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The Party of Four


Rowen

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You have traveled together for sometime, doing what you do, what you are not so good at, and have even completely failed at times, but the your party always stuck together. Now you stand together once more with your few worldly possessions and must choose where to go from here.


What makes this campaign different then others? You choose what adventure your party takes. Are you a group of traders, group of thugs, or wanabe heroes who lack fame? Whatever you are and whatever tale history will remember you as is up is up to you.

Rules are a little different then other AIMhack games so far and is in no way a reflection of how others should run campaigns.
~All the characters share a common back story. They have been together for sometime before the start of this campaign. This means that the players will have to contact each other to build up characters and their stories.
~We will use 4 sets of dice (d6, d8, d12, and d20) that are dependent on a characters skill level. I will be dividing skills into 4 groups: Basic Understanding (1-7) uses d20, Intermittent Understanding (8-13) uses d12, Expert Understanding (13-16) uses d8, and Master Understanding (17-20) uses d6.
~Rolling a 1 on a d20 equals a flat out failure with negative effects. 1 on a d12 equals failure but with less negative effects. 1 on a d8 and a d6 result not in failure, but with less successful results. (Example: Roll a 1 on a d20 while throwing a knife; you toss the knife into the back of your fellow party member who was close to your target. Roll a 1 on a d4 while throwing a knife; you stick the knife into your target but miss the neck and hit the thigh instead.)
~I really hope the use of 4 dice sets will encourage skill specialization.
~Hit Points will not go up ever level. I will explain more on this at the first level up for the party
~Level ups will not be very common. No level up every session or every two sessions.
~Rolling for composure might not be a smart thing to do unless asked to do so.

Character creation will follow the same rules as CoH and Rumors.
~10 points divided between Str, Dex, and Int.
~10 Stamina points.
~20 skill points to be spent on skills in accordance to AIMhack rules

There will only be 4 characters in this campaign to start, so not everyone will get in. I will choose players based on availability to play regularly; at least once every week.

Once we have the players I will send out a "Same Page List" for all of us and then you can make your characters and backstory and tell me what setting or adventure you want the party to undertake.

Week Calendar

I will stay open for people to sign up to play till Friday 11 of February and then I'll choose from those interested with compatible times. We will be starting as soon as possible after that.

Intro:
Click to reveal..
After three years you are finally off the island. Who knew that a place of magical learning could also be place of magic hell? At least now you are of that island for what should be only a few weeks, but a few weeks is better then anything.

It all started when Cornelius Young called you to his study for dinner. You all arrived for dinner only to find that he had only set his table for one, you we only there to here him speak and speak he did. He rattled on for hours about the finer points of the different ways to weave a fireball and the different affect that fireball blah blah blah. It was painful to listen to him talk about something so mundane as the weaves for a fireball.
Just when you were ready to ask to be excused he soundly changed the topic. In less then a minute he told you three that you were all to go to Eolith on Ona to fetch three tomes that deal with the old magical techniques of fire. He gave you each of you a sealed letter with explicit instructions to not open the letter but to give it to who ever the owner of these tomes happens to be. He dismissed you with a wave of a hand only to stop you at the door to tell you that in two days time you had better be at the docks to catch the ship headed to Port Laz.

Two days time found you three on the Ugly Beauty traveling to Port Laz. It was a four-day trip and no amount of magic could keep the mice trying to nibble on your feet as you slept. Finally you arrived at Port Laz, as you disembarked your jaws hung open as you watched hundreds, thousands people mill about in the city.

You have never felt so lost or so alone as you do now standing at the dock, about to embark on what should be a simple task.

Some Known Islands of Mote
Map of Ona
Map of Eolith
Port Laz



Meet the Characters
Arell Iseil (Nioca)
Click to reveal..
ARELL ISEIL
Race: Dragonborn, Female
Occupation: "Spiritualist"
Alignment: Narcissistic

STR: 4
DEX: 3
INT: 6
Health: 17/17
Stamina: 10/10
Speed: 5

SKILLS
Magic (Vitaemancy): 7
Martial (Staves): 4
Composure: 3 ( RB)
First Aid: 3 (RB)
Stealth: 2
Perception: 2

Spells:
Click to reveal..
Radiant Restoration (1STM) - Restores a portion of the target's life energy, and also weakens or removes traces of necrotic energy.

Séance - Contacts the spirit of someone recently departed. The spirit will speak to the caster and answer questions to the best of its ability. However, the spirit is under no compulsion to help the caster, and is freely able to lie or obfuscate. The spell requires to be cast either with the body of the departed or with an important memento.

Risen (1 Spell Slot, Variable STM) - Creates from a corpse a Risen, a simple undead monster under the caster's command. Said creature occupies a spell slot of the caster's choosing, and remains until dismissed or destroyed. The creature has the attributes of what it was created from, but none of the skills. The spell costs a minimum 1 stamina, and usually requires more depending on the size of the creature.

Hibernation - Sends the target into a deep hibernation. Targets affected by this spell will fall into a deep sleep that mimics death, slowing vital signs to nil until the spell is either lifted or runs out of energy. Useful for taking a foe out of a fight, or for putting a friend in stasis until proper treatment can be administered.

Hale Vigor - Provides a recipient a jolt of positive life energy, filling them with energy. The recipient receives a bonus to all physical rolls for a short time.

Vitae Reading - Reads the targeted creature's life energy, providing information regarding the strength of its life force, its physical well-being, and any abnormalities.

Katharizo - A powerful curative spell, this spell cleanses away poisons, disease, and curses. Stamina may be required to cure more powerful ailments.

Sanguine Corruption (1STM) - Poisons the victim's blood, doing damage and weakening the victim (causing a penalty to physical activity). The weakening effect stacks with repeated castings.

WRACK - Fires a pulse of necrotic energy at a target, disrupting its life energy and inflicting severe pain.

Backstory:
Click to reveal..
Arell stared out at Port Laz as the ship Ugly Beauty drifted toward harbor. The line between this life and the next is a thin one, one so very easy to cross. Arell Iseil knew this well; as unease grew about being away from Tanan, her thoughts turned to how she got here and what had led her to this moment. She repeated that as a mantra in her mind to drown out the growing unease about being away from Tanan. And thoughts of how she came to this moment were brought to mind.

Her life had begun as that of a normal dragonborn, but that changed one fateful day. It was her tenth birthday, and the same day the Graborian Plague swept the town of Atoli. She, along with the rest of the town, fell prey to the disease as it mercilessly burned its way through the population of 1200, turning normal days into feverish nightmares. Death tolls mounted by the day, with half the population gone within a mere 48 hours of the disease showing up. Young Arell's family quickly perished before the disease.

She should have been next. She had closed her eyes as her fever had hit its apex and sank into delirium, expecting never to open them again. Yet open they did, to reveal a young healer at her side; a small group of Flamekeepers arrived in the village on the brink of its annihilation. Quickly setting to work, the healers amongst them had gathered and painstakingly cured the mere 32 survivors, including Arell. Miraculously, the only lasting effect of the illness was the dark gray pallidity her scales had developed; the other survivors weren't all so lucky.

The next few days were a grief-stricken blur, but three memories stuck out in perfect detail. The first was the sight of one of the Flamekeepers conversing with the spirit of a deceased townsman, attempting to get information regarding the plague. The next was the cremation of her family along with the rest of the dead, to avoid reinfection. The third was the discovery that her brush with death had left a gift; a spark of power created by her exposure to a Vitaemancer's healing spells. A spark that would drive her into the light of Vitaemancy and the shadows of Necromancy, taught to her by none other than the very guild that had saved her life.

The memories caused a slight needling of pain, but they also brought a sense of cold vindication. She was not like them. She was not like any normal person. She was stronger. And as hellish as the training had been, it had made her stronger still.

She glanced back, searching through the crowd on the deck of the ship. Her eyes first fell on a lacewing standing starboard. Sarsus, such a serious gal. The two had trained in combat together at the Conclave. Friends since she had helped Arell out during the Merisal Incident two years back. Without her, she would have been dead.... Sarsus was a sharp one, and quick on her feet, too. And then she spotted the elf. Porifio. Or, as Arell had taken to calling him, Porfy. Such a silly elf, obsessed with politics and the meaningless approbation of his peers. But he also had his sights on loftier goals, and was oh so very talented in the more subtle magical arts. It was almost too easy to underestimate him with his silly little Epee. It was a mistake Arell had made only once.

It was funny how things like this happened, really; never would Arell have considered bonding with either of them. She had sworn to herself to never be attached again. Yet, somehow, she now considered them irreplaceable. Demeaning errands for the Flamekeepers became somewhat bearable with them around. And there was no other people she would rather have at her side.

The ship came to a stop, and the passengers started disembarking. Arell joined the other two as they stepped down off the ramp and onto the docks. The sense of freedom was overwhelming; at last, she could spread her wings, and use the powers that had come with such a high cost. Everything she had experienced and everything she had learned was building up to this.

The line between this life and the next is a thin one, one so very easy to cross. Arell Iseil now was that line. A new arbiter of life and death.




Porifio (Sarachim)
Click to reveal..
Porifio
Male Elf
Occupation: Aristocrat
Alignment: Conceited

Age: 17
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170lb

Str: 4
Dex:2
Int: 7
17/17 HP
Magic (Enchantment): 6
Magic (Abjuration): 5
Streetwise: 3+1
Composure: 1+1
Martial (Epee): 3
Crafting: Magic Items: 1

Spells:
Click to reveal..
Mind Duel: Blasts a target's mind with psychic energy.

Command: Clouds target's judgment, and issues a simple order.

Despair: Curses a target with penalty to all rolls for 1 round, also makes future mental attacks easier.

Elemental Ward: Bestow tolerance of an element on your allies. Stamina is required for multiple elements.

Resiliency: Lays a ward on the recipient that makes him/her physically more resilient for a short time. They take slightly less damage from any source except mental, and stamina damage from blood loss or drowning/asphyxiating is reduced. Stamina can be spent to greatly increase the duration of the effect.

Nuxile's Thought Read: Gives the caster a brief look into the target's mind. A minor success will only reveal the target's emotions or most superficial thoughts. A major success may give deep insight into memories, plans, or beliefs. Costs 1 stamina.

Backstory:
Click to reveal..
"Are you nervous about this mission, Porfy?" asked Arell, as the two watched Tanan disappear over the horizon.
"I have already asked you not to call me that."
"It's okay if you're scared, Porfy. I'd have been scared, too, if I'd done my first mission at such a young age."
"And with your abilities, you would have been right to be. I, however, will be fine."

Porifio was embarrassed that anyone, even Arell, could see how nervous he was. His mother, a baroness back in Hiana, had taught him the importance of carrying himself like the nobleman he would someday be. His father, who owned a fleet of merchant ships, had told him that the first rule of any business deal was never to show weakness. He had taken both lessons to heart long ago. His proudest moment was when, at age 12, he had convinced them that a magical education would be useful in both politics and business. Six months later, they had dropped him off on Tanan in his father's flagship. He had not seen either since, and now he was traveling without either of them for the first time. If not for Arell and Sarsus, he'd be totally alone.




Sarsus Saume (RCCCL)
Click to reveal..
Sarsus Saume
Female Lacewing
Occupation - Martial Arts Instructor
Alignment - Determined

Str - 5
Dex - 3
Int - 5
HP - 20

Magic: Evocation - 4
Magic: Transmutation - 6
Martial: Unarmed - 4
History - 3 (RB)
Thievery - 1 (RB)
Perception - 3

Unused Points: 2

Spells:
Click to reveal..
Tesla's Orb of Shock - Creates an Orb of elctricity, which is then flung at an enemy.

Furious Freezing/Flaming Fists - Creates an Aura of extreme cold or heat around Sarsus' fists, causing anyone hit by Sarsus to be dealt cold or fire damage in addition to the damage from the punch. (1 STA)

Chitinous shield - Causes the targets skin to harden into a Chitinous shell, giving them a small amount of damage reduction.

Spiked Carapace - Creates spikes along Sarsus' body. Giving her increased melee damage and creating a spikey barrier that can damage enemies that attack her. (1 STA)

Wings of Light - Transforms Sarsus' wings into large luminous wings, capable of flight. (2 STA)

Illumine - Creates a light that floats along.

Sonic Burst - Sarsus slams her fists together, creating a concussive blast in a 6 foot radius around herself. Anyone caught in te spell takes minimal damage (d2) is pushed back and has a small chance of being stunned. Cost 2 Stamina.

Backstory:
Click to reveal..
Stepping off the boat in Port Laz, Sarsus couldn't help but think of the road that had led her here.

As an orphan, Sarsus grew up in a monastery just ouside of Surala. Having decided, at the age of 14, that the strict life lived by the monks was not for her, Sarsus decided to learn and expand upon her burgeoning magical abilities. Being on the Isle of Tanan, this obviously led her to Tanalus and the Flamekeepers. While most find the life of a novice difficult, the rules and guidelines were nothing compared to the ones Sarsus was used to, and she quickly flourished in the enviroment. The martial arts training Sarsus had recieved at the Monastery proved useful at the Citadel, and she was put in charge of instructing new students in basic hand to hand combat.

Shaking off her reverie, Sarsus took in her surroundings with her compound eyes. This being her first time being away from the isle of Tanan, she'd expected cities on other islands to be different in some way, so she was semi-surprised to find in to be nearly identical to what she was used to. Noting her companions, she couldn't help but wonder what adventures and difficulties they were bound to find. Young, proud Porfio, his ego was bound to get them in trouble, but, despite his arrogance, Porfio had proven himself extremely capable in the past, Sarsus was glad to have him along. Arell, having gone through training at the Citadel together, and a few adventures, Sarsus felt a special bond with her, almost as sisters. She knew that whatever might come, she could count on Arell.

Session One: Port Laz
Session Two: Snake Bite
Session Three: Meet the Aji's
Session Four: Twigs and stones can break your bones
Session Four and a Half: Dreams can kill you
Session Five: Leaf
Session Six: Punch Drunk
Session Seven: End of Slumwood
Session Eight: Future Visits
Session Nine: Whitty Tittle Goes Here
Session 9.5: The Last Ruler of Mohete
Session Ten: A Less Muddy View
Session 11: Carnys Task
Session 11.5: Our Lord Eternal
Session 12: Time Alone and Double Vission
Session 13: Three Drowned Rats
Session 14: An Arms Lenght Away
Session 14.5: The Massacre
Session 15: Grandpa is Dead
Session 16: To Death and Undeath
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Interesting concept. No way I have time to coordinate stories with three other people, though. Good luck, Rowen!

 

...A little puzzling that you offer no plot-tidbits to begin. Definitely a different approach to AIMHack.

 

The multi-dice route is also interesting, though I would worry that the...layers it adds might damage the beautiful simplicity that is one of AIMHack's appeals. Still, I see how it could promote specialization. I look forward to seeing how it works. I wonder...the use of different dice / different system for determining results, is based on skill level. Would it be possible to use that same system (skill levels from X to Y are part of category Z) but just use a single D20?

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Lurking, but that's it. Afraid I can't be in an AIMHack campaign full-time, certainly not more than once a week.

 

However, from your write-up, it seems like you'll be adding and removing secondary characters as the campaign progresses. I'd be able to play a side NPC for one or two sessions, if that's what your plan was.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Originally Posted By: Rowen
Updated the my first post with the party information and brief story hook.

Fist session is tomorrow the 23rd of February 2011 at 5pm PST (8pm EST). It will be in room SpidwebRP because I'm fine with that room.


Hahaha. Nice. Not like those uppity DMs who think they have to keep making up new chat rooms. wink

I LOVE maps!!! Lovely!

Also neat backstory. And going to Eolith = Cool! I look forward to seeing it fleshed out.
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Originally Posted By: Sarachim
The "cities" we've seen so far were mostly in the range of several hundred to several thousand. If Eolith had a hundred thousand people, that would make it two or three orders of magnitude larger than the typical city on Mote.


Ehh, I'd say some of the larger ones would be pushing a 100k at least, so Eolith would be no more than one order of magnitude larger. The towns in Bloodmarsh and the ever popular AIMhack jungle village are definitely not cities.
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Mariona help me, you guys have made me go and cite sources:

 

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubb...true#Post192240

 

Quote: "Quera is a walled town of moderate size (several hundred people)."

 

Quera is one of the largest settlements on its island, and sufficiently noteworthy that it appears on a map of the world. The same is true of Riole, which was only slightly bigger. We haven't seen anything close to a city of 100,000 yet, and if there were one it would be big enough to be a world power, like Eolith.

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Originally Posted By: Sarachim
Mariona help me, you guys have made me go and cite sources:

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubb...true#Post192240

Quote: "Quera is a walled town of moderate size (several hundred people)."

Quera is one of the largest settlements on its island, and sufficiently noteworthy that it appears on a map of the world. The same is true of Riole, which was only slightly bigger. We haven't seen anything close to a city of 100,000 yet, and if there were one it would be big enough to be a world power, like Eolith.


Several hundred people is a small enough size that you start to run into Dunbar's number, where it becomes eminently possibly that a group of 4-5 people could know literally everyone in the city. That's not a "city", that's a "small hamlet"- it is literally smaller than my elementary school. This is important because the psychology and sociology of a small town is totally different than that of a city- there's no anonymity, very little crime, extremely small economy, certain jobs wouldn't logically appear (I'm looking at you sage), etc. A "city" would have to have a population well into the thousands at least, if not tens of thousands, to be considered one, and there are absolutely places on Mote where we have experienced the "city" mentality (like every city we went to in Brigandage).
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Originally Posted By: Dantius
Originally Posted By: Sarachim
Mariona help me, you guys have made me go and cite sources:

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubb...true#Post192240

Quote: "Quera is a walled town of moderate size (several hundred people)."

Quera is one of the largest settlements on its island, and sufficiently noteworthy that it appears on a map of the world. The same is true of Riole, which was only slightly bigger. We haven't seen anything close to a city of 100,000 yet, and if there were one it would be big enough to be a world power, like Eolith.


Several hundred people is a small enough size that you start to run into Dunbar's number, where it becomes eminently possibly that a group of 4-5 people could know literally everyone in the city. That's not a "city", that's a "small hamlet"- it is literally smaller than my elementary school. This is important because the psychology and sociology of a small town is totally different than that of a city- there's no anonymity, very little crime, extremely small economy, certain jobs wouldn't logically appear (I'm looking at you sage), etc. A "city" would have to have a population well into the thousands at least, if not tens of thousands, to be considered one, and there are absolutely places on Mote where we have experienced the "city" mentality (like every city we went to in Brigandage).

So, if even towns are large enough to be major population centers, then there are very few "cities" as you define them on all Mote. Cities in the tens of thousands would be exponentially less common, so you're already dealing with just a handful on the entire map. There's room for about one city of 100k at the top.

I prefer this interpretation because it fits better with the concept of Mote as a world in decline. Civilization of any kind is the exception, not the rule. Having dozens of large, thriving urban areas would clash with that pretty severely.
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Inserting two cents here; there's also some context here that isn't being looked at. Mote is dangerous. As in, considerably more dangerous than Earth. You've got natural threats above and beyond normal, plus the additional hazards of magic and the occasional angry deity. Naturally, depending on the local hazards, this would have a massive impact on population. So while a relatively tame island (like Skarrifissk or Ona, where the biggest threat is other people) might have cities with five-or-six-figure populations, more dangerous ones (Like Selos or especially Risis) would be lucky to hit four-or-five figure populations. Thus, populations on the less dangerous islands would flourish.

 

So why hasn't, say, the people of Ona taken over the world yet? Or, at the very least, resulted in emigration and larger populations elsewhere? One word: Oceans. The oceans of Mote are so ridiculously dangerous (or at least dangerous to the point of highly discouraging sea travel) that they effectively isolate each island; while travelers may come and go, they're effectively the exception, not the rule. So while a population on a safe island like Ona might boom, it wouldn't have nearly the impact that it would in normal circumstances. Besides, why leave a perfectly cushy island behind to risk your neck in some backwater that could kill you?

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Yay, Rowen! I was worried it wouldn't get off the ground for a while there.

 

Originally Posted By: Nioca
So why hasn't, say, the people of Ona taken over the world yet? Or, at the very least, resulted in emigration and larger populations elsewhere?

Even if the oceans were perfectly safe, there's probably not much enticement to go hang out in a snowy, zombie-infested marsh. Especially since the birth rate doesn't seem much above the death rate, so it's not like safer islands really need to go out and conquer new land.

 

Dikiyoba.

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Originally Posted By: Sarachim
Mariona help me, you guys have made me go and cite sources:

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubb...true#Post192240

Quote: "Quera is a walled town of moderate size (several hundred people)."
You're quoting canon?

*sniff*

Our little setting is all grown up!

From what I've seen from a smattering of official D&D settings, anything over 100K is a huge city, probably unique to the world. In the Forgotten Realms setting, Neverwinter is around twenty thousand, and according to Wikipedia, Waterdeep is 130K. Sigil, the literal centre of the multiverse in the Planescape setting, is around a quarter million at any point in time.

At the end of the day, though, it's just numbers. Who's going to play differently if it's 100K or 1000K?

(I could go on about why the demographics of fantasy settings differ from medieval Europe; namely, a combination of a more dangerous wilderness (what Nioca said), the presence of multiple deities that have a direct hand in the world, and the existence of magic. But it's late, and I'm tired.)
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Originally Posted By: Nioca
After much difficulty, the session finally got underway around 9:00 PM EST. Thanks go out to CalRef for generously hosting it when AIM failed.

Oh, and we all survived. Albeit with considerably lighter wallets.


So the problems with AIM were for everyone? I thought maybe it was just me...I was going to try to spectate, but AIM was giving error messages.
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Thank to to Calref and to W-Dueck for last night. AIM would not let me log into any chat rooms, but at the time of posting this I am logged into SpidwebRP so i just hate AIM now.

 

First session was fun and the party met someone that we all know on top of being robbed blind.

Session One: Port Laz

 

Next session is set for Wednesday the 2nd of March at 5pm PST time.

 

EDIT: Uploaded as RTF.

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Well, session III has concluded. Here are some lessons learned.

 

*Anything can be cured by bombarding it with enough life energy.

 

*Sometimes, peaceful diplomacy is not the answer.

 

*If peaceful diplomacy is the answer, it should not be conducted by threatening to open fire.

 

*Two fumbles don't make a right.

 

*When asked "how many fingers", the answer is not a high five.

 

*Party mascots are not delicious.

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