[D&D 3.5] Heroes are Made, not Born

[Reynard]

'Barry Davis' came as a a result of 2am, inability to sleep, and access to a database of names.

This one, to be precise. That particular page lists a whole load of cultures to draw names from, so we could all decide on one or two of them and run with it.

[The Rabbler]

Spoiler

quote #1

Originally Posted by Claudius Maximus

Sounds good. I'll do my best to contribute.

Perhaps we can work out more about who knows whom, how well, and for how long.

Looks like most of these characters are relatively close in age. A town of this size isn't expected to have more than about 30 kids, tops, so we could have hung out together as kids and some of us might be friends with one another.

It looks like Phidias and Leorath were both students under Que'rahn, and apparently managed that without killing one another. They might be friends from this experience (or perhaps before) or they might be rivals of a sort.

Tharivol is "well-known" and in any case stands out on account of his works and the occupations of his parents, so we should all at least know who he is. Perhaps some of us have had experience with him, and he seems like the kind of guy who makes friends easily.

From what Reynard has posted, it seems Barry wouldn't know most people unless they were associated with his church to whatever extent. Nobody else seems to have posted a sheet with Pelor as the character's patron as of yet.

I can't comment much on the other characters as of now, but if Feldwick is psionic, maybe there can be some kind of link to one of the other psionic characters?

quote #2

I hope I haven't offended anyone so far. Obviously the final say of any character's backstory goes to the respective player. I'm personally open to making some changes to my character's backstory for the sake of the others'.

quote #3

Sorry about that; I wanted a name that said "sculptor guy", and "Phidias" was like the second thing to come to mind. Admittedly it does not fit in with names like "Barry Davis." I for one have no problem with the current diversity of names, but if people aren't comfortable with such disparate names and are willing to change them, I suggest naming to a theme so none of them seem too out of place. Perhaps we can choose a language, say it's the language of the thorp, and draw all our characters' names from it?

In that case I'll suggest Greek myself.

response #1: It does seem that Leorath and Phidias would have a relationship through Que'rahn. Perhaps we became friends after we discovered that we had the same abilities. Maybe we practiced our psionic abilities together while out hunting? astral constructs and ectoplasmic webs seem like a pretty effective way to hunt.

As far as Barry is concerned, I could see Leorath and him getting along rather well. I probably neglected to mention this, but Leorath doesn't actually believe in the god Kord; rather, he respects individual strength and he worships a divine embodyment of that strength. kord was the best example.

response #2: all within your rights as a party member. no harm, no foul.

response #3: no problems by me, it was just an observation I was making. Personally, I picked my name out of thin air (something that would fit with a fantasy fighter) and would not mind changing it to make roleplaying easier. I don't feel strongly either way.

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by Greenish

I'm going to steal that as a quote. Out of context. Mwahahaa!

Wonderful, my campaign is already defined by our obsession with goats and I haven't even started yet...

As for naming schemes, you could also consider that some of you may have migrated into the area and that could explain some of the different names.

Also, hurray, more back story to integrate and not have to create myself for the cohesive whole! =D

EDIT: Also, Reynard, upon switching your stats around, you actually have another 4 skill points to spend, given the Commoner's 2+Int skill points, the Int 16 for +3 and being human meaning 6 x 4 = 24 and you only appear to have spent 20. Another skill is available for the learning and/or increasing the ranks you already have in your non-maxed ones.

[The Rabbler]

I say we should add "with goats" to the end of the campaign name. to give a sense of who we really are to everyone who sees the thread.

[Greenish]

Originally Posted by Cieyrin

Wonderful, my campaign is already defined by our obsession with goats and I haven't even started yet...

Mwahahaa, behold my sign, ye mighty, and despair! (If you don't like it, I'll change it, no sweat.)

[Reynard]

Names that mean 'goat':

Giles. m. From the Late Latin name Aegidius, which is derived from Greek αιγιδιον (aigidion) meaning "young goat".

Arwa. f. Means "mountain goat" in Arabic.

Azazel. m. Means "scapegoat" in Hebrew. This was the name of the recipient of a sacrificial goat in the Old Testament.

Jaala. m. Means "wild goat" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this was the name of a servant of Solomon.

Jael. f. From the Hebrew name יָעֵל (Ya'el) meaning "mountain goat"

Terah. m. Possibly means "wild goat" or "station" in Hebrew.


So, I vote Hebrew as the name theme, due to the amount of names in it that mean 'goat'

[Darklord Xavez]

Originally Posted by The Rabbler

I say we should add "with goats" to the end of the campaign name. to give a sense of who we really are to everyone who sees the thread.

Goats? Did somebody say something about goats?
-Xavez

[Amphetryon]

Mules > Goats.

[Greenish]

Originally Posted by Amphetryon

Mules > Goats.

In terms of mass, yes. In terms of comedic potential, not quite.

[Flickerdart]

Originally Posted by Amphetryon

Mules > Goats.

Mule power represent!

Have my backstory up on the sheet. Feldwick's path in life has not been tied to the others for very long.

[Thurbane]

Originally Posted by Amphetryon

Mules > Goats.

Francis says hi!

[The Glyphstone]

The important question is, will we stare at them?


Sheet is here: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetvie...sheetid=209584


I don't have a backstory yet - though who in the groups are religion-related? My character is a farmer, but will be extremely devout, so he'd probably be good friends with the local clergy.

[The Rabbler]

Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone

I don't have a backstory yet - though who in the groups are religion-related? My character is a farmer, but will be extremely devout, so he'd probably be good friends with the local clergy.

Barry Davis (Reynard's character) is a member of the clergy, but despises all who praise the glorious name of pelor.

EDIT: after reading Flickerdart's backstory, amazingly enough, there is a connection to the rest of the party. Leorath never had the patience for farmwork, so he worked with the town blacksmith to create tools and other metal necessities. Perhaps we met at work? We might have worked together, as your character has the skills for it while it comes naturally to mine.

[The Glyphstone]

Originally Posted by The Rabbler

Barry Davis (Reynard's character) is a member of the clergy, but despises all who praise the glorious name of pelor.

EDIT: after reading Flickerdart's backstory, amazingly enough, there is a connection to the rest of the party. Leorath never had the patience for farmwork, so he worked with the town blacksmith to create tools and other metal necessities. Perhaps we met at work? We might have worked together, as your character has the skills for it while it comes naturally to mine.

Sure, why not. I'll probably pick a god other than Pelor, then.

[Reynard]

Originally Posted by The Rabbler

Barry Davis (Reynard's character) is a member of the clergy, but despises all who praise the glorious name of pelor.

Barry doesn't hate those that pray to Pelor, he just thinks they're fools if they think doing so will change anything for them prior to their death. Sure, the Gods can effect what happens after that, but they have nothing to do with what happens before. That's what he believes, at least.

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone

If there's still space, let's take a shot.

Base Rolls: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2517031/
Free Re-roll (the Int 10) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2517035/
Swap Dex and Wis.
Random Trait: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2517043/

End profile - Str 12, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 13, Cha 15. I'm Quick though.

Extremely, extremely average...but I want to aim high. Specifically, Paladin high. With that as my goal, would you allow me a Heavy Horse as a Wild Cohort, which would eventually end up as my Special Mount?

Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone

The important question is, will we stare at them?


Sheet is here: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetvie...sheetid=209584


I don't have a backstory yet - though who in the groups are religion-related? My character is a farmer, but will be extremely devout, so he'd probably be good friends with the local clergy.

You're not exactly average. By adventurer standards, sure, but compared to the ordinary man, you're well-rounded with no real weaknesses to speak of.

Anyways, audit done. Most things check out, so that made my job easy. Some things still came to mind, though.

Inattentive has not been applied to Spot and Listen.
You should probably have a sack or something to carry your stuff in, as I don't think you can really stuff 3 days of rations and a waterskin in your pockets (provided you have any, as pockets aren't exactly common on peasant clothes), not to mention your companion doesn't have any saddle packs or anything.
Speaking of your companion, what tricks does Morrigan know? You have time pre-campaign to select your 6 tricks. I assume Morrigan probably has the Heavy Labor purpose, perhaps supplemented with the tricks from the Combat Riding purpose. Also note that Wild Cohorts and Animal Companions are not the same, especially as Wild Cohorts lack the Link ability, so you'll have to Handle as a move and push as a full action, as normal.
Finally, don't forget that, since Morrigan doesn't have a saddle, you'll suffer the bareback riding penalty of -5 to Ride checks. It'll put your Ride bonus at an effective +0, just FYI.

Now, in relation to the requests for Chaos Monks and Psychic Rogues, Psychic Rogues seem fine to me, if you really want one over a Lurk or something similar. I don't really see where Chaos Monks would show up, so I'm saying no to that for the time being. Maybe if you meet a free spirit Githzerai Monk, whose developed his own style along such lines, adapting their current home plane of Limbo to his combat style.

Finally, since Demon Eye seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth, I guess I'll just go with you 7 and just run one game, as opposed to 2 groups of 4.

[Flickerdart]

How does Wild Cohort work if your effective level is -2 for it?

[The Glyphstone]

Originally Posted by Flickerdart

How does Wild Cohort work if your effective level is -2 for it?

I don't know, but why does it matter?

Inattentive has not been applied to Spot and Listen.

Fixed.

You should probably have a sack or something to carry your stuff in, as I don't think you can really stuff 3 days of rations and a waterskin in your pockets (provided you have any, as pockets aren't exactly common on peasant clothes), not to mention your companion doesn't have any saddle packs or anything.

Fixed.

Speaking of your companion, what tricks does Morrigan know? You have time pre-campaign to select your 6 tricks. I assume Morrigan probably has the Heavy Labor purpose, perhaps supplemented with the tricks from the Combat Riding purpose. Also note that Wild Cohorts and Animal Companions are not the same, especially as Wild Cohorts lack the Link ability, so you'll have to Handle as a move and push as a full action, as normal.

Finally, don't forget that, since Morrigan doesn't have a saddle, you'll suffer the bareback riding penalty of -5 to Ride checks. It'll put your Ride bonus at an effective +0, just FYI.

Where can I get a saddle?

[Amphetryon]

Backstory added to the sheet.

[Reynard]

Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone

Where can I get a saddle?

The PHB. Cheapest is a pack saddle, 5gp.

[The Glyphstone]

Originally Posted by Reynard

The PHB. Cheapest is a pack saddle, 5gp.

Ugh. That'll mean I have to take apart my cow...and I liked having rolled enough wealth to own a cow...I guess I can settle for a couple of goats instead. :)

[Reynard]

Well, with the pack saddle, you won't need saddlebags or a backpack.

[Flickerdart]

But you can't ride in a pack saddle unless you're an object. So better switch to Female.

[The Glyphstone]

Originally Posted by Flickerdart

But you can't ride in a pack saddle unless you're an object. So better switch to Female.

0.0

So I'm down to owning either a cow or a riding saddle...honestly, I think I'm going to keep the cow for now as starting 'wealth', it's a lot more useful than the saddle would be. I just won't ride the horse that often, it's probably more used to pulling a plow anyways.

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by Flickerdart

How does Wild Cohort work if your effective level is -2 for it?

Where are you getting Effective Level -2, anyways? I don't see anything suggesting that in Wild Cohort and I don't recall anything doing that in either the rules I made for this or in any of the language of the Commoner class.

Originally Posted by Amphetryon

Backstory added to the sheet.

Noted and edited into the table.

Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone

So I'm down to owning either a cow or a riding saddle...honestly, I think I'm going to keep the cow for now as starting 'wealth', it's a lot more useful than the saddle would be. I just won't ride the horse that often, it's probably more used to pulling a plow anyways.

Yeah, I'd just stick with the cow for now and you could probably makeshift saddle packs with some rope and sacks to sling over Morrigan till you earn a real saddle or 'acquire' one.

[Reynard]

Originally Posted by Cieyrin

Where are you getting Effective Level -2, anyways? I don't see anything suggesting that in Wild Cohort and I don't recall anything doing that in either the rules I made for this or in any of the language of the Commoner class.

Don't your Cohorts need to be two levels below you?

[The Glyphstone]

Originally Posted by Reynard

Don't your Cohorts need to be two levels below you?

Wild Cohort isn't actually a Cohort like Leadership. It's more like Animal Companion-lite. See here. In my case, it's my loyal and long-suffering horse from my farm.
Which, incidentally, would have cost me 200GP to 'buy', so it's quite nice even if it won't contribute in combat much.


@Cieyrin: would you allow me to spend a trick slot on 'Trip' (though it'd be more of a 'Knock Down')? There's already existing tricks for Bull Rush, Disarm, and Overrun, so it's got some precendent at least.

[Cieyrin]

Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone

Wild Cohort isn't actually a Cohort like Leadership. It's more like Animal Companion-lite. See here. In my case, it's my loyal and long-suffering horse from my farm.
Which, incidentally, would have cost me 200GP to 'buy', so it's quite nice even if it won't contribute in combat much.

Oh, here's where our confusion is stemming from...Yeah, Wild Cohort != Cohort as per Leadership.

You may also want to put where you met your boon companion in your backstory, considering how expensive Heavy Horses are would put them way outside normal Commoner availability. =P
Perhaps you work for the church and Morrigan will only work with you, hence Wild Cohort?

@Cieyrin: would you allow me to spend a trick slot on 'Trip' (though it'd be more of a 'Knock Down')? There's already existing tricks for Bull Rush, Disarm, and Overrun, so it's got some precendent at least.

I'm frankly surprised there hasn't been a trick made for that, actually, as taking down prey seems like something you could build on, though I suppose their thought on it may have been the Hold trick. You could definitely make a Take Down trick, but, like the other advanced Attack tricks, you need to have the Attack trick first.

[The Glyphstone]

Naturally. I'm going with Come, Work (the Heavy Labor package), along with Defend, Assist Defend, Attack, and now Trip. 6 total tricks.

That is a good point, though I think it says more about how D&D's listed prices for things are totally borked than how rare a farmhorse should be.

Howbout I was raised in a church run creche/orphanage that doubled as a communal farm, and proved exceptional at working with animals. When I reached adulthood and left to start my own farm, I left with a young horse from the church's farmstock - maybe one I had raised myself - who has since matured into my current companion.

Also, why are we having this conversation in secret text?

[The Rabbler]

I like the mental image I get when I try and picture a horse tripping someone.

wait, maybe the horse trips with it's tail? this would make a tail whip actually useful!