PG Character Creation

[Daos]

Nov 16, 2020 14:03:50 GMT -8 GravityEmblem said:

Weapon proficiency is easy, since Wizards only get one, which is Daggers, in Kori's case. The familiar is a white cat with black spots. Her name is Habakkuk, because why not? as cat names go, naming them after a deity is relatively normal.

Daggers are good, because they can be both melee and ranged weapons.  Although probably the latter more so for her, due to her STR penalty.

Ha!  Her familiar being named Habbakuk should make for some amusing situations with Ravarie.

Nov 16, 2020 14:03:50 GMT -8 GravityEmblem said:

Birthday will be April 26th, age will be 238 (or adulthood plus a few years, if I'm getting Elves wrong)

Just so you know, 233 is considered 'old age' for an elf, the equivalent of a 60 year old human.  Elves are considered 'middle aged' at 175, the equivalent of a 45 year old human.  If you want her to simply be an adult, but also old enough to have taken her Test, I'd probably put her around 120-130 or so.

For height and weight, that puts her at 4'5" and 85 lbs.  Starting money is not necessary, as she isn't starting at level 1.  She starts with 900 STP (and you spent 500 of it on spells, so she still has 400 remaining.)

Nov 16, 2020 14:03:50 GMT -8 GravityEmblem said:

For the backstory, what holes do you need me to fill from the rough draft? (As typed above)

Well, I assume she currently lives in Qualimori, the Qualinesti refugee town in Southern Ergoth.  Her life has been turned upside down recently.  She was born into a world without gods or dragons, and both have returned in the past decade.  Her homeland of Qualinesti was burned to the ground by red dragons, and she had to escape to Southern Ergoth, where she now lives while Qualinesti is being rebuilt.  So I'd be curious about some of the details of these big life changes played out for her, and how she feels about them.  Is she eager to return to Qualinesti or does she prefer her new home?  How did she feel about the war, in general?  What are her thoughts on the gods, now that they have returned?

I'd also be curious about some of the details of her Test.  How well did she feel she did?  Is she happy with how things turned out?  Did she join the Order of Solinari because she genuinely believed magic should be used to help others, or did she only join because she knew she'd be cast out as a dark elf if she joined either of the other orders?  Also, how long ago was her Test?  Was it before, during or after the war?

Maybe a few details about the people in her life.  Her family, her mentor, maybe a friend or rival made at the Tower, or something like that?  And how is her relationship with her familiar?

That's all that really comes to mind at the moment.

[GravityEmblem]

126 will do for age. For equipment:

Component Pouch -1STP
Components         -5STP
Healer's Bag         -6STP
DELUXE Leather
Backpack            -10STP
Spellbook            An amount?
------------------------------
400 STP
-22 STP
---------
378 STP

I don't think I need anything else?

Anyway, moving on to something I'm a lot more certain in:

BACKSTORY:

The War

Korialanius was raised by parents who valued the logic and understandability of the world. The more you know, the less you can be surprised. The less you can be surprised, the more you can work to understand new things. Kori always had a love of stories and dragons, but she had nothing but disdain for these apocryphal gods. This viewpoint was certainly shattered by the War. Every burst of magical fire sparked a new level of panic and denial. She remembers little of the attack itself. Perhaps a side effect of all the Enchantment Cantrips she cast on herself to dull non-magical emotions. But she drove the thought from her mind. Magic can solve everything. Even her mother could be brought back to life, assuming a strong enough Cleric could be found.

And suddenly, the gods were back. Kori was bemused. This revelation was simply to save face, she thought. They couldn't save us from the dragons, or stop the war, they're simply putting on a show in a time of crisis to attain followers. Her casual disdain gave way to open resentment.

In Qualimori, her laziness went from a small quirk to her defining trait. She once enjoyed using her magically-attained free time as many young elves had. Now, she slept and studied. Studied and slept. Her father had little time for her: he was busy building new homes and defenses, with what mediocre materials they could scrounge up. Besides, even after a century of raising her, he still hadn't the slightest idea of what made her tick.

Perhaps she has some feelings about returning home and the war as a whole. But she certainly hasn't expressed them. Any attempt to start a conversation about them is met with a Cantrip to make them forget what they were talking about. If that fails, Kori simply walks off and ignores them. This is probably the sign of a deeply traumatized person, but there are no magic books about severely traumatized people. Kori only reads books about magic.

The Solinari

At the tender age of 122, Korialinius was approached by the White Robes, who were notified of her growing magical power, used mainly to clean things and kill rats. Faced with the choice of joining an order of mages that would give her more work than she'd like, or being hunted down by them and ostracized by her people, she chose the former. The test was a simple "trolley-problem"-esque scenario. Save someone from a threatening (though not life-destroying) problem, or acquire a book of powerful magical secrets. Considering herself an expert of clichés, she saved the fellow, "knowing" that to honor her self-sacrifice, she would be granted the book. She did not expect the insomnia curse.

Over the next four years, Kori mainly kept to herself. The White Robes were an order of people who had a great deal of compassion and empathy, people who dedicated their lives to helping others at a personal cost. Kori was not one of those people. She disliked her mentor, a human named Hannamen Trusk who had the audacity to act like her elder, despite being almost 100 years younger than her. She also felt he was unfairly biased towards the use of combat magic, for "defending the weak." The weak can be defended without flinging fire and lightning wherever you step foot, Trusk!

She also had a rather one-sided rivalry with a fellow apprentice named Newmanya Silverfoot, a Qualinesti who had been in the order since long before the war. She was kind, patient, and never expected anything bad from anyone. For all these reasons, she got on Kori's nerves. She is able to admit that she's a perfectly nice fellow, but Kori refuses to back down on her hatred. After all, by her own admission, Kori's a rather petty person.

One good thing about the Solinari was that, with their assistance, she was able to summon her very own Familiar. This small white cat was Kori's closest friend in the world. She named her Habbakuk, partially out of a desire to thumb her nose at the gods, and partially because it was funny. Their relationship was probably the most positive, healthy one she ever had in her 12 decades of life.

Out Into The World

After four years of training and coercion-induced good deeds around the Order, Hannamen decided it would be an excellent test for Kori to go out into the world and help people there. She protested, but he insisted. So, she packed up, picked up Habbakuk, and set out into the world.

[Daos]

Nov 17, 2020 7:11:00 GMT -8 GravityEmblem said:

126 will do for age. For equipment:

Component Pouch -1STP
Components         -5STP
Healer's Bag         -6STP
DELUXE Leather
Backpack            -10STP
Spellbook            An amount?
------------------------------
400 STP
-22 STP
---------
378 STP

I don't think I need anything else?

What's a healer's bag?  Is that just medical equipment (ointments, bandages, etc.)?  Also, what makes it a deluxe backpack?

The first spellbook is free.  You only have to pay if you want a second one.

Aside from that, you could buy another second or third level spell, or maybe buy some daggers, rations, waterskin, etc..

As for the backstory, that looks good to me.

I'll start brainstorming ideas for her magic item.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.  As she is a White Robe, it will probably be something Divination or Abjuration based.

And when that's done, we can go over how Moon Magic works, as well as the secrets of the Order of Solinari she has learned.

[GravityEmblem]

Ooh, sorry; I missed the Equipment section of the Player's Handbook and took the DELUXE Leather Backpack and Healer's Bag from the Arms and Equipment Guide. Sorry.

So, 4 Daggers (-4STP), Waterskin (-1 STP), and, let's say...a month of rations? How much would that be? [EDIT: Actually, no, I literally can't carry that much. Hmm. I'm currently in port, probably, so just 3 days worth]

I'm pretty sure I still have enough for a 3rd Level Spell, so here goes Hold Person |ZfNJ|CO1d100

Anyway, I'm excited to get into Moon Magic, Magic Items, and secrets!  1d100

[GravityEmblem]

All right, I've written up a little gear section; you can tell me how much all this would cost, because it's not all in the book.

Gear

Head-None

Neck-Striped Scarf

Torso-Red woolen blouse, Solinari White Robes, Backpack [2 lbs]

Hands-None

Waist-Pants, belt, small belt pouches (x2)

Feet-Leather slippers

Small Belt Pouch 1: Spell Components [3 lbs]

Small Belt Pouch 2: Coin

Backpack: Iron Rations (3 meals) [3 lbs], Waterskin (1 pint) [2lb], Spellbook, Daggers (4) [4 lbs]

Encumbrance: 14 lbs & change (Light Encumbrance, MV 8)

[Daos]

Well, 14 meals of dry rations costs 10 STP, so only 3 would cost...around 2 STP, I think.

Anyway, high sorcery is drawn from the gods of magic, who are also the three moons--Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari.  Each of the three Orders draw their power from their respective moon.  Thus, White Robes draw their power from the white moon, Solinari.  The white moon is the furthest away, so it has the slowest monthly cycle, about 36 days.

Moon Magic basically means that as Solinari wanes and waxes, so does Kori's power.  When Solinari is waxing, she gains an extra spell slot for that day (your choice which level it is).  When Solinari is in high sanction (full), she gets a +1 to all magical saving throws, she casts spells as if one level higher (in respect to durations, range, anything that's level dependent), and she gets two extra spell slots for that day.  When Solinari is waning, her powers are normal.  When Solinari is in low sanction (new), she suffers a -1 to magical saving throws and casts spells as if one level lower.

In addition, her powers grow if Solinari is eclipsed by the other two moons.  When Solinari is eclipsed by Lunitari, Kori gets a +1 to saves, an extra spell slot and casts spells a level higher.  When Solinari is eclipsed by Nuitari, she gets a +1 to saves and casts spells as if a level higher.  When all three moons are aligned, she gets +2 to saves, 2 extra spell slots and casts spells as if a level higher.  And these bonuses are cumulative with the above ones, which means when all three moons are aligned and in high sanction (a night of incredible power known as the Night of the Eye), she gets +3 to saves, 4 extra spell slots and casts spells as if 2 levels higher.

I keep track of the moons' phases and alignments in the Character Stats thread.

In addition to everything else, joining the Wizards of High Sorcery grants her access to the Tower of Wayreth and all its resources, for spell research and such--however, as the Tower of Wayreth is in Abanansinia and she's in Ergoth, it's unlikely she'll be able to access it without Teleportation spells.  However, she does have access to at least one of the secrets of her order.  She can earn more if she earns favor with the WotS.

The secrets you can choose from currently are:

Magic of Defense: Once per day, a mage who knows this secret may extend the duration of an Abjuration spell they cast to a full 24 hours.

Magic of Radiance: Once per day, a mage who knows this secret can imbue any spell that deals hit point damage with radiant energy. This means undead or fiends or creatures of negative energy take double damage from it.

Magic of Resistance: This secret allows a White Robe mage's abjuration and divination spells more difficult to dispel.  When someone tries to dispel one of their spells, the White Robe is considered 2 levels higher for purposes of determining success.

Magic of Sustenance: This secret allows a White Robe mage to cast spells even under difficult circumstances. If the mage takes damage while casting a spell, they are allowed a CON check.  If passed, they do not lose the spell.

Magic of Truth: Once per day, a mage who knows this secret may extend the duration of a Divination spell they cast to a full 24 hours.

[GravityEmblem]

Magic of Sustenance sounds pretty good, even with Kori's mediocre CON.

Is that it? I've been keeping track of things in my own character sheet, to take some of the load off you.

[Daos]

I believe it is; except for the magic item.  I haven't really had any good ideas yet, but my brain is kind of mush from work lately.

[GravityEmblem]

It's all right, I'll brainstorm some ideas.

In the meantime, here's Kori's (slight decompressed) character sheet.


Korialanius, of House Protector (Played by GravityEmblem)
Female Qualinesti Mage 5
STR 5 (-2 Hit, -1 Dmg), DEX 14, CON 10, INT 17, WIS 13, CHA 9, Age 126, HT 4’5”, WT 85 lbs, Birthday 4/26/234 AC
HP: 15/15
THAC0 19
Dmg: Dagger (1d4/1d3)
ROF: Dagger (2/1)
XP: 32,000/40,000
Saves: PPDM 14, RSW 11, PP 13, BW 15, S 12
Racial Abilities: Elven Skill (+1 to hit with bows and Longswords), Infravision (60'), Surprise Bonus (-4), Sleep/Charm Resistance (90%), Pass concealed/secret door (1 on 1d6), Search secret door (1,2 on 1d6), Search concealed door (1-3 on 1d6)
Class Abilities: Familiar (Cat), Experience Bonus (+10%)
Kit Abilities: None
Special Abilities: Magic of Sustenance (Make a CON check when taking damage to maintain spell)
Traits: (Left for Daos)
WP: Dagger
NWP: Cantrip (17+2), Reading/Writing (18), Spellcraft (15), Ancient Languages (17), Modern Languages (17), Cooking (17), Herbalism (15), Direction Sense (14), Land-Based Riding (16), Rope Use (14), Engineering (14)
Languages: Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Gnomish, Goblin, Kender, (Camptalk), (Nestari)
Gear
Head-None
Neck-Striped Scarf
Torso-Red woolen blouse, Solinari White Robes, Backpack [2 lbs]
Hands-None
Waist-Pants, belt, small belt pouches (x2)
Feet-Leather slippers
Small Belt Pouch 1: Spell Components [3 lbs]
Small Belt Pouch 2: Coin
Backpack: Iron Rations (3 meals) [3 lbs], Waterskin (1 pint) [2lb], Spellbook, Daggers (4) [4 lbs]
Encumbrance: 14 lbs & change (Light Encumbrance, MV 8)
Stowed Gear: None
Spells: (1) Change Self, Comprehend Languages, Charm Person, Featherfall, Jump, Light, Mending, Phantasmal Force, Thorne's Floating Disk, Unseen Servant, Ventriloquism (2) Locate Object, ESP (3) Hold Person, Suggestion, Summon Monster 1
Memorized Spells
Cantrips: ?/?
1st Level:
2nd Level:
3rd Level:

[GravityEmblem]

Nov 18, 2020 14:11:29 GMT -8 Daos said:

I believe it is; except for the magic item.  I haven't really had any good ideas yet, but my brain is kind of mush from work lately.

Here's a few ideas:

Something allowing more spell slots
Something that increases weight capacity (because Kori needs more weight capacity)
Something that protects her, as she failed to learn all her protection spells (eg. Ring of Armor; grants the AC of an Armor spell when worn)
Something that protects other people, to tie into defending the weak
Something that heals other people, see above ^^^^^^^
Something that reduces risk of an enchantment spell being noticed (not really something the Solinari would give her)
Something that can buff other people (Staff/Wand of Heroism would be thematically appropriate, assuming that spell exists in 2E)
Boots that never make her feet sore (Mechanically, extra endurance when it comes to running, or something? Like, she can run faster and longer because it no longer puts strain on her muscles)
Something stealth-related (to avoid direct conflict)
Something that boosts her currently poor diplomatic skills

[Daos]

How about this?  We'll call it the Ring of Solin.  It's a silver ring, engraved with magical runes, and set with a moonstone.  (Solin is Solinari's name in Ergoth, by the way.)

It has a number of powers, each one draining charges.  It regains charges each night Solinari is visible (so nothing on the nights when it is in low sanction).

The trick is, the wizards did not tell Kori what its powers are or how they work.  She is to discover that on her own.  "Help others, and in doing so, you will help yourself," is all they tell her.

Once she triggers a power, she can then after always use it on command, so long as the ring still has charges left to spend.

[GravityEmblem]

Sounds fun and interesting. I approve!

Looks like Kori's ready to go as soon as the group lands at Eastwatch! Which will probably be a week or two.

[Daos]

Or possibly sooner--Zero Prime, how is your character coming along?

[Daos]

GravityEmblem, would you be interested in joining up with the group sooner, or waiting for Zero to finish his own character instead?

[GravityEmblem]

Nov 25, 2020 14:18:47 GMT -8 Daos said:

GravityEmblem , would you be interested in joining up with the group sooner, or waiting for Zero to finish his own character instead?

Maybe? If they dock in town before Caelin's finished, I don't see a reason to sit around waiting for Zero. But it doesn't make sense to me why Kori'd be floating around on a boat somewhere, especially if we decide the team up works.