[PF-1e] La Cosa Nostra - This Thing Of Ours

[Preacherwolf]

Originally Posted by Touketsu

Hey Preacherwolf, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had any feedback for Damien? With a few days left before the deadline, I'd love to know any ways I could strengthen my application.

I haven't forgotten, I've just been swamped the last couple of days. I plan on doing another round of questions this weekend

[CMRawles]

Ah man, Silk got here and built a pirate aesthetic character before I could!

[AlphaZ]

And then withdrew said character.

[CMRawles]

Originally Posted by AlphaZ

And then withdrew said character.

Woops, missed that bit

[CMRawles]

Hey Preacherwolf, was wondering if I could get something sort-of cosmetically homebrewed by you:

The Feat Slashing Grace requires you to be doing nothing with your off-hand by RAW. Could I use this feat but be using my off-hand to operate a concertina whose other end is strapped firmly to my chest for bardic performance?

This mechanically has no real effect, since Bardic performance can theoretically be done with no hands at all simply by using Singing or Oratory instead. It just helps to bring my vision to life.

[Preacherwolf]

Originally Posted by CMRawles

Hey Preacherwolf, was wondering if I could get something sort-of cosmetically homebrewed by you:

The Feat Slashing Grace requires you to be doing nothing with your off-hand by RAW. Could I use this feat but be using my off-hand to operate a concertina whose other end is strapped firmly to my chest for bardic performance?

This mechanically has no real effect, since Bardic performance can theoretically be done with no hands at all simply by using Singing or Oratory instead. It just helps to bring my vision to life.

This seems fine. I feel like the intention of Slashing Grace is to stop you using it with two weapon fighting, not stop you playing a lesser accordion. More's the pity

[CMRawles]

Joan-Jocques 'Saint' Lamarque Name: Joan-Jocques Lamarque Alias': 'Jo Jo', 'Saint', 'The Marquis' Race: Human Age: 22 Alignment: Lawful Good Class: Swashbuckler/Bard Description: Joan-Jocques is a 5'11 handsome man with feathery blonde hair and charmingly chiseled features, with a softness to his face that lends him a certain debonair quality. He's got a slim, somewhat androgynous figure without significantly obvious musculature, leading some to mistake him for a much less dangerous man. He has an immaculately sculpted mustache and van dyke style beard. He is seldom seen in anything that could be considered less than the peak of fashion and is rarely unarmed. His signature concertina is strapped firmly to a bandolier on his chest, from which several pistols also regularly dangle. Background:   The backstory is pretty big As a young boy Joan-Jocques had very little to his name, his family was poor and had few prospects of elevating themselves out of that state. He learned at a young age how to mask negative emotions behind a facade of constant optimism to keep his parents from worrying about him, even though they weren't always able to be there for him when things were hardest; He learned equally quickly to be self sufficient, and that being charming and kind to people could go a long way in getting them to do what you wanted. It didn't take long for Lamarque to put together a little five-man band of best friends -Yvonne Ricci, Raul Jimenez, Maria Silva, and Mihai Vulpe- who together began to perform an odd mixture of good deeds and mischief which always kept the neighborhood on their toes. One day they were executing an elaborate scheme to put a haughty and annoying neighbor in their place, and the next they were helping the old lady down the street to fix her shutters. Opinion was mixed on whether or not they were a positive force in the community. For sure, they stole, defied the guards, and played sometimes quite mean pranks, but at the same time they were a tough enough little band to keep the worse, less upstanding bands of kids from causing too much trouble and they always tempered their mischief with good deeds. When they grew old enough they began to hear tales of daring high seas piracy, of chivalrous rogues who stole from the rich without firing a shot and lived by their own codes of conduct in friendship and harmony. The little group became quite enamored with such tales and conspired to find and join the next pirate ship which came into the city. They were successful in doing so, and quickly found that while the crew were quite close-knit and friendly, that the job of being a pirate was quite a bit less glamorous than they had imagined. Being the new folks in the crew meant that they were the bottom rung and had to do all the dirtiest jobs, though this wasn't a malicious assignment, and the rest of the crew quickly warmed up to the little group of young men and women. Still, they got lucky in that the crew they had landed among were one of the ones with stringent standards of behavior and while they couldn't be described as 'chivalrous' by any means, they at least weren't murderers and treated those who they robbed fairly reasonably. Joan-Jocques himself quickly became quite popular among the crew for his musical prowess, and earned the respect of the captain and first mate by establishing himself as something of a mediator in personal grievances, working to find the best solution to all of the crew's interpersonal problems whenever they grew bad enough to start effecting the ship's performance. Things were turned upside down when their ship attempted to take down a small vessel that turned out to be part of Parsentium's navy; A terrible fight ensued where it seemed that the pirates would finally meet their end, but they scraped together a slim victory after the daring sacrifice of the captain and first-mate to inspire the crew. When the dust settled and the crew separated from the enemy ship with their meager loot, the atmosphere was dire; A debate was had about whether they wanted to continue or simply split the loot and go their separate ways, but Joan-Jocques managed to rally the rest of the crew to stick together and recover from this disaster despite being emotionally distraught over the deaths of so many of his friend. Fortunately, none of his little band of ragamuffins had been among the casualties. When it came time for the crew to choose a new captain, Joan-Jocques was unexpectedly elected to the position despite his inexperience. He took to his new position with humility and a not-inconsiderable amount of anxiety, not precisely knowing how to lead a ship, much less a pirate ship, but the crew had faith in him and he refused to let them down. That was the state of affairs for a couple years, and it just so happened that Lamarque was quite good at leading a little band of pirates on high-seas voyages. He treated friend and foe alike with the dignity and respect that they deserved and avoided violence at all opportunities, earning himself the somewhat teasing nickname 'Saint Lamarque' from the crew. But no good thing can continue forever; Eventually the ship again found themselves in a nasty fight with another vessel and Maria died fighting one of the enemy's marines. Grief shattered his band of friends; Raul blamed Joan-Jocques for Maria's death and couldn't be convinced otherwise. He left the ship the next time that they landed in port. Mihai fell into a deep depression and Yvonne -who Joan-Jocques had made second-mate- began to question his judgement and argue with him more and more as they continued. Through all this Lamarque attempted to keep the peace and comfort his friends, but he too was devastated by the loss of two friends. Eventually the strain became too much for him, and in a moment of stress he snapped and had an intense shouting match with Yvonne while the crew watched, culminating in a challenge to duel. Though Mihai brought them both to their senses and prevented the duel from taking place, the damage had been done. Joan-Jocques last order as captain was to put the ship to port in Parsentium so that he could retire from captaining the ship, much to the dismay of the crew. Maria left with him and Yvonne took charge of the ship, giving Mihai and Joan-Jocques both a regretful farewell and promising that if they met again, he would make his rash behavior up to the two of them. Though Maria took on a quiet life after leaving their life of piracy, Joan-Jocques couldn't put aside his deep distrust and distaste for so-called 'respectable' work and those that did it. He joined the La Speranza crime family and swiftly rose in the ranks to become a Capo. He still hopes that one day he, Mihai, Yvonne, and even Raul could get back together and that things could go back to the way they were, but he knew that without Maria things would never be the same. The Line: Joan-Jocques has a strong sense of justice and righteousness, and holds those in his command to the same standard as he holds himself, though he understands that in organized crime sometimes things had to get dirty in ways that he would prefer to avoid. He will not harm people unless necessary, and steadfastly refuses to negatively impact the lives of the least fortunate of society unless they themselves are making things worse for those around them. What do you, the player, want: I hope to be able to functionally run a Lawful Good character without expecting to be uncompromising or inflexible in those standards. Lawful Good doesn't mean 'stupid', it doesn't necessarily mean 'nice', and indeed it doesn't even necessarily mean that you follow the law if you structure your life in an alternative hierarchy (Such as, for instance, an organized crime family). RP Sample:   Lamarque entered the little shop by the docks and shrugged off his coat, saber and pistols notably clattering on his belt as he draped the cold and wet outer-garment over his shoulder and approached the counter of the shop. He picked up and rang a little bell to call the shop owner to the front, glowering somewhat despondently that he had been called upon to get his hands dirty like this. He hated shaking people down, it felt slimy but if he didn't do it it would be one of the other families, and he knew this little shop would be significantly less well off if one of them got their hands on the owner before he did. When the shop owner came out from the back room Joan-Jocques didn't let him get a word in before he started, his tone heavily laced with disappointment and... pity? "Signore de Forza? I understand that you turned down the generous offer that I sent with some of my boys earlier today, is that correct?" he asked, his voice flat and businesslike, with a sharp edge of annoyance. Signore de Forza, for his part, seemed quite taken by surprise by Joan-Jocques appearance and assertive questioning, "Well... well the Selvaggia-" "Would cut your throat if it meant they could make a few more pennies off of whoever bought this shop at auction." Joan-Jocques said with a scoff, "I hope that you understand that when anyone else in this city says 'protection' they mean protection from themselves, si? But you go with me, and my boys will be at your call faster than any guard, and with much greater efficacy as well." Signore de Forza looked to be on the backfoot, and momentarily struggled to find his voice, "B-but the Selvaggia-" Joan-Jocques interrupted again, "If they come calling then you can call for me and I'll come to send them packing personally, I assure you. Go with la Selvaggia? Well, what will you do when la Morte begin beating your door down? Thin Skin won't send a single man to keep your shop from burning to the ground." he reached across the counter and smiled at the elderly man across from him, patting him amicably on the shoulder, "I respect that you're discerning when it comes to your choice of racket to pay into, but I really must insist that you go with the only one which promises benefits." he paused again, squeezing de Forza's shoulder for dramatic effect, "That is, aside from neglecting to burn your shop down ourselves."

[Silk]

Originally Posted by CMRawles

Ah man, Silk got here and built a pirate aesthetic character before I could!

Originally Posted by AlphaZ

And then withdrew said character.

Yea and I'm still slightly annoyed with my decision. It wasn't easy to make. That being said, you can go as piraty as you want CMRawles

I found a new concept that fits better I think. Thanks to Weasel Whisperer's Pathfinder 2e game Wizards and Wyverns that he's recruiting for where you have two classes that you can switch between it got me thinking about what classes would be good to go with a Sorcerer and Monk was the obvious choice. Then while making a character for Pathfinder: Kingmaker(the game, not a PBP game) I stumbled across the scaled fist monk. With a Monk/Sorcerer on the brain, it was interesting enough that I decided to google the class mix and it turned out not to be an original idea
Then I thought about this game and instantly had a great idea. 1 part thug, 1 part old martial arts movie trope, 2 really good pics, and "The Fist" was born.

 

Character Application the martial artist Name: a curse word in an unknown foreign languageNull "The Fist" chosen after the third time someone asked him what his last name was.Breaker Race: Human Age: 25-26 (Null has no idea when he was born) Alignment: Lawful Neutral Class: Unchained Monk(Scaled Fist) 4 / Sorcerer 1 / Dragon Disciple 3 The Line: Children. Null sees something of himself in the street rats of Parsantium. While he won't let one pick his pockets, Null will not let himself forget where he comes from, or the trials he had to endure to get there. Any child that is able to make it on the streets without help from others has his respect. What do you, the player, want: Honestly, the same thing I want out of all my games is to not be bored! While sometimes PBP can get tiring I find the experience of making characters and developing those characters in-game enjoyable. Description: Null is just under six feet tall with an athletic build that can hide his not bulky like a barbarionwiry strength underneath a shirt. He is handsome in a pretty boy way that catches people's attention, and Null is very aware of this fact. Null dresses in all white for effect, and while he will meticulously maintain his expensive clothes with his if there is a spell for that, I'll grab it.magic, he is not afraid of staining or destroying his fine clothing. Null often removes his shirt and fur jacket when he intends to get into a fight. Doing so reveals the detailed dragon tattoo encircling his upper torso. However, most people stop staring when they see his eager grin and the evil intent in his eyes to cause bodily harm. For Null loves a challenge and relishes a good fight. He will even handicap himself if it's just a brawl and has nothing to deal with business. However, if it is a serious fight or The Family's business, Null will hold nothing back. Null also likes seeing how his victims are healing and, if possible, would they like a rematch. Null respects those that do, and a good portion of his crew is someone he beat the crap out of more than once. Such tenacity is worthy of Null's respect. the criminal Background: Null grew up on the west side of the Temple Ward, close to the Poor Ward just off of Sultan Street, in an orphanage that was one step better than living on the street. Null has long forgotten his given name and only vaguely remembers choosing the name. It had to do with an older bully from someplace where they talked weirdly called him 'a null,' whatever that meant. Null liked the name and remembered standing up after getting beat down by the larger boy and declaring, "That's right! I'm Null!" Null only has vague memories of a big meaty fist filling his view. That was not the last fight he lost but oh how Null loved to take on bigger opponents and make them submit to him. Null likes to think that was shortly before he ran away from the orphanage to live on the streets, but frankly, he can't remember. While not exceptionally bright nor clever, Null had a charm that he used to get into and out of trouble with style. Never content to sit still for long, Null often riled up or goaded people into doing things that they would otherwise not do. Null gained a reputation as an agitator and enforcer and would have become just another thug with ambitions if not for one of his plans backfiring. A monastery over in the Artisans Ward offered a hundred gold pieces to anyone who could defeat their scaled fist style of martial arts, all challengers welcomed. Thinking of himself as one of the toughest fighters of his young age, Null goaded some of the other street toughs to join him. If he was clever, Null would have riled up all the thugs of the Poor Ward to soften up the monks first. But as previously stated, Null was not bright and figured he had a shot. The rules were simple, if you defeat three monks from the three tiers of their order, you get the gold. Hanging in the background, Null watched as only a few of his thugs got past the Wind of Everlasting Thought tier. Those who got past the wind whatsit tier got their bones broken trying to get past the Mountain of Stark Contrasts tier. Null did not understand what the deal was with the flowery names for the three tiers, but as the fights progressed, he became very aware of the angry glares passed his way. And as he stepped into the circle, Null made his choice. Instead of brutalizing the first tier, Null afforded his opponent the respect his comrades didn't and fought fairly. Winning that round left him bruised and battered. The next fight damn near broke his spine; though he could have ruined any chance of his opponent ever having children, Null chose to take the beating. Then when he was bloodied and defeated, Null pleaded with the master of this monistic order to train him. No matter the pain or the indignity of begging, Null knew over twenty pissed-off thugs and thieves wanted his hide for the beatings they received. When the master agreed, it was all he could do to hide his glee and hid his face by groveling and thanking the master. All the while, he thought, 'Heh, who says you can't deceive a monk!' The next two years turned out to be quite enlightening for Null. Odah, the master of this order of the Scaled Fist, took him in because he saw a spark of the dragon in him. And as a sorcerous monk and a Dragon Dicipledisciple of the dragon's way, Odah saw someone to whom he could pass on both sides of his art too. Unfortunately for Odah, Null focused primarily on the martial side of his masters' art and was only patient for so long. The first offense of snooping in his maters forbidden scrolls was forgiven though he had to beaten with sticks under a waterfall until you can't stand anymore or dawn comes.atone. The second offense was viewed more harshly though Null turned the whole matter into an argument about Odah holding back on his training that he didn't have to atone again. In his last offense, Odah was caught holding an unnamed scroll depicting how to shatter an opponent's Shattered Defensesdefenses. By that time, all it took was Null to drop his act and a few well-placed words to start a fight between him and master Odah. Null knew he could not defeat his master but relished the challenge and only goaded the old man by mentioning how Null had deceived him when it appeared Odah was going soft on him. Odah was pissed when he was dragged out of the monastery, bloodied and bruised to an inch of his life, but no bones were broken. It appeared his former master went easy on him after all. As he was deposited out in the street, Null swore an oath, "I'll <cough> I'll be back one day old man. <groan> And then you'll <gasp> have to Take. Me. SERIOUSLY!" By the time he managed to drag himself to his feet, Null was grinning as his stupid plan had worked. Pulling out the crumpled piece of parchment that he had removed from the center of the unnamed scroll, Null wanted to laugh maniacally, but his bruised ribs hurt too much. By fighting him over the attempted theft of the scroll, master Odah had accepted Null's actions as his responsibility. If he had just stolen the scroll and ran, the entire order would be after him. It was now Odah's duty and Odah's alone, which was precisely what Null wanted. Even if Odah noticed the theft quickly, Null expected the old man to spend time lamenting how he could have been so wrong about his student. Null figured he had several years before the Odah came after him, and by that time, Null would be ready for the old man. In the meantime, Null needed to heal and get stronger. The docks were always an excellent place to make money on fights, and so that's where he went. He never went in fresh, always with visible wounds from previous fights. After a time, Null made a name for himself, and when he won a fight in a brine pit with the brine up to his waist by dislocating his half-orc opponents' limbs until she couldn't keep her head above water, it was no wonder he became a person of interest for The La Speranza Family. Null quickly raised through the Enforcer ranks, and once he became Capo, he still kept a hands-on approach in his work for The Family. And while Null desired the respect and fear of those around him, he rarely killed unless ordered to. His thought was someone always feared and respected the person more who beat them within an inch of their life than those who hear second hand that you're a killer. Authenticity is the key, not hearsay. Roleplay Sample: The cul-de-sac behind The Wench's Tavern was dimly illuminated with the setting sun's rays. Between the rowdy noise of the tavern and the commotion at the docks as one of The La Speranza, Family ships were in the process of being the same ship impounded in Sam's Roleplay Sample impounded, Null feared no intervention in what had to be done. On the far side of the cul-de-sac, two of his men stood next to a very pale lieutenant of the guard, their hands gripping his shoulders tightly. Null nodded at the fact that other than scared, the man was unharmed and still armed with his sword. Waiving away his two thugs, Null casually shrugged his expensive mink fur jacket off his shoulders and turned to hand it to the woman to his right. As Null began to unbutton his shirt with his back turned to the lieutenant, the man realized what was about to Null was renowned for only taking off his shirt when he planned on making an example of someone.happen and tried to plead his case, "It wasn't my fault. It was the--" Null interrupted the man before he could continue, "The La Speranza Family is well aware of who was responsible for the seizure of our ship. This is not about that. You were paid to keep us informed about any official activity on the docks when our shipments came to shore." Null casually slid off his shirt, revealing the dragon tattoo encircling his upper torso. As he handed his shirt to another of his men, the lieutenant thought the tattoo moved in the dim evening light. "No, lieutenant, this is about laws and their consequences. Not your city laws that I only give lip service to, but The Families law. Some think all laws are meant to be broken, and I felt much the same in my youth. But all laws have consequences when broken, even if the cause lies with someone else." Turning around, Null glared not evily, but he gets this look when he's about to commence violence that can unnerve peoplemenacingly at the man and continued, "And then there are MY laws. Never pass up a chance to test myself. And never fail to allow others to test themselves upon me. Now draw your sword, lieutenant. You will see the sunrise again; you have my word. And through your pain, you satisfy both The Family's law and mine." With painful intent, Null walked forward with the familiar sound of scraping steel filling the cul-de-sac as the lieutenant drew his sword. Null saw the man swallow his fear and prepare himself for what was to come. Grinning wider in the hopes of a challenging fight, Null clenched his fists as he advanced. Having finished redressing, Null was informed that the man would live as he only had a couple of broken ribs and was covered in bruises. Null had broken the lieutenants' ribs to show the man respect, that he had taken the lieutenant seriously. Nodding Null commented, "Take him to be seen by Mala. Given time, the lieutenant might be a worthy addition to our ranks." The sudden arrival of one of his people skidding to a stop nearby out of breath and trying to talk in between gasps caused Null to pause in reaching for his fur coat. Having waited too long, the barbarian woman he had given the coat to threw it into his face. Null favored the woman who was only known as Spirit Hunter with a smile as he settled the fur coat over his shoulders as a mantel. Null knew the time was fast approaching when Spirit Hunter would tire of being treated as a servent and unleash her rage upon him. He couldn't wait. Turning back to the runner, Null said, "Now that you have your breath back, start from the beginning. You mentioned Lettiere, the Don of Dons?" "Yes, Lettiere has announced his retirement and summoned the Five Families to the Mercantile Quarter tonight." Null's eyes went wide before he shouted to the heavens, "Yes! ahahahahahaha! It is time, old man!" None of his cohorts understood why Null was ecstatic about Lettiere's retirement. They couldn't know about his vow to return and test his old master or how the rules of no infighting among the Families prevented him from even entering the Temple Ward to enact his vow. Now, with change in the air, all Null had to do was entice Underboss Gabriel "Little Dipper" La Speranza and a few of the other Capo's to convince Don Anthony "Big Cheese" La Speranza to make a move against The La Morte Family and the Temple Ward to seize his chance.

[CMRawles]

Originally Posted by Silk

Then I thought about this game and instantly had a great idea. 1 part thug, 1 part old martial arts movie trope, 2 really good pics, and "The Fist" was born.

Isn't this the plot of the Yakuza games? lol

[Silk]

I never played those games but with how all the movie tropes are regurgitated these day's it could be.

[Silk]

Null is almost done. I just need to finish his Roleplay Sample.

Though I did want people's opinion about Null's alignment.

• As he's written is Null more Lawful Neutral than Lawful Evil?

I'm kind of leaning toward moving his alignment to LN. He'll still kill people when ordered to and sleep soundly at night, but he doesn't take pleasure in the act.

[Seekr34]

I like Null.

Yeah, he seems more neutral than evil. Lawful folks, has some sort of code the go by, even rules. He seems between LN & CN. I have Damon as CN. He does his own thing, although there are at least a couple of things he won't do. He doesn't go by any code or rules. He does what he thinks is right by him.

[mightymconeshot]

I have decided to withdraw my app. As much as I would love to be considered and as good of a GM as Preacher would be, I decided to refocus things on my own game instead.

[Preacherwolf]

Originally Posted by mightymconeshot

I have decided to withdraw my app. As much as I would love to be considered and as good of a GM as Preacher would be, I decided to refocus things on my own game instead.

But that's fair enough man. Good luck with your own game! But now I have questions about the other applications

[Touketsu]