[3.5e] Doverian Legends

[IncredibleTurnip]

The excitement builds!

Though, my healing focused app and all the talk of getting an NPC healer does make me nervous....

[Frodiddly]

My application is finalized! Good luck to everyone.

[saratek187]

Fro, your app isn't all that similar to Punisher specifically. I'm going to say the differences and use the MOST COMMON versions. There are a lot of different variations on Frank's origin story, so I'll try to keep it simple.

• His history and growing up aren't that big of a deal.
• Generally Frank Castle's wife is a high-school sweetheart that he meets up with and marries after his time in the service. She is for all purposes a sweet and simple housewife. She has a strength about her, but mostly when it comes to dealing with Frank. This is completely different than the wife you have.
• Frank does serve in the military as a Special Forces type guy, this is kind of similar. Frank then goes into the Police Force, which is basically the same as you have done.
• Frank loses his family because of the Mob. There are two standard versions: 1. The family sees something they shouldn't have. 2. Frank gets too close to busting them/the crooked cops working for them. In both versions there is the Wife and at least a 8ish year old boy. Just old enough to start doing Father-Son type stuff. This is definitely where you start to skew.
• After the loss of his family, Frank sees the world as very Black and White. Knowing the limitations and corruption of law enforcement, he doesn't even give it a chance and just decides to torture and kill his way up the Mob ladder until he's wiped them all out. Your character gave law enforcement a chance and just didn't kill his enemy outright. This shows that while he does wish for vengeance, he also values justice. Frank doesn't really see the value in legal justice anymore. I actually see this portion of your story more like that in "Law Abiding Citizen" than the Punisher.

Basically the similar elements aren't enough to say that your character is similar to Frank Castle. Joining "law enforcement" and losing loved ones is a common motivator for adventures. The wife you choose is completely different. The loss of family is different enough. Most importantly the character's inner thoughts and judgement that you portrayed are vastly different than the "No Mercy" vigilante style that Punisher has. Your character still values justice somewhere in there. I figure once he slays the one that killed his wife, he will turn back towards justice instead of just killing any and all that do bad.

I will say that the app was VERY GOOD and puts mine to shame on so many levels. If you aren't accepted, I'll shall make DD rue that decision.

In any case, I'm sure that mine is more similar to the comic book character I described than yours is to Frank Castle, so don't worry about it.

[DarkshireGT]

So whose betting DD will allow AT LEAST 7 people in?

[DoverianDragoon]

Applicant list updated, Frodiddly. My opinion is reserved, however, for tomorrow.

Re: Pathfiinder - If we decide, as a group, to convert to Pathfinder later, I might not be too opposed to the idea. All the material is on-site, after all. But this magic system is so different from the standard, I'd like to see how it stacks up in 3.5 before we try anything that "upgrades" non-casters much.

The lack of teleportation, resurrection, and spells with multiple effects cuts a lot of a Mage's capability. No Dimension's Door. No Haste. No Time Stop. Only a select few (Cryptomancers) can even cast Alarm. Almost all attack spells will require a Casting roll AND an Attack roll.

So yeah. Let's see how this works out first.

[Eviltedzies]

I honestly think that what made casters so powerful was their flexibility compared to non-casting classes. Casters could do so much more than any other type of class and often times with very little effort.

That said, the magic system DD is choosing to use is all about flexibility and customization. Two things I personally love. I also like the fact that the more powerful the spell the higher the skill check to make it would be. This means that casting is no longer an automatic success and greatly boosts the chances non-casting classes have to stay up to par in power with casters.

On the flip side, the flexibility and customization will allow clever players to be exceedingly more powerful than a normal wizard or sorcerer of their same level.

Overall it's an interesting system that I think was meant to balance casting without taking away the fun of it.

[DarkshireGT]

I agree, I was looking up on it last night. Its as good as the player makes it. I love how you can effectively power up or down any spell. The D&D system had very little in terms of that.

[Frodiddly]

I am actually super curious about how this new magic system will play out. If I don't make it in, I plan on following the game anyways for partially that reason. But you are right, Evil, magic's flexibility is it's biggest problem in 3.5, and the problem largely persists in Pathfinder. It's biggest advantage over 3.5 is, in my opinion, the elimination of dead levels. Where spellcasters are getting new and better spells at every level (in addition to other benefits), many other classes in 3.5 (most notably fighters, but others as well) don't receive anything at all at certain levels, aside from the usual BAB/saves/HP. Getting new things at every level is fun! Plus, the additions serve to remove some of the balance issues.

It's not a big deal either way; I like 3.5 just fine, but I always like trying to kick Pathfinder a little extra attention.

[saratek187]

They do have Dead Level stuff for 3.5, you just have to go get it from the Wizards site if you still can. My former table-top group used the Dead Levels stuff.

While the magic is very flexible, increasing power or complexity increases the skill DC. Failure is BAD unlike 3.5 where it would just miss or fizzle. If you tried to make that all-powerful fireball in this system, and your spell skill roll crashed, then you probably blew the fireball up in your face, taking all ofthe the damage dice, and most likely killing yourself. With no Resurrection, you may want to get started on a new character.

As far as replacements, I've always been the type given how this place is, that if your character dies you don't get an automatic "in" back into the game with a new character. If you want back in, you have to come up with a character app just as good if not better than the others that had stellar apps. With how many great apps normally come in to games like this, and the lack of slots for all of them, if a character dies you might as well let those that didn't make it in the first time have a chance to replace said character. The incumbent writer gets a chance, but too many times I've seen incumbents get lazy with replacement characters. Competition breeds excellence, so why not keep that notion alive?

EDIT: This is what I was talking about with the dead levels. While it was never included in the SRD, mostly given when it came out give the eve of 4e, it was written by one of the primary authors of 3.5's additional content including Complete Mage and Weapons of Legacy among others. I liked it and thought it was well balanced and perhaps DD will allow it to take part since it is FREE. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a

While I will admit that Pathfinder's stuff is better, I've never played it and doubt that I would be able to convert over to it easily.

[Quince]

- To weigh in on the clockwork falcon thing, Oisin would fight to help keep it . . . if he could examine it. No disassembly . . . at first.
- I also apologize for the poor quality of the background section, the change in deadline caught me off guard and I stayed up far too late writing this so it isn't my best work. Concept section trumps anything else.
- Good luck to all the applicants I'm looking forward to at least reading this game.

Name: Odhran Oisin Quinn
Race: Flame Elf
Character Concept: A young flame elf born of a noble house that grew bored with the isolation and stagnant nature of the elven nation. Traveled to Lyrickium and Brymseil and saw how displaced the elves were. Inspired by delicate clockworks, powerful airships and old stories, Oisin seeks to lead his people from fading into the mists of time and into the Age of Industry. He is going to be a clockwork craftsman and a pilot/builder of airships who will one day serve as a rally point for the elves.

 

Oisin’s intensely red hair falls in deliberate waves past his shoulders, the tips stained black by years of soot and ash. His eyes are the same burning blue as the flames of passion. His cheeks are continuously flushed red from years of the forge fires. The appealing contrast of his apparent blush on his fair skin gives him an innocent beauty. The usual light hairs that cover an elf’s body have been burned away. The tiny mechanisms of the clockworks have left his fingertips course and calloused but his palms are soft. He is short for an elf, only 4’6’’, and is a very thin 88 pounds. Oisin keeps every inch of himself well groomed and his wardrobe is . . . uniquely eclectic. Oisin views himself as an elf of the New Age and attempts to dress the part. He blends the best parts of the old styles with some of today’s fashions from all over the world. He remains particularly found of the flowing style of Brymseil but dresses to fit whatever country he is in. One thing that is rarely missing from his attire is a pair of skin-tight black leather gloves that have the fingers missing.

 

Oisin is a dandy. Appearance and manners are of the utmost importance to him. Refined language is intriguing and gentlemanly hobbies are stimulating but nothing should be placed in front of industrial progress. Oisin is one of the most committed people around and never leaves anything on the table. Once he sees a goal, he doesn’t stop until it is finished. Oisin loves artwork but doesn’t define it the same way that others do. His is the artistry of design, the efficiency of space and the grace of the gears. He holds a special curiosity for clockworks and elemental design but wants to learn everything. Oisin is fascinated by history and enjoys any story that he can get his hands on. He grew up on them and they are what inspired him to be as big as he is today. His love of stories has raised him as a dreamer. He sets his hopes high and tries to pull everyone up to their own dreams. Oisin is a devout follower of the Eight Divines (OOC: I would love for him to be dedicated for a single god but I don’t know enough about them at the moment) Oisin loves a leisurely chat that stimulates the mind and does not suffer fools. He loves making friends but due to the Purge, he is a little bit racist and distrusting of anyone that doesn’t carry elven blood at first.

 

Oisin was born to a very old blooded House in the quiet walls of Soulwood in Lothmiriden. He was taught old traditions, family crests and boooooooring. Lothmiriden was stagnant. Nothing ever happened and even other flame elves couldn’t keep Oisin stimulated. It seemed that cornering the elves into one corner of the world on top of the Purge was draining the elves in very real and visible way, especially the older generations. His nanny had told him stories about the past. The amazing feeling of having the leylines of the world tapped directly into her spine. The grandeur of the old cities of Brymseil. Legends so old that even the Giant’s Wall has forgotten them. The moment that Oisin came of age, he left Lothmiriden for the desert that belonged to his people just three generations ago. He caught a ride with a sky elven caravan and rode into Brymseil. While he was there, he signed on with the Ruin Explorers that are in charge of the excavation of the ancient sites and what he saw took his breathe away. He got caught up in the majesty of the past and found a pride in his race that he never felt in Lothmiriden. Also during his travels, Oisin saw the place that the elves had in the world. They were outsiders. No one trusted them. No one liked them. His race was slowly losing significance and before long would be just as much a relic as the ruins in the desert. And just like those relics, Oisin believes that it is airships that will carry his race to their place in the New Age. He first saw airships carrying trade goods from Brymseil to Crylax and fell in love with the power and grandeur that it leaked from every nut and bolt. Being unable to afford a ticket on these behemoths of the sky, he caught a ride to Vexbright. The center of magic and technology and the leader in airship production. Maybe the Academy of the Arcane would offer him the training he needed. Maybe he would discover the secrets himself. Whatever the answer, Vexbright seemed to be the place.

 

- Save the elves from themselves by finding them a new place in the world - Feel what it’s like to BE magic - Conquer each one of the barriers of the Known World (Giant’s Wall, Sea of Perils etc.)

 

I could see Oisin having all of these things and it doesn’t matter to me which one he gets. They would all be fun. - a 1 square inch block of metal. When held in the hand it stretches and contorts into the image held in the users head. If contact is broken the cube holds it shape until a new image is conjured. This item is mostly used by engineers. - This small stone has been handed down in his family for generations. It holds every story that a Quinn has ever been told. When holding the stone and concentrating, the user begins to daydream and gets to live out the stories. - Agatha’s helper clank minus the self-replication.

 

I want to see a game where I feel like I am making an impact on the world around me. I want to have Oisin walk down the street and have people recognize him for the things he has done. I do not want to see the player count drop by one or two the first time that we have a combat.

[Whispers]

I have updated my application.

[Code H]

Feel free to take him apart to see how he works, but only if I get to take you apart to see how you work.

[DoverianDragoon]

QuinceWhoa! I was not expecting a whole new applicant. @,@;; Not this late, anyway. Okay. List has been updated. If you'd like to know more about a specific deity and their cult church, I'll see what I can come up with; dumping everything about each of them would be a crapton of reading (and I'd be making some of it up as I went. )

But, some recommendations:
As a Flame Elf, Salamonde is a natural choice.
As an Engineer, Gaus and Aeonil make decent possibilities. Gaeus is the closest I have to a "god of civilization," and Aeonil is kind of like the God of Physics. But he's also the god of Fate and Luck. Fire has also symbolized technology in literature, so Salamonde might make a decent Goddess for that, too.
Valeron is all about freedom, creativity, and electricity, so he's sure to have a place among technophiles, too.

Speaking of which... how on earth do you plan to build that Engineer...?

On the other hand... at this point, it may be better to wait and see if you make it in.

Whispers: Duly noted, list updated.



EDIT: Re: Dead Levels - I'm... tentatively okay with that. The bonuses are really small, and I'll leave it up to individual players to decide if they want to deal with all that or not. If we eventually convert to Pathfinder, the Dead Levels rules will not carry over.
Re: Replacements - I was considering the potential of replacement characters last night, actually, and came up with the same thing that Saratek did: Prior applicants - played or unplayed - would need to re-apply. Unplayed characters may be re-applied, naturally. So if you don't make the first cut... hope somebody folds!

[DoverianDragoon]

As promised, applications are now closed!

I'm still having a lot of trouble whittling down the last few. Seriously, this is really hard. Out of 19 applications I had 4 I definitely wanted.
... and 7 very strong maybes.
... and a lot of others I liked - and still like! - that just didn't quite fit with the others, even if they were really good applications. Seriously there are a lot of exceptional ones here. Every one that I reject (and reject is such a strong word) makes me feel that tug... that pull of a story that will never be written, of a character I will never see come to life. It's hard in a lot of ways.

Give me one more day to consider all the options. I haven't gotten much sleep lately and that's not the right frame of mind to make such important decisions.


EDIT: Something happened and my post got eaten for no reason. Restored as best as I can.

[c12sprint]

Get some sleep. We've waited this long and honestly, the original time we were expecting this announcement is still weeks away. Will check back tomorrow.