[D&D-5e] Dungeons of Drakkenheim

[Drifter One]

No requirement for personal pic, as long as it is within the site rules.

[Still_Pond]

Are you ONLY using PHB races? The other books you list don't have races in them. I was looking at possibly playing a Tabaxi but I'm flexible.

[Drifter One]

Yeah just PHB races please - I don't have familiarity with the more exotic ones.

[Still_Pond]

Name: Katvah, of Clan Emthrazax of the slate planes.
Nickname (childhood name): Sunblind
Race: Dragonborn (Brass)
Class: Barbarian
Alignment: CG

Background:

Traits: I change my mood or my mind as quickly as the weather in spring.
I also get bored easily. When am I going to get on with my destiny?

Ideal: Friendship. Material goods come and go. Bonds of friendship last forever.

bond:The common folk will eventually realize that I am a true hero of the people and any cost to them will have been worth it.

Flaw:There’s no room for caution in a life lived to the fullest. Oh, and I can’t resist a pretty face. Oh, and also see my personal quest.

Appearance: Katvah is considered cute by her clan, with well proportioned but relatively small horned frills, large emerald eyes and an easy smile. She spends a good deal of time on personal grooming, ensuring that her brass scales are polished and reflect brightly in the sunshine. Her neck frills reflect gold to green, as does some of her accent scales. When she can afford the luxury of dressing up, she likes to wear sheer and airy clothing adorned with carefully chosen accent pieces. She is also never without her giant greataxe, which doesn't really go with her vibe. It does give wrongdoers (and potential suitors) pause, however. Like her scales, she keeps the blade of the axe polished to a mirror brightness.

Personality: Friendly and outgoing most of the time, so long as her attentions are reciprocated. If her overtures are ignored or unappreciated, she grows board and moves on to find more interesting people. She's rather contradictory in nature: independent yet needy; feisty yet affectionate; curious yet oblivious; impulsive yet inquisitive; she both overreacts and underreacts. When it comes to solving problems, she relies on her great axe a little too much.

History: (see personal quest below)

Personal Quest: Overwhelming Debt. "I owe a tremendous debt of at least 10,000 gold pieces, probably more. It wasn't my fault the dragon's favor cost so much! The dwarves should be thanking me! It doesn't matter. My personal quest is to make such debts irrelevant and pay it back by making a fortune in Drakkenheim! Meanwhile, I need to avoid those annoying bounty hunters they keep sending after me. "

"What, you want MORE detail? (nosy much.)

I was hatched in northern Caspia, in the slate flats north of the Glimmer Mountains. My clutch had a good relationship with the giants who lived nearby, and life was good until that horrible star fell. I saw a chunk of it fall really close to us. I was only four years old but I can remember all the fighting between the giants and the dwarves, who both claimed the star chunk as theirs, and kept raiding each other for it. It got pretty bad, but after years of fighting, both sides reached an agreement thanks to a mysterious mediator who showed up one day. The dwarves agreed to just pay gold for the stupid rock.

For some reason, MY clutch was in charge of moving the gold to the giant stronghold. The problem was, this was right during my final molting celebration on MY 16th hatchday! Gliamdrax, a brass dragon who sometimes aided our people or celebrated with us, told me that it was a shame the dwarves would get the geode, because of its curse. The dragon said the giants were strong enough to resist it, that it was just a fragment of the whole, but the greed of the dwarves would end in their doom if they embraced its corruption.

I didn't know what the dragon was talking about, but it sounded bad. The dragon said if I gave them the gold, they would use their powerful dragon influence to convince the dwarves to give up the geode, for their own salvation. It sounded like a good deal, so I agreed.

Well, I don't know what happened, only that I managed to just piss everybody off and totally ruin my final molting celebration! Because I was the one who made the bad deal, my clutch shunned me. I had to return the "stolen" (their words) gold or flee as a wanted criminal!

I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in a dwarven prison mine, so I came north. I'm pretty sure I can just find another star-rock in the crater of Drakkenheim, that or earn enough gold from treasure that others are too afraid to salvage so that I can just pay off my bounty and be done with this whole mess. "

 

RP example "Oh, don't be a baby! That blood will scrub right out!" *SLAM* That was the third inn she had been kicked out of in as many days. The elves who settled in the northern forests were a fussy lot. Shoes off, payment upfront, don't throw dishes in the fire, don't move the tables, don't dance on the kegs, darts only go into the game board, you can play dice but cheaters just get away with stealing I guess? Normally, people loved her. She'd had innkeepers give her free meals just because of her good humor, but not here. These elves didn't have much humor about them. It was a trend the young dragonborn woman had noticed the closer she had traveled to Drakkenheim. People were tense. "Ya know, 'taint many what would stick up to ol' Grindle that way." The calm voice startled Katvah out of her musings. A local human woodcutter had followed her out, apparently. "Ya, well maybe if more did, he wouldn't act like such a gully snake. Not sure why they kicked me out when I was doin' them a favor. " The woodcutter just shrugged. "Might be on account of ya assaulting the foreman. Gully snake or not, folks like 'm got clout in backwaters like this. 'fact, iffin I was ya, I'd avoid Landhelm entirely now." Katvah's emerald eyes narrowed, her brass eye ridges furrowing in suspicion, "What makes you think I'm going to Landhelm?" She was, of course. What other possible reason would she tarnish her scales in a stain of a logging town like this if it were not a necessary stop along the road. BUT he couldn't know that. Was he working for the bounty hunters? Did he know who she was, what her head was worth? Her scaled hand moves slowly for her belt hatchet. "On account o' ya not shuttin up 'bout it!" The man mimics her as he continues, "How you, 'bet the folks in Landhelm would know how to treat a lady''; how, 'Landhelm probably had more than boiled potatoes and dry bread'; how, 'the men in Landhelm were better lookin'!' Ha! ting is, ya aint wrong! I just came out to offer up my woodshed. If ya need a place to sleep tonight, well ya can use it on account o' ya teachin' the foreman how NOT to treat a lady." *Phew* All tension fades from her shoulders as quickly as it formed. The man was right, she remembered saying those things now. She liked this man, and now trusted him completely.

About Me:
What do you like to see in a PBP game? A steady post rate. Enthusiasm from all involved. Concise writing. On a personal preference, I like it when combat updates happen after every or every-other player post or so, rather than waiting for every single player to post before the massive DM update. (I realize most DMs don't do this, but I've had some that do. I like this method better as a player and as a DM).

What do you not like to see in a PBP game? I mean, a slow or unsteady post rate and lack of enthusiasm. Beyond that, I'm not a fan of PvP or a adversarial DMs. Not a fan of posts that use a lot of words to say or do very little. I don't really like it when a DM update lacks actionable details or when PCs respond to some situation but don't actually DO anything in-game. That all said, I'm pretty easy and can have fun in most games. I've never quit a game because it wasn't fun for me.

What piqued your interest in applying for this game? I have been out of the pbp sphere for a bit, and didn't know about this setting. It sounded like an interesting and fun setting to play in.

What do you want to get out of this game? Be selfish - what is in it for YOU? I have been out of a game here for a while. I want to get back into writing and play by post. If I'm being selfish, I'd love to check the forums each morning and be able to post an in-character response to something; so a frequent post/update rate. BUT I understand that a fast pace is difficult to maintain. Which leads me to the next question...

What is your expected posting rate? (no right or wrong here, just want to know expectations): 1 DM update per week (7days). Ideally that, or even quicker, but I'm content with a post rate of up to 1/month if the game is really interesting and engaging. I just find that engagement fades off if the post rate slows too much.

[Ericg1s]

I've done what I could before leaving for my trip to try to finalize my apllication.

[Mythrandil]

Recent life developments means my availability, and more importantly energy, will be very low until probably around September. I won't withdraw my application, but if you're counting on an rapid pace for the start of the game I'd prefer to be considered to be applying as a replacement player, if the game ever suffers attrition.

[Red Leper]

I'm going to be bowing out. I have too many games going already.

[kenneth]

Still interested, but I've quite ill the last two weeks. Will start working on an app soonest.

[Alemar]

Less than a week to go... may the odds be ever in your favors

[Togot]

Name: Cai Valenford

Race: variant human
Gender: male
Class: wizard diviner
Alignment: Lawful Good
Background: Noble
Personality Traits:
I will think before I act and listen before I think
I try to find amicable solutions to conflicts.

Ideal: knowledge is the key to progress

Bond: Cai lives to learn

Flaw: I am so focused on whether or not I can do something that I don’t stop to ask if I should


Personality: Cai is a quiet and calm individual who likes to assess a situation before getting involved in it. He often has a faint friendly smile on his face and is polite to everyone. He is a philanthropist who often does charity work with both his time and magic. He prefers to negotiate rather than fight and will always seek the least violent path forward, but when all else fails, he is willing to set people on fire.

He is a bookworn through and through and is obsessed with learning as much as he can. He believes books of the past are priceless and strives to collect and preserve them. it is his belief that the knowledge of the past can light the way forward towards a better future.

Appearance: Cai is a homely man with short dark hair and moderately handsome features. He is tall but not muscular, spending most of his time reading rather than doing physical labor. He wears humble robes and can always be found with his nose in a book.

Backstory: Cai was the third son in a noble family which made him the spare of a spare. To make matters worse, he was a scrawny boy in a family of masculine sword swingers which led to him being bullied by his two older brothers, Dinanadan, and Bagdamigus. He sought refuge from them in the one place neither brute ever bothered with; the library.

There Cai discovered his love of books and learning. He sharpened his mind with knowledge of all variety of subjects, but the one that drew him the most was magic. As it happened, there was an old spell book in his family's collection. It was written in cryptic code, but Cai was a clever lad, and in time he managed to decipher several spells and teach himself how to cast them.

When his father Zemickus learned his scrawny son was a spell slinger, he disowned the boy. Cai found himself homeless, but he was clever. Using his handful of spells, he managed to make enough coin to keep from going hungry or sleeping out in the cold, but though his belly was full, his mind was hungry.

Cai had read about Drakkenheim and was fascinated by Delerium and its properties. Having little to lose, the young mage set out to sap the secrets of the Inscrutable Tower library and make a name for himself.

Personal quest: Arcane Secrets

Me as a player

What do you like to see in a PBP game?
I like good role-play and a compelling world in which I can get invested. creative solutions to problems being rewarded. Good cooperation between players.

What do you not like to see in a PBP game?
railroading, slow pace, players acting against the party,

What piqued your interest in applying for this game?
I’ve wanted to play in this setting for a while now and I’m a fan of its creators

What do you want to get out of this game? Be selfish - what is in it for YOU?
I want to do cool things with my magic and make friends. I also want the opportunity to learn new spells other than the ones I get from leveling up. it’s a seriously under utilized class feature for wizards.

What is your expected posting rate?
Twice a week is ideal


RP Sample:
Cai sat with an open book in his lap on his horse as it plodded along. Reading while riding was a difficult skill, but the wizard had mastered it in the past few weeks. The animal needed little guidance from him as it knew to follow the dirt road. He only glanced up after finishing each page to see if the beast needed correction.

It was during one of these glances that he noticed half a dozen human men emerging from the woods to his right and block his path. “Hold it right there,” one of the men who Cai assumed to be their leader said. he was a bald man in his later thirties to early forties who held a sword. “Give us what you got, or we’ll take it off yer corpse.” Cai studied the motley crew. They were all men, most older than twenty who held spears and axes yet wore no armor. It didn’t take a wizard to realize they were bandits. They looked nervous, even fearful. Cai saw none among them who looked like a caster. He knew he couldn’t beat them in a fight, but maybe he didn’t have to. With a sigh, he closed his book.

“The problem with being a bandit is that you never know who you're accosting,” Cai said calmly. It’s always a gamble, and if you play the game long enough, sooner or later you’re going to lose.” Cai made a hand gesture and said, “illusio.” Cai held up his right hand as a large boulder shaped like a demonic skull appeared on top of it. It wasn’t real of course, but he was betting the bandits wouldn’t know that. Ignorance of magic was both a blessing and a curse. Judging from the startled reactions of the men before him, Cai was hoping it would be the former in this case. “I am the great and powerful Cai. Normally I would kill you all for daring to approach me, but I’m in a hurry and frankly, you’re not worth the trouble. Now are you going to go away or am I going to have to throw this at you?”

“He’s a caster!” one man shouted. Several of them stepped back while others looked desperately to their leader for guidance. They were wavering, but Cai needed to break them before they saw through his bluff.

Cai made a gesture with his left hand and said, “Stuporey!” Two of the men dropped like marionettes with their strings cut. They were merely sleeping, but of course the rest of them had no way of knowing that without checking on them. To the casual observer, it would appear as if they had just dropped dead. The trick worked. The men screamed and ran back to the woods in a panic. Cai looked down at the unconscious men and weighed his options. He could kill them quite easily. There were many who would consider that the right thing to do. In fact, many would feel they had a moral obligation to end their lives and thus end the threat they posed to others. Cai had once had such a discussion with his father who said that if you let a criminal live, you were responsible for anyone that they hurt in the future.

Cai, however, disagreed with that. he believed that no one was beyond redemption and that by killing someone when you don’t have to, you rob the world of all the potential good they could do if they reformed. Cai gave his horse a gentle kick to coax it into moving and reopened his book. “Now where was I?”

[Ericg1s]

I tried to finish my application. If it still needs something more, please let me know.

[Drifter One]

Last 24 Hours to get apps in/refine applications

[arin12]

Good luck, all!

[Drachenspirit]

[Drifter One]

Applications are now closed.

Thank you all for you time and effort for applying. Now comes the really, really hard part...