A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

[Beowulfe]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

That's all fine.

 

However, you have two levels with ranged combat. Don't you want a ranged weapon of some kind? A bow or crossbow? Javelins or throwing blades. Something like that?

 

Thank you. I completely forgot the longbow and a couple of throwing knives.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

That's fine to.

 

You can have 5 point mail btw. Jacket, trews, gloves and a hood. You can have a pair of trollskin boots as well to complete the look. Or you can stick with mail all the way, it's the same armour value either way.

 

Anyway. You're up. Your character has just been summoned to join the Darkstalkers.

[Beast]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

I'm really happy the way this game is going

it is the best one I have the pleasure to be in on HC

 

thanks

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

I'm really happy the way this game is going

it is the best one I have the pleasure to be in on HC

 

thanks

 

Thanks very much Beast. Glad to know you're enjoying it.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Here's the Doom Package Deal as it stands Vox. Let me know if you don't have Hero Designer.

 

And yeah, it's very expensive to be Undead.

 

Dooms are basically powerful souls that have been forcibly tied to a particular skeleton, (not necessarily their own), my Necromantic glyphs known as Bindings. The resulting creature can still be stunned because damage to the physical body disrupts the Bindings and it can still run out of End because it draws on magical energy in the surrounding area.

 

The physical characteristics represent the toughened state created by the bindings while the mental characteristics reflect the fact that only impressive and competent people are turned into Dooms in the first place.

 

BTW. As one of Varakus Bane's generals you should have a considerable knowledge of history and must have a high Lore Of The Walking Dead skill.

 

You should also buy a hunted or social lim to simulate the fact that various good races and factions are going to hate your guts on sight, (not that you'll have guts). Eldren, Priests and Black Unicorns are high on the list but there are others.

[BarretWallace]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Here's the Doom Package Deal as it stands Vox. Let me know if you don't have Hero Designer.

 

And yeah, it's very expensive to be Undead.

 

Dooms are basically powerful souls that have been forcibly tied to a particular skeleton, (not necessarily their own), my Necromantic glyphs known as Bindings. The resulting creature can still be stunned because damage to the physical body disrupts the Bindings and it can still run out of End because it draws on magical energy in the surrounding area.

 

The physical characteristics represent the toughened state created by the bindings while the mental characteristics reflect the fact that only impressive and competent people are turned into Dooms in the first place.

 

BTW. As one of Varakus Bane's generals you should have a considerable knowledge of history and must have a high Lore Of The Walking Dead skill.

 

You should also buy a hunted or social lim to simulate the fact that various good races and factions are going to hate your guts on sight, (not that you'll have guts). Eldren, Priests and Black Unicorns are high on the list but there are others.

 

Heh...this could bring about some interesting social dynamics within the party to have a character like this around. I look forward to it!

[ghost-angel]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Interesting is one word for it....

[BarretWallace]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

You should also buy a hunted or social lim to simulate the fact that various good races and factions are going to hate your guts on sight, (not that you'll have guts). Eldren, Priests and Black Unicorns are high on the list but there are others.

 

Hmm, maybe I shoulda looked closer before I made my last post. I realized that our party currently contains 2/3 of the entities listed in Shadow's last sentence. Oh well, if done right, it will be interesting indeed.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

We're going to fudge things a bit to give Symm a reason not to attack the Doom on sight. Doesn't mean he has to be nice to it.

 

Thalia's necrocidal impulses may not be so easy to quell.

 

But then there were always tensions or at least the potential for them.

 

Grymmer and Zarathos, (both sadly gone), were descended from two people who died fighting each other and being a Templar and a Werewolf respectively they should have been at each others throats anyway. They weren't, but that's because they were both very nice.

 

Symm was quietly disappointed that Michael never gave up and died properly. And although it didn't work out that way Symm and Grymmer were likely to clash at some point since they had very, very different moralities.

 

Everyone should struggle to trust Darius. And Diana actually hated him.

 

Likewise Rachie came from a line of mercenaries who were despised as traitors to humanity.

 

Shuggoth should have been rather snooty to Deeson but didn't stick around long enough to make this clear. And once people found out that he was a Tainted he himself would have been distrusted.

 

And being an Eldren Thalia is predisposed to think of all the non-humans in the party and particularly Symm as young upstarts with ideas above their station.

 

Cires has no specific beef with anyone but does have a hatred for organisation which may well cause trouble down the line.

 

The only thing keeping New Dawn hunters together is the shared belief in redemption and new hope. If most of the party's iterations had met in a pub like a traditional adventuring team they probably would have slaughtered each other.

 

So, you're all just one big, happy family.

 

[ghost-angel]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

I did try and build in a reason to not attempt to attack outright party members while not making the character all happy about working with these people...

 

At the end of it all, someone may owe the Eldren a favor or two for her troubles...

[BarretWallace]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

If most of the party's iterations had met in a pub like a traditional adventuring team they probably would have slaughtered each other.

 

So, you're all just one big, happy family.

 

 

Yes, I suppose meeting in battle or otherwise surrounded by hostile forces (i.e. being the sole representatives of New Dawn for miles around) has a way of convincing folks to overlook many differences. Forget, no, overlook, yes. Otherwise I agree, more "traditional" ways of gathering a party probably would have been comical failures at best.

 

Although I am but a newcomer to New Dawn, I think it is working pretty dang well so far. No one is exactly chummy with Darius, as the "good" vampire concept is very much a work in progress. Symm is a bit on the creepy side pretty much all the time, and "feels" a bit like a coiled snake: harmless enough unless you set him off, then watch out. Thalia is aloof in many ways, but we get frequent clues that her aloofness is grounded in real events in her past, not just some silly prejudice. Layla is (so far) one of the most levelheaded of the party, although she too struggles with her own inner demons. I don't have a very good feel for Cires yet, and it is a pity that Michael bowed out before I really got to know the character.

 

Also, as was said previously, it is at least noteworthy that the campaign is still going strong, especially after the recent character turnover. That speaks well for its vitality.

[ghost-angel]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Each character seems to have thier own motives for both being part of the New Dawn and for working with a group of people they don't necessarily trust or like.

 

It is an interesting party dynamic, the potential for inter-party drama and tension is amazing.

[teh bunneh]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

There was always a lot of tension between Grymmer and Symm. But I deliberately built Grymmer to be "the world's friendliest guy," so he could get along with just about everyone. He even offered unrepentant psychos (like the were-raven) every chance to surrender.

 

Really happy to hear the game is still going strong. I was really disappointed when I had to drop it.

[ghost-angel]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

It'd be cool if you could drop back in....

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Heh. If The Bunny, Corven Ren and Blue Jogger all decided to rejoin I'd probably have to start a satellite campaign just for them.

 

Doesn't seem very likely but then I keep telling people on the waiting list that they'll probably never get a chance to play and I'm always wrong about that.

 

Life is a confusing and random thing.

[Vox]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

I only have the basic templates for HD, and none of them seem work quite properly with this website. But in any event, here's Arius the Smith.

 

 

Arius

 

Player: Vox Clamantis

 

Val Char Cost

15 STR 5

17 DEX 21

17 CON 14

13 BODY 6

15 INT 5

15 EGO 10

15 PRE 5

2 COM -4

 

4/13 PD 1

4/13 ED 1

3 SPD 3

6 REC 0

34 END 0

30 STUN 0

 

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

3" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 67

 

Cost Power

15 Bloodless: Does Not Bleed (15 Active Points)

41 Undead: Life Support (Character Does Not Breathe; Eating: Character does not eat; Immunity Most terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Immunity: Most terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Longevity: Immortal; Sleeping: Character does not sleep)

9 Hardened Bones: Armor (3 PD/3 ED)

15 Metal Magic: Elemental Control, 30-point powers

15 1) Major Transform 2d6 (One Metal Object Into Another, Reworking or Another Application Of This Power), Improved Target Group (Any Shape; +1/4) (37 Active Points); Limited Target, ( Metal Objects) (-1/2)

10 2) Bone to Steel: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2)

18 3) Metal Storm: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6, Penetrating (+1/2), Area Of Effect (8" Line; +1) (37 Active Points); Gestures (-1/4)

Powers Cost: 123

 

 

Cost Skill

24 +3 with All Combat

7 Weaponsmith (Muscle-Powered HTH, Muscle-Powered Ranged) 14-

7 Armorsmith 14-

3 Power: Elemental Metal 12-

3 PS: General 12-

3 Analyze: Magic 12-

3 KS: Lore of the Walking Dead 12-

3 KS: Magic 12-

3 KS: History 12-

3 Disguise 12-

1 WF: Blades, Unarmed Combat

Skills Cost: 60

 

 

 

Cost Equipment (Equipment costs do not actually figure in Total Cost. They are included here for reference only.)

Masterpiece Light Plate Armor: Armor (6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); OIF (-1/2)

Masterpiece Miao Dao: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF (-1), STR Minimum 15-17 (-3/4), Real Weapon (-1/4)

Total Character Cost: 250

 

Pts. Disadvantage

15 Distinctive Features: Walking Skeleton (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

10 Physical Limitation: Unholy Being (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing)

10 Psychological Limitation: Self-Assured (mildly Overconfident) (Common, Moderate)

20 Psychological Limitation: Keeps His Word (In Spite of His Best Interest) (Common, Total)

20 Social Limitation: Feared and Despised (Very Frequently, Major)

10 Social Limitation: Upper Class (Accustomed to Command) (Frequently, Minor)

15 Susceptibility: Hit By Dispel Or Magic Drain, 1d6 damage per Phase (Uncommon)

Disadvantage Points: 100

Base Points: 150

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

 

 

Background

 

In life Arius was a warrior and sometime smith for a fairly small agrarian village. Despite his advanced years (he was nearing 60 at the time), Arius was given the honor of leading the village's defense against the army of Varakus Bane. While attacked by nothing more than a general's entourage (that had chanced upon their settlement), the village was destroyed in a single evening. Of his people, only Arius was taken alive. He had rallied the villagers together for one last stand, and outmaneuvered the undead for so long that the Doom general who watched the proceedings from atop his horse decided not to waste such strong will. The process of making him a Doom began as soon as the group returned to the main encampment.

 

As a Doom general, Arius proved to be something of a failure. While he remembered little of his life before, one thing remained: his love of the craft. What magic he was taught became nothing more than a tool for smithing, and he had no patience for other matters. Realizing that his use as a smith was greater than his potential as a general, Bane and his commanders allowed Arius to dedicate himself solely to the forge. He spent the remainder of the war crafting weapons of incredible beauty, which was largely wasted on the undead who bore them into battle.

 

The fall of Bane proved troublesome for Arius, in that it deprived him of the sheltered lifestyle to which he had become accustomed since his death. The days of spending twenty hours a day shaping metal were past. Now he was a fugitive, an abomination in the eyes of the victorious army and the priests who accompanied them. He fled into the mountains and spent most of the intervening years on the run from hunters both real and imagined.

 

Finally Arius could take no more. His overture to New Dawn took the form of a letter written in a fastidious hand, left on the doorstep in the dead of night. He wanted amnesty. He would do whatever it took to prove himself, so long as they could provide a way for him to stop being hunted. Surely they would have some use for a Doom master of metal, even if he were something of a savant?

 

Personality/Motivation

 

Arius was never a complicated man, and that has remained largely unchange since his transformation. He loves the work of shaping metal, creating weapons, armor, or whatever else catches his fancy. Having been raised originally in a simple, rural community, he has low expectations, and his time in Bane's army was for him just one more uncomfortable situation that he had no choice but to endure. Matters of the living he remember well enough, and the callousness he sometimes evinces is simply that of a cranky old man rather than an unsympathetic undead.

 

Quote

"Don't pester me! Can't you see that I'm working!" - when informed of Bane's destruction

 

Powers/Tactics

The ability to change weapons to suit a situation leaves him flexible, and hardening his bones renders him difficult to injure. Metal Storm is excellent for softening a formation before it comes to close combat.

[ghost-angel]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

There's a potential history of interaction between Thalia and Arius... probably not a good one, but potential either way.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Ok Vox I've looked it over and I only see one very minor problem.

 

You are using a Miao Dao. (Which sound's like the kind of weapon a cat would use). By looks of it you are not strong enough to wield it one handed and so must wield it two handed. But you don't have WF Two Handed Weapons. That is easily remedied. Particularly because you will get 4 points of 'latecomer bonus XP' when you make your first post.

 

I would like to know how you got hold of a weapon from another continent however. Travel between Eretria and Tuan is hardly common in the current age. Alternatively you could just re-name it a 'two-handed sabre' and avoid the issue.

 

I will allow you to have masterwork armour and the sword because you do have the crafting skills to justify them.

 

Aside from the one problem I've noted Arius is ready to play. Unless you want to tweak him some more.

 

However. I'm posting a slightly min-maxed version which you can take under advisement. You do not have to use this version but he is moderately more powerful. I've added the Two Handed WF and the New Dawn Everyman Skills to this version and there is 1 point left over. When choosing your free KS remember that Vampire Lore could be very useful.

 

The only other thing is that although his attack power, Metal Storm, is quite interesting it is unlikely to do anything more than tickle most serious opponents and Piety does already have a more powerful version. You might want to consider a different power but it breaks no rules so you are welcome to keep this one.

[Vox]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Hm. I like what you did with the skills.

 

Here's a revised version, changes made mostly to reduces the per Phase cost of Bone to Steel and to improve Metal Storm.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

All looks fine. Sorry about the wait. Things are a bit hectic my end. I'll send you the information relevant to your lores when I have more time. Then we'll see about getting you into the game.

[Vox]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

No problem. I'm patient.

 

~Gabriel

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Spare character for ercarlson.

[Vox]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Attaching new .hdc file for Shadow's perusal.

[Shadowsoul]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

You chose to change your character, you did not actually get killed. So you can keep your 4 XP 'joining bonus'.

 

You can also save a few points by adding the New Dawn Everyman Package to your character sheet. Also, Eld Lore is the knowledge of Eldren, Magic and magical creatures. You don't need further KSs in Magic and Eldren. I'd advise dumping one or both of those skills, although knowledge of Magic as spellcraft might be useful.

 

Otherwise I have no real problems with this character sheet, though I'd like to confirm that you realise that Missile Deflection requires an Attack Action, just like Block or Dodge.

 

Bonewrack and Bloodfreeze are very cool spells btw.

 

We can throw Aldobrand into the mix as soon as you have finished spending your leftover points and are happy with him.

[Vox]

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy

 

Cool, I'll get on those changes. You're 100% correct about Missile Deflection (and the implication that it's not the best choice), so I'll probably use that spell slot for a Wall of some sort.

 

I'll have a revised version by tomorrow night.