[D&D-3.5e] Richard Nixon's Time Travelling Bar and Grill

[Alesch]

Game Name Richard Nixon's Time Travelling Bar and Grill

Game System DnD 3.5e

Theme Plane-hopping, time-traveling, drunken revelry and the consequences (or lack) thereof.

Flavour Unbridled, Unrelenting Machismo tied together with Wage Slavery and Debt Bondage!

Plot Summary It is the most exclusive tavern in all of the multiverse. Gods make reservations months in advance; emperors sell their kingdoms to get their names on the list of patrons. Despite what you might expect from such an exclusive establishment, there are no bouncers or velvet ropes. The walls are not made of gold, nor are the floors tiled with precious gems. The building is built of plain wooden boards and the floors are made of cobbled stone. The tavern's only employee is its bartender and proprietor, an ordinary dark-haired, thick-jowled human in a dark blue suit. No, there is nothing special about the most exclusive tavern in the multiverse. At least, there isn't anything special until you have a taste of what's on tap! Most taverns serve alcohol. Richard Nixon's Time Travelling Bar and Grill serves emotions. The President, as the barman insists on being called, will not pour his patrons a glass of tequila, rather he will serve his patrons a glass of Drunkenness. The large fire elemental in the corner isn't nursing a glass of rye, no he's drinking a cup of Fury! The half-elf isn't taking one last sip of wine to steel his nerves before approaching that nymph at the other table, he's ordered a glass of Confidence. At Nixon's Time Travelling Bar and Grill money can most certainly buy you happiness. It can buy you Happiness by the pitcher! However you have managed to get in to the multiverse's most exclusive tavern, one thing is certain. You have managed to run up an impressive, perhaps an excessive, bar tab. Luckily for you, The President has things that he needs done, and so you just might be able to pay off that debt. You might think about escaping into the multiverse, leaving your debt far behind you. Don't. It's a well known fact that Richard Nixon always gets his money. Welcome to the day after the best night of your life!

Character Creation Richard Nixon's Time Traveling Bar and Grill is a high powered game. Characters start with 50,000 exp, which puts them about halfway between level 10 and level 11. Characters are gestalted and I encourage you to use one of the gestalts to pay for racial level adjustments. Here's what I'd like to see for a character application: Name: It's pretty obvious what this is for. Race: This can be absolutely anything as long as it comes from the permitted source materials, which is almost anything, so yeah. Go nuts. Class: You were trained to do something before your occupation changed to "Presidential Aide", what was it? Home Plane: Everybody comes from somewhere and when you've got a bar that can be anywhere your clientèle is pretty varied. Where (and when) do you come from? Description: What do you look like? I expect some interesting stuff here considering how many of you are going to be half-whosits and three-quarters-on-your-mother's-side-whatsits. Background: What's your life story? Nixon doesn't care, but I do. Are you a druid? What made you grow up to be such a dirty hippie? What was it like to grow up Red, Commie? In other words, personal history goes here. Please include something about how your character has come to the Bar and Grill. What was their reaction to seeing the taverns patrons? Some characters might come from high magic planes where the sight of a dragon sharing a table with a fire elemental might not cause too much of a stir, others might be stepping into the Twilight Zone and assume their dreaming. Beverage of Choice: Something must've caught your fancy of you wouldn't have drank so much of it! So what's your poison? Did you spend the night drinking shots of Happiness or do you prefer sipping Nostalgia quietly by the fire?

Sourcebooks Books automatically allowed Core Completes Draconomicon Dragon Magic Expanded Psionics Handbook Fiend Folio Frostburn Heroes of Horror Magic of Incarnum Manual of the Planes Monster Manuals I-IV Races of the Whatever Sandstorm Tome of Battle Tome of Magic (except Truenamers, I'm doing you a favor) Books that are allowed with some potential adjustments Bastards and Bloodlines It's 3.0, so some things might need tweaking. Libris Mortis Why'd the Zombie walk into a bar? If you can't tell me then the answer is no. Dragon Magazine Stuff I don't have any of the Dragon Magazines. If you can show me what it is that you want then the answer is probably "Sure" Monster Manual V I don't have it, so anything someone wants out of it will have to be explained to me. Savage Species It's a 3.0 book so some updating might be required but if you want it for racial stuff, I'll probably let you use it. Setting Books Eberron, Forgotten Realms, that sort of thing. This tavern hops planes. It can pick you up at your setting, whatever. Pathfinder SRD This is for firearms only. After some consideration I find they fit a little better than D20 modern's guns. If someone really wants a D20 modern weapon we'll be able to work something out. Things I'm saying no to by default Homebrew If it's homebrew that isn't my homebrew than it's out. If there's something not on this list that you think should be, let me know. I'll probably add it.

Closing Statement All characters will start with the following: Experience: 50,000 exp Gold: 50, 000gp All characters are gestalted. Level adjustment only applies to one side of the gestalt. I am not allowing level adjustment buyoffs because that's what the gestalt is for. Don't be afraid to pick strange and unusual races, that's the whole reason the game is gestalt. That is what these split-levels are for. I am not allowing flaws. I find them far too Min-Maxy for my tastes. I will allow characters to take traits. The logic behind this is that while traits are self-balancing, flaws are not. A character who takes a trait gains a small bonus to something along with a small penalty to something that is related to the bonus. Flaws, on the other hand, allow a character to take a penalty to something that will never be a factor in their lives and replace it with a boon to something that will. They are not self-balancing and I don't care to vigilantly police their use, so they get a big draconian no. Stats will be determined by rolling 4d6+6 and dropping the lowest two. Stats can be placed wherever. Do not roll dice in this thread A Note on Leadership and Similar Abilities. These are a pain for any DM to keep track of and when the campaign is centered on a plane-hopping, time-traveling tavern I suspect it'll be even more of a pain in the rump to keep track of all your myriad of little henchmen. So, in the interest of maintain my sanity and not having Richard Nixon collect his money by selling off all your organs I'm going to outright ignore low-level minions. All the level 1 helpers you get for your Leadership feat are gone. They're left behind in whatever stinking hole of a plane you call home. This is an exclusive tavern after all, and they didn't get in even with your vouching for them. Heck, you barely got in yourself! You get your cohort, but that is effectively all you get from the feat. Unlike your main character, your cohort is not gestalt. I'd also like to know a bit about the cohort in your application. It doesn't need to be too in depth but I'd at least like to know what race and class it is. A Note on the Feral template I don't find the level adjustment on the Feral Template (in Savage Species) accurately reflects the bonuses that it gives. Rather than being a +1 LA as it says in the book, I'm treating it as a +3 LA instead. A Note on PrCs Normally gestalt bans PrCs that effectively serve to combine classes, such as Eldritch Knight and Mystic Theurge. Well, some classes, such as Eldritch Knight, are less powerful combinations than others. Rather than try to sort my head around what exactly constitutes a PrC as 'too powerful' I've ruled that PrCs are not going to be banned based on their being a combination of base classes. I still reserve the right to veto things though.

Things that Give Alesch a Headache 1. Overlong discussion of rules and mechanics in a character application thread. I don't mind talking rules, I do mind devoting an entire page to it. 2. Building for Power, rather than building for Character. I don't play D&D to practice my spread-sheeting skills. I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of every race, class, feat, and spell in the myriad of source books. The goal of this game is not to provide a vehicle for people to field-test Neo-Pun-Pun. The goal is to provide a game with an interesting and varied setting for a group (or two) of interesting and varied characters. My hope is that people will choose their races, templates, classes, and skills to best reflect their character concepts, rather than to get the best possible numbers. Mechanics should be build to reflect your character, not the other way around. By all means make a character that is powerful, but don't make making a powerful character more important than making an interesting one. 3. Intra-party PvP in a game that isn't meant specifically for it, such as this one. Intra-party strife can be fun and interesting, I have no problem with that. No character is obligated to like another. The party doesn't have to be best friends forever, who never argue with one another. The party should continue to work towards the same goals, however, especially in a play by post game where intra-party sabotage can absolutely paralyze a game. Just as the Spice must flow, the plot must progress. That usually means working together. 4. Not being able to find things. I'm allowing a lot of source materials, and I don't know where absolutely every feat, item, spell, race, and class is. I'm going to have to ask everyone to try to cite the things that they use, so that I can find it if I need to. If you're using Core stuff don't worry about it, but once we start getting into the myriad splatbooks my head starts to spin trying to find everything. Attaching a simple (Book, Page#) after spells, items, and feats (as well as Races and Classes really) makes my life immeasurably easier. Nothing is more annoying than having to look through a half dozen books to find where you're finding the Cone of Flaming Puppies spell so I can see exactly what it does. It's very nice to be able to look at a sheet and see, notated next to the spell, that I can find it in Complete Puppymancer on page 23.

Important Dates and Numbers I'm hoping to start in early November, so I'll be closing applications at Midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on Sunday, October 23rd. I'll select a group on the 24th. I'd like to set a brisk posting rate, especially since the campaign should have some combat in it. I'll ask for a posting rate of once a day, unless that proves to be impractical for whatever reason. What's important is that the game keeps moving, especially during an encounter.

[Alesch]

Current Character Submissions:

Character	Player	Status
Catarina Dunsidane	Cloudphiroth	Complete
Shevort	masternate	Incomplete
Sergeant Joop Jorgen	Blauf	Complete
Deep Root Red Fang III	Craigthulhu	Complete
Neph Cohen	Paladin Emet	Complete
Hyphen	Morcleon	Complete
Eleria	Muggins	Complete
Ataterr Epsepah	TaintedHolyWater	Complete
Wain Cormick	Aeternis	Complete
Fetch	Ithamar	Incomplete
Jack Reaper	NEON725	Complete
Esmerelda	Morzella	Complete
Xun'Vyll	Chaosz	Complete
Plikt	wtj	Complete
Keith	Pirate34	Complete
GRRIT	kyo	Complete
Deesinayah Rose	Gavinfoxx	Complete
Kamala Shankra	GeoAvanti	Complete
Ambrosia Trolik	Gath	Complete
Ia	Lycanthromancer	Complete
Cornon Curamgero	Bade	Complete
Rathnaya	Yogge Mothi	Complete
Nephesh	Spheromancer	Complete
Kyte Willow	SongDragon	Complete
Enialis/Faceless	tiluvias99	Complete
Riordan Muiredach	Ange	Complete
Tik-Tak	Daemon013	Complete
Tvresh'kmml	Skiligg	Complete
Rayleigh/Aira	Cuross	Complete
Rick Mitchell	Kyojin	Complete
William	Chaoz	Complete
Grand Old Patty	Friend	Complete
Gringo Underfoot	Beez	Complete
Ptekwe	Scimmy	Complete
Erdyr Tuhlin	Kharnagar	Incomplete
Chad	Eviltedzies	Complete
Asvakar	Trickyroll	Complete

[Aeternis]

This. This looks...

More than interesting.

I shouldn't apply to any more games right now, but... You tempt me greatly.

I might just anyway.

So Robo-Nixon is spending all that time between now and the year 3000 as an interplanar bartender, then?

[EDIT]: Riiight, real questions. Hm, I might have some of those too. I take it, for example, that this will be a light-hearted humor campaign?

Beverage of Choice: Something must've caught your fancy of you wouldn't have drank so much of it! So what's your poison? Did you spend the night drinking shots of Happiness or do you prefer sipping Nostalgia quietly by the fire?

My immediate thought was a tall glass of Forgetfulness. Watch that stuff, though, it's stronger than you think.

Though maybe a shot of undilluted Sanity would probably be a better choice.

[EDIT 2.0]: So. I had a thought. If a character can be pulled from any character in the wide multiverse of infinite places, does that mean that I can, in theory, create a character from a world more advanced in technology than the standard D&D setting? What I'm getting at, here, is that I had a sudden plan to play a character with a six-gun that made his way into Nixon's from an Industrial Revolution Era world (which might still have magic). Just a thought, feel free to shoot me down (intended pun). If you like this idea, I can work up something a little more in-depth about it.

[wtj]

Would you allow XPH, I realize it is not listed.

Also what about the Monster Manuals?

[Paladin Emet]

hmmm... I'm considering throwing in a very fluffy (*cough* furry *cough-cough*) character...

namely an Elan (expanded psionics) natural lycanthrope (leopard, DMG) Artificier(Eberron CS)/swordsage(ToB)4 / Pyrokineticist(expanded psionics) 6.

the basic idea being that he's from a highly advanced society that's evolved technologically beyond even Eberron. he is from an enclave of post humans- represented here by the Elan race. it is common for people to undergo further alteration for cosmetic reasons- they alter their bodies to their idea of beauty. in his particular enclave, that ideal is the hybrid lycanthrope form- the animal taken differing from person to person according to their choice and personality.


...question is: you cool with artificier?

[Jmage]

You have my interest and i'll come back to you when I have an idea of what to do with this here interest

[Alesch]

@Aeternis: Yeah, this is a pretty light-hearted campaign. I've played it on several occasions with my tabletop group, usually as a series of one-shots when no one has a full campaign plotted out yet. I've had a frenzied berserker with a colossal plus-sized hammer playing House-Skeet with his Half-Minotaur of Legend buddy. This is a high level, high powered campaign and it should feel like one. I once had the tavern set down in the middle of a war between two gods, the patrons' reaction to this was to fight everyone. They won.

As for your second question, yes, you can definitely play as a six-gun toting magical cowboy if you want. That's awesome. I have no problem appropriating the equipment list from D20 modern or potentially even D20 future. The tavern travels through time as well as the planes after all. I'll require you to take proficiency feats to keep things fair, since guns are a touch more potent than equivalent archaic weapons, but whatever. Wealth Check to Gold is a pretty easy conversion to make and this is a game where I'm more than happy to make conversions.

In short, The Magical Cowboy is a go.

@wtj: I can't believe I forgot that one! Yes, Psionics are allowed. Personally I like Psionics. I will be having full Psionic/Magic transparency, just for simplicity's sake, but yes, feel free to make a Psionic character. Expanded Psionics and the Complete Psionics books are both available.

@Paladin Emet: Yes, I am cool with the Artificer class. The lycanthropy is fine. I'm a big fan of Elans so they're fine too. Feel free to make up whatever you want for your home plane. The multiverse is a vast place and it is impossible to know everything that exists in it. A plane with psionic, post-human cat-men is certainly feasible.

In short, Magical Gizmo-Cat is a go.

[Cloudpiroth]

Complete

 

Name: Catarina Dunsidane
Race: Catarina does not know that she has Celestial bloodAasimar
Age: 27
Build: Cobra Strike VariantMonk 6/ Fighter 2/ Dervish 1 // Warblade 10
Traits: Quick & Skinny


Appearance:

 

Dice Roll:

16d32	3, 6, 26, 32, 20, 18, 32, 10, 14, 12, 8, 21, 24, 27, 22, 1			Total = 276
8d16	1, 16, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 16			Total = 90
4d8	2, 5, 8, 2			Total = 17
2d4	1, 2			Total = 3
1d2	1

 

Catarina stands a tallish 5'9" and has the physique of a belly dancer. Many men have often lost themselves in Catarina's slender but muscular legs, belly button pierced with a small emerald orb that moves gently to the seductive sway of her hips, her tight abdomen, and her soft looking skin; often to the chagrin of wives, girlfriends, and mistresses. When men finally raise their eyes to her face, they are often caught staring into Catarina's deep sea blue eyes and notice that they have enough depth and serenity to match the color. Catarina's raven black hair is pulled into a loose ponytail that still falls to the small of her back.

Catarina can be usually seen wearing long skirts and her twist cloth. They seem somewhat worn but well-kept. On her forearms are long lengths of cloth which cover up the scars and molted skin beneath. She never takes the arm cloth off in public and rarely in private. Upon her waist lays a katana, Catarina's weapon of choice. The scabbard and the hilt of the katana are a deep shade of maroon. The blade is always kept razor sharp.

Personality:

 

Catarina is a quiet, level-headed woman. Catarina almost never resorts to violence or intimidation. Instead, she prefers listens before she reacts to any situation. When she does speak, Catarina is honest and polite, telling people exactly what needs to be said, like her father. Catarina loves helping other people, claiming it is her job to help those in need. She never reacts harshly or violently to any situation. She prefers to sit quietly and listen to what is happening and react upon conclusions she draws. Even then, Catarina doesn't like resorting to violence. She often gives opponents a chance to walk away or surrender. When pushed into battle, Catarina uses her katana with deadly efficiency. She does not gloat nor does she mock her opponents. Catarina prefers honorable combat, often sacrificing tactical advantages (i.e. Flanking, opponent caught Flat-Footed, etc.) for an honorable blow. Catarina honors any offer of surrender, even if she knows her enemy has betrayal in mind, claiming that an opponent who surrenders has a chance at redemption.

Background:

 

"]A Beginning with Love Lost and Love Gained

 

"You remind me of your mother. Strong-willed, smart, and stubborn as a mule"
- Damien Dunsidane

Catarina Dunsidane was born in the feudal kingdom of K'haval to Damien, a blacksmith, and Juliana, a seamstress. The night that Catarina was born, a raging blizzard stormed outside. As the wind and snow made the house, which is little more than a shack, creek and moan with strain, Juliana struggled through child birth. Seeing that something was going wrong, DMien kneeled next to his laboring wife and began to praying to the gods, begging them to help his wife deliver the child and if someone was to die that night, let it be him. But apparently the gods had other plans.

A few minutes later, Juliana lets out a cry of pain, exultation, and ecstasy as Catarina was finally born. Damien was overjoyed at the birth of his first child but the joy was soon tempered by loss. Exhausted from childbirth, Juliana slowly slipped away. Juliana lived for two more nights, Damien never leaving her side, until she finally slipped into the afterlife. When the weather lessened, Damien buried his beloved wife and, with tears pouring from his eyes and sorrow weighing heavy on his heart, vowed to raise their newborn daughter to be a great person, just like her mother.

The Silent Dance of Love

 

"Your mind is your strongest trait. A well spoken word or a beautifully woven dance can turn aside even the sharpest of blades"
- Serena

The early years of life were a blur for Catarina. Because her father was often busy working from sun up to sun down to make a life for him and Catarina, Catarina was watched and tended to by Serena, Juliana's best friend and, eventually, Damien's second wife. Serena was a kind woman with the sing voice of an angel. With her voice, she could quiet any crying baby with her soothing voice. Some of Catarina's earliest memories are of Serena singing to help her drift off to sleep.

When Catarina finally learned how to walk and talk, she showed an insatiable curiosity. Catarina particularly loved watching her father working at his forge, despite the constant, if half-hearted, reprimands to stay out of the forge so she won't get hurt. But whenever Damien found Catarina in the forge, he would often laugh, scoop her up into his arms, and spend time with her until Serena came to find Catarina.

As Catrina continued to grow up, Catarina found her love for dancing. From the time she was four, Catarina would always dance whenever she heard music and even sometimes when there was none. Those who saw Catarina dance often claimed that her gift for dancing was something special. By the time Catarina was twelve, people claimed that her dancing was so beautiful, that someday people would come from far and wide to see Catarina dance. Whenever there was a festival, the townspeople would often ask Damien to allow Catarina to participate in the festival dances. But to Catarina, there was more to dancing than the movements involved. To Catarina, dancing was her ultimate form of expressing herself and helped her to insulate herself from the world. Even though she was young, Catarina knew that the outside world wasn't as simple as her father tried to make it seem. So whenever Catarina danced, she knew her father swelled with pride and seemed to be happy for a while. So Catarina danced for her father, her symbol of love and protection

Dark Clouds on the Horizon

 

"She has the gait of an angel. When she dances, you feel as though you will never see anything so elegant again. But you still walk away, knowing you've seen something special"
- Unnamed spectator

Time went on peacefully for Catarina. Her father tutored her at home since girls weren't allowed to go to school an her father claimed that "No child of mine is allowed to be dumb." Catarina's father taught her reading, writing, arithmetic, and philosophy, among other subjects. But the most important lessons that Catarina learned was concentration and self-discipline. Damien constantly preached these two lessons to Catarina and she quickly took it to heart. Catarina used these two lessons to better her dancing as well as to learn swordsmanship that her father taught her, which was also illegal.

By the time that Catarina was seventeen, she had grown into a beautiful, intelligent woman. Men and women, rich and poor, serf and noble alike, came from all around K'haval to see the beautiful, young dancer who entranced and captivated audiences into silent awe. Soon enough, you couldn't find anyone in the kingdom who hadn't seen, much less heard of, Catarina. Catarina had many gentlemen suitors who asked for her hand in marriage, but all of them were turned away. Dejected, many of them wouldn't ask again. One suitor, however, just wouldn't take no for an answer. The suitor's name was Zanthal Qualor.

Zanthal Qualor was the youngest son of the feudal lord of K'haval. Zanthal was a young, pudgy man of twenty-three years and, like his father, had cruel demeanor that was only matched by his appetite for food and women. Zanthal had a self-centered demeanor, taking what he wanted because he was a prince. When Zanthal first laid his cruel, hallow eyes upon Catarina, true to his spoiled self-centered demeanor, immediately wanted Catarina for a mistress. Zanthal approached Catarina, full of ego and the assumption that Catarina would practically throw herself at him because he was prince. But to Zanthal's surprise, and anger, Catarina didn't give herself to him; in fact, Zanthal thought she had barely noticed him. Fueled by this perceived slight, Zanthal decided to talk to Damien, assuming that he'd have "better sense" an give Catarina to him.

Long and Lonely Days

 

"All I remember were those walls. Immaculate, white, and they easily caged me, body and soul, away from everything and everyone. Those were some of the worse days of my life."
-Catarina

It was three months shy of Catarina's birthday when her life changed forever. Catarina was walking back from one of her late summer evening walks when she spotted a trio of horses outside her father's home. Not knowing what the horses implied, she went past the horses and into the house. When Catarina walked into the main room, she saw Damien and Serena sitting across from a short, pudgy young man, Zanthal, and two heavily armored men. Everyone fell silent when Catarina walked in and for a few moments nobody spoke. Finally, the silence was broken by Damien and the conversation continued.

Apparently they had been talking for sometime and Zanthal had been trying to convince Damien to give Catarina to him in exchange for a tithe, but Damien was refusing. Zanthal steadily became more belligerent, claiming that Damein had no right to say no to him. The conversation steadily devolved into an argument, Zanthal bellowing that he would throw Damien in prison for denying him what he wanted. Damien, who wanted nothing more than to slap Zanthal, steadfastly refused to give Catarina to the boy. Zanthal became enraged and ordered his guards to take Damien and Serena into custody and forcefully took Catarina with him back to the capital city of K'haval, the royal city of Halas.

The first days in the capital were a nightmare for Catarina. Forcibly separated from her family, Catarina would often cry for hours, wondering what had happened to her family. The only contact with the outside world that Catarina had was Zanthal, a chambermaid who seemed to be mute, and an crony old matron who seemed to disapprove of Catarina. Catarina felt alone, abandoned, and imprisoned within the luxurious bedchamber that she was occupying. Whenever Catarina wasn't crying, she would either pace around the room or attempt to meditate. But try as she might to clear her head, her thoughts would almost inevitably drift back to her family and what Zanthal had possibly done with them. Whenever Zanthal visited Catarina, he would try to seduce her and she would ignore the prince until the young man would get angry and storm out of the room.

This petty game between Catarina and Zanthal went on for little over a fortnight and Zanthal was beginning to think that Catarina was incorrigible until a thought finally got through to the thick-witted Zanthal. That night when he went to see Catarina, he started by playing the game they had always played. But about half way through the game, Zanthal began to hint at Catarina's family. Although she didn't show it, Catarina was extremely worried about her family. After a few minutes of feigned disinterest, Catarina finally relented and talked to the prince.

For nearly a week, the prince claimed that Catarina's family was not under array but in fact they had been released mere hours they had gotten back to Halas and her father had finally relented and accepted Zanthal's tithe in exchange for Catarina. Catarina was relieved at the notion that her family was safe but she was heartbroken when she was td that she had been given to Zanthal. Believing his story to be true, Catarina resigned herself to the life of a mistress.

A Light in the Darkness

 

"Never forget the faces of your family. They are the source of your strength and will."
- Vimak

Catarina had been in the city of Halas for nearly a year before Catarina's life changed again. Until that point, Catarina's life had been one of loneliness and misery, dancing day in and day out for the wretched prince and his minions, listening to and ignoring their hoots and catcalls, and occasionally having to sexually please the disgusting prince. Life was not being kind to Catarina and it began to show in her dancing. Her dancing began to lose the passion and sensuality that Catarina had been known for and Catarina herself didn't feel the same passion that she had only a year ago. Life began to slowly crush Catarina's spirit beneath a torrent of misery, loneliness, and resignation, bending and twisting Catarina slowly into someone she wasn't. But then one day, during one of Catarina's lonely walk through the imperial gardens, she met the man of her life a the savior of her soul.

The man's name was Vimak Pallium. He and his fathers before him had served the feudal lord for nearly three hundred years, serving only the throne and not just the family who currently held the crown. Vimak was a bastard half-elf who had slowly risen through the ranks to take his father's place as the protector of the king. Vimak was nearing a century of age but he still had excellent features. Vimak's pale gold hair was pulled back into a long braid and his deep green eyes sparkled with life. His physique was one of a fencer, all lean muscle and whip-like reflexes. But what made him interesting was his personality. Where the prince was cruel and petty, Vimak was kind and helpful. Vimak was all that the prince wasn't and more.

The night that Juliana met Vimak, Catarina saw him meditating under a lotus tree. At first Catarina was hesitant to approach the lovely and mysterious man until he opened his almond shaped eyes and spotted Catarina and waved her over to sit with him. at first, Catarina was too shy and ashamed to approach the mysterious man but before she could decide to walk away, Vimak walked over to Catarina and introduced himself. Catarina and Vimak talked into the wee hours of the night until Catarina had to go to the prince. From that day, Catarina and Vimak would often meet in the gardens and talk for hours at a time, often well into the night. They soon realized thT they were meant for each other but status and station kept them from truly being together.

Time passed slowly for Catarina and Vimak and their secret love. Whenever Catarina and Vimak were together, it seemed as of time didnt matter to themparting only when circumstances forced them away from each other. During the time they shared, Catarina and Vimak shared everything, both material and spiritual. Catarina and Vimak wanted to do nothing more than to run from Halas and take up living elsewhere under different names and new lives. They had even began planning their flight from the city until fate intervened once again.

Life is Pain

 

"I love you Catarina. Though they may destroy my body and mind, my soul will always be yours. Never forget that."
-Vimak's last words to Catarina

It had been nearly two years since Catarina and Vimak had first met and the world around the city of Halas was changing. Rumors circulated amongst the commoners (and a few of the noble circles) of discontent and angry people, spurned and persecuted by the feudal lords, rising up against crown to bring about a new era to the lands. Stories of protests being violently put down by soldiers and widespread corruption throughout the land spread like a wildfire Tired of the oppressive rule of the ruling class, the whispers and rumors quickly spread and gained momentum among the common people and the people began to organize into larger resistance that slowly began to undermine the king. The people began protesting in earnest and some of the extremist protesters attacked government officials and military personnel in an attempt to call for change.

Unfortunately, the fuedal king reacted in the typical fashion of a tyrant, he laid down a heavy hand. He ordered that his military put down any protests with force and to execute anyone who tried to incite protests, believing that the people would be pummeled into submission. Over the course of several weeks, the military killed a couple score of peoe and arrested several times more than that. But instead of quelling the movement, it only made it clearer to the people that they had to rise up. Even amongst the military, doubt and second thoughts were common. Desertion wasn't uncommon and some of the soldiers secretly helped the movement, including Vimak. Even though Vimak's ancestral position's loyalty is to the crown, Vimal's heart and soul was behind the people. Vimak secretly helped organize several protests, help move several famies, and even organized raids on military supplies to equip the protesters.

The fighting continued for several months, both sides scoring minor victories with no real clear cut winner to the fighting. The feudal lord grew steadily more and more unstable, believing there to be assassins in every dark corner and dissenters among his military leaders. He would execute anyone he believed to be in connection with the protesters with no trial and swift brutality. The dark clouds of doom were squarely over K'haval with no signs of leaving. The blood of protesters, soldiers, and civilians flowed in the streets, turning rivers into crimson mockeries. Catarina watched as the land steadily fell into chaos from a detached distance that being held in Halas could only provide. But then one day, all of that changed.

Catarina and Vimak were on one of their many night time walks when soldiers approached them and ordered Vimak and Catarina to follow them. Vimak, the soldier that he was, obliged and followed them with Catarina following behind Vimak and the soldiers. The soldiers led the way to the royal chambers, where the feudal lord and his sons were waiting for them. The soldiers led Vimak to stand in front of the feudal lord while telling Catarina that she had to stay off to the side. Just as Catarina was about to say something, Vimak cut her off and asked her to do what they say. At that, Catarina shut up and stood off to the side.

It turns out that the feudal lord had found out through several protesters turned informants that Vimak had been secretly helping the resistance since the beginning of the fighting and was in fact one of the major leaders of the fighting. Outraged at this notion, the feudal lord wanted to make an example of Vimak to all of the people of K'haval. Vimak was taken into custody where he was bound, tortured, and malnourished for nearly a fortnight in an attempt to make Vimak reveal the plans of the resistance. Vimak only laughed and gave witty retorts until he started screaming again from the torture. Finally, when the feudal lord realized that Vimak wouldn't give up anything, he pubically executed Vimak in spectacular and horrific fashion.

Of course all of this devastated Catarina. She had been ripped away from her love by the same people who ripped her from her family, the people who destroyed families and towns at the whim of a mad king, the people who had no remorse for their actions and would gladly bathe in the blood of the innocence. The lowest point of all of this was when Vimak was finally executed. Catarina was there when Vimak had been tarred and feathered, lashed, before finally being hanged, drawn and quartered. Tears flowed freely from Catarina's eyes for days before she finally got a hold of herself and escaped from Halas.

Meeting Richard

 

When Catarina left Halas, all she had were the clothes on her back, a katana at her hip, and heartache on her mind. Catarina steadily made her way to the borders of K'haval in an attempt to escape her past and all of the memories. Day in and day out, Catarina made her way west, traveling by night and in disguise, just in case she was being pursued.

Catarina traveled for nearly a month when she ce across a small town on the border of K'haval. Tired, hungry, and grieving, Catarina makes her way to the local tavern. When Catarina stepped through the doors of the tavern, Catarina had expected it to be a typical tavern. But when she stepped through the doors, Catarina realized that this wasn't a typical tavern. Creatures that Catarina had only read about or seen in books were all around the room and the man behind the counter was dressed in an odd suit. At first, Catarina was struck speechless by the sight and nearly cowed into leaving out of sheer awe but Catarina gathered up her courage and makes her way in

Home Plane: A Material Plane

Favorite Drink; Catarina's favorite drink is Reminisence. Between her dances, Catarina takes shots of this strong drink that was also a favorite of her lost love.


**Bonus RP Sample** Writing Sample: **Warning** Contains mild content (sensual [not sexual] references ; slightly bloody images)

 

Catarina slowly rises from her cot, rubbing sleep and tiny ice crystals from her hair and eyebrows. Catarina runs a finger over the choker that she always wears, quietly thanking her old friend Arianna for giving it to her. Despite the fact it is bone-chilling cold in the region, Catarina rarely notices the cold. She rises from her cot, her beautiful nude body stretching her body to loosen up the kinks and knots that she has acquired in the recent fighting and weather. She goes over to her small chest at the base of her cot, opening it up with a click of a buckle.

Inside of the chest are her battle wraps and a couple skirts in the base, and her katana strapped to the underside of the top. The skirts and wraps are slightly torn in some places and have been restitched in other places. The edges of her clothing are frayed from brutal and unnatural use of combat. By contrast, Catarina's katana seems to be in pristine condition. It seems freshly polished and well tended to.

Catarina pulls out the battle wraps first. She places the beginning of the wrap on the left side of her ribs and begins wrapping it around herself. She makes sure it is almost completely form fitting to her body, showing off the curve of her breasts, sloping down to her toned naval and down to her hips. Catarina then pulls the black skirt from the trunk and wraps it high on her hips. She pulls her belt on, tightening it so the skirt and the wrap won't come undone. Catarina unlatches the katana from the underside of the trunk and buckles it to the belt.

Couple hours later...

Sounds and scents fill the air. Where there had been the smell of cooking food that morning, it has been replaced by the burning smell of flesh. The coppery smell and taste of blood tinge the air around Catarina. Screams of wounded and dying soldiers rang out over the battlefield. Death fills the air, reaching out and touching every living creature on the battlefield, driving some mad, some scared, some excited. Catarina felt none of those; she is lost in the flow of battle.

Catarina seems to carve a swath through the enemy line. Crimson blood stains the bright, sharp edge of her katana. Spatters of blood and new tears have appeared on her battle wraps. Catarina noticed none of it. No pain, no fear, no regret, Catarina only knew the flow of battle. Her katana flashes and dips from side to side, parrying enemy attacks and taking hands, throats, stomaches and even a leg. The blood of the defeated enemies seeps into the snow covered tundra, tinging the white snow pink. Catarina steadily moves forward, her fellow soldiers following close behind her. They had fractured the enemy line. Catarina and her allies push forward into the city that the enemy had held.

"Slow it down," Catarina says as they approach the outskirts. "Regroup and prepare for close-quarters combat. Watch out for archers." Catarina flicks her katana to the side. The blood that was on the blade flew off and splattered to snow covered road into the town. Catarina quickly inspects the katana for any defections on the blade but, not surprisingly, there were none. "Everyone ready?" Catarina asks, looking around at her fellow soldiers. They all nod. "Lets go. Fan out."

Catarina walks with her katana gripped in her hands, ready for an attack. For a few minutes, it seems that the enemy had fled. However, the hairs on the back of Catarina's neck begin to stand on end. Something's not right... some part of Catarina's mind warns her. Catarina's eyes flick around the street, looking into the broken and crumbling buildings for anything. She doesn't spot anything. But something continues to nag at her.

Catarina's eyes turn to a set of small barrels standing outside what might have been a general store at one time. The building was pock-marked with bullet holes. The windows had been shattered, giving the building a ghostly look. Cataraina slowly approaches the building, wary of a surprise attack. She looks into the building and saw nothing. Catarina turns away from the window, when her internal danger alarm starts screaming in her ears. She turns to a building across the street, looking for what is setting off the internal alarm. Just then, a archer pops out from nowhere and fires a flaming arrow, right at the barrels in front of her. A flash of insight hits Catarina and she throws her arms up to cover her head.

Fire explodes from the barrels; the barrels had apparently held a explosive liquid. The shock-wave of the explosion sent Catarina, who was a mere foot away, flying back a couple feet. Catarina lands in a sprawl, face up and seemingly broken. Catarina had managed to hold onto her katana in one of her hands. Catarina's ears rang with a single, high-pitched buzz that seemingly blocked out all noise. Catarina's equilibrium had been thrown all to hell.

Catarina tries to move her arms to she could at least sit up. Her arms don't respond. Astonished at that, Catarina twists her head to look at her arms. They were a mangle of fresh blood, burns. Fractured bones, and pieces of wooden shrapnel peak out from her skin. Catarina stares at the wounds That's wierd.... It doesn't even hurt Catarina looks down at her upper body. Blood had began to flow from several shrapnel wounds and her arms are deeply burned and mangled Catarina just can't understand any of it.

Catarina's allies were in chaos. The enemy had surrounded them on three sides and began pressing them back. Many bodies littered the street, all dead or dying. Many of Catarina's allies had thrown their weapons down and began fleeing. Suddenly, Catarina felt something reach underneath her arms and began to drag her away. Catarina can't see who is dragging her. Her vision began to blacken around the edges. The initial shock of the explosion began to wear off, which causes pain to begin trickling in. Catarina begins to black out. "I feel..." Catarina whispers through the pain. Her body was beginning to feel the pain and agony. But Catarina only notices one thing. "I feel.... cold." And Catarina blacks out.

[Alesch]

@Cloudphiroth: Nice app. I like it. Unfortunately, I'll have to ask you to nix the flaws. I like flaws in theory, but in practice I find them min-maxy. The traits are fine, I'm cool with traits. Flaws, however, are out.

It isn't really important but another thing your app drew to my attention is that my cosmology is, by virtue of being a nearly all-inclusive hodge-podge, slightly non-standard. Thus, you would not be from the Material Plane, instead you would be from a Material Plane. Don't worry about what you've got written or anything though, it's not like everyone would know the name of their plane. Most people probably don't even realize that there are other planes.

The app is really nice. The only thing I'd ask you to add is something to tie the character to the setting. What would bring Catarina to walk into a plain, unassuming little tavern that seemingly appears overnight? How would she react to seeing its varied and colourful patronage? As it is now your app (unless I'm missing a spoiler button somewhere) ends with Catarina and Vimak starting an affair, and planning to run off together while civil unrest begins to ferment in their kingdom. Presumably this is where Catarina walks into a seedy little tavern for some unknown reason and has her life change drastically. Don't worry about how her life is going to change, I'll take care of that, but give me the 'Catarina walks into a bar' moment, please.

Other than that I just want you to know that I'll probably (read: certainly) be getting your stats to change. Not because they're too high or anything, I'm more than okay with high stats. I just need to see the rolls myself. Do not roll in this thread. When the game is up, then dice can be rolled. Until that time those stats will just have to be placeholders. Until the game starts people are statless I'm afraid.

[Aeternis]

Originally Posted by Alesch

@Aeternis:As for your second question, yes, you can definitely play as a six-gun toting magical cowboy if you want. That's awesome. I have no problem appropriating the equipment list from D20 modern or potentially even D20 future. The tavern travels through time as well as the planes after all. I'll require you to take proficiency feats to keep things fair, since guns are a touch more potent than equivalent archaic weapons, but whatever. Wealth Check to Gold is a pretty easy conversion to make and this is a game where I'm more than happy to make conversions.

In short, The Magical Cowboy is a go.

Excellent. So I'm not going to go anything too complicated, probably human, one progression in Fighter (for feats, part of which will help pay off a profficiency feat like you said), and one in something else.

[masternate]

This looks pretty cool, will write something up.

Name: Shevort, child of Marroshok the Tail

Race: Half-Dragon Dragonkin

Class: H-D 3/ Wizard (Eidetic Spellcaster) 7/// Divine Rank (0) 6/Dragonkin 2/ Ranger 2

Home Plane: Celestia, home of Bahamut

Description: A behemoth of a creature, Shevort stands almost 10 ft tall and looks as imposing as a figure of his size should. He has a long snout filled with sharp teeth with a Fu Machu style moustache that hangs underneath his nostrils. Shevort has a large wild mane of silvery platinum hair that halls down past his shoulders, with two large horns that sweep backwards above his ears.

On his back sit two Huge sized broadswords, that he is capable of holding with ease and is able to use with great proficiency. They are surrounded by two equally large wings capable of hoisting Shevort into the air and moving him great distances in a short span of time.



Background: What's your life story? Nixon doesn't care, but I do. Are you a druid? What made you grow up to be such a dirty hippie? What was it like to grow up Red, Commie? In other words, personal history goes here. Please include something about how your character has come to the Bar and Grill. What was their reaction to seeing the taverns patrons? Some characters might come from high magic planes where the sight of a dragon sharing a table with a fire elemental might not cause too much of a stir, others might be stepping into the Twilight Zone and assume their dreaming.

Beverage of Choice: Something must've caught your fancy of you wouldn't have drank so much of it! So what's your poison? Did you spend the night drinking shots of Happiness or do you prefer sipping Nostalgia quietly by the fire?

 

Additional Information
* Eidetic Spellcaster, pg 89, Dragon 357
* Divine Rank (0), as outlined by DM

Divine Rank 0 Deflection bonus to AC equal to your Charisma modifier. You become an Outsider with Alignment subtypes, which means your natural attacks and wielded weapons can bypass certain kinds of DR. Energy Drain, Ability Drain, Ability Damage: A deity is not subject to energy drain, ability drain, or ability damage. You are immune to polymorphing, petrification, and all abilities that would change your form. Any abilities that you have that change your form will still function. You are immune to Mind-Affecting effects. You gain DR 10/epic (!) This also means that your natural attacks count as Epic for the purpose of overcoming /Epic DR. Fire resistance 5 Spell Resistance 32 (!) Immortality. You can't die of natural causes, though you can still be killed. You don't age and you don't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. All Divine characters get Max health on their Die rolls.

* Dragonkin, Draconomicon pg 150.

[Alesch]

@Aeternis: Lookee what I found as the fifth result of a Google search for 'Pathfinder SRD Revolver'. If you'd like to use it, I have no problem with this particular bit of homebrew. Just thought I'd point that out.

[Cloudpiroth]

Don't worry, the app isn't finished. I'm gonna edit the app and sheet later

[Craigthulu]

This game looks amazing, I have several ideas for completely off the wall character builds and I think I have found a way to put them all together (still trying to figure out a level progression that would make it possible). Would Savage species be allowed even though its 3.0. I'm still considering the levels and templates that are involved in my idea but the background story is coming along nicely.

This idea is so crazy that it would only fit in this setting and it might even stand out. Stay tuned for more details.

[Alesch]

@Craigthulhu: Savage Species is now on the list of 'Might need tweaking but probably' books. Mostly because anything in it might need tweaking to fit into 3.5. Just an FYI in case you happen to be looking at the Feral template, it does not scale. I know some people interpret it as a scaling template (because that would make it ludicrous and some people like easy wins I guess) but I do not. The bonuses on the Feral template are based on your Monsterous HD and not your Class HD.

I just wanted to get that straight before you got your heart set on having a scaling Feral template whatsit. If you weren't considering the Feral template then ignore this and carry on.