[D&D-5e] Into the Jungle of Palmania

[Zangul]

Kroth is complete. If you want more details I'd be obliged to update. Feedback is welcome. Thank you.

[Azure Nokori]

Happy with my new app. Hopeful to see Felix the Grung in action!

[PalladiaMors]

Welcome to the jungle, we've got... elephants? Name: Tashiana Longtusk Race: Loxodon Class: Fighter (Champion) Alignment: Chaotic Good Background: Far Traveler Origin: A tribal village near the coast within the jungle of Palmania Flaw: Tashiana is blunt to the point of tactlessness, and speaks without thinking things through. She has almost no concept of deception, and tends to regard most everything at face value.   Perhaps the last word anyone would use when describing Tashiana is "petite". Standing at seven feet, six inches tall she towers over most people in Tem'd and has a powerful build to match her height. As is the norm with her people, she's solidly built with muscular arms and legs, but with plenty of padding elsewhere. As some may note though, she wears it well, and her weight does nothing to diminish her strength and athleticism. Aside from her size her most noticeable feature is her elephant-like head, complete with long trunk flanked by a pair of tusks. Long, tightly curled hair hangs about halfway down her back, black with the ends dyed red, and a pair of large, elephant-like ears poke out from between the curls. Tashiana's skin is medium to dark brown, though it fades a bit over her chest and stomach as well as the insides of her ears. Her elephantine features also include a short tail ending in coarse, black hair, the end of which is likewise dyed red. Tashiana's manner of dress is on the minimal side, as one might expect from a native of the hot, steamy jungle of Palmania. A dark green loincloth and similarly-colored wrap around her chest is typical, along with hide boots and gloves trimmed with fur. All of which are meant to make it easier for her to blend into her jungle home. When prepared for war Tashiana will adorn white and red paint on her face, arms, and chest in the tradition of her tribe. She wears a bit of jewelry, including a few earrings, a couple of tribal-styled necklaces, and a couple of piercings on her chest, and has a tattoo of a winged serpent on her back with its wings spread over her shoulder blades. Her weapon of choice is a large, stone maul that she carries over her shoulder. While the design and craftsmanship are hardly what one would call sophisticated, it's hard to argue with the results. Tashiana's voice carries a distinctive accent that marks her as a native of the jungle, though it's generally easy enough to understand her unless she slips into her native tongue, at which point only other natives of the jungle would have much of a chance of understanding her.   Tashiana is boisterous and outgoing, with no hestitation to face either a battle or meeting someone or something new. She tends to get straight to the point and has little patience for those who try to ply secrets or shy away from conflict, no matter what kind of conflict it may be. Tashiana has spent most of her time in or around her tribal village, rarely leaving, but now that she has an extended leave from it she's eager to explore the world beyond her village. Her lack of familiarity with the world outside her village can lead to some naivete as well as moments where she doesn't quite understand that other people have different rules of behavior than her own. Nothing malicious, just things that can be confusing or awkward to outsiders. At heart though Tashiana is a good person who wants to explore the world around her but protect it as well, in addition to doing the same for other inhabitants or visitors. She wants to learn of other people even if she doesn't understand their ways.   Tashiana is the second of two children born to Tonali, a high-ranking warrior of her people, and Atzani, the tribe's shamaness. From an early age her brother was trained in the ways of war while she was trained to revere the spirits, in preparation for becoming an apprentice under her mother once those spirits opened themselves up to her. Though her older brother was proud of his father's position and skill in battle and did all he could to emulate him, Tashiana was always a bit of a troublemaker, neglecting her studies. She had an adventurous spirit and did not want to be tied down to the tribe, but was pushed into it because her parents assumed that their children would inherit their respective spirits and follow in their respective footsteps. Yet she always resisted, feeling no great connection to the spirits of the land and preferring to sneak away to watch the warriors or secretly follow them on hunts. She learned quite a bit this way, and had plenty of exercise for her athleticism, but learned very little of the spirits beyond the practical that the naked eye could see. However when her brother came of age, it was him, not her, who heard the call of the spirits of the jungle. Those spirits were clear - it was his destiny to take up the mantle of shaman, not Tashiana's, despite their parents' assumptions to the contrary. Tashiana's instincts had been correct, though her parents were not pleased to hear it. Nonetheless, their mother began to teach Tashiana's brother the ways of nature and of being one with the Green, albeit one who had a healthy amount of battle experience before doing so. As for Tashiana, she was seemingly left with neither destiny nor purpose. Though she had watched the warriors train and watched them on their hunts, her skill at arms was wild and unfocused. It was too late, she was told, to train her properly, but she suspected this was borne of disappointment rather than truth. Lacking direction, she decided to see what else the Green had in store for her. Normally the tribe would be more reserved about letting one of their members leave to seek their fortunes elsewhere, but for Tashiana, the spirits choosing her brother rather than her felt like a blessing. In fact it was those spirits granting her leave, knowing that while she may not know of her destiny or purpose, it would be found beyond the borders of her village. And so she has recently arrived at the town of Tem'd, marveling at the sights and wide variety of people. While it's astounding to her how little they know of the jungle beyond the town, it's also astounding how little she knows of the people in this place. It is, however, something she seeks to change. After a bit of adjustment (the fountain in the center of town is not for bathing), she has begun to learn some of the ways of these odd people, and has caught on to the fact that an expedition into the jungles is forming. Great maul over her shoulder, she has offered her services as guide, knowing how dangerous the jungle can be and how likely a group of people wandering about without any idea of those dangers are to end up dead.   The spirits of the jungle choosing her brother to carry on the traditions of shaman rather than her, which set her free to wander and explore without those responsibilities weighing her down.   I don't go back to Physical Graffiti, but Kiss's Destroyer had come out about the time I started playing. I remember my dad blasting it in the car. On 8-track. Admittedly my cousins and I opened up the old, basic D&D rules, looked at them, couldn't figure it out, and instead ran outside to hit each other with plastic swords, but the seeds were there. I learned how to actually play later, and have been ever since. Also played countless other games and have been on RPGX about 10 years now. I started running a jungle game a couple months ago for my tabletop group and now have the itch to play in one. Conveniently enough, here one is! For a RP sample, Vixy the goblin uses cuisine as a weapon in a game of Out of the Abyss.

[Kweheri]

Alystine feels complete but any feedback would be welcome.

[Greyling]

Declan should be complete

Name: Declan Varis
Race: Half-Elf
Class + Subclass: Fighter2/Rogue1 (with plans to psi warrior/soulknife)
Background: Soldier
Appearance and personality: To humans, Declan looks elven, and to elves, he looks human. Standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs approx. 160 pounds, with striking pale blue eyes like his mother. Declan usually keeps himself shaved, but his facial hair does grow in it's sparse thanks to his elven ancestry. Usually dressed in dark blue tunic or coat, with a matching hooded cape. Brown leather armor and bracers. A sheathed longsword on his left hip, and a handaxes hang from his lower back.

Initially met, Declan seems distant and aloof, but is actually just quiet and reserve. When he does speak he is a straightforward, plain talking man. Though he often finds it awkward to connect with others (outside of a select few), he's happy to help those in his community.
Picture:

 

Alignment: Lawful neutral

Where does your character originate from?: Sawmill, a small human town most people haven't heard of.
Character History/Backstory (again please be detailed): Declan's early years were a traditional childhood, if isolated. His father was a trapper near the town of Sawmill. In a chance encounter in the woods, his father met a beautiful elven huntress. The two fell in love and settled in a small cabin where they were soon blessed with a baby boy, Declan. It was a peaceful life, until his mother didn't return from a hunt. It wasn't uncommon for her hunts to go for a few days. After a week, his father went looking. When his father returned, he returned alone. Her longbow in hand, the only sign of her which he found in a clearing marked with blood.

For the next seven years, it was just the two of them. Only coming to town to trade the skins and meat from the animals they trapped. Eventually his father's heart opened enough to find love again. This time with a woman from town. A widower with a daughter of her own. A year later, his father remarried and they relocated into town. Though Declan found being a half-elf living in a human town as isolating as living out in the woods. Well... except for his new stepmother and stepsister who were very welcoming. Two years later, their little family grew again with a new baby, a baby half-sister.

Living in town had its challenges, but life seemed good. That was until the raids started. Starting with isolated, small attacks before growing in size and aggression. A small band of soldiers were passing through on patrol agreed to deal with the problem. Since the number of the raiders, some local volunteers were recruited. Including Declan and his father. The raiders were all killed, though not without casualties. Declan's father among them. See more need for a capable, martial presence the soldiers stayed long enough to train a local militia. Declan was one of the first to volunteer. After a few years, Declan felt the call to learn more. To become a fighter.

Key event:
Life Event 1
You fought in a battle. A small conflict between your community and a band of orcs. You escaped the battle unscathed, though many of your friends were injured or lost (father).
Life Event 2
A bit of good fortune. Boon: You found a treasure map.
Life Event 3
A bit of good fortune. Boon: A friendly alchemist gifted you with a potion of healing or a flask of acid, as you choose.
Life Event 4
Fell in love and got married.
Flaw: Few people know the real me.

 

Declan Varis, half-elf fighter/rogue

 

Previous role-playing experience: I've been playing D&D since introduced to 3rd edition in 2001, and then shortly after 3.5. Initially tabletop, but have branched out to PbP on other sites. I switch to pathfinder during the time of 4e, but have come back recently with some exposure to 5e. I mainly enjoy being the player, but have had some experience as the DM too.
Anything you want us to know?: I can't think of anything right now, but will let you know if I think of anything.

Roleplay Sample:
Declan's boot sinks into the mud with a slight squishing sound. He stepped slowly in an effort to keep his movement as silent as possible. He pauses to listen. His blue eyes slowly scanning the ridgeline. Right, and left. They knew the goblins had to be nearby. The reports had mentioned weekly attack on the local farms and villages. Finding the little cowards had proven difficult. Something seemed off. The attacks were too regular, and organized.

A hand on his shoulder shoves the half-elf. His squad captain had been losing his patience and been taking it out on the rest of them. Shooting Declan a disrespectful sneer as he pushed past. It was as he turned to look at the captain that Declan saw the first crossbow bolt streak past the captain's head and lodging into the shoulder of another soldier. Dec screams out, "AMBUSH!! Everybody down!"

[Fairborne]

About Your Character
Name: Reverence "Rev" Frostthorn

Race: Levistus Tiefling

Class + Subclass: Celestial Warlock (2)/Paladin (1) oath as yet undecided as will allow the story/RP to dictate it

Background: https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Barmaid_(5e_Background) if allowed. If not, Anthropologist

Appearance and personality: Reverence is a slight, young tiefling woman of little more than five feet with her jagged, black, almost more antler than horn, backswept horns and emerald eyes. Her skin is a slate grey with golden freckles visible on every exposed patch of skin that sparkle almost as if she is permanently coated in gold glitter. Her silvery white hair falls to a few inches below her shoulders. She wears darker grey than her skin trousers, black knee high boots, a ruffled lavender blouse with a deep neckline, and a deep violet vest. She bears a shield on her right arm and a morningstar at her left hip. She is ever the optimist. Bright, bubbly, friendly, and innocent though some might call her a bit of a ditz or airhead, she is an adorable (hopefully) one.

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Where does your character originate from?: Equesford, a small town along a river where wild horses once crossed before they were all tamed and became the primary commodity in/of Equesford.

Character History/Backstory: In the small town of Equesford, so named for the shallows in the river where wild horses used to cross, there is an inn. The Rising Phoenix Inn is run by a pair of tiefling ex-adventurers, the Frostthorns. Alacrity (Alex) and Despair (Desi) purchased the inn when they opted to retire from adventuring following the discovery that Desi was pregnant. Over the years, they had three daughters. The eldest, Entropy, was born with magical abilities in her blood even more so than your average tiefling. Upon coming of age, she joined an adventuring party and left home for the great beyond. The youngest, Virtue, showed great musical talent and upon coming of age joined a traveling performer’s troupe. This left the middle, average daughter, Reverence as the one who stayed home and helped out her parents with the inn. She was well liked and cherished every opportunity she had to listen to the fanciful tales of all the foreigners or tradespeople who traveled elsewhere.

Key event: One evening a brawl broke out in the tavern. During the ruckus, her father was knocked unconscious and her mother was stabbed. Stabbed?!? Why would anyone stab Desi? Upon seeing this, Reverence snatched her mother’s morningstar from above the mantle and now wielding Desi's conduit to the moon goddess began subduing the crowd. In the end, she had inadvertently slain two of them. One of which happened to be the one who stabbed her mother.. No charges were ever brought down upon her, however, Desi decided to take the morningstar and left home in search of atonement for her transgression.

Flaw: Her family inn was raided on multiple occasions by both the law and the lawless giving her a distrust of authority figures and a severe dislike of bandits and the like.

Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/82044953/sTTdmN

[ArcZero]

Good luck to everyone who entered, lots of cool characters. Fingers crossed!

[penbeast0]

Small hopes to get picked, also to get a lot of other big players picked. Small not looking to be surrounded by small, weak players. One should either be Super Smash Brothers or know powerful Godwords. Small has spoken.

[cappucina]

Yes, I really enjoyed all the applications. I giggled at some of the crazy names. Thanks for your creativity all. Applying to games in itself is a fun exercise.

[Sylivis]

We completely agree with all the above comments. It has been a blast reading through the applications. Both of us were completely blown away by the number of responses we received. Thank you to everyone who has put in the time and effort to apply. Unfortunately, we could not possibly DM a game with everyone. We have PMed everyone who we thought would be the best fit for our game. However, if anyone drops out, we will come back to this thread to find a replacement.

Thank you again,
-Taily
(Thats our ship name)

[Seekr34]

Well, I thought I get a birthday present, but no biggie. You win some, you lose some. Hope the game goes well!

[Onward]

Too bad, oh well, good luck to the players in their game!

[Kweheri]

Congrats all who made it!

[RossN]

Originally Posted by Seekr34

Well, I thought I get a birthday present, but no biggie. You win some, you lose some. Hope the game goes well!

Happy birthday anyway @Seekr34! You have a cool character who I think will be a good fit in some game.

[Treble83]

A lot of great applications! It's always fun to see how much imagination is put into the process of building a character.