[D&D-5e] Another Chance for Those Incompetent Fools

[Drachenspirit]

Akxius Name: Akxius <----- Proposed Character Sheet Race: Devil's Tongue Tiefling Class: Bard - College of Lore 5e background: Courtier PERSONALITY TRAITS - 1) I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick. 2) I am full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion. IDEALS - Everyone should be free to pursue his or her own livelihood. BONDS - I created a "great plan to topple the ruling elite" for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I am still looking for someone worthy. FLAWS - No one must ever learn that I once took a bribe that got people killed. Additional personality flaw: Obsessed with Fame - Desires recognition and fame above almost all else. Additional combat flaw: Will only fight Melee if cornered or disengaging will risk his life. Will use every ranged weapon at his disposal and even take from others and cast spells (if available) to keep from closing to Melee. Only has a few ranged offensive spells that he is reluctant to use for fear of not being able to have magic left to use - will only cast as a last resort if someone's life is at extreme risk; or his own. One skill with anti-proficiency: Nature - He is a city fellow, and only will put up with roughing it if there's a huge gain or boon for him in doing so. Even then, he relies on anyone with any knowledge for being out in the wilds because when it comes to such things he is quite ignorant and to be truthful, quite simply hates being in such an environment. Appearance: Akxius is 67" tall and weighs around 130 lbs, and definitely on the thin side even for a Tiefling. His reddish skin tone, sharp teeth, horns and tail mark him as a Tiefling, but the fact is further brought to attention by his forked tail, hooved feet along with having 6 fingers on each hand. The latter at least helps him play a stringed instrument quite well. He is quite 'devilishly' handsome and always quick with a smile. He wears leather armor, with a visible Rapier that looks "new" if not well kept. There's a visible light hammer on his belt and a dagger sheathed on his left bicep. There's a Lute across his back in a carrying case. Personality: Akxius is way too sure of himself. He thinks he can charm anyone to get into any situation he can get into. He loves being in with whomever is a mover and shaker to make the rules in whatever environment he is in. He adheres to the motto of "why make an enemy, when you can make a friend," though he isn't too keen on throwing in with bullies or tyrants. He loves to talk and is quick to throw in a phrase or quote he thinks appropriate for a situation, and quite simply can't wait for any opportunity to say those four words he was known for in his past life - "I have an idea." Backstory: Akxius demise came about during the Cult of the Dragon Uprising. Hailing from Waterdeep, he used what skills he learned growing up with a band of gypsy-like Bards to quickly leave that life and fall in with those who flocked to the nobles and King's courts. The final decision to leave the 'Traveling Bard Family' was when he thought he would be good with blades and started to train in the college of swords. An sparring match turned real due to flared tempers caused by Akxius sharp tongue and it only took a few stabs from a blade to his person to let him know he didn't want anything to due with that. Not only had he feared for his life, but being cut by a blade is something that he is a bit fearful of now. Taking up the Bard College of Lore in Waterdeep and frequenting the courts, he thought he had found his calling. He believed himself to be more savvy, quick-minded, and insightful with people and what makes them tick than anyone else. In truth, he was little more than a joke in Waterdeep Court and was used to do all sorts of tasks and jobs in and around the court that others found tedious and just beneath them. Thinking his popularity was due to his comeuppance, he started to move with more dangerous courtesans who were actually agents or Faction members who cared little for anything but their own cause. He once intentionally took a bribe to allow a group into the city past the guard which resulted in the assassination of of Lord Neverember. The resulting lie During the 3rd Council of Waterdeep, he overheard what he thought was a meeting and planning mission between two agents. "If I can just do something so they are in my debt and can be more 'in the know' of what's going on at court and on the council." He convinced a local Faction Agent to trust him in delivering messages to a Zhent agent known as Rian Nightshade. Seeing that Rian was a female tiefling, he thought this got him some favor. It did not. Rian knew that the agent he was "speaking for" was actually a Red Wizard of Thay and sent the encrypted message from her and the Zhent Black Network that stated, they'd like a 'sit down' meeting. Delivering this, the Red Wizard wasn't about to fall for that, so in turn asked that a sealed message be returned to Rian and informed Akxius that favor would be gained if Rian delivered this message to a certain location northeast of Waterdeep at a specific time. Unbeknownst to Akxius, this was a trap that the Red Wizard didn't think Rian would fall for, but tried it anyway before they fled the city. Akxius was enthralled, and decided to deliver the message himself. The sealed message, written in Draconic, simply said, "This fool is our enemy. Kill them immediately." Akxius delivered the message to a location where 4 Cultists of the Dragon waited with 4 young red dragons. He was still smiling at what he'd accomplished when the first dragon bit his arm off while the others fought over his remains. His last words were, "What happened to not killing the messenger?" Akxius' intentions and easily manipulated nature gave amusement to the shadowy Diety known as 'The Raven Queen.' Having no love for Tiamat and the Cult of the Dragon Uprising, the Goddess wondered what amusements Akxius could get into without the threat of being eaten by a dragon - even if it was somewhat self induced. Granted one rare magic item of his desire, and he couldn't help but go with the most powerful and Magical Mandolin there ever was. He was granted the Canaith Mandolin. Akxius is quite simply trying to get a 'do over' and very much do right this time. Unfortunately, he'll most certainly get in his own way.

[Wretched Rick]

mmkay, sounds like it wasn't me - the tiefling part clinched it. Do we want a pitch that's not a bard?

[The Rat Queen]

@Wretched Rick - Rick, my advice is that if you're interested in the game, you make a full effort to apply, including the rules and format posted by the GM in the intro post.

Barrow listed a format for applications in the first post, as well as a plot summary. It's not my decision of course, but based on your application, you don't seem to have fulfilled the requirements, such as Name, Race, Class, Background, etc. as well as mentioning how your character died and how they came back.

GMs generally appreciate it when applicants show a certain enthusiasm and initiative with their application. Statements like, "Are my chances good enough to exert more effort" are generally seen as someone who may not stay invested in the game if they're selected, since they're apparently not willing to put forth a full effort to apply.

Again, I'm not the GM for this game, so it's not my call. Just my general observation based on my experience here.

[BarrowB]

Originally Posted by The Rat Queen

@Wretched Rick - Rick, my advice is that if you're interested in the game, you make a full effort to apply, including the rules and format posted by the GM in the intro post.

GMs generally appreciate it when applicants show a certain enthusiasm and initiative with their application. Statements like, "Are my chances good enough to exert more effort" are generally seen as someone who may not stay invested in the game if they're selected, since they're apparently not willing to put forth a full effort to apply.

@Wretched Rick Exactly this ^

With what I got so far from you, Rick, I'm quite certain I'm not interested in such player being part of the team, when others put in more effort.
Even without that... the character pitch and sense of humour so far don't really vibe well with me ^^'.

[silveroak]

Name: Prince (Master) Richard Bates
Race:Variant Human
Class: Palladin/artificer (couldn't settle on an oath so he took to making weapons)
5e background: Noble
Trait 1: Brags a lot about what he will do
Trait 2: Believes he is popular with the ladies.
Bond: The common man must see me as a hero of the people.
Flaw: I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me.
Additional personality flaw: I may not be a chosen one, but you won't convince me of that!
Additional combat flaw: Being a noble hero I cannot take the first shot and will disregard an initiative advantage if I win.
One skill with anti-proficiency: Sneaking is a coward's route- stealth

Appearance: Very pale skin with thin blue veins that are visually clear through the skin, platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes.

Personality: Rick (pronounced with a D) was raised on tales of heroism, especially fantastic tales of heroism that involves rescuing a damsel in distress, or perhaps several, and claiming her (or them) as wives. The hero is of course always a misunderstood prince, often avenging their father before taking control of the kingdom. The only way anyone could get hm to focus on anything growing up was on the idea of preparing for his destiny, which honestly, if it is destiny, why do you need to prepare?
While he could be annoying in refusing to believe he had struck out with the ladies, or indeed had actually failed at anything, he at least dealt with the outcomes with good humor. His failures are not failures, but temporary set backs against his eventual ordained success, and he has not struck out with women, they are playing hard to get and will eventually come around. Before he died he was the Prince after all. Now he is more- he has been chosen by the Gods and restored to his path of glory!

Backstory:
- As mentioned, Rick was raised with extremely unrealistic expectations of his future and a significantly inflated idea of his own abilities. His younger, smarter brother encouraged this, hoping to take the throne when Rick inevitably got himself killed. Historically speaking this was an outrageously successful coup. His mother was a bit eccentric and unable to have more children after she had Rick, so of course his father simply took a second and third wife and kept right on ahead. Nobody with any real responsibility, certainly not more than the tutors, had anything to do with Rick's upbringing. He lived in such a bubble that nobody ever even let him know what a poor choice it was to go by master or to use the "rude" version of his birth name.

-How did you die? Following the death of his father to illness, Prince (he refused to take the title of king yet) Bates set forth on a quest to prove his worthiness for the office. Having no foe to blame his father's death on, not any conveniently located damsels in distress to rescue, he decided instead to overthrow his father's lifetime rival, King Jack, who also happened to have many beautiful daughters he hoped to liberate. The castle bards, of course, framed the quest in much more noble terms and with goals beneficial to the country, which, had he been successful, would have likely worked out.
His first time in combat with a actual foe, indeed an entire army, which wanted him dead Prince Rick marched towards the enemy line in his plate mal, left hand holding his shield and right hand holding his helmet. He had visions of engaging King Jack in single combat while armies raged around them, and wanted his identity clear as he approached the enemy lines.
In this at least he did succeed, his identity was clear as King Jack ordered fifty archers to kill him a hundred feet out. 20 of them managed to hit Rick in the head, ending his reign. His much more worldly wise brother ascended the throne and used Rick's "Martyrdom" to rally the country and seize a significant section of Lord jack's domains. Rick would be disappointed to learn that no noble women were captured in the raid, had he any knowledge of those future events.

-What deity sent you to the new world? Odin. technically Rick died in combat, with a sword in his hand, only because he managed to drop his helmet and pull it from the sheath as the arrows came flying towards him. It was either give Rick a second chance or let him be the laughingstock of Valhalla, and Odin wasn't sure he could make a great warrior from Rick in a thousand years.

What gift did you ask them for to aid your journey? Holy Avenger- Rick knew his stories, and wanted a true paladin's weapon.

-Why are you trying to be a hero? Because of course he is going to be a hero, it's his destiny isn't it? I mean Odin raised him from the dead to be a hero and he only does that to the greatest warriors! Just because he was killed in a cowardly ambush doesn't change what he is!

[penbeast0]

Nice idea silveroak! I would say "I like (your character)," but it might run me afoul of the censors.

[BarrowB]

@silveroak Okay okay, I like that. However, please change the name a bit for the sake of saving us from the automated moderation XD. You can be the D in our hearts.
Also, add some image of your failed hero.

@The Rat Queen Undone by what created her. That's a nice framing device.
I can let you replace the shortbow with a hand crossbow, for the sake of the of still being able to operate it without disadvantage.

@penbeast0 The combat flaw sounds slightly easy, as I don't expect the group doing illegal combat... but doing something funny with the echo is a direction that might be explored. "Even my own shadow thinks I'm dumb." kind of deal. XD
Other than that, not bad. My first thought is "a fantasy Johnny Bravo".
Not sure if I can handle 2 womanisers in a single party but we will see... maybe you two will be too busy fighting each-other to actually make any advances :P

[penbeast0]

Original idea was that my mother had changed my echo to mimic correct behavior rather than my actual behavior. So, if I was being good, the shadow would be helpful, but if I were, for example, stealing something for selfish reasons, the echo might casually trip the alarms then stand there with his arms folded over his chest looking "I told you so" as I was caught. IF you don't think it's enough of a problem, I can work on something else.

And, yeah, the image does look a bit like Johnny Bravo now that you mention it, lol.

[BarrowB]

Originally Posted by penbeast0

So, if I was being good, the shadow would be helpful, but if I were, for example, stealing something for selfish reasons, the echo might casually trip the alarms then stand there with his arms folded over his chest looking "I told you so" as I was caught. IF you don't think it's enough of a problem, I can work on something else.

With rules as written, the echo can't really do much other than attack and switch places.

While what you say sounds creative, you would not really be able to do that either way.

[penbeast0]

I'll work up something else then, either another flaw or another character. Thanks for the feedback, hate to miss another chance to be an incompetent fool. ;-)

[Drachenspirit]

My College of Lore Bard, Akxius, is ready for perusal.

Still looking for a picture of a Tiefling with a forked tail, Hooved feet and a smile, but that trio combo is eluding me. Might go to AI, but we'll see.

[penbeast0]

Burny Character name: Bernadette Brightly, AKA "Burny" Race: Human, Variant Class: Wizard, Necromancer Alignment: Neutral Good Background: Wizard Guild Artisan Trait: Social: I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick. Additional Trait: Curious: I ask a lot of questions. Ideal: Friendship: Material goods come and go. Bonds of friendship last forever. Bond: Family: I idolize my parents and measure my deeds against that theirs. Flaw: Honest: I am terrible at lying, I start to stammer and lose my train of thought. Combat Flaw: Surprised: I tend to lose myself in my thoughts and fail each and every surprise roll. Personality: Burny is normally cheerful, full of energy, a bit scatterbrained. She always wants to please everyone but doesn't always succeed. But she is an incurable optimist and someone that always tries to solve everyone else's problems. Her problem is that she obsesses over what she sees as her addiction to death. She loses focus when people are talking about anything else, her necromancy spells work better than her "normal" ones, she listens to the acoustic equivalent of My Chemical Romance, and worst of all, she has a tendency to tell people about her struggles with this obsession and why she is powerless to do anything about it. Sometimes, you just want to pick her up and shake her until she either accepts it or just snaps out of it. Physical Description: Burny is short, a bit plump, with blotchy skin, and a face that seems a bit out of balance. She likes to die her hair bright colors, pink and purple are favorites, and her clothes tend to be colorful as well, even if the colors don't work together well. Her nose is too big, her chin recedes, and she isn't the most coordinated person in the world either. On the other hand, she smiles a lot, is nice to everyone around her, and while her laugh is a bit screechy, she seems to genuinely like the people she is with. Backstory: The daughter of two guild wizards, Burny was trained early in magic. Her father hoped she would be a divination wizard like her mother or maybe an abjuration wizard like him. And for a while it went well. But, instead she seemed to fixate on necromancy. Invisible hands (mage hand and chill touch), reading every trashy vampire novel ever written, a few Wednesday Addams moments with her dolls, her bent for the magic of death and the undead colored her life. Her parents did everything they could to discourage it, from time outs to having her talk to the cities resident expert on personality and insight. But she just wanted to talk about death. Literally. One day she heard about this otherworldly and magical carnival. She played hooky from her classes and went to see it. There, she fell in with an oddly assorted group of strangers who quickly became her bestest friends in all the world. Time seemed to stand still as they went to each and every ride, stall, and booth. Fun was in the air, and love too. They rescued a lost child, reunited lost lovers, and helped a lost creature return to the Feywild. But the carnival had darkness too; an evil coven threatened the very existence of this magical place and Burny and her friends staged a ploy to slip through to the Feywild as well. But, as the magical portal opened and Burny hugged all the other new friends she had made among the carnival workers and beings, she hugged too much and delayed too long. The portal started to close and she had to run and try to dive through it. But, not being a lithe and athletic martial, but a plump and bookish mage, she tripped and well, only made it halfway through before the portal closed. How she got here: It didn't really hurt, being cut in half. And the masters of the Carnival, Mr. Witch and Mr. Light told her that while she couldn't go back to her family and life in Faerun, there was a way to come back to life. And they reopened a hole in reality and pushed her through. On the other side, she found herself here, and the hole was still there, looking black and silky like a piece of fine cloth. It peeled off the wall it was on just like cloth too and she folded it up and stuffed it into her bodice. What now?

[penbeast0]

Sad that we couldn't be gnomes. Burny made a great gnome.

[BarrowB]

@penbeast0 What do you mean by "surprise roll" in the flaw?

[penbeast0]

Is the party or player surprised. If you do it by party rather than by individual, maybe always lose initial initiative roll instead.