Spearhead [OOC]

[orange_bandit]

Hi all,

Welcome to the Spearhead OOC! I've included the original OP here for our records. This OOC thread will be used to develop our characters and finalise our sheets. If you have any questions of me or any other player, feel free to ask here. Start by posting about your character; it might be only what you posted in the original thread or you may have developed a little further.

Spoiler

Show

Synopsis: Criminals co-opted into work for a vast empire

You’re a bad guy; at least, that’s what they say. And they would, wouldn’t they - they’re the ones who stuck you down here in the filth. You’d heard about the Citadel’s dungeons; about the criminals who disappeared, the stories about torture, but nothing prepared for the smell. Still, they won’t break you - you’re not some prissy pick-pocket or highwayman. No, you’re the best at what you do, and what you do ain’t pretty. You’ll outlast the bricks in the walls if that’s what it takes to get out of here, to get back to the life they ripped you out of. They think they’re so smart, but you’ll show ‘em. You hear footsteps in the darkness - strange, it feels a little early for them to be shovelling the gruel that passes for dinner through the door slit. Then you hear something else; the large, metal door to your cell unlocking. It opens and light swallows you, stinging your eyes. When the blurring begins to subside, you see a tall Drow looking down on you. Her voice is cool and steady, “Today’s your lucky day - I’m here to give you an opportunity, and I hope you’re not as stupid as you look…”

---

Welcome to Spearhead! The kingdom of Caladria is vast and powerful, but being so brings many challenges… many enemies. You were one such enemy. But now the kingdom has need of you, whether you will or no. Although warfare has been central to much of Caladria’s territorial expansion, holding such a large kingdom together requires diplomacy. And where diplomacy fails surgical strikes are preferred to all out conflict. That’s where you come in. Caladria wishes to appear as clean as possible, so carrying out such strikes requires a force from which Caladria can plausibly distance itself; the head of a spear, well-removed from the wielder.

The Drow who stood over you is Shantar, she is the Queen’s dark secret - the head of her covert operations, and someone who doesn’t exist, as far as anyone who wishes to remain living is concerned. She has come to you with a proposition; go on increasingly dangerous missions in order to secure Caladrian interests, and you’ll begin to work off some of the sentence you’re currently unlikely to outlive. If you decline, you’ll either be executed or thrown into a hole so deep you’ll forget what the world was before death finally claims you.

If you agree you’ll be given all of your gear and put up in a secret barracks with food, lodgings and a few creature comforts. You’ll also make a new friend - a Frelgar worm; a twisting aberration that will burrow into your flesh and live in your body. The worm possesses a few interesting traits, the most relevant to you is the ability to remain hidden from any probes, and to painfully kill its host at the command of another to whom it is attuned, from any distance. This is Shantar’s insurance policy.

---

CHARACTER CREATION
For now all you need is a brief synopsis of your character. A short paragraph about who they are and how they ended up where they did. A little info on the kind of progression you want for your character would be helpful to - where do you want them to end up mechanically? Also, the jailers should have something over you beyond the Frelgar worm; think about your connections to the wider world (family, friends, a secret etc). Finally, think of some reason why you would choose the life of an attack dog over rotting in a hole; fun, glory, adventure, some semblance of freedom etc

The following info is for when players are chosen (just so you know what you'd be getting into):

• Looking for: 4 players
• Starting level: 3 - you’re established bastards
• Starting gear: Standard from PHB and no gold; feel free to swap out weapons for others of the same type, or to reskin where appropriate (a spear for a trident, for example)
• Available classes: Artificer, and all PHB classes
• Available races: Dragonborn, Drow, Half-Orc, Human, Shifter, Tiefling, Warforged, Goblin, Kenku, Tabaxi, Lizardfolk, Firblog, Orc, Goblin, Bugbear, Kobold, Hobgoblin, Yuan-Ti (all from official sources - rights reserved to tweak them if they become untenable in game, but really hoping not to)
• Submissions close: I'll leave it up for a week at least; just looking for character concepts at the moment
• Expected posting regularity: At least twice a week (unless informed there's something on)

• Please keep submissions to material taken from the PHB, Eberron Unearthed Arcana and Volo's Guide To Monsters

HOUSERULES
I'm hoping to keep the general game as close to RAW as is feasible, but there are few changes that can be made to make play by post a little easier (others to come as they've been written up; feel free to suggest any to speed up play):

• Initiative: When we enter combat, rather than rolling for initiative players will act in the order they post. After calling for combat I'll act for the NPCs when appropriate. Instead, your initiative modifier will be a static bonus to the first Attack Roll or Save DC you impose in the first round.
• Levelling up: PCs will level at narratively appropriate times between missions.

MORE INFO ON THE SETTING
The world is 5e homebrew and will be developed as we play. The necessary knowledge at the moment is:

• Caladria is a large, imperialist nation which has conquered many other nations (both on it’s own continent and others) and has incorporated them into it’s own territory (think of the Roman or English empires)
• In classic imperialist style, Caladria ‘brings civilization’ to those it conquers, for better and worse
• The tech-level of the setting is very Eberron; Caladria utilises a warforged army, they have lightning rail, many places use dirigibles, minor mages keep the tech running etc
• There will be a mixture of urban and rural adventures
• The Triumvirate are a trio of powerful beings who work 'for the betterment of all Caladrians'. There's Herald, Warbringer and Wrath Knight (basically Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman respectively)
• The capital city of Caladria (where you're based) is called Arbor; a massive metropolis housing everyone from the Queen herself to the lowliest scum Caladria has to offer
• All the classic D&D races are in abundance. Monstrous races are a part of the general population, but a small part and usually off to the fringes.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ON TONE
"You are Bad Guy, but this does not mean you are bad guy" - Zangeif
The tone we’re going for here isn’t grimdark; we won’t be exploring the depths of depravity. The players will be more like the criminals from Firefly - flawed but ultimately likable. That's not to say you can't be a true dyed-in-the-wool criminal, but at the end of the day you have your parties' back.

• Your character needs to be able to work with others, and not just begrudgingly. You don’t have to get on well with everyone, but you shouldn’t need to be dragged everywhere.
• The game isn’t about the players versus the jailers (at least, not initially); but, rather, it’s about the players trying to succeed in the missions they’ve been assigned.
• Your characters should be fun! They can be dark and brooding, but remember that this setting is designed to be, ultimately, light-hearted.

More info:
The Triumvirate
The Barracks
Arbor: Jewel of Caladria

Q&A
Should I roll for HP?
Keep it with suggested values - rolling can make things wonky

What about ability scores?
Standard array for the same reason

What equipment do I have?
Any tool set you're proficient with, mats you need and weapons/armour from your class. Feel free to substitute something for another of similar value (one martial weapon for another, for example). No GP, obviously.

Do I need to track things like ammunition?
No; this isn't really that kind of game.

Character/player	Short bio	CS?
Sthelissa / spinningdice	Last of her tribe Lizardfolk	Yes
Osrik Vondal / Unit 61013	Malfunctioned warforged	Yes
smg6512 / Kilt	Goblin monk	Yes
Bounce / Bor	Orc chief	Yes
daelrog / Echo	Rogue assassin	Yes

[spinningdice]

Sthelissa sits calmly waiting to learn more of her fate.
Character Sheet

Need to update backstory, would it be better tying in one of the Triumvirate to her backstory, perhaps it was Herald with a group of warforged, rather than more generic soldiers. Perhaps the inhuman warforged slew most of the hatchlings before Herald stopped them with the last remaining? Give a little conflict there, simultaneously hating Herald for the attack and feeling a debt for at least saving one.

I don't know how Warforged are in this setting, I always imagined that most were fairly implacable soldiers (all perfectly capable of emotion, but seeing little use for it), and that PC's/"character's" were the exceptions.

May adjust backstory/character further to link/compliment abilities once we find out who else is involved.

[Orsik Vondal]

I don't know how Warforged are in this setting, I always imagined that most were fairly implacable soldiers (all perfectly capable of emotion, but seeing little use for it), and that PC's/"character's" were the exceptions.

Hello! I'm currently driving to my in-laws. My wife is actually driving, but I only have my phone, so I'm limited in what I can do accurately. My character is a warforged, and I want to play "him" as coming into his individuality and identity. I'm looking at the warforged army like most armies. They break down the individual, so the soldiers function more like one collective team or one unit. Unit-61013 is just coming out of that experience. Once I get to reliable Wi-Fi, I'll post his backstory and sheet. Can't wait to start this adventure!

[spinningdice]

That's kind of what I meant, Warforged are created, then trained, so have 'military personality' amplified i.e. obey orders, don't ask questions, 'dehumanise' the enemy.

[Orsik Vondal]

Hey, OB, a few questions about charater setup.
Do you want me to take the set hp for each level or roll for it?
Some of the features of my class aloe me to create magic items. How much time are our characters going to be free before we set out on our mission? Takes me a couple of days to create. Just wondering if I'll be starting with just mats, which is totally fine with me. It might work better with your story to do it that way. What about tools that we are proficient with? I'm proficient with thieves', Smith's, tinker's and leatherworker's.

[smg6512]

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hz...jrdNZdMvX4BvgM

Kilt is anxiously twiddling his thumbs, wondering where this is leading.

I have to flesh out some of the flavor bits, but I think I completed all the mechanical things.

[Orsik Vondal]

Here is Unit-61013's character sheet.
Backstory:
Unit-61013 was just like every *zzzt* other soldier in the Caladrian Army. It's function was an update, repair and salvage unit-a mender. That was, until the incident. This unit's memory banks are damaged and continue to deteriorate. It can*krrrch*not recall all the de-de-de-tails. The authorities told Unit-61013, it was hit by a stray bolt of lightning during a sssssstorm. Subsequently, this unit dismantled it's commanding officer. Other unit*zzzzzzt in the regiment disabled Unit-61013, and brought it to military court, where it was-was-was-was found guilty of murder. Unit-61013 is now attempting to locate the malfunction in its programming with limited success. *rrzzzhhh* Shantar says she possesses the schematics of this unit's programming and can provide vital information to reverse its degeneration. Unit-61013 is trying to figure out what happened when it was struck by lightning. It doesn't want this malfunction to occur to any of the other warforged soldiers. This could become a massive vulnerability to the Caladrian army, if it transpires again. Which is why Unit-61013 will join this team, in order to obtain the inner workings of his programming and figure out a solution to this problem. It not only has the abilities to enhance its allies, but can literally upgrade itself. Given time, this unit can forge magical equipment for the small force of warriors. It wonders if, after its missions are complete, it could open a shop in Arbor to earn a living. But a soldier's life is for the regiment not for it's own.

Playstyle: Unit-61013 is going to start off with very little individuality, but depending on and through it's interactions with the other characters will develop an identity. Even though I can create magical items and a Thunder Cannon weapon, I'm gonna hold off until viable story-wise. If OB let's us have a few days with all the mats we need to gear up, I can create a couple of things. Either way, out of the following list, what do you all think would be the most beneficial to our party? bag of holding, cap of water breathing, driftglobe, goggles of night, or sending stones. My opinion is the bag of holding would be a good item for us. Let me know what you think.

I can cast a couple of spells each day, buffs and healing. And I can identify magic items and repair mundane objects. Once I'm finished with my Thunder Cannon, which will probably get a name along the way, I'll be able to support more on the damage side of combat. In social situations, I'm a logician and knowledge guy. Think of me as the Utility Player.

I'll take the standard 5 HP, until OB tells me otherwise.

[Bounce]

Bor paces back and forth within his cell. uncertain of what might be about to happen but knowing it has to be better than being stuck within these bars. Several times he grabs them and lets loose a good roar for good measure.

Apparently I can't post links so I will just copy in what I have so far for character sheet. This is my first time doing this so let me know if I need to fix/modify/add stuff

Bor
Chaotic Neutral Barbarian Orc
Attribute Score +/-
Strength 15 +2
Dexterity 11 +0
Constitution 13 +1
Initiative 11 +0
Wisdom 8 -1
Charisma 13 +1

Speed: 30
Proficiencies
Armour: Light armour, medium armour, shields
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Intimidation, Survival

Equipment: Great Axe, Two Handaxes, Explorer’s Pack, Four Javelins

Background
Bor was born in a small orcish village out in the wilds as part of the Mad Rock Clan. Within a short period of time from reaching maturity he united the warring clans by defeating all of their leaders in single combat styled himself as Clan Chief. Bor was never one to be content with peace though and was always looking for a fight. He began leading daring raids on nearby non-orc settlements and quickly came into conflict with the neighbouring Caladria Kingdom. The Caladrian’s rather than attempting to defeat Bor in combat instead offered to let him and his orcs fight in the Caladrian army. However, Bor’s reckless savagery and inability to follow anything resembling an order began causing issues as large parts of the army would become involved in suicidal charges on fortified enemy positions. Bor was arrested on various charges which he didn’t understand and sent to prison in a cage.
Personality
Bor is generally cheerful with a disturbing fondness for violence, fighting and general chaos. He is the sort to see a dragon and think “This is going to be fun”. Bor isn’t so much stupid as ignorant. When there is something he doesn’t understand, he tends to get angry and violent. Bor doesn’t often make friends but when he does he is very loyal towards them and will protect them no matter the cost.
Ideals
Bor values strength of arms above all else. His life goal is to become the most powerful warrior the world has ever seen. He also values honour and honesty. He would never go back on his word for any reason and always fights “cleanly”. He is not one to discriminate, he doesn’t care if others are male/female/dwarf/elf/troll. He treats everyone based on their ability to fight and survive. He has no tolerance for weakness or cowardice.

Flaws
Bor’s greatest strengths are also his flaws. His simple honesty means he can be easily manipulated by others. He is generally fearless and has no concept of personal safety which can lead him to getting injured. He is scared of water and fire which he doesn’t really understand.
Bonds
Bor has a strong bond with his own Clan, The Mad Rock Clan. Bor has not heard anything from his clan in a long time and longs to be reunited with his people, particularly his War Boar, Apples. The Mad Rock Clan is so named because of a rock found in their village which apparently talks. It is unknown if this is true or not.

[Orsik Vondal]

FYI: Myth-Weavers.com is a site that many PbP games use for character sheets. Just create an account and you can create a character sheet for just about any RPG platform: DnD, Fate, Pathfinder, etc. Even though you might not be able to link in your posts, you could pm me and I could put them all in one post for us.

[spinningdice]

i can't access Myth-weavers from work, and I've got used to plain-text character sheets when playing online. If a GM desperately wants a nice mythweavers sheet I can put one together, but I'll maintain my google docs one as well, for quick reference.
It appears we have a wonderful collection of misfits.

A warforged artificer, a goblin monk, an orc barbarian and of course the yuan-ti sorcerer. No easy healing, but perhaps that's by design - our employers may be hoping we die on-mission so they don't have to deal with us...

I agree, Orsik, bag of holding is probably the most generally useful.

[smg6512]

i can't access Myth-weavers from work, and I've got used to plain-text character sheets when playing online. If a GM desperately wants a nice mythweavers sheet I can put one together, but I'll maintain my google docs one as well, for quick reference.

You can copy the one I use if you like, it's a plain doc but acts like a fillable form, and does a fair amount of the math for you.

[daelrog]

Just popping in to say still interested. I'm traveling back to my place after visiting friends for the 4th of July, and will get caught up this evening.

[orange_bandit]

Sthelissa sits calmly waiting to learn more of her fate.
Character Sheet

Need to update backstory, would it be better tying in one of the Triumvirate to her backstory, perhaps it was Herald with a group of warforged, rather than more generic soldiers. Perhaps the inhuman warforged slew most of the hatchlings before Herald stopped them with the last remaining? Give a little conflict there, simultaneously hating Herald for the attack and feeling a debt for at least saving one.

I don't know how Warforged are in this setting, I always imagined that most were fairly implacable soldiers (all perfectly capable of emotion, but seeing little use for it), and that PC's/"character's" were the exceptions.

May adjust backstory/character further to link/compliment abilities once we find out who else is involved.

Yup, love it. Warforged come in and clean shop - Herald steps in at the last moment. Great potential for story there, particularly with out own warforged.

Hello! I'm currently driving to my in-laws. My wife is actually driving, but I only have my phone, so I'm limited in what I can do accurately. My character is a warforged, and I want to play "him" as coming into his individuality and identity. I'm looking at the warforged army like most armies. They break down the individual, so the soldiers function more like one collective team or one unit. Unit-61013 is just coming out of that experience. Once I get to reliable Wi-Fi, I'll post his backstory and sheet. Can't wait to start this adventure!

That's my take too. Most warforged are no more sentient than a rolling boulder; only instead of being controlled by gravity, they're controlled by the orders of their superiors. Some warforged are slightly more adaptable; they operate as commanders on the battlefield and can make decisions, strategise and think critically. They're not sentient in the way we would think however - they have no autonomy, hopes or dreams etc. Though they may seem vicious or calculating, there's no joy or sadness in what they do. No emotion

Hey, OB, a few questions about charater setup.
Do you want me to take the set hp for each level or roll for it?
Some of the features of my class aloe me to create magic items. How much time are our characters going to be free before we set out on our mission? Takes me a couple of days to create. Just wondering if I'll be starting with just mats, which is totally fine with me. It might work better with your story to do it that way. What about tools that we are proficient with? I'm proficient with thieves', Smith's, tinker's and leatherworker's.

Use set HP for each level. As for mats and tools, take what you need. Happy to play open with that. Your captors don't like giving you potentially dangerous stuff, but they're confident in their safeguards. MIght have to work out a suitable alternative to the Frelgar Worms for our warforged friend, but we can get to that. Looking forward to seeing what you create.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hz...jrdNZdMvX4BvgM

Kilt is anxiously twiddling his thumbs, wondering where this is leading.

I have to flesh out some of the flavor bits, but I think I completed all the mechanical things.

No worries! Any thoughts on your co-workers? What would kilt think about this assortment of criminals?

Just trucking off and will get to other responses later. Updated the OP with a few more pieces of information.

[Orsik Vondal]

Use set HP for each level. As for mats and tools, take what you need. Happy to play open with that. Your captors don't like giving you potentially dangerous stuff, but they're confident in their safeguards. Might have to work out a suitable alternative to the Frelgar Worms for our warforged friend, but we can get to that. Looking forward to seeing what you create.

They can probably program in a remote self-destruct code into a warforged system. I get a larger list of craftable magic items at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th. Am I to assume from your comment that given enough time, my character will be able to make other magical items than the ones from my class feature list? I'd love to be able to outfit our little band.

Here's what the DMG says about crafting items: CRAFTING A MAGIC ITEM - Magic items are the DM's purview, so you decide how they fall into the party's possession. As an option, you can allow player characters to craft magic items.

The creation of a magic item is a lengthy, expensive task. To start, a character must have a formula that describes the construction of the item. The character must also be a spellcaster with spell slots and must be able to cast any spells that the item can produce. Moreover, the character must meet a level minimum determined by the item's rarity, as shown in the Crafting Magic Items table. For example, a 3rd-level character could create a wand of magic missiles (an uncommon item), as long as the character has spell slots and can cast magic missile. That same character could make a +1 weapon (another uncommon item), no particular spell required.

You can decide that certain items also require special materials or locations to be created. For example, a character might need alchemist's supplies to brew a particular potion, or the formula for a flame tongue might require that the weapon be forged with lava.

An item has a creation cost specified in the Crafting Magic Items table. A character engaged in the crafting of a magic item makes progress in 25 gp increments, spending that amount for each day of work until the total cost is paid. The character is assumed to work for 8 hours each of those days. Thus, creating an uncommon magic item takes 20 days and 500 gp. You are free to adjust the costs to better suit your campaign.

If a spell will be produced by the item being created, the creator must expend one spell slot of the spell's level for each day of the creation process. The spell's material components must also be at hand throughout the process. If the spell normally consumes those components, they are consumed by the creation process. If the item will be able to produce the spell only once, as with a spell scroll, the components are consumed only once by the process. Otherwise, the components are consumed once each day of the item's creation.

Multiple characters can combine their efforts to create a magic item if each of them meets the level prerequisite. Each character can contribute spells, spell slots and components, as long as everyone participates during the entire crafting process. Each character can contribute 25 gp worth of effort for each day spent helping to craft the item.

Normally, a character who undertakes this activity creates a magic item described in chapter 7, "Treasure." At your discretion, you can allow players to design their magic items, using the guidelines in chapter 9, Dungeon Master's Workshop."

I'll leave it to you to judge what is viable in our campaign.

[orange_bandit]

It appears we have a wonderful collection of misfits.

A warforged artificer, a goblin monk, an orc barbarian and of course the yuan-ti sorcerer. No easy healing, but perhaps that's by design - our employers may be hoping we die on-mission so they don't have to deal with us...

...our warforged might be able to help with that!

They can probably program in a remote self-destruct code into a warforged system. I get a larger list of craftable magic items at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th. Am I to assume from your comment that given enough time, my character will be able to make other magical items than the ones from my class feature list? I'd love to be able to outfit our little band.

I'll leave it to you to judge what is viable in our campaign.

How about we leave it up to the players - they can put in OOC wish lists (preferrably taken from the DMG if they have one available), and I can tell them which are viable, and what will be required. You can decide which one seems worth pursuing. Obviously there will be restrictions on a case-by-case basis, but I'm keen for this because I think it'll be cool. There'll certainly be scope for flavorful niche items over straight damage items. Otherwise, I'm open to small, single use items that can be shared around the party to give everyone some interesting choices on missions (ie: single use flashbang pellet or healing potion or something). I'll think some more on this.

Just popping in to say still interested. I'm traveling back to my place after visiting friends for the 4th of July, and will get caught up this evening.

No worries!

[daelrog]

All right, here's the character sheet: https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1165056

Also copying my stuff from the recruitment thread:

Echo


"I wasn't smart enough to pick up a trade, connected enough to start a business, or pretty enough to offer kisses for coin. Killing seemed like the next best thing." -Echo, at her trial

Born and raised in one of the slums of Caladria, she was marked as a child as something wicked, something tainted. Gold eyes, greenish skin and hair, two sets of horns, there was no masking her Tiefling heritage. She was found wandering the streets alone as a toddler by some local roughs who saw potential in her, and raised her not so much as a daughter, but as a tool, a weapon to be harnessed. The girl was creepy enough on the eyes, no doubt they could raise her into a proper rough.

She exceeded expectations.

Echo as she decided to call herself, for she loved to hear the echos of voices in the back alleys, took well to criminal life. She certainly looked the part, but also developed a certain mindset of acceptance. She didn't hold a grudge over society, the brutes who raised her, or even the gods who created such a world. No, she was who she was, may as well accept it. It was this self-acceptance, this inner-peace within the chaos of the slums that she had the mindfulness and self-control to seek out a teacher to show her how to fight properly. A former assassin, a mysterious man covered from head to toe in unusual tattoos took her on as a student. Although she nearly died several times, she endured, and emerged a true killer, one willing to offer her services to the highest bidder.

For all of Echo's faults, she is not cruel or petty. She's not bad company if one is willing to accept her rather dark sense of humor, can indulge her bad habits from gambling to smoking a certain euphoric-inducing drug. To her, assassination isn't a lifestyle, it's a job. Once the job is over, she can sit back with old buddies and laugh it up, spending more coin than she should, living life as if tomorrow may not come.

-

“Today’s your lucky day - I’m here to give you an opportunity, and I hope you’re not as stupid as you look…”

"I'm listening..."

Mechanics: Starting off as a Rogue 1, Monk 2, plan is to mainly go Way of the Shadow Monk, with maybe a couple more levels in Rogue to grab the Assassin archetype.

As it's only been a year, and it's not as if she's killing daily or even weekly, the list isn't long. Mostly people in the slums. A couple pimps who've wronged one too many people, an extortionist who tried to get too much money from a wealthy merchant, a few guardsmen. I'd say her last two targets put her on the map. The first (successful) was a guildmaster of a bank who was targeted for being too lawful, for not allowing certain shady practices. The second (unsuccessful) was a high ranking officer in the army. She doesn't know the name or motive behind the hiring, only the gold. She was simply too alert, and too strong for Echo.

As for a calling card, I'd say it's her namesake, a couple sharp whistles that echo across the street when she's done her deed.

[spinningdice]

Updated background a little on the character sheet, her initial reactions to her... colleagues are noted below:
Kilt/Bor: Orcs and Goblins are below her notice, they may be useful pawns.
61013: She can't help but despise the warforged. As much as she knows this unit was unlikely to be involved with the massacre of her people, she looks at it's 'face' and sees them hacking down her brothers and sisters.
Echo: The Tieflings bear parallels with her own kind, though more haphazardly, echo is the only one of the team that Sthelissa will view as approaching an equal.

NB: She will work with whoever she's told to, and do nothing to endanger her chance at freedom, but she's an odd combination of insecure and arrogant, don't take it personally.

[Orsik Vondal]

First of all: I love the detail and creativity you put into the world, OB! Gives a lot of context for our adventures. Thanks!

Second: This is a new experience for Unit-61013. It will take some time to get used to all the new races. It's used to warforged and to a lesser extent humans and elven kind. It is intrigued by all the new information it could acquire from these others. It views all the other characters as potential learning experiences.

Third: Depending on our first and subsequent missions, it would be helpful to create a "wishlist" of what your character wants. Then we can streamline the creation process.

Fourth: I have updated Unit-61013's sheet. It knows Common and another language. OB, can I choose Undercommon and have it be secret military code language?

[smg6512]

Got some fluff, edited from recruitment post+some new things.

Spoiler: Backstory

Show

Kilt was trained as a lieutenant at a goblin outpost, a remote watch of an extensive horde. Overseen by a strict trio of hobgoblins, the tribe had two tasks: protect the post, and wait for instructions. Kilt did not like the waiting. He faced many lashes for disrupting "sit down shut up" time. But his restless energy proved useful in combat, and he managed to cling to his status.

After one particularly painful punishment, Kilt snapped. While scouting, the first hobgoblin shut his hand in a poisoned trap that had "happened" to stick open. On the subsequent mission, the second hobgoblin sent a team of goblins to recon a similarly stuck trap. Kilt stayed behind and punched him to death. The third, now too paranoid to leave the den, recalled all scouts. Minted as a new guard, Kilt waited his turn, then snuck into the "captain's quarters" and punched the last hobgoblin to death.

The leaders' deaths threw the tribe into disarray. Through a series of public and private squabbles, Kilt landed on top. In the weeks of fuss, however, the Empire discovered the post and launched a secret approach. Surrounded while they slept, the tribe volunteered Kilt in exchange for lives of servitude. Faced with plenty of "sit down shut up" time, Kilt stewed on his betrayal. His goal now was to exact vengeance on his former tribe.

Spoiler: Kilt in play

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He'll take directions fine, though he gets bored and wanders off sometimes if there's too much discussion; his form of meditation manifests as nervous pacing, much like people do while on a phone call to occupy their bodies. Once given a task, he stays focused as long as things are happening. He'd rather talk business and move on than waste time on small talk. The downside of this focus is that he can be stubborn once he takes to an idea, and revising plans takes him time to comprehend, especially once a plan is already in motion. His version of "winging it" invariably ends with punching. It often starts there as well.

Kilt looks like a typical goblin at first glance- yellow-green skin, large feet, long ears pointing in nearly opposite directions. A closer inspection reveals three horizontal scars on his upper right arm, symbols of his former rank. A fourth trails off at an angle, the result of him promoting himself after his coup. He wears three hobgoblin canines on a string around his neck, trophies of his biggest achievement.

Kilt carries a long stick whenever he can, mostly for poking. He can swing it like a staff if necessary, but mostly it's a buffer between Kilt and danger.

Kilt glares up at his peers, conscious of his size. He spends little time on the snake-mage and the awkward soldier-man. The tiefling's horns draw his gaze a moment, until he spots the orc. He doesn't like orcs. Nobody at the camp had given any explanation for their shared disdain (and pragmatic fear) of the race, nor had he given it any thought. Nevertheless, he keeps a wary eye on it.

[Bounce]

Bor considers the little goblin, Kilt to be beneath his notice and clearly underestimates him. He is quite wary of the warforged with their lack of emotion and also they were the ones who threw him in prison in the first place. However he manages to keep his anger towards his captors in check as he knows the only chance of seeing his home again is to work together.

Bor is interested in finding out more about Echo and Sthelissa as he has never seen their kind before. Neither of them look like they have much brute strength and Bor can only assume they must have some other sort of powers which have caused them to be selected for the group.

[daelrog]

For Echo's part, she's likely looks favorably on everyone. As someone born with fiendish-corruption clearly on her visage, she's not one to hold much weight on appearances. After all, who's she to judge? She has a soft spot for other outsiders, others who are scraping by which would likely be our whole motley crew.

I'll check everyone's background again, but she'd be most disagreeable with anyone who's far on the lawful or chaotic axis. As a true Neutral, she looks down on those who are slaves to society's standards, but on the flip side is equally annoyed by those who can't control their personal urges.

[Orsik Vondal]

He is quite wary of the warforged with their lack of emotion

Who? Little ol' me?!

Did not know it was going to be that big...

[Orsik Vondal]

Smg, do you think Kilt would be agreeable to a possible "goblin harness/launch pad" attached to Unit-61013? From where he could see more, jump higher, launch himself at unwary enemies' faces.

I also expect to see at least one Fastball Special!

[smg6512]

Smg, do you think Kilt would be agreeable to a possible "goblin harness/launch pad" attached to Unit-61013? From where he could see more, jump higher, launch himself at unwary enemies' faces.

I also expect to see at least one Fastball Special!

As a matter of fact, I was wondering today if 5e mechanics support something like the first maneuver here, except with punching rather than biting. Maybe some weird fury of the small mod or dex-grapple check. But yes, Kilt would in time be amenable to that, as soon as he knows he can trust U-61013.

[Bounce]

Who? Little ol' me?!

Bor considers you a strange an unnatural abomination. Hopefully his opinion will improve as he gets to know you better. :) Bor will generally like anyone heading to the Chaotic side of the alignment and get rather frustrated with any lawful types.

[Orsik Vondal]

In the interim before our first mission Unit-61013 is going to reconstruct a long range weapon based on the standard warforged army artillery. They are called Military Issue Narrowcast Carbine Rifles, or MINCRs for short. There seem to be some modifications that have been made to weapon. It's a lot smaller, for one. And if your characters feel like Unit-61013 is too much of a mouthful, you can refer to it by its military function--Mender.

I feel like this should go in an IC post, so if I need to fluff and repost, I can once the IC thread is up.

[orange_bandit]

Hi all.

Got a bit distracted today and couldn't put up the post I wanted. In any case, on first review, the char sheets look great. The last thing I need is the preferred image of your characters and we're good to go! Great to see you're already picking up on some connections between PCs.

The first IC thread will be up in about 12 hours.

[Orsik Vondal]

Preferred

[orange_bandit]

Ok all, IC thread is up here.

I have done a bit of PbP in the past, but it's been some years. We'll refine the process as we go.

If you want to roll dice, we'll use the forum here - see this thread for instructions. Remember to include a description of what the roll is intending to do. For example, 'Insight check to determine if Mallory believes what she's saying" or "Investigation check to see if there are any traps or tripwires" is much preferred over 'Insight check' or 'Inves check'.

When making attacks, roll the attack and damage in the same post, and remember to be specific about targets and intentions.

[spinningdice]

EDIT: Can't get an image to post, will look into it later.