[OOC] The Council of Advisors

[Aeternis]

This is the place to bother me about things I've forgotten, anything you'd like to know, or to just talk smack. As this is a public thread, please avoid flame wars and keep the level of discourse relatively high.

That being said if you want to flex those pugilist muscles and have a good old fashioned flame duel, I can set you up a secret thread. But I reserve myself a ticket and some popcorn.

[Humble Athena]

Flames, flames, light it all up! Mwahahahaha~!

[Aethera]

Fire it up! Fire it up! Fire it... er...

Anyway... so I've thrown around ideas about a character whose drama would mostly be inner turmoil about being a nonhuman "monster hunter". Rather than tie her to outside drama, it seems like it'd be easiest to include her with the others on a sort of day-to-day "I don't know what I should do" sort of existence. I'm thinking of a bard / ?? multiclass, probably archetypes for both since I'm being picky. Not sure yet. I think she'll be more the CHA/DEX type than the STR/CON fighter, but I do want her to be able to fight decently since she's a monster hunter and all.

I still think the easiest way to put her in the path of the others would be to have her involved in a major fight, and get sidelined when she took enough damage to pass out. Whether there were other PCs involved would depend on how they saw her during the battle (ie. Gav may be unlikely to aid if she was fighting him and he was aware of that), and if they knew of her before then (ie. the Belmont-esque character being part of the same hunting organization/group/cause/family). It'd also give me good reason to play with what she knows, what she hesitates to know, etc. She doesn't know she's not human, but she suspected something was off. Once she passes out from blood loss, her memories are going to be a little squirrelly and she's not going to be certain of either.

Thoughts? Comments? Preferences for class build that would allow her to fill in gaps? I'm personally very fond of the archaeologist archetype, but it loses some of the bard knowledge skills that would be useful here.

EDIT: Is there a preference for race builder versus simple half/half races, or other template combinations instead of the vastly detailed races produced by the builder?

[Aethera]

Okay, depending on answers from Aeternis and character niche intentions from Hydra-X, the current character ideas are mostly spiraling into a few ideas.

Bard (Archaeologist) / Monk
Bard (Archaeologist) / Oracle (Ancestors mystery) -- possible noble blood to make it fun

I'm a big fan of the Archaeologist archetype, it gives bardic knowledge and replaces the performances with rogue talents and other hands-on abilities. (And I can't help but think of Indiana Jones every time I see it.) They describe it as "facing her research head on" or something like that.

The monk multiclass would make her more nimble in combat, give her Wisdom boost to AC, and probably would go well with both ideas of "hands on knowledge" bard archetype and monster hunter. It's harder to hit a monk than a bard, usually. Between this and some sort of nonhuman template, she'd make for an interesting character to have priority issues.

The oracle would be magic and battle skill in an intriguing mix with the same from the bard. The Ancestors mystery is a mix of battle skill and guidance from the dead. If I also gave her heavily watered down noble blood, her ancestors would make for some pretty impressive advisers. Not sure if noble blood is allowed in this campaign, or if it's even been discussed outside setting info. It would make for an interesting situation if the character had some variant of the royal bloodline (admittedly all royals at two centuries out are "variant bloodline" by now), since Gav wants to help the wider nation cause.

So those are the current ideas, trying to mix the bard archetype that makes her a bard-rogue with partial magic, partial combat skill with other classes that would give her bonuses in at least combat, if not magic as well. I've had a few other ideas that would depend more on magic, things like a sorcery archetype for more magic, or an inquisitor class to fit the truest of monster hunting style. Magus might also multiclass well with bard, not sure.

(Yes, this post summarizes as: no, I don't have a solid idea yet for mechanics.)

[Aeternis]

Originally Posted by Aethera

Not sure if noble blood is allowed in this campaign, or if it's even been discussed outside setting info.

Look what I found!

Originally Posted by Aeternis

• Human characters are perfectly allowable. There are three options for Inheritance-born human characters:
  • Common-born (same as PF standard)
  • Low Nobility (loses +1 skill point per level, gains +2 on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Kn: Nobility checks)
  • High Nobility (loses +1 skill point per level, gains +3 on Diplomacy, Sense Motive, and Kn: Nobility checks, cannot be resurrected, extended lifespan)

But if you're planning high nobility I need to chat with you about who your character's daddy is.

[Aethera]

So, looking at the mechanics and everything, I'm leaning heavily on Bard (Archaeologist)/Oracle(Ancestors mystery) with noble blood (high nobility). I think this suits the idea of the nonhuman monster hunter best, and yet it'll focus in other directions once her inner issues resolve... or heck, even before then, if she finds other things to focus on.

Aeternis, we can chat about the lineage whenever. Since I'm using the race builder, how do you want to treat that PF house rule about noble blood (trade +1 skill for several +3 bonuses)? The race builder is causing me some trouble because I'm essentially trying to make a half-human, half-creation race. So it's kinda coming out a bit odd, but with full RP spent on the racial abilities. (More or less I'm marking it with two types, and then letting the abilities do whatever.)

And I should point out that while I like this idea, I could still try and come up with another concept, one tied in more with Gav or whatever ideas Hydra has.

[Humble Athena]

Putting this here for lack of a better place atm, so people can see where Gav's coming from, so to speak.

 

Gavril Dulmaric was born an ordinary noble among the throngs of his ilk taking refuge within the walls of the Capitol. He was pampered and took his station for granted, and yet there was a seed of something less complacent in him.

Perhaps it began with his stubbornness. Stubbornness among nobles is hardly rare, and he would hardly have been the first child to drive his caretakers to distraction, throwing off clothes he found uncomfortable the minute no eyes were on him. And he would hardly be the first to resist parents' efforts to shape him into what they thought he should be. But when he refused to be dragged to every ball and social, it was not simply the rebellion of youth, but a nameless discontent. Even when he shut himself up with a few friends in his father's hunting lodge, it was a feeling he couldn't shake- that there was more to life than wealth, than wearisome superficial civility masking a web of gossip, than reveling in life behind safe walls and to hell with the rest.

Perhaps it began with an insult. Bored of the overwhelming sameness of most of the taverns that catered to his class, his group of friends had started frequenting the watering-holes of workers and servants. Some of his more lecherous companions sought to end the night in the bed some commoner whom they would thereafter ignore, but Gavril was too shy for this. In fact, his skill with women was so lacking, and his opinion of his own attractiveness so low, (he was known to enjoy good food and wine; subsequently he was a little more fleshy than the ideal), that when two of the females among the group developed a fierce rivalry, he was oblivious to his own part as the source of their conflict. After all, it was his handsome best friend to whom the ladies flocked. No, his visits to the tavern were purely for the company of his friends, but even that was not always a relaxing pastime. Some of those with perhaps more of a right to the dingy tables and creaky chairs would on occasion take offense at the intrusion of the upper class, who after all, would not welcome them in the fancier taverns. Usually they had the sense to stew in silence, knowing the advantages the nobility had in causing trouble for those of their birth, but now and then a fellow would abandon caution into his cup and speak up. On one such evening, the man accused Gavril and his friends of being lazy good-for-nothings who wouldn't know honest work if it bit them on the arse. Immediately, there were those among his friends who wanted a duel, but Gavril and a few others discouraged such talk. The accusation had made him think, and he told the man that in a month's time he could offer proof to the contrary. Perhaps frightened by the possibility of being run through by a noble trained in weaponry or else cast in jail, the man agreed to apologize if Gavril could supply such proof.

Some might have forgotten all about it after a night's sleep, but Gavril took the accusation to heart. What were he and his fellows doing with themselves? He snuck out the next day to look for a way to prove, more to himself than the accuser, that he had worth. Hard manual labor didn't appeal, so while he took note of opportunities to thus apply himself, he put off making a commitment in hopes of finding something he could enjoy. A few hours of wandering through the streets had him feeling bewildered, until he stopped by a storefront filled with strange devices. It was a locksmith's, one of the few who offered extended security devices. Intrigued, he went inside. It took some talking, but finally he convinced the old man that he was serious about wanting employment. Childless and grateful for near-free labor, he eagerly showed the nobleman what he knew of locks and other such devices. Gavril, for his part, enjoyed the work so much, that he stayed on for several months. His mother, of course, nearly went into shock when she learned her son was doing something so common as laboring for wages, but his father was actually rather proud of him, and made it clear that he would not do anything to restrict the boy's learning of a trade. With little recourse, his mother learned to accept his 'strange pastime'.

It might have begun with a woman. Working with the locksmith exposed Gavril to a whole new world, one whose inhabitants were not protected by wealth or title. Even though he had never sought to mistreat those he had been raised to believe were his 'lessers', he had never given them much thought. Now though, he was forced to re-examine all his relationships with those people, and felt himself the richer for it. And yet, it would take one more event to truly drive the point home. One day his otherwise punctual and consistent employer did not arrive to open the shop at the normal hour, but rather sent a messenger asking him to open up in his stead. When the tradesman finally arrived, it was with the sad tale that his niece, a barmaid at one of the rowdier taverns, had been attacked on her way home from a late night's work. The girl had been spared her life, but her honor had been taken, along with a sentimental trinket that had been left to her by her mother. The guard were doing what they could, but the girl was in such a state that she could offer
them little to go on.

The whole of the circumstances bothered Gavril deeply, and the next time he met up with his friends, they found him preoccupied. At last his best friend managed to engage him in discussion, and between them and several bottles of wine, the idea came up to do something about those who would do such things. After all, often the guard could only take action once something had been done, as there weren't quite enough guards to catch every crime in progress, and the criminals knew how and where to avoid patrols. Afterwards, neither could quite remember who had suggested it, but they made plans to meet up at night. Gavril would shadow his more forceful friend, and they would see if they could make a difference. They were laughably obvious the first night, but over time they improved their routine, to where they more often than not were successful in driving off or even slaying would-be muggers and assailants. Gavril considered it a proud day when he was able to press a worn trinket of a locket into the old locksmith's hand.

As far as the women in Gavril's life went- there was a third who had been watching him for a while, though her interest was quite different. One night she approached him and, hands wrung white with nerves, told him that she was his sister. His first impulse was to deny it, for he had always thought his father an honorable man. But, looking at this woman with her claim in mind, he could clearly see his father in her features. Though the news was a shock to him that would take time to fully process, he greeted her as a sibling. She gave him an ornate dagger in commemoration, and he insisted that she take his signet ring- a decision that led to a few comical misunderstandings when his friends saw her wearing it.

This turn of events did prompt the two lovelorn ladies to confess their feelings, but as Gav cared for both of them, he could not bring himself to choose one at the cost of heartbreak for the other. Though there was one that he did favor over the other, he made an effort to treat both equally so that neither would feel slighted. As expected, his attempts to keep the peace backfired, with the women competing worse than ever. Eventually, one of the
ladies caught him in a moment of weakness and seduced him, though the act was interrupted by the arrival of the other. The one he truly wanted fled, later sending him a message that she never wanted to see him again. Honoring her wishes, he left her alone. The seductress, on the other hand, could see how grieved he was over the loss of his friend, and so she too removed herself from his life.

While Gav's circle of friends was falling apart, he was getting to know his sister better. However, though his father admitted to siring the girl, he refused to acknowledge her publicly. Though she herself expressed no desire for recognition, her brother felt that it was an injustice that needed correcting. In the face of his father's adamancy against righting the wrong, he settled on a drastic course of action: he would leave the Capitol and
force his father to acknowledge his sister, or else have no heir at all. When he broke the news to his best friend, the other man readily insisted on coming with him.

The two idealistic youths set out with bright eyes and heavy purses.

[Aeternis]

Originally Posted by Aethera

Aeternis, we can chat about the lineage whenever. Since I'm using the race builder, how do you want to treat that PF house rule about noble blood (trade +1 skill for several +3 bonuses)? The race builder is causing me some trouble because I'm essentially trying to make a half-human, half-creation race. So it's kinda coming out a bit odd, but with full RP spent on the racial abilities. (More or less I'm marking it with two types, and then letting the abilities do whatever.)

The noble blood rule only applies to full humans, mechanically. If you're of a half-race and also descended from nobility, you probably didn't get the noble's upbringing that emphasizes the nobility's natural affinities. Use the race builder to add those things if you'd like, I'll work with you on this.

Putting this here for lack of a better place atm, so people can see where Gav's coming from, so to speak.

I should make a folder...

[Aeternis]

Though I may change the folder name, I made some threads:
Character scratchwork thread
Where to put your assembled character
Give me your opinion

[Humble Athena]

Cordula will be Gav's main servant and only one to really know his secret or to accompany him away from home, but I'm thinking of taking Leadership to help account for loyalty among the staff that he'll need to keep a proper home running. Actually interacting with them will be mostly left up to Cordula or whomever she picks as her second-in-command.

[Hydra-X]

I dig the monster hunter idea Aethera. Córdula is going to be a necromancer/archivist (bard archetype), and as such will herself be fairly fascinated (read: obsessed) with all manner of things that go bump in the night. As a matter of fact, with these 3 characters of ours we could really pull off a good "monster hunters" vibe going into this game. With Córdula as the scholar of all things spooky and beastly (and the archivist abilities help this out greatly), Mina as the "slayer", and Gav as THE monster himself--well damn, the RP/story nearly writes itself I'd say.

Anybody else feel me on this idea?

[Aeternis]

Originally Posted by Hydra-X

I dig the monster hunter idea Aethera. Córdula is going to be a necromancer/archivist (bard archetype), and as such will herself be fairly fascinated (read: obsessed) with all manner of things that go bump in the night. As a matter of fact, with these 3 characters of ours we could really pull off a good "monster hunters" vibe going into this game. With Córdula as the scholar of all things spooky and beastly (and the archivist abilities help this out greatly), Mina as the "slayer", and Gav as THE monster himself--well damn, the RP/story nearly writes itself I'd say.

Anybody else feel me on this idea?

The PCs hunting a monster who is the alter-ego of a PC?

[Hydra-X]

Not what I meant actually.

Gav is a monster himself. A monster that hunts monsters.

[Aeternis]

Originally Posted by Hydra-X

Not what I meant actually.

Gav is a monster himself. A monster that hunts monsters.

Right. That too. Though given your probable party composition, you'll be dodging paladins as much as fighting evil.

• Necromancer
• Vampire
• Fey-blooded hybrid

[Hydra-X]

Yes, well it is just an idea. Gav after all doesn't seem to be as concerned with chasing down monsters as he is with finding an heir. However, when you've got what basically amounts to a monster-ologist, a vampire, and a half-monster monster hunter...somehow I can't NOT see monsters working their way into this thing as adversaries.

But then that's the thing now isn't it? The hunters of monsters are hunted as monsters themselves (by paladins, etc.). Now we're in X-Men territory.

Anyway, whether or not the others are receptive to the idea or not, you can bet that Córdula is going to be very adamant about seeing all kinds of weird and spooky stuff. As far as personal motivation goes, that might be the main one for her. She wants to see some REAL monsters--and she'll nag the living hell outta Gav about it too.