Urban Anarchist. The wildfire renewal aspect applied to the city and people.
Does that have any legitimacy within the setting or would too much need to be tweaked for more wild souls (read: poor) to have legislative authority? Like, how far beyond feudalism are the citystates that the rules can be used to benefit the people?

[Polyphemus]

@Sunless Echo The black hounds caught my attention for a potential character idea. But since there’s already a character in the party who’s part of that organization, I wanted to hear your thoughts on potentially having another in the party. I’d also be happy to take the character in another direction if having a second black hound would diminish how elite and mysterious they feel.

If I do decide to go down that route, I was thinking of doing more of a martial mage hunter (ranger) than the dark mage type. Would that also fit into the organization, or should I go in a different direction?

[Sunless Echo]

5 hours ago, Escheton said:

Well, the thing is, if you have option of everything you could want character-wise, point buy when high stats are available but gatekept by luck-privilege is irksome. Because you know what you want and it's just not quite what it could be. Now that there are more constraints because it needs to not overlap with the existing group too much, etc, it actually helps in the creative process.

Now, tech level is pretty high here and there, so trade-law and such is likely a bit more developed as well. Currently thinking an Azorius Functionary Wildfire Druid. Think Union Lawyer Squatting Urban Anarchist. The wildfire renewal aspect applied to the city and people.
Does that have any legitimacy within the setting or would too much need to be tweaked for more wild souls (read: poor) to have legislative authority? Like, how far beyond feudalism are the citystates that the rules can be used to benefit the people?

The feudalism is intense. Emprin is the closest thing to a monarchy/empire as it tries to come out of a city-state stage with its amount of land utilized and neighboring politics. Usura is the newest to the bunch as it's chaos, The state it's in very much resembles old Japan (not culture or looks wise, only the state of the place).

Numania is basically a union-state run by multiple different Guilds (I say guilds, but it's more like an artificer workforce with various crafters of all kinds in different sub-guilds). they are headed towards some kind of capitalism.

Zestra has become sort of a self-functioning "Utopian" arcane society with outsiders heavily monitored. (That idea would not work there)

 

I was just giving their basic explanations. what you're going for should work, neat outside the box idea

[Sunless Echo]

58 minutes ago, Polyphemus said:

@Sunless Echo The black hounds caught my attention for a potential character idea. But since there’s already a character in the party who’s part of that organization, I wanted to hear your thoughts on potentially having another in the party. I’d also be happy to take the character in another direction if having a second black hound would diminish how elite and mysterious they feel.

If I do decide to go down that route, I was thinking of doing more of a martial mage hunter (ranger) than the dark mage type. Would that also fit into the organization, or should I go in a different direction?

you're welcome to make a Black hound of Shahim. Read up on their lore, they are each bound by a cane or staff of some kind. As long as you can use some kind of magic and have an arcane tether (a magic focus) then you can be one. I don't have a problem with it. They are an interesting group and have a big part to play in the game thanks to one of the players helping to add story to the lore.

You don't have to go the black mage route (hunters can use magic), just remember the cane/staff and magic requirement. They have martial warriors, but Magic is just the primary ability they possess. They are an elite force, but they have requirements for story purposes and if you want to go down that route, I'll discuss it with you on your character.

[Polyphemus]

Ok sweet, I think I'll go down that path then. And yeah, I'll still have some magic as a ranger so that should work, and I'm sure can be flavored more as black magic than the usual ranger nature magic.

[Lunermist]

I did have a mild thought about strixhaven backgrounds (mainly for getting possibly getting cure wounds without having to play a cha or wis caster, and being part of the Zestra's Magic Academy for Studious Arcanists) but strixhaven isn't allowed, so continuing thoughts with other insanities.

[Unkabear]

The trouble with Strixhaven backgrounds tend to be the free feat and/or magic that they provide. They are POWERFUL backgrounds and need to be accepted with caution with balance and thoughts toward the story.

[Unkabear]

I like Gunnark, that is a Barbarian that absolutely does not conflict with Jarren.

 

And that would certainly make for some interesting RP. But the choice is Sunless Echo's to make.

[BlackPhoenix]

19 minutes ago, Unkabear said:

I like Gunnark

Thank you! :)

[TheRaconteur]

15 hours ago, Polyphemus said:

@Sunless Echo The black hounds caught my attention for a potential character idea. But since there’s already a character in the party who’s part of that organization, I wanted to hear your thoughts on potentially having another in the party. I’d also be happy to take the character in another direction if having a second black hound would diminish how elite and mysterious they feel.

If I do decide to go down that route, I was thinking of doing more of a martial mage hunter (ranger) than the dark mage type. Would that also fit into the organization, or should I go in a different direction?

The Black Hounds are my baby and I'm happy to share.

When I initially pitched the idea for them to our DM, they asked me if I'd seen the Astartus Project on YouTube. That was exactly the vibe I was going for, so I was very pleased that that's what they got out of it. I took Soldier as my background and have frequently used the Military Rank feature in the game so far.

Give my background a read for a more detailed look at what's cannon so far. I don't know what you're going for, but there are lots of interesting ways to do a Black Hound with the revised Ranger.

Edited August 17, 2023 by TheRaconteur (see edit history)

[Polyphemus]

Thanks for the info, I’ll definitely give that a watch to get a feel for the tone. I’m still in the process of figuring out what route to go down, but I’m excited to give the revised ranger a whirl.

I really like what I read in the faction description and your backstory, definitely gives me some ideas to think on.

[Lunermist]

19 hours ago, Unkabear said:

The trouble with Strixhaven backgrounds tend to be the free feat and/or magic that they provide. They are POWERFUL backgrounds and need to be accepted with caution with balance and thoughts toward the story.

They are powerful (more powerful then a normal background 100%) but also not broken, and can be used contextually within a setting by changing the name and spells offered, they're honestly what all backgrounds should be in some ways, and the reason they're loved by people who play a lot of casters is, it lets your casters flex into other roles without having to multiclass, or beg the dm to let them learn a spell not on their list normally. (I mean why are wizards the only full casters without some way to get heal spells, ARCHIEVIST from 3.5 is like the perfect template cross over for it... *sighs*) anyway, like I said, I wasn't asking for them, just mentioning that I had seen the magic academy and went alright that gives a good place to start for a strixhaven background, because I always check lore if there is any before creation rules.

which by the way, the backgrounds don't give you the spells for free, you still have to choose them as you level in place of normal ones. (similarly to how a divine soul sorcerer may choose cleric spells instead of sorcerer spells or how a warlock's patron provides additional options for spells, not automatically granting them.)

as for the feat. its a variation of magic initiate, that lets you choose your spell casting ability, and restricts your cantrip choices of picking two of three (2 combat and 1 utility) while offering you two spell lists to choose from. its not super strong just good flavor and allows you to spread your cantrips a bit wider...

anyway, like I said in my original post, I had a Mild thought about it, but saw it was banned and moved on. because I know they're controversial, and just wanted to mention that it was an idea I had, because it felt like it was designed to allow for that kind of background. whether or not it was intended to.

[Sunless Echo]

@Lunermist Yeah, these are not approved. Sorry friend, in my own opinion...backgrounds aren't meant to be power-up more so than knowledge/experience that allows you to know or handle the world you're in better. (ex. the bad reputation from the sailor background) That would allow you to get away with small crimes such as forcing a free ale or knocking a door off a hinge. This considering you're an individual well-known for mischief or causing trouble while getting away from or handling Law enforcement. You can do this because you know the area well and are known for being a problem for everyone.

 

If that kind of idea is what you're going for then it will have to be a feat. I noticed you're going for an aberrant mind Sorcerer. That is the equivalent of being born with eldritch horror blood in this game. One of my players has worked with me on trying to flesh out the Void (Astral Sea) with me. You'd have a strong connection there and I could work with you on that. Almost nobody in the world of the game has any idea of what lies in that emptiness.

To have had the bloodline of an aberrant is...well unheard of.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Sunless Echo (see edit history)