Welcome to the OOC thread! Please repost your sheets and stats in your first post in this thread so we have easy reference.
Considering that there are a lot of characters from the military I might write up some basic structure/history for you guys when I get a chance.
IC thread should be up once everyone (including me) is all sorted.
Fluff
Spoiler
The set up
Spoiler
The First Realm is dying, over the last three thousand years the connections between the realms and the magical power they bring has decayed. Along with it have faded the great civilisations of old; no longer do sprawling empires control continents and disappeared are the kingdoms that had the might to, and did, wage war with Gods. Governments have dissolved into city states, theocracies and alliance territories. However, one hundred years ago a man named Serjak had a goal that went in the face of the world’s decline. Serjak aspired to create an empire to mimic the glory of the ancients, and using methods that are still not quite clear he became the ruler of the city of Kal. So began the first age of expansion of the Kallan Empire, a period of fifty years that saw numerous smaller city states and nomadic tribes annex through diplomacy, subterfuge and military might. This expansion ended with the Empire’s first major defeat when the 1st army was almost wiped out at the foothills of the Gepl ridge. The army responsible, mercenaries employed by the city state of Pelt, razed several border settlements, putting man, woman and child to the sword. Ten years ago Serjak disappeared under mysterious circumstances and Rohbart, a noble from Kal, took the seat of Emperor. Eager to make a name for himself and increase his wealth Rohbart sent the Empire’s armies forth once again, tearing through the Gepl ridge in a five year campaign that ended at the walls of Pelt. After the siege the 2nd army stormed the city and eager to get revenge, the soldiers ran out of control. By the end of the day the streets ran red with blood and some poets have taken to referring to the incident as the day the Empire lost its innocence.
Another part of Rohbart’s expansion is his interest in the island of Denku. The island had always been plagued by storms and is home to treacherous reefs and so had been left largely ignored. Three years ago a settlement, supported by a regiment of soldiers and the blessing of the Emperor, was established on the island tasked with mapping the island and making use of any resources that might be found. This is where you come in, As part of the second wave of settlers for whatever reason you have chosen to leave the mainland and set up shop on Denku.
The military
Spoiler
Units
Spoiler
The spine of Kallan’s military might comes from its heavy infantry. They are well equipped and superbly disciplined fighters. Equipped initially with round shields and spears they now fight with large rectangular shields and short swords. Formed in solid blocks of men units of heavy infantry are designed to withstand enemy charges and lock them into a meatgrinder melee. The heavy infantry are the only soldiers in the Kallan army that are equipped completely at the Empire’s expense.
The light cavalry of Kallan, as well as the missile cavalry are mostly a mix of Kallan and nomadic tribesmen from the plains. They are generally equipped with spears and short bows however specific equipment changes from unit to unit. They serve as Kallan’s scouts and flanking troops.
The light infantry of the Kallan Empire are mainly drawn from Trak. Historically the city state was known for its raiders and brigands and they have found a perfect home serving as skirmishers and spearmen in the Kallan armies.
Whilst sappers have been around since the start of the Kallan Empire, serving as siege experts they have recently taken on a new role due to the advancement of alchemy. Equipped with strange explosive powder and substances that ignite in the air they were instrumental to breaching the walls in the siege of Pelt.
Armies
Spoiler
The 1st Army was Serjak’s mailed fist when it came to conquest. It was composed mainly of heavy infantry that would bear the brunt of an enemy’s charge with skirmishers and light cavalry to encircle the enemy and harass its flanks whilst the heavy infantry wore the down in melee. It no longer exists as it was almost totally wiped out on the foothills of the Gepl ridge. Exactly how such as successful military force suffered such a great defeat remains a topic of debate for historians, with ambush, poor leadership, betrayal and sorcery all being possible reasons put forward. The loss marked the end of the first period of expansion.
The 2nd army was organized similar to the 1st; however, it incorporated more auxiliary troops from defeated territories and had more of an emphasis on adaptability rather than sheer force. Still built around a solid core of heavy infantry the 2nd army had support from mounted missile troops drawn from the nomadic tribes, numerous light infantry units and spearmen drawn from Trak and also a regiment of the infamous Sappers.
The 3rd army was more of an exploratory army than one meant for conquest. Smaller than the 1st and 2nd the whole army was mounted (although largely fought on foot in pitched battles) and composed of mostly light infantry. Due to the high concentration of non Kallan citizens in the 3rd and the long distances away from the central empire it suffered greatly from discipline issues. During Serjak’s reign, after the first period of expansion whilst the 3rd were operating in the Gepl Ridge a significant part of the army deserted and disappeared east into Fair’s Desert on the other side of the Ridge.
The 4th army was created by Serjak near the end of his reign in order to defeat a rebellion of an alliance of several nomadic tribes. Due the speed required in raising the army many of the soldiers were convicts who were offered freedom in return for service. The brutality of the army in putting down the rebellion has earned it a bad reputation and whilst Serjak intended for the army to be disbanded once the rebellion was dealt with Rohbart has kept the army together, using it as a peace keeping force. Something that has caused a lot of unrest on the grasslands of the Empire.
Realms
Spoiler
Most common Realms worshiped in the Empire:
• Obtiil, Realm of War, (Fire, War, Destruction)
• Menlos, Realm of Shadow (Trickery, Magic, Luck)
• Gulum, Realm of Sanctuary (Travel, Protection, Healing)
• Rek, Realm of Death (Death, Destruction)
• Alanas, Realm of Life (Animal, Earth, Strength, Water)
In days past, when magic was strong there were individuals who became so powerful that they could open pathways to different Realms, effectively traveling through the channels that they drew the magical power from. The most powerful of these were even able to subjugate a Realm, and ascend to God-hood. Over time these beings would meld with the Realm, slowly losing their corporal body and becoming part of the Realm. This is the case with the more established Realms, however, for the younger Gods there still seems to be some distinction between the individual and the Realm.
The First Realm
This is the ‘Real World’ as such. It’s not actually a Realm itself but it is referred to as one.
Obtil, the Realm of War
The youngest of the old Realms Obtil was said to have been an extremely powerful warlord who ruled whole continents. The story goes that he gained access to his Realm through mass ritualised slaughter of slaves and prisoners; a ceremony that took one hundred executioners two days and nights of work to complete. He is known as a power hungry God, and it is said that once you enter into his service you are bound till death. Whilst this may just be rumour there seem to be very few ex-priests of Obtil around to disprove the fact. There are also several blood sworn cults to Obtil among the military with some suggesting that the murder at Pelt was part of a larger plan dedicated in his honour by one such secret cult.
Menlos, Realm of Shadow
In the mythology the realm of shadow is described as a huge cosmic library, holding the records of all devious plots and secret plans ever made by humans. No one knows how Menlos came to its God but it’s no doubt that the throne was stolen through deceit. Menlos was rumoured to be Serjak’s patron Realm, with many believing that it was with Menlos’s aid that Serjak managed to build the Empire so quickly. Menlos is a tricky god, with very few devoted worshipers. However he is revered as the guardian of lost knowledge ensuring that he always receives offerings.
Gulum, Realm of Sanctuary
In the old stories Gulum is described as a giant, one of the last of his kind. Gulum was bullied by his older siblings for being stupid, yet he was the giant managed to find a way into a prosperous realm, leading what remained of his people with him. Gulum is a Realm of rolling green hills and peaceful forests where the sun never sets. Gulum is one of the most popular Realms among farmers and travellers, as it is seen as providing protection against the ills of the world and safety for those that have nowhere else to turn. In the cities his temples are known to hand out food and clean water to beggars, and committing to his service is considered a very noble decision.
Rek, the Realm of Death
Surprisingly, after Obtil, Rek is the youngest of the old Realms. Of course there’s always been an afterlife, yet the worship of Rek is not that old. A mysterious figure who’s worship came from across the desert he is said to have betrayed his whole race during his ascension, however, the details of this betrayal vary from tale to tale. Many people pray to Rek to protect their soul once they die and the priests of Rek are usually tasked with looking after the bodies of the dead.
Rek, the Realm of Death
Surprisingly, after Obtil, Rek is the youngest of the old Realms. Of course there’s always been an afterlife, yet the worship of Rek is not that old. A mysterious figure who’s worship came from across the desert he is said to have betrayed his whole race during his ascension, however, the details of this betrayal vary from tale to tale. Many people pray to Rek to protect their soul once they die and the priests of Rek are usually tasked with looking after the bodies of the dead.
Alanas, The Realm of Life
Alanas is the Great Father, the earth under your feet, the air in your lungs and the water you drink. Alanas is the realm of nature and his worshipers tend to wax lyrical how harmony and a return the simpler life are needed for redemption. Some of the more radical priest priests even preach that cities are abominations that should be abandoned or even torn down with force.
Eckhard, finished but for writing in equipment and leftover money.
Fluff:
Spoiler
Eckhard, he calls himself, and that's obviously a lie, because you can tell he's a Geplite by looking at him, and that's no Forester name. Still, he wouldn't be the first person to distance themself from the recent unpleasantness in that neck of the woods - not even the only such person on this expedition, by a long shot. He keeps himself to himself, rarely speaking without being spoken to and sometimes not even then. He seems to choose his words carefully; almost as if he's scared to hear what might force its way out of his mouth. So he's got something to hide? At least he's doing a good job of it.
He claims to be a carpenter, but while he knows how to work a little with mood and mend small objects, he's not exactly brilliant at it. Still, every little helps on a voyage into the wilderness. He's got something of a knack for healing, betraying some sort of formal training or study. And - let's be honest - he's obviously got some sort of thaumic touch, because water doesn't purify itself and no matter how much practice you've had, nobody can seal a crack in a plank just by running their finger along it.
Those who've kept an eye on him might have worked it out - Eckhard is, or was, a devotee of Adamat, the World's Skeleton. If the wooden symbol hanging around his neck (but usually tucked away beneath his robes) didn't give it away, his furtive sessions poring over Adamat's holy book when he thinks nobody's watching ought to have. It kind of makes you wonder, what with everything that happened in the Ridge, whose side he was on. But he doesn't preach, and his only obeisiance seems to be a fondness for meditation.
He looks like he's been living rough for some time, and isn't used to it - his frame is thin, skin tightly wrapped around his shoulders and ribs and sunken cheeks. His robes suggest he's been living as a penitent monk. His dark curly hair is unkempt, his nails are long and his beard is roughly and raggedly cut - kept close to his chin and cheeks, so he doesn't look like a complete hermit, but thick enough to keep him warm. And he's rarely seen without a weapon - oh, technically they might just be a walking stick and a woodcutter's axe and a sickle and so forth, but they're still capable of grievous bodily harm, and anyway there's no mistaking a crossbow. Perhaps he thinks whatever he's running from is chasing him. But combined with his tendency to be silent, they don't exactly inspire friendliness. Still, as the voyage goes on he seems to be opening up a bit. Time will tell if he leaves his demons behind.
Actual background:
The Geplite now calling himself Eckhard enjoyed as many comforts as were possible - somewhat hypocritically, for a devotee of the World's Skeleton - as a cleric to Adamat as a younger man in the Ridge. The Empire had always called to him, with the grandness of its ideals and its promised connection to an earlier, more ordered age. And with the ubiquitous ill-feeling towards Pelt, it was easy to overlook its downsides and preach to his peers that the Empire held the moral high ground in its struggle with Pelt. But this lifestyle could not last; perhaps the World's Skeleton would not allow one of Its own to rest so easily, and the cleric's devotion was tested at the fall of Pelt.
When the Empire lost its innocence, the cleric suddenly found himself a lonely advocate of a brutal, and some would say genocidal, regime. Terrified for his safety, and wracked with shame and misgivings, he broke his bonds and fled his community, and his homeland, heading to the more central provinces of the Empire. He has abruptly discovered that life in the Empire is not as easy as his had been for a man without means or the privilege of a spiritual role. But despite his doubts, he still has his faith. He is still devoted to the World's Skeleton, and some solid core of his soul knows that what happened in Pelt was a means to an end - that almost any price was worth paying for the sake of the fivilised order that the Empire promised to bestow. When the chance came to join the colonial effort, he took it, conjuring a new name for his new life. Even Eckhard couldn't tell you, though, whether he's still running from his sins, or striving to help build an ordered world anew. Perhaps it's both.
I am hoping beyond hope that my new laptop will arrive tomorrow, after which nothing can stop my regularly posted contributions, mwa ha ha.
Hey guys, so I've put up some info on the military (the realms stuff is on my computer at home so I'll put that up this evening.)
I have a question for you guys, now that we have a 'healer' in the party I'm considering putting in some homebrew rules to use the heal skill to heal hit points. Firstly do any of you guys know and rules already existing for this and secondly how would you guys feel about that?
Well, you could implement a simple system where a Heal check of 10 would heal 1HP and take perhaps a round or so, but higher DCs and heal times would heal more damage, like a DC 20 healing 1d8 and a DC 15 healing 1d4/1d6. Obviously, the player would have to pick the DC ahead of time since they would be deciding how much time they are spending on treating that particular injury.
Also, it may make sense to put a cap on how much immediate healing can help someone, since just sewing up a wound won't make it entirely better. There's the Dragon Shaman's fastheal aura as precedent for that, since it only heals people up to half health. Basically past that you'd need to heal up naturally or use magical healing.
Edit: Also, looking at Wilhelm's sheet I can't help but think a Sling with homebrewed non-lethal pellets would do him a great service. It really wouldn't be too hard to rationalize small sewn bags full of heavy sand as sling-stone alternatives. It might warrant the same reduction in accuracy and damage as wielding it with regular old rocks, but being able to deal nonlethal damage as a roleplaying choice without taking massive penalties to combat effectiveness seems like a decent thing in my mind.
Wilhelm would also benefit from a dagger, and a club just in case. Knives are very useful in medicine, and a club is a free stick you can beat skeletons with.
I can't recall any rules for that offhand, beyond what the skill already gives. It makes sense that you'd be able to patch up a few HP worth of damage with first aid, though obviously you'd have to limit the effect somehow, since as Slii says, putting a band-aid on something doesn't fix the actual inury. It's temporary.
That variant looks interesting but it does look a bit more potent than the power we're looking at. Maybe just limit the highest level of healing spell avalible?
Alternately, maybe reduce the time needed to get the varying effects of care with the possibility that a dc15 or so check could act as a Cure Minor Wounds spell but only can heal up to half the damage taken. Or simply cannot be used to heal a person over half HP?
I don't honestly think anything we could adapt for our campaign would resemble that in the slightest. First off, it's healing as a standard action no matter what level you're healing at, which doesn't reflect the reality of surgery and other medical practices since more serious wounds will almost invariably take more time to properly treat.
Secondly and most importantly in my opinion, it's limited by uses per day. This makes it more akin to spells than anything else, and again doesn't reflect reality since a doctor isn't limited in the number of wounds they can sew per day so long as they can stand and move their hands with sufficient dexterity. If Wilhelm suddenly claimed "I can heal no more" but then later picked a lock with those same hands that he assured us couldn't lay another bandage, it might break immersion a bit. I can't see that variant being of much use since it was designed to substitute for potions of cure light wounds in a setting where they are plentiful.
If you want to tier things based on the Cure spells and other healing related spells, let me try to flesh out my own suggestion a bit more firmly so you can look at it and judge it against that one.
First Aid
Take 10? Yes
Take 20? Yes
Retry? Yes
Spell Equivalent
Heal Ranks Required
DC
Time Required
Cure Minor Wounds
1
10
Standard Action
Detect Poison
2
10
Full Round
Close Wounds
3
15
2 Rounds
Cure Light Wounds
4
20
4 Rounds
Delay Poison
5
20
5 Rounds
That's a small example because it's only relevant up to five ranks, but it could be extended to 9 ranks since that's the highest anyone's rank in the Heal skill would be. Now for some particulars that aren't reflected on the chart.
-Close Wounds is a 1st level healing spell from the Spell Compendium that I'm using as an equivalent low level treatment. It wouldn't be used to prevent damage as described in the spell, but it's smack dab in between Cure Minor and Cure Light in terms of effectiveness at 1d4+1/level.
Speaking of per level effects, it might be wise to adjudicate them as per half the character's heal ranks, or just leave them as level dependent. This only makes a difference at higher levels, as half of 9 (max heal ranks in this campaign) rounds down to a +4 on a successful check rather than the +6 you'd get from your level.
I was also debating leaving detect poison in there, as without magic detecting the presence of poison in food or water would be more of an alchemical task requiring sample-taking and litmus tests, but that's ultimately up to you Frankie.
Let me know what you folks think. The numbers can be swapped around, this is just an example of what I think a first aid system could look like, tailored for this campaign.
A short, hirsute man, Dierna has the heavy frame of a warrior. His curling black hair was once cut short in the style of the soldiers of the Kallan empire, but has since grown out; his face is no longer clean, and now has the beginnings of a curled beard.
He goes bare-headed, favouring greens and murky browns as colours, save for his exceptionally fine set of blackened studded-leather armour in the style of the Pelt military. The armour fits him well, moving has he does, but shows markings of being adjusted post-construction for his particular build. An old, battered cloak, patterned in a distinctive Gepl Ridge style, drapes across his shoulders.
With him is a slate-grey and white falcon, either perched on his gauntlet or bound to a perch.
Personality:
Spoiler
Taciturn. Bitter and regretful after his acts during the Pelt campaign with the second army, Dierna has withdrawn into himself. He avoids his former brothers as much as possible. His wilderness skills and military training have him in demand, but his misanthropic nature has prevented him from retaining a position for long.
Background:
Spoiler
Still a boy during the time of the first Gepl Ridge campaign, most of his extended family was butchered by the armies of the city-state of Pelt. He was raised by kinsmen, higher in the mountainous country, and longed to exact a blood-price from those who murdered his immediate family.
When the II Army sought scouts who knew the Ridge and the lands beyond, he saw his opportunity- and took it. Attached as part of an auxiliary unit to the main Kallan force, the young man proved himself an exceptional scout and skilled enough warrior. He remained with the army for the entire campaign - during the war, he paid the iron price for the fine suit of studded leather that he still wears.
Once the walls of Pelt fell, he avenged his family, along with a score of other families. He burned and butchered, along with his brothers, smashing and looting. Five years of war weary a soul, and the now-older scout was determined to abjure all his rage.
When it was over, Dierna gradually realised what he had done. Irredeemably stained with the blood and ash of innocents, he left the auxiliary unit and attempted to return to his kin in the mountains.
Unable to stay easily in one spot, his conscience haunting him, the former scout turned wanderer and poacher, occasionally mercenary, constantly moving from one place to the next.
He heard of the colonisation of Denku as it happened, and considered it a decent enough place to hide. Far from cities, far from the sideways glances of his kin - and far from the city he burned. On hearing that another expedition was to be sent, he came to the ports and bargained his way onto a ship with what coin he had left from his days attached to the II.
Thematic Notes:
Spoiler
For Dierna, I've mostly drawn inspiration from the Dacian people of what is now Romania. A mountain Thracian people, they fought Rome in a long and bloody conflict; parallels with the Gepl Ridge conflict are obvious (only without the genocide).
The short swords he wields are a 'counts as' and slightly longer form of the sica, a curved weapon with the edge along the inside, itself a smaller version of the dreaded falx - for which Dierna's falcon is named.
Similarly, I've given him a kukri as a backup weapon instead of a dagger, as these are traditional weapons of mountain people of the Indian subcontinent. D&D is a hodge-podge of traditions, so I see no reason why not to do it here.
Hmmm, I think that could work. I'm tempted to still give access to higher level healing at higher levels, however maybe requiring a feat to unlock? Thoughts?
Sorry about the delay, yesterday was hectic and ended with me going to the second largest beer festival in Germany, so I wasn't really in a state to put up the thread when I got home yesterday. Some more fluff on the Realms went up a while ago as well in case you haven't seen it yet.
Also please be sure to add your fluff and anything else relevant to this thread as the recruitment thread won't be around forever.
I'm going to use the Prologue to test out Slii's suggestion for healing rules as well(if none of you have any objections). At the moment I'm going to say expected post rate of once every 3 days as I'm pretty busy at the moment.
One last thing, I'm still fairly inexperienced to GMing (GP might remember the last game I tried to GM, with was actually a very early incarnation of this game), so if you have any suggestions or criticisms for me they would be gladly appreciated.
I don't mind using my suggested DCs and things, but I'd like to fiddle with it and change it around a bit first, if you don't mind. I was a bit rushed when first making it, and it's not exactly balanced in my opinion.
First Aid
Take 10? Yes
Take 20? Yes
Retry? Yes
Spell Equivalent
Heal Ranks Required
DC
Time Required
Heals
Cure Minor Wounds
1
10
Standard Action
1HP
Detect Poison
2
12
Full Round
N/A
Close Wounds
3
14
2 Rounds
1d4+1/level(max 5)
Delay Poison
4
16
5 Rounds
N/A
Cure Light Wounds
5
18
4 Rounds
1d8+1/level(max +10)
Cure Moderate Wounds
6
22
1 Minute
2d8+1/level(max +10)
Lesser Restoration
7
24
2 Minutes
1d4 ability damage+fatigue
Cure Serious Wounds
8
26
5 Minutes
3d8+1/level(max +10)
That would be more along the lines of what I envisioned, along with the following:
First Aid healing, except in the cases of the two levels that emulate Cure Moderate and Cure Serious Wounds, cannot bring a person up past half of their total hitpoints. In the case of Cure Moderate, you can heal a person up to 3/4's of their total (rounded down) and in the case of Cure Serious, you can heal them up to their maximum hitpoints.
That would ensure that the easy to perform, fast first aid can't be abused infinitely for free healing, but that once we get into later levels we have the ability to heal up more fully if we've got the downtime for it. At 5 minutes for the highest level healing, taking 20 to ensure success makes it take a prohibitive amount of time unless we're already on downtime, and trying at that DC will amount to a coinflip otherwise, so it's bound to take five to ten minutes for each patchup.
You might consider taking uses of healing kits for the Lesser Restoration and other higher level ones to represent medicines being used up, but that might be needlessly restrictive. It's up to you in the end.
Let me know your thoughts on which system is better/worse. Designing these kind of things is mildly fun on my part, so I'm open to suggestions and tweaking as we playtest.
Well, Exeson, I do have a bit of friendly advice for you on the GM side of things.
Try to seperate which characters are speaking, somehow. You're not using coloured text, which is fine. I don't do that myself, either. I can see it getting a tad confusing as to who's saying what, though, unless you seperate them out somehow.
Well, Exeson, I do have a bit of friendly advice for you on the GM side of things.
Try to seperate which characters are speaking, somehow. You're not using coloured text, which is fine. I don't do that myself, either. I can see it getting a tad confusing as to who's saying what, though, unless you seperate them out somehow.
Yeah I was struggling with that, it has been a long time since I have had to write prose. Any suggestions to keep avoiding 'he said' and 'whispered back' etc?
Have the character do something. Use a spyglass, aim their weapon, point at something, any sort of general small action that indicates who it is that's currently talking, since I at least generally associate speech with the most recent character mentioned. If two people are talking back and forth, double space between their dialogue. 'He said' and so forth are fine too, when scattered around, you just don't want to be using them all the time.
So 3 days are up, even accounting for forum downtime. However, because it's the beginning of the campaign and I want for everyone to get a post in at least before moving on I'm going to leave the update till tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I'm back from Canadian Thanksgiving, and ready to get back going on this. Sorry about the length of my last post, I was pretty rushed to get it out on Saturday with the forum only just coming back on and my getting ready to go that morning. I wound up cutting off a paragraph I had planned, but I think it turned out alright anyway.
If I could make a recommendation, it's often better to make all the initiative rolls at once as the GM in a PbP, so that everyone immediately knows what number they've got and no one is waiting on the last person to roll init before posting their actions.
But with that suggestion out of the way, I might as well roll while I'm posting.
Initiative: Hargrave(1d20+2)[16]
Some notes that apply to this fight, Hargrave is not wearing his armor on deck, so he has AC 15 for this fight. I find it better to keep track of such things as we go.
Some notes that apply to this fight, Hargrave is not wearing his armor on deck, so he has AC 15 for this fight. I find it better to keep track of such things as we go.
That reminds me, Just as a housekeeping note if you could state with each IC combat post (in a spoiler) You actions, you current AC and HP and any modifiers you have
e.g.
Spoiler
Move action to move into into the closet
Standard Action to attack the closet monster
Attack roll +1 BAB, +1 Str modifier + 450 anti-closet monster sword (1d20+452)[455]
Damage roll, 1d6 + 4 str bonus (1d6+4)[6]
AC: 18
HP 4/8
Modifiers: Cloak of awesome, + 4 awesomeness
As for initiative rolls, I was originally going to do them myself but I'm still holding out hope that our two missing players will be spurred into action.
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