[PF-1e] Prison Colony Krakengard - The Daylight War

[aerondor]

General caster question: Would clerics/druids/wizards be allowed holy symbols/spell component pouches etc?

I see above the answer to spellbooks is "no" - which is understandable, they are very expensive. Religious items are however often allowed in prison colonies, and spells can be helpful in ore production (create water helping to keep miners hydrated etc).

Anyway.. pending an answer about that, I'm thinking of an voluntary exile.

 

Public application Name: Ser Adalbern of Berahthraban. Gender: Male Race: Human Class: Noble Appearance: Adalbern has his full growth as a man, but his face has not yet taken on the worry lines of age. Slightly taller than average, fair of face and strong of arm he is the younger son of a northern lord. Before Krakengard he enjoyed dressing well and excising the privileges of his rank. Personality: Adalbern is thoughtful and kind. Before Krakengard he was generous to a fault, although the hard reality of the colony/prison camp has perhaps taken the edge from that. He often acts within thinking things fully through. That is not to say he is stupid, rather he can be impetuous, and that is a trait that has yet to be fully beaten out of him by his new surroundings. Background: The young nobleman has kept mostly quiet around his reasons for leaving the Kingdom behind. Those who have befriended him (or pretended to), have heard a story of forbidden love. The name 'Marianne' can be heard murmured on his breath while he sleeps. Apparently they were wildly in love, but her father had pledged her to another. There are probably more details than that, but he's not been very forthcoming with them. Of course other stories are that he tried to steal the high priest of Githlayn's holy symbol and only his noble family connection saved his life. Another is that he is a child of the kings old mistress and was sent here to ensure there was no issue around succession. Yet another says he is a missionary of the god of mercy, sent to provide comfort to the people of the mines. If asked himself he usually simply says "What does it matter why any of us are here? Here we are now, and it is up to us to make the best of it we can."   Clip, clop, clip, clop. The horses hooves stuck the cobbled road in a methodical relentless rhythm. It had been a long day at the hunt and the rain had set in during the afternoon. Adalbern was soaked to his skin, tired and his pants had started to chaff. Raising his head he spied the smoke from the family keep spiraling up into the air just a mile or two away. "Home soon" he said to Egil his horse as he patted its wet head. The beast was tired too he noted. Behind him his two dogs trailed. The hunt had not gone well and the poor weather just added to the misery. Turning a corner of the road Adalbern spied a figure huddling under the fir-trees that lined the trade road he had joined a mile back. Pulling Egil up Adalbern took in the bedraggled sight. A peasant girl, almost a woman shrank back, the bundle of wood she had collected held protectively in front of her. There had been word of bandit attacks recently - he quickly looked down the road and confirmed the village was still a long distance away. With a sigh he got down from Egil and gestured for the girl to approach. "This is no time of day for a girl to be out on the road, and that wood will do your parents no good if it doesn't get home. Climb up and I'll see you home." Behind him he could hear indistinct mutterings. It would seem that once again he was not going to be the most popular son of Berahthraban in the keep.   Name: squire Gerard formally of Berahthraban. Background: Adalbern's long suffering squire had been charged by his father to dissuade him from relocation to Krakengard - on pain of exile there himself. The squire, used to the more or less soft life of a northern court, has found the transition to a penal colony a hard one to take. He has had to harden up considerably. Gerard is caught between conflicting desires. Gerard wants revenge on Adalbern - for he holds the young nobleman responsible for his own predicament. However he also knows that unless he can somehow find a way to get Adalbern to return to the kingdom (if that is even possible) he has no way to get back himself. So he settles for helping Adalbern keep himself alive, but never comfortable. Many of the rumors floating around about why Adalbern is in Krakengard have been started by the squire on the quiet.

[Squeak]

* For the record, this feels a lot like the movie Escape from New York.
I'm tempted to name my character Snake Pliskin.

Name: Manus LochLain, of the Lain Lake
Gender: No limitations
Race: Human, but could easily be changed to a dwarf
Class: Druid
Crime: Attacking a member of the royal family, poaching.

Appearance & Personality: An image of Manus from back when he used to shave Standing well over 6 feet tall and sporting a large pot belly, Manus is hard not to notice. His flaming red hair and beard are so disheveled that at first glance they look like fire. The hair does not stop with his face, blanketing his shoulders, chest and back, making you wish someone would throw a tunic over him. The massive human has a unique aroma, with the power to knock small flies out of the sky and his corn-cob teeth are reminiscent of one who spent one too many nights without a toothbrush. He speaks with a heavy accent, but unlike any you have heard before. Brash and uncouth, Manus is not one to bottle up his emotions, always speaking before he thinks. At times, he can be gentle and fun to be around, but other times he will be deadly serious and angry. He understands the cycle of life and everyone's place it in and despises that are 'unnatural', such as demons, undead and coddled noblemen. While Manus is uncomfortable in the presence of others and far prefers to spend his time in the company of animals that the 'civilized' races, he admits that there are times he needs human help. Humans tend to find Manus odd, as he often has conversations and arguments with his animal friends and in nearly every case it seems like he is on the losing end of the arguments. Manus is desperate to return to his glen and will do whatever it takes to return. He speaks longingly about his home, reminiscing about it's beauty. However, he is driven not only by his desire be around it's beauty, but for revenge against the man that put him here.

Life of a Young Druid Young Manus looked up at his father as they settled over the carcass of the feral pig. "Da, isnae it wrong fer us te be killin' a pig just te fill our bellies? After all, there is plenty o' berries down in the bog, te pig dinnae half te die." "That's na how Danu made us, mae laddie. Aye, yer right, we ken eat berries and nuts, but if that's all ye et, it'll give ye te flux something fierce. We were made te eat meat AND plants. Living off one or te other, isnae natural" his father explained. "All o' life works in a circle, mae boy. We all have our place in te world and we need te act the way Danu intended. If we dinnae take a pig every once in a while, te pigs would be as thick as fleas and there wouldnae be enough food fer te deer and te squirrels." he explains. "It jus that... It just seems sad that this pig had te die because o' us." the young boy whimpered, his voice thick with remorse over the necessity. "Listen Manus, death is jus' a part o' life. It comes fer all of us at some point. If ye really want te show respect fer te life o' this pig, then ye make sure it's life wasnae in vein. We'll ken turn it's hide inte fine leather breeches, we'll use it's fat fer candles, melt down it's bones fer glue. And dunnae ferget the best part. Bacon!" the father explains as he expertly begins to dress the pig, a small wooden bowl placed carefully underneath it to catch all of the rapidly draining blood. The young boy listened carefully to his father's words, nodding his understanding. He said a silent word of thanks to the dead pig, promising it that he would honor it's death.

Background: Most considered Manus an odd and strange hermit, living alone in his glen near the Lain lake ever since his parents had disappeared two years earlier. He was close to his parents and never knew what had happened to them, but he knew only something awful could have kept them from returning home. Most of the people of the nearby village assumed that Manus had realized they were gone and simply wanted to spend time alone with his thoughts. but the reality couldn't have been farther from the truth. He was not alone -- his glen was teaming with life - squirrels, raccoons, owls, bears and even a dog all living with him in the wild. The glen was his home and many of those who lived in it were his friends. So disconnected had be become from the outside world was Manus that he did not know there was a war raging in his own backyard, his home of Caledonia was under siege from the Franconian empire. The Caledonia empire was failing and the Francs had begun taking position of power. The nearby town of Durnadee, only a few leagues from the Lain Lake, was one of the first to fall to the Francish onslaught. The mayor of the town, a good man named Fingal McGee, surrendered the town to the invaders and was banished, although no one knows exactly where we was sent. His place was taken by Gosh De'Liosh, second cousin of the Franconian emperor, a coddled nobleman with far more power than common sense. ** Fingal McGee was banished to the same place as Manus. ** Gosh De'Liosh was the nobleman that banished Manus, but Manus doesn't know his name -- only his appearance ** Manus doesn't know this, but his parents were actually killed by the invading Francs.

Roleplay Sample "Aye, I'll tell ye aboot what got me here, although I te be honest I still dunnae know what I did wrong" the massive form of Manus says as he absently scratches his large hairy belly. "It started out like any other day in mae glen. I was 'avin an argument wit mae dog. Well, Dog was was tryin te convince me that te best sport in the world was running. I was tellin 'im he were wrong, that runnin wasnae e'en a sport -- it was just a way te get from one place to another. He challenges me te show him a better sport, so I did 'im one better, I made up a sport right them. I says, let's knock this rock 'ere inte that gofer hole, pointin te one quite a ways away. I whack at it wit Mae shillellagh and off it goes, landin in a pile o' sand a hunnerd yards away. Well, Dog and me, we goes and follows it, both of us thinkin this was a dead brilliant sport." he begins, his eyes looking off into the distance as he thinks about his home. "But when we gets there, we sees somethin I willnae forget layin right next te the gofer hole. It was the deer, a friend o' mine, lying on te ground wit a big arrow in it's side. O' course, I do what a ye'd be expectin a man o' te woods te do fer 'is friend... I goes and helps it, trying te pull out te arrow. But it was a barbed arrow, and after a minute, I realized it has a bit o' poison on it... Now 'oo te hell goes huntin wit poison arrows, I ask meself?." he explains, his teeth clenching a bit as he tells the story, "Well, I gets te arrow out and start te call on The Pictish goddess of the wildernessDanu fer a bit o' aid. But just as soon as I get te arrow out, this pansy wit a fancy ridin breeches and five o' his boyos come ridin up te us. He seemed a bit crabit, shoutin that I was tryin te steal a kill that were rightfully his. Well, I ken tell ye I was right scunnered when I finds out that this mingin tattieboggle shot mae deer friend fer fun. And 'e really got me boilin' when 'e tries te tell me that I was poachin on 'is huntin grounds... 'IS HUNTIN GROUNDS!!!" Manus growls, shaking his head in anger at the memory. "I tells te wee dobber that 'is bums out te windae and tells 'im that this was MAE glen and me da's afore that. Then I tells te 'im he needs te bugger off, afore I put 'is arrow someplace he willnae enjoy. Well, te make a long story short, te little fella dunnae say nothin, 'e jus pulls out his bow and one o' 'is nasty arrows and shoots mae dog square between te eyes like he weren't nothing. It dropped 'im like a stone." the large man says, his voice cracking at the memory of his friend. "Well, ye ken imagine, that got mae gallus up. I came at 'im like a man possessed, but 'is boyos came at me then while te little bugger just watched. There were five o' them... I kilt two o' 'em and broke up a third pretty bad. But then one o' them lands a lucky backhander on me, sending me te the ground and givin te others a chance te wail on me. The next thing I know I'm in some sort o prison, sayin I was gonna be punished fer attacking one o' te royal family." he says, shaking his head. "I'll tell ye, if I 'ere get out o' here, I'll be findin that lil' bastard. I dunnae care if he is a royal, it dunnae give ye the right te kill a man's dog... And when I find 'im, I ken promise ye, he'll be pushing up daisies not long after." Manus growls, clearly not over the loss of his friend.

Bonus entry, Final McGee Fingal McGee is a middle aged man who had been the mayor of the town of Durnadee in province of Caledonia for the past 15 years. A natural leader with a keen mind and a strong understanding of governing, the city of Caledonia flourished under his leadership -- until the armies of the Francs came. Surrounded by a superior force, Fingal negotiated with the Francish invaders, surrendering himself to the invaders in exchange for the promise that they would not pillage the city. The Franc's accepted and banished Fingal and set up their new government in place of the old town council, ruling the city with an iron fist. Fingal was sent off through the magical gate to this prison world, where he has lived for the past two months. He has begun to surround himself with a group of people who recognize the leadership abilities of this extraordinary man. This group has begun to carve out a small, but growing enclave where they live and work together for their mutual benefit, both for food gathering and protection against the less scrupulous men. Manus and Fingal know each other as acquaintances. Neither Manus or Fingal had an issue with the other. While Fingal did found the strange hermit's lifestyle to be a bit unusual, he never had problems with the Manus on his annual visits to his town. Fingal is a Level 1 paladin / Level 3 aristocrat.

[suburbanplankton]

The app for Kenneck Keensong is now complete, with Roleplay Sample and Bonus NPC info.

[Muggins]

[OneDarkness]

My app is for the most part complete HERE, just working on the bonus bit, but thats just bonus work anyhow right

[OneDarkness]

There added a few bonus characters as well for good measure, for bonus points are always a good thing.

[Inem]

I've started reading the apps and am taking notes as I do so, but nothing is at the point yet where it would be fair to type up my thoughts and call it a review. But I'm getting close.
Table of applicants on the first page has also been updated. If you are marked as incomplete, that isn't necessarily a bad sign that means you've forgotten something. More likely, I just haven't gotten to your app yet to check it over and confirm everything is there.

Originally Posted by Fon

My first instinct is that Kobold should be fine. I will give you the final verdict after I have time to read what you have written, but the fact that you are making your case by presenting a concept is definitely going to help you.

Originally Posted by aerondor

General caster question: Would clerics/druids/wizards be allowed holy symbols/spell component pouches etc?

I see above the answer to spellbooks is "no" - which is understandable, they are very expensive. Religious items are however often allowed in prison colonies, and spells can be helpful in ore production (create water helping to keep miners hydrated etc).

Anyway.. pending an answer about that, I'm thinking of an voluntary exile.

I'll have to consider holy symbols, but my tendency is going to be no. I can sort of see your reasoning, but once I start blurring the lines about certain things being allowed in with the characters it becomes hard to forbid others. I think I'm going to stick to 'the guards have been given orders that prisoners who are thrown in must be stripped of everything but their clothes and they follow the orders without interpreting anything'.
Definitely no spell component pouches. There are story reasons these wouldn't be allowed, which I can't go into detail about without spoiling things, but these are definitely not allowed.

[aerondor]

Sounds fair.

[Squeak]

MY APP is complete, pending any review or comments.

Inem, would you consider it metagaming to take the birthmark trait and/or echoes materials feat? I personally would not need it, but it may be a way for casters to stay viable without their focus or components.

[Inem]

Originally Posted by Squeak

Inem, would you consider it metagaming to take the birthmark trait and/or echoes materials feat? I personally would not need it, but it may be a way for casters to stay viable without their focus or components.

Well yeah, that's pretty much the definition of metagaming, so I'd definitely consider it such.
In this particular instance, however, this is the sort of metagaming I would deem acceptable and not penalize anyone for. So Birthmark and Eschew Materials are fine, as long as they fit your concept

[Inem]

Alright, the table of applicants has been updated. I haven't read all of the apps that are there at this point, but I did check all of them to see whether they had all the required info. If at this point your app is marked as incomplete, please double check you have everything I wanted to see from you, and then feel free to ask me if you are still unsure why you aren't marked as complete. Also, first round of reviews below, in secret text. Anyone who hasn't asked for a review may do so at any point up to a week before the not yet determined deadline. If I've forgotten someone who has asked for one, don't hesitate to point that out. Speaking of the deadline, I'll probably set that once a few things at work play out and I can better judge how my schedule will look for the rest of the month.

Reviews:

[OneDarkness]

Sure ill take a review, it cant but help my odds especially incase you feel I am missing a thematic element to the app or areas for improvement which I am always looking for.

[aerondor]

I'd be keen on a review too, though I know my app is in a bit of a state of flux.

[suburbanplankton]

Mark me down as another one of those people who didn't think to ask for a review earlier, but now realize it's probably a good idea to get one, since they were offered up...

[Gylther]

I have a character in mind, but I'm not sure if all the stuff is available to run him. I saw you mention that you weren't allowing stuff from Occult adventures,

I'm guessing this is also true of the archetypes for the other classes from the book? I was wanting to using the Promethian Alchemist Archetype for the Alchemist class, and maybe multi-class into rogue (using the Poisoner archetype).

If your not down with that, I'm also playing around with the idea of an entirely less subtle style character... an improvised, dirty fighting Brawler.