[4e] The Unkindness of Ravens

[Colonel Crow]

Name: Sylas Timorlan
Gender: Male
Race: Eladrin
Age: 44
Class: Bard

Appearance: Sylas is what is known as a "moon elf" on his homeworld of Faerûn. He has long, silky hair the color of spun silver and large green eyes flecked with gold. His skin is pale to the point of translucency. He would be called slight of build were he a human, but for an eladrin he verges on stocky. His high, lobeless ears are pierced with gold rings all the way to their points. He wears a coat-of-chain, burnished to a high silver glow and carries the classic eladrin weapons of longsword and longbow. It is not these that he has most often at hand, though, instead carrying a wand of ivory in combat and a birchwood lute with a deep belly anytime else.

Background: For Sylas, it was always about the stories.

He showed a strong talent for magic and music from an early age in the woods of Myth Drannor. This was not unusual. What was, perhaps, was his fascination with the tales behind the songs and the spells. Who wrote this? When was this first cast, and why? What story does this sequence of notes, this dweomer of eldritch Art tell?

He spent decades learning old stories, and then he spent years writing his own, taking for his text the adventures he had with his friends and family as they continued the centuries-long project of cleansing the ancient elven woods of demonic influence above and drow incursion below. He learned to fight, and he learned when not to, and he learned how to make a song of both that would tell the tale when all were safely home.

Now he has been in the safety of that home for a quiet year or two, wondering what life would bring him next. He walks the wooded valleys, lute at his back and paper and ink in his pack, thinking and writing and humming melodiously, until one day he is interrupted by the raucous cry of a raven.

Sylas knows all the songs about ravens.

Or he thought he did.

[English Language]

Bout time we had a Leader application <_<

[Frodiddly]

I definitely have an interest in this! So I will put that up now. I do have a couple questions about the game, though.

1) So, for a character concept, I had an idea for a slightly comedic approach. Would this be acceptable for this sort of setting? I admittedly don't know very much about it, so I thought it might be best to run it by you. If it's not, of course, I can go back to the drawing board.

For the concept itself, this is basically what I had in mind: A human that has been raised as a Dwarf from a very young age, and has spent so much time with them, that he delusionally sees himself as one. Naturally, this can lead to somewhat awkward physical and sociological situations.

Furthermore, he has been trained in the ways of Dwarven combat, and vehemently worships Moradin (Fighter/Paladin hybrid). Finally, he cannot grow a beard. Therefore, he wears a fake beard, which he will never, EVER, admit is not real.

And now my second question: How strict will you be about the 1/day posting requirements? I am a college student, with finals and papers fast approaching, as well as teaching a Communication 101 class via a student program. As such, it sometimes comes up that I simply do not have the time to post. Would this be a barrier to entry?

Thank you!

[Gunnar]

1) The setting itself is somewhat exotic and if you have a unique character, even comical, I have absolutely nothing against that. I mean any setting that has this as a race selection (I did not include it because I would have needed to invent lots of mechanics to make it work) can tolerate some comedy. To give you an idea about what I have planned, the story will start off as with the heroes trying to adjust to a brand new world. As the story progresses they heroes will begin to discover that a paradigm shift has started in Penance(the city that this will be taking place in) and they are caught up in the middle of it.

2) I know all of us would love to post all the time and that some times we just cant get time to write a good post. I in fact will have to take a couple weekends off due to weddings, vacations, etc.... So my only stipulation is this, if you know/think you will not be able to post some day/(weekend/week/ extended period of time) please hop on to the OOC thread and simply say, "Hey RL is super busy" or "I wont have internet for the next couple days". I simply want players who will not disappear for long periods of time holding up the game. We may not always have enough time to post quality stuff, but I do believe that people can hop on and just say hey everyday.

Example: If you cannot post and a combat starts, I will take control of your turn if you have not posted for that day. I will only do this once a day unless instructed otherwise, and I will only take control of a character for combat.


Hope that answers your questions and I am intrigued by your character concept and hope you put an app together

[Ricochet Jones]

Originally Posted by Frodiddly

Finally, he cannot grow a beard. Therefore, he wears a fake beard, which he will never, EVER, admit is not real.

This line alone tells me everything I need to know in order to have vast amounts of fun with your character . Do it!

[Frodiddly]

Great! Thanks, Gunnar. I'm working on the app itself now, though I am having a little trouble with the build itself. I'm internally weighing between fighter/paladin hybrid or a fighter with a paladin mulitclass (which has a lot of feat issues), or whether paladin is really even necessary at all... Hahaha. The emphasis is primarily on the fighter class, but I'm just worried about balance with other apps, and how much I want worship of Moradin to be a factor in the character himself. Blah blah blah.

[Phil]

A word on Torgoth's alignment:

He comes from a world, and a race, that is not well disposed to a good alignment, and for most of his life, he operated as lawful evil, using his tribe to dominate and terrify the surrounding peoples. His change to a good alignment is due to his humbling defeat at the hands of his protege, as well as the kindness of another tribe, a tribe of a species his people had routinely slaughtered, enslaved, eaten, and hunted for sport.

Right now, he doesn't understand his new alignment, and he sees it as a weakness. Over time, he'll come to understand that protecting the weak is the greatest sign of strength, but right now he's still having trouble dealing with his new-found sense of conscience and honor.

[Gunnar]

@Phil Yeah, I gathered as much from your background that he has become a different person after his defeat. I also knew that if anyone who decided to try the Asherake or the Faust would have some unique role playing ahead of them.

@Frodiddly Don't stress to much over your role, I would rather you take that energy and put together a great background (unless it is important to you background =P). I am really looking forward to seeing how this turns out, as I feel your characters pain of not being able to grow a beard.

[Frodiddly]

Name: Vanguard Craighammer .
Gender: Male.
Race: Human (convinced he is a Dwarf, however).
Age: 27.
Class: Fighter/Paladin Hybrid, with an emphasis on Fighter.
Appearance:

 

Vanguard Craighammer is a tall man. He stands close to about seven feet tall, nearly double than the height of any Dwarf. He wears long brown hair, which he braids in the manner of the “Craighammer” clan. His eyes are equally brown, and his skin very dark. None of these things help to prevent Vanguard's delusions. Upon his chin, Vanguard also wears a fake brown beard, similarly braided. While this beard typically fools most that look upon this strange individual, those that spend an extensive amount of time with him gradually become aware of this awkward fact.

Otherwise, Vanguard Craighammer dresses and acts as many a Dwarf might. When battle calls to him, Vanguard fights with heavy steel plate armor, and carries a Dwarven craighammer, from where he derives his “clan” name. In his other hand, he carries a sturdy shield, painted red and gold.

Background:

 

Vanguard Craighammer was born to a human family, who were never especially wealthy. He spent his first few years under their ward, until his family joined an expedition to venture into the Underdark. They were lured with promises of wealth and glory, but all they received was blood and pain. Vanguard had accompanied the expedition, having no other family but his immediate to care for him, and he alone survived the slaughter that destroyed them, by hiding under a rock. Vanguard was but a toddler at the time, and could hardly take care of himself, or escape from the tunnels. It was almost certain that the boy would die a painful death, wasting away in the complete darkness.

But it seems that the Gods were watching over him that day. Vanguard spent a day in the darkness of the depths, before a Dwarven patrol came across the thirsty and hungry boy. They rescued him, and returned him to their underground town of Stonehammer.

There, at Stonehammer, Vanguard spent the rest of his life, raised amongst the Dwarves. So traumatic was his early experience, and so young had he been at the time, he soon entirely forgot his old life, his old name, and his family. He only saw himself as an unusual Dwarf, and acted entirely as one throughout his life. Though he quickly grew larger than his fellows, he continued to stay amongst the Dwarven schools, and even applied to join the Stonehammer militia once he came of age.

Now, naturally, one might ask how Vanguard Craighammer acquired such an absurd name: Well you see, the patrol that came across the young boy was a patrol for the vanguard of a larger attack force, that had originally attempted to reinforce the doomed expedition. The boy, upon learning this, found the name to be “Dwarven-sounding,” and rapidly adopted it as his new name. It would be years later until he fully understood what Vanguard actually meant, but the name had stuck by then. Vanguard liked it better that way.

A similar occurrence occurred with the Craighammer surname as well. During weapons training, Vanguard took a rapid liking to the craighammer weapon, a mighty hammer with a brutal spike on one end. Of course, he was found to be quite skilled in other hammers, axes, and picks, but Vanguard loved the craighammer. He slayed his first orc with it in his twenty-fourth year, after he was inducted among the Stonehammer militia. The patrol was seemingly mundane and average, but upon reaching Stone Grey Point, Vanguard and six other Dwarves were assaulted by a force of no less than thirty Bloodspear orcs. By the grace of Moradin, the stern training the patrolmen had undergone saved their lives that day, and the Bloodspear orcs were driven away. Vanguard killed seven of the orcs all by his own, and was honored that night when the patrol returned.

During his time in Stonehammer, Vanguard had never taken a lover, nor had he ever really learned much about what life as a human was like. In fact, only on a few occurrences had he ever left the underground town at all, mostly as an escort or guardian of merchant caravans. There were a few points where he had interactions with humans, but so deeply did Vanguard believe himself to be nothing more than an overly large Dwarf, he did not feel out-of-place or confused. The people simply regarded him as a strange human that had spent far too much time in the depths.

It was during his most recent trip above-ground that Vanguard began to see the crows. Birds were a strange and exotic thing for him, having spent so much of his life underground. He stared at them wistfully, and briefly entertained thoughts of what flight might be like, but quickly dismissed them, upon thinking more about what terrors that might bring as well.

But then, he strangely began seeing the crows underground as well. Vanguard was never the smartest human around (of this, any could be certain), but he did indeed find this strange. Once they began to coalesce within his home, he began to find everything even more strange...

Battle Example:

 

Running caravans through the Underdark was always dangerous, but it was a job that needed to be done. And with this job came the necessity for guards, and Vanguard Craighammer was always excited to fill that role. This time, it was orcs.

Better than those Drow... Vanguard thought to himself. He always had a difficult time fighting them, for some reason.

His main job was to protect the caravan masters themselves, while they did their best to drive the animals onwards, and out of the tunnel. Vanguard swung the hammer of his namesake left and right, bashing against multiple orcs at once, calling out taunts as he did so.

"Aaaahahaha! Have at thee, puss-face! Let me pop that pimple for ye'!"

If an orc tried to slip past the mighty warrior, he would catch it with his shield, relying on his plate armor to protect him from the spears and axes of his enemies. The foe would be shoved back before him, and delivered another mighty blow from his hammer.

"Moradin take ye'! HIII-YA!"

Though Vanguard was a trained and disciplined warrior, his attacks often had an amount of brashness and battle-fury to them. This was fully intentional. Vanguard knew his role: To defend his allies, at any way possible. Opening himself up to attack made him a much juicier target than the rest of the caravan, and the might and fury of his blows would fell his enemies all the faster.

Battle Roles Broken Down Vanguard Craighammer is, first and foremost, a defender. His duty is to fight in melee on the front-lines of the battlefield, drawing the fire of enemies whenever possible. He utilizes his abilities to mark as many foes as he can (Combat Challenge in melee, Divine Challenge as a minor). His primary attack is Brash Strike, as well as Heedless Fury, so that he is even more available as a target, rather than the more squishy party members. This also increases the actual damage he does, which he also has a large emphasis on. To increase this damage even further, he will activate Battle Fury Stance, to increase his own strength and lower his defenses.

[Guyv]

I have a shielding/ranged cleric I will be putting up soon. Just trying to decide on the race...

[Guyv]

Name: Alek 'Fang Breaker' Triton
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 45
Class: Cleric (Selûne)

Appearance: Alek stands around 5'10". His face is covered in a permanent stubble, too lazy to shave everyday but unwilling to put up with the scratchiness that comes with growing a full beard. His eyes are bit sunken into his head, it complements his world weary face and look. A brown wide-brimmed hat sits on his head, tipped low so as to cover his face. A similarly colored poncho hangs over his body, covering the rusting and dirty chain mail that covers his chest. The symbol of Selûne, worn around his neck, hangs underneath it all. His pats are tattered and torn and his boots are muddy and frayed. A tortoise blade, made of silver but the tip broken off, on his left hand, a flask he constantly needs to refill in his right. He stands hunched, generally, and leans against any available wall.

Background: Alek was not always as he is now. As a young man he was pious and devote avenger for Selûne. He hunted down lycanthropes and ended the lives of those who succumbed to the beast that raged within them. It was a hard path but one he, and his god, deemed necessary. He moved silently through the shadows and ended lives quickly. He did not hate them, merely pitied them and wished to release them of their burden the only way he knew how. He was considered one of the best of his generation, he ended the lives of so many evil lycanthropes that he received the nickname, The Fang Breaker.

He continued this life for many years, traveling the lands trading in secrets and rumors to find his quarries. Untilone night changed his life. Rumor had it that a lycanthrope had developed a spell or serum that could turn unwilling people into mindless lycanthropes who would only follow the one who changed them. Alek stalked this evils for weeks, being led to a remote keep on the edge of a coast. His worst fears came to pass, several lycanthropes had already been created and they stood guard, at the ready. Alek worked quickly, using the shadows and the terrain he executed the lycanthropes silently and efficiently. Working deeper and deeper into the keep, until finally reaching the dastardly master of the plot. With a single stroke, Alek ended his life.

The avenger went about his duty, gathering up the research, equipments, and notes, to burned so that no others could benefit from the plan. In his horror, he soon realized how true that statement was. The notes contained information on a new cure, to help restore sanity to those lycanthropes who had succumbed to the beast. He scrambled to look at the body and hidden beneath his robes, a symbol of Selûne store out at him. Alek had killed a fellow worshiper and, much worse than that, may have prevented a cure that could have potentially saved hundreds from death.

He walked to the window of the keep, shaken and ruined to his core, the steep plummet to the rocky coast just below. He looked up to the moon, hanging in the sky above. He clutched his holy symbol and stepped off, praying for forgiveness as he plummeted. He fell for what felt like days, the anticipation of the ground was worse than a thousand deaths. He felt a thud, but it was light and soft, there was no pain. He looked around, he had felt hundreds of feet to the coast and landed on his back without injury, landing on the sand of the beach. Only one thing was amiss, the tip of his blade had been broken. He understood the sign when he saw it, he would be an avenger no more. He would become a cleric, he would heal those instead of taking their lives, and someday, with enough knowledge and training, he may one day unlock of the secret of curing those who had succumbed.

Warning: rolls have been deleted from this post.

[Gunnar]

Reminder: There are 7 days left (if you count today) to put in an application. Again feel free to ask me any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

I also wanted to quickly explain why I chose to use a 26 point buy instead of the normal 22. The reason behind this lies in the nature of the Forge itself. This is a harsh world that will be very challenging. In addition Israfel tends to pull those who are considered elite even by hero standards. While you may have slightly more rounded stats, the encounters and various challenges will still push your characters.

[Frodiddly]

I approve of the 26-point buy. 22 always felt just a little bit too low to me.

[Gunnar]

As there has been a lull in interest and the thread has constantly been falling to the second page, I may change the deadline to Wednesday, May 11th. This would be a week since the last sign of interest was given (as Guyv showed interest early)

However if people begin to show interest again over the next couple of days I will keep the original date.

[grinningdemon12]

im very excited andwanna get the grinning demon goin i vote start