Character Creation Workshop

Welcome everyone! I'm thrilled you're joining us for this experience. I hope it'll be a good one.

Please feel free to use this thread to tell others about your character concepts, coordinate with other players on shared backstories, ask questions, and so forth. Please see the Player Resources subforum for links to the official campaign documentation.

Everyone's submitted a character concept, which is why you're here. Please share as much of your proposed character concept with the others as you're comfortable making public, and if you're not 100% settled on your idea yet, we're here to brainstorm things that will work for you and the party as a whole.

This would also be the place to talk about NPCs and other flavor details that aren't covered in the campaign lore.

Hi Everyone, Glad to be here. This is my first PbP game on this site, so I'm excited about the experience and opportunity to learn.

Here's what I've got so far for my Dwarf Cleric, Ephwrath:

Ephwrath is a scholar within the College of Dawnstone. He's spent the majority of his life buried in books, studying and teaching within the School of the Seven Stones. Although intellectually aware of the devastation caused by the War of Kings, he's been largely sheltered from the effects of the war. He's good-natured, but has an academic air of aloofness. His intense curiosity often gives others the impression he's rude or standoffish, when in reality he's usually just lost in thought or observation.

Do you envision Ephwrath as much of a teacher or would you say he’s more of a "hide in the library" scholar? Any thoughts on what his particular academic pursuits/interests might be?

Good question. He's been lecturing in the College for years, but his true passion is study and research. He'd rather have his nose buried in a book or scroll than staring at a room of students. Although he has a fair amount of experience teaching, I picture his style being more of droning megaphone than that of an engaging professor...

Hello people, I appreciate the invite 78RPMLife.

I've altered my character concept from its original design to better fit the new class. Elora was originally a pupil of the Granite college until it was evident she showed magical aptitude at a young age. She was transferred to Whitestone as this magical endeavor would surely be of more use, plus she didn't feel the soldier culture was a proper fit. But even as her studies progressed she found herself drawn to a weapon time and time again, and although not as experienced as the shining guard in martial combat, she has found her own way to even the field with the use of magic.

Elora is rather soft spoken and feels a bit overwhelmed with her power (plus the attention it brings), but ultimately thinks it can be used to make the world a safer place through the slaying of abominations brought about by the war, one could say she prefers the company of monsters to that of the intimidating people in Meriava.

A question I have is avenues the source of magic could come from, I sorta envision her as almost a witch (I even found a nice portrait with a fun pointy hat) but wasn't sure if the magic origins would matter to the world.

Origins as in how someone gains magical power (inborn or learned)? The source of magical power? Something else I'm not thinking of?

Both of those actually. I figure the easiest option for gaining magic is "taught by a mentor" but there might be unique ways to the world.

Some magic is inborn (sorcerers, for example, have innate magical ability) while some is learned (the wizard class gains it through study). If you're playing a magus, the rules as written are that the magus's abilities are learned (and similar to a wizard), but there's an archetype for the magus called eldritch scion that I'm fine with you taking. You would select a sorcerer bloodline from those listed in the Character Creation document and follow the archetype rules at that link.

As far as where magic comes from, that is a topic of intense debate among scholars, especially as it relates to both the Great Advancement and the War of the Mage Kings. The quick and dirty answer is: no one knows for sure. But there are lots of theories. :)

Okay, thanks for the info. I'll probably stick with vanilla Magus, although I am liking the bladebound archetype as well...

I'll just copypaste the preliminary background I sent to 78. I'll rework it a bit but most should stay like this:

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Viani Yelven is a young elven woman who was born as the daughter of two simple merchants in Meriava. Even before the War, she has never left the city but she has read up on the outside world a lot. She has always been fascinated by magic and used to love reading about all the ways magic could be used to improve everybody?s lives. She was always especially fascinated by Ardraven and dreamed about one day visiting it. Ever since she was a child, she has been working as a seamstress so she could save up to one day visit the School of Seven Stones to become a wizard and find new applications for magic to improve the world.
When the War of the Mage Kings happened, she got disillusioned about magic, seeing how the world?s overreliance on it has brought it almost to its end. Because of this, while some fascination with magic still remains, her general view of it has been tainted. She has seen the foolishness in relying too much on magic.
She made it her purpose to help with rebuilding the world but her chosen method has changed. Instead of attending Whitestone college to learn magic as she had originally intended, she chose Opal. Knowledge is power and nowhere in the school can she learn more about the history of the world than here. She also started learning about the ways of an Inquisitor. She has mastered a few easier spells but, choosing not to rely on them, she instead focuses on her martial abilities.

Viani portrays herself as cynical and very logical but that is mostly an act. She is kind and will put herself in danger for others without a second thought. She is curious and adventurous and can?t wait to get a chance to explore the world outside of Meriava.

Hey everybody, I recognize some names here so this should be fun! I'll be playing Krav Thorne. Krav is a Druid. I'm still fiddling around with his ability scores a bit, but here's the general background I've worked up and sent to 78. It's funny...I didnt read anyone else's before I wrote mine, but it seems we have a few students who changed majors!

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Krav Thorne had dreams of joining Granite College. Because he grew up exceptionally poor, his only way to train to fight was on the streets. He even went as far as getting involved with paid fighting rings, and it was during one of these fights that he discovered his true calling.

After getting knocked out for the 3rd time in a row, he was a big disappointment to everyone, including himself. As he lay in an alleyway surrounded by refuse, he felt something. Not a physical something, but something inside. Like someone prodding his emotions and encouraging him to compose himself and rise up. When his eyes opened, he was amazed to realize that a tiny centipede was the source of this empathy! The connection was instant, and their rapport was unbreakable. Krav named the centipede Shiloh.

Over time, Shiloh became the Yin to Krav's Yang. When Shiloh needed to be protected, Krav was there. When Krav needed to center himself, Shiloh provided his peace. As their relationship grew, Krav began to realize that maybe Granite College was not where he was meant to be. So he applied to Veridium College instead, and this is where we find him today.

Krav is a relatively strong and fit young man (6'-1" 195lbs), but he is also very dirty and unkempt. He has dark brown matted hair and a long-ish scraggly beard. People generally avoid him on the street, and they are particularly turned off if they see him talking to Shiloh. Once people get to know him though, they see he is a good person, he just doesn't care about societal expectations. Where other druids commune with nature or even the spirit of a city, Shiloh has taught Krav to find beauty and strength in decay, and to draw his power from vermin, fungus, and disease.

Wow what are the odds! I was limited to centipede, scarlet spider, rat, and raven. Centipede and rat seemed to fit the theme best, and I went with the less obvious option.

Why were you limited to those?

The archetype I chose limited me to that. I guess Cat was also on that list, but that was my last choice. Although Crazy Cat Lady would've been fun maybe! Plus, everything but centipede and spider was outside of the books that 78 listed as our sources.

If it’s something as simple as a familiar, and it would fit your vision better, feel free to propose it.

Well maybe I'll do rat or raven then. I'll decide today.

I recognize most of you! Hi! And greetings, AugustAsh!

Ember is a young human sorcerer, barely 15, who works at a local tavern as a waitress and sometimes entertainment. Largely self-taught, she is uneasy about the Masters, though she does daydream of joining the school someday. Her plucky (troublemaking) personality regularly gets her into trouble, and, well, her lack of formal training shows. But she longs to make a name for herself - a good one - and she has a heart of gold.

Welcome lavtodd!
I've settle on Rat if that works for you Mr GM. It just seems to fit the flavor best. I'll update my sheet tonight hopefully.

So now we have:
AugustAsh - Ephwrath, the bookworm Dwarf Cleric
somebox - Elora, the softspoken Magus
bowlofspinach - Viani, the seemingly cynical Inquisitor
kona - Krav, the dirty vermin Druid
lavtodd - Ember, the plucky but kind sorcerer

Subject to change of course.