[PF-2e] The Midlands

[Silent Rain]

To keep things even and fair for everyone, I am going to say that results cannot be swapped between background rolls.

[Exhibit A]

My app is finally ready!

Kenton Severin Name: Kenton Severin Ancestry: Midlander Heritage: Versatile Background:   Result: no family, front lines, lost in the wilderness, wanderer, animal helpers and spy Options: Str, Con, Dex; Heraldry, Scouting, Warfare Lore, Survey Wildlife, Train Animals, Read Lips skill feat Class: Barbarian (Giant Instinct) Description: Kenton is a towering brute of a man, standing well over six feet tall. As tall as he is, though, he is dwarfed by the massive axe he carries, forged as it was with a much larger wielder in mind. His brown hair hangs loose just past his broad shoulders, and he keeps his beard short and neatly trimmed; a small concession to civilization, it helps him remember that while he is wild, he is no beast. His arms and chest bear the scars of a hard life, advertising to all who see that Kenton is not a man to be trifled with lightly. Character Backstory Kenton hails from Wasterly, a small village in the southern foothills of the Ironhull Mountains. Raiding parties of vicious skorn beastmen, little more than tales told to frighten children in some regions, were a fact of life there. The skorn were a threat to everyone, and so everyone knew how to fight, and were taught as young as possible. Kenton never knew his parents; not an uncommon story in Wasterly. Even so, there was no orphanage, and any child who lost their parents were looked after by the village. A village was no replacement for a family, though, and Kenton quickly learned to take care of himself. By the time he was ten, he was able to wield weapons made for full-grown men, and he trained constantly to build his muscles and hone his skills. The closest person Kenton had to real family was Ogden Durham, a traveling mercenary. While not a permanent resident, Ogden’s work often took him to the area, and he always stopped in to Wasterly when he could. He took an interest in the young Kenton, and taught him how he could harness the anger he felt; how to control the rage rather than letting it control him. On one such visit, Ogden stopped briefly in the village on his way to complete a job, promising he would return on his return trip afterwards. As several weeks passed with no sign of the mercenary, Kenton, only eleven at the time, took it upon himself to trek alone into the mountains and find Ogden. Although he was already as strong as a man, he still had the sense of a child, and before long found himself lost, with no idea in which direction his home lay. Kenton spent a full week surviving on his own, fighting with animals for scraps of carrion to survive. Fortunately for him, Ogden had returned to Wasterly not long after he set out searching, and immediately set out again to find the boy. It didn’t take long for the experienced wilderness tracker to find Kenton, and he spent the journey home teaching the boy how to find his way in the wild. As Kenton grew, Ogden’s visits came fewer and farther between; the man was getting older, and couldn’t take as many jobs as in his younger days, particularly jobs in the rugged north. His lessons remained, though, and when Kenton came of age he began setting out to many of the same areas Ogden used to visit; not for money like the mercenary, but to keep his home safe. Eventually, though, it began to seem a futile effort. No matter how many skorn he killed, there were always more, and they were just as much of a threat as they had ever been. Fighting every day for survival may have made him the man he was, but it was no way to live. And so he decided to set out southward and seek his fortune as a mercenary and wandering warrior. In the years since, he’s made a nice home for himself in Dunmark, waiting for a chance to find a real adventure, and perhaps reunite with his childhood mentor.

Wasn't sure what to do with the last to bits of the background, since they're supposed to match with other party members. I assume those will be fleshed out after the group is chosen?

[Silent Rain]

@Exhibit A App looks good. I updated the chart.

Any sections on the backgrouond that tie into other characters would be fleshed out by the players once the party has been selected/

[Silent Rain]

Looks like the new interest is slowing down, so I am going to move up the deadline for new applicants to 2/21. Players will still have time after that to complete their apps, but that will be the deadline for new submissions.

[Drachenspirit]

Well... I've always wanted to learn Pathfinder, and I'm guessing that going with a Fighter would be a nice choice to start out with.
If... it isn't too late and "newbs" to the system are welcome.

[Silent Rain]

Hey Drachenspirit, not too late at all and no prior PF2e experience is required.

[Drachenspirit]

Narro Tholan Name: Narro Tholan Ancestry: Human Heritage: Versatile Background: Frontier Farmer Class: Fighter Description Narro is an inch over six feet tall, and weighs a muscular lean two hundred and twenty five pounds. It's clear that her armor, weapons and garments are piecemeal and picked up from here and there, but that doesn't mean she's any less the fighter by the way she carries them and herself. Her common look is spear in hand, armor, and shield, with a sheathed blade, light pack and flail in her belt. Character backstory The only sad part of Narro's tale is that it is almost truly without flair, being quite mundane and boring. Her Grandfather raised her on a small farm that some said was on the Frontier of far from Dunmark, while others would say it was on the extreme outskirts of Dunmark. Whatever the case, her mother died of disease when she was a toddler, and her father, she has no idea. When in his cups, her grandfather would mention her father to be a mighty hunter, and this is where she got her size and stamina from. She learned to be a decent farmer, but she never learned to love it. She kept to it, picking up some fighting skills from a local hunter who taught her to defend their farm given her grandfather's health was in decline. He passed recently, and she found he didn't actually own the farm, but leased it. She sold the pitiful livestock they had left and it was with this coin that she adorned herself in adventurer's attire and went into Dunmark looking for exactly that - adventure. Goals: Narro wants to make her own way in the world, earning a lot of coin, bettering her skills and gear, gaining notoriety, and taking her more than a decade's worth of anger out of highwaymen, and monsters. She isn't looking to join a restrictive group, like the town guard, though she might join up with like-minded souls, or even a rather free merc group. She is bursting at the seams to make a difference, and be free of the shackles of that farm that is long behind her (though it's only been a day or so). Fortunately, she was raised by a moral man, and won't take what isn't hers from honest folk, or step on the low in status, stature, or sustenance. For others... pity on those others who she things stand in her way, man or beast.

[Noquarter19]

App done afaik, let me know if there's more you'd like me to touch on. Look forward to trying something new.

Application for The Midlands Name: Skiff Ancestry: Human (Midlander) Heritage: Versatile Background:   Link Dice * Roll: 1d100 1 1: If you grew up with no family, you had to learn to survive on your own. Add a Strength ability boost and a Constitution ability boost to your options. Dice * Roll: 1d20 12 12: Front Lines You grew up in a homeland torn by war. Even if you didn’t personally participate, it was never far away. Add Heraldry Lore, Scouting Lore, and Warfare Lore to your background options. Dice * Roll: 1d20 1 1: Abandoned in a Distant Land Due to some mischance (such as wandering off while on a trip or being press-ganged onto a seagoing ship), you had to survive in a distant land for a while. Add the Multilingual skill feat to your background options. Dice * Roll: 1d20 5 5: The Crafter One of your major influences cherished perfection through art. From this person, you developed a disciplined mind, a solitary focus, and the ability to create something useful and beautiful. Add an Intelligence ability boost to your background options. Dice * Roll: 1d12 9 9: Patron of the Arts This character encouraged you to excel at a type of performance you loved, even going so far as to support you in lean times. Add the Virtuosic Performer skill feat to your background options. Dice * Roll: 1d12 4 4: Matter of Might You have long considered this character your rival in a question of strength. You are determined to prove yourself to be mightier, perhaps by intelligent application of force if you aren’t physically imposing. Add the Hefty Hauler skill feat to your background options. Class: Bard Description:   Credit to Wisnu Tan Heavily tanned with shoulder-length brown hair, Skiff is a tall, lithe human woman with dark brown come-hither eyes, a pouty mouth, and broad, dark eyebrows that are quick to show anger or pleasure. Living the life of a bard, she travels light, wearing simple leather armor and loose-fitting cotton garments. Her boots go near to her knees, and they’ve seen both the salt of the sea and the dust of the trail. Skiff has a pretty smile… but she only really shares it when she’s performing for a paying crowd. Beyond that, she keeps largely to herself. Character backstory: ”What, you think you can just buy me a few drinks and suddenly I’m going to spill my whole life story to you? Well forget it honey. You’ll be dead drunk on the floor before I’m tipsy enough to tell you everything. Hey – I didn’t say to not buy me a drink, now did I? Rum, the darker the better. And leave the bottle.” Skiff never knew the comfort of home and hearth, nor of even knowing a family. Her earliest memories are of life in the orphanage, an overcrowded, drab, drafty building run by an old hag. She was abandoned there at some point, same as the other brats, is what Mistress Lenetta always said, in between doling out some foul-tasting gruel or administering punishment in the form of slaps. Skiff never even had her own bed, much less a name of her own. Her only worldly possession was a pocketwatch on a chain, with a weathered photo of a man and woman inside. On the back, the mysterious engraving – To VB from FM. There was no one else but the mistress and her wards at the orphanage, along with Mr. Parker, who came to refill the coal bin every few weeks or so. The room was never warm enough, the blankets thin, patched affairs, and the lice were everywhere. This was her home until her sixth year, when the war came again. It was the first time Skiff had seen soldiers, and blood, and fire not contained in a stove. One of the invaders ran Mr. Parker through with a big sword, and the nice old man who used to give her sweets spilled all his coal and all his blood on the ground. The next thing, the mistress was opening the back door and shooing out all the children into the cold, whispering for them to run, run very far. The flames were licking at nearby buildings, and it was the first time Skiff had ever seen the mistress cry. She hadn’t thought it was possible. But she was a good listener, and so she ran. Unfortunately, her legs were short and she didn’t know the world outside the orphanage, and it wasn’t long before the soldiers caught her. They wrapped her hands in a length of rough hemp rope that made her wrists hurt, and hauled her down to the wharf where she was promptly sold along with a number of other children. She didn’t know what to expect but didn’t imagine her life continuing for much longer. When the slaver ship she was aboard was a’sail, a pirate vessel attacked a few days out of port. They killed the slavers and took the human cargo on as powder monkeys and swabbies. It was here that Skiff met the pirate who would be the closest thing to a father for her, the cox’n Handsome Jack. Jack was the navigator and took a liking to the girl who enjoyed scrubbing the deck near him. He taught her about the stars, sang to her, and even gave her the name ‘Skiff.’ She was aboard the Ruby Red until she was seventeen, when the ship foundered on the rocks during a storm, just southeast of Port Brax. Handsome Jack saved her life but ended up drowning. She had nothing but the clothes on her back, and her sailor songs. Skiff worked her way along the coast, singing for change and a hot meal, and eventually made it to Port Brax. Where she goes from here is unclear, but she’s young and beautiful, content to be like a sail and go where the wind pushes her. Goals: Having never had anything much of her own in the way of personal possessions, nor ever been told what sorts of things are out there in the world, Skiff is one of Fenrir’s lost wolves, looking for her place in the world. Whether that means getting involved with the ladies of the Dockside Valkyries, finding a bard’s college somewhere throughout the land, or simply finding a dive bar to sing for her drink and supper, Skiff’s goals typically go no further than her next meal – but with nothing to tie her down, she’s always up for adventure.

[Silent Rain]

@Drachenspirit Nice background. Love the gif

@Noquarter19 Thanks for the app. Everything looks good. Only thing I would not want to assume is what brought to be in/around Dunmark? Last we see here, she is in Port Brax.

Chart has been updated.

[Drachenspirit]

Thanks Silent Rain!
I caved in and got the PF 2E book, and... I totally don't know how to fully make a character sheet. I was up until midnight trying to grasp it (probably why I didn't), and statements like "you can do that now, or you can do that later", had me scratching my head. That's SMH for all of you who are textamaniacs.

[Silent Rain]

Heh, the PF2e char gen can look a little daunting at first, especially how its method of determining HP and ability scores is somewhat different (compared to 5e). That said, once you realize what it is doing, its actually quite simple and straightforward. In fact, I actually prefer it over 5e.

We'll dive into this and make sure that everyone is on the same page once the party is chosen.

[Pinotage]

Out of curiosity, how long do you expect the game to last?

[Drachenspirit]

[Noquarter19]

Originally Posted by Silent Rain

@Noquarter19 Thanks for the app. Everything looks good. Only thing I would not want to assume is what brought to be in/around Dunmark? Last we see here, she is in Port Brax.

I'll be honest, I think my brain glazed over that. I apparently took "3 days northwest of Port Brax" to mean we were in Port Brax. I'll just say wanderlust for now and try to come up with something a bit more narratively pleasing before deadline

Edit: re: pf2e talk, the only thing I can't stand is that it's not called Initiative anymore, it's just "perception." Other than that, so far there's not a lot I dislike

[Drachenspirit]

Reading through it, Is Shield Block and Reactive Shield basically the same thing? Or close enough that a fighter need not have both?