Chalrytharendir Character Discussions

This thread is for discussing Chalrytharendir's character please do not post anything here that is not related to Chalrytharendir's character and yes collaborating with Chalrytharendir is consider fair postings.

Please make all rolls in here and outline what you are are doing so that I can give you feedback on the world. Do note though this game borrows heavily from the Forgotten Realms so you can use information from that setting to outline your background.

I'd like to play a (half) human sorcerer with a bloodline related to a magical fae-like creature. I only have the basic rules, so I will need your help to customize the sorcerers 'bloodline' abilities to make this work. I'm imagining that I'm the son of a Xana that inhabits the woods and caves around a magical hotspring. A Xana, from Asturias mythology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xana), is much like a nymph from Greek mythology. There are many variants, but I'm imagining one who steal from the immoral or weak of soul (judged by the Xana). She determines this by playing tricks on travelers, partially for her own entertainment, but mostly to test them. If she deems them unworthy, then she steals their possessions to add to her treasure and their life energy for sustainance. The amount she takes depends on how she judges them. On the otherhand, if she decides the traveler is worthy, then she rewards the hero with her treasure (or part of it). I think powers/spells along the lines of fire, water, forest-nature, enchantments/illusions, would all fit reasonable well. If not, I'll just use the draconic (red dragon) bloodline that comes with the basic rules and make do by reworking the flavor a bit if that's okay. For race abilities, I'm thinking just to go with the regular human ones since he's unnoticably different except for his magic, but I'm open to suggestions or modifications.

Below I've written a more detailed concept for the backstory. Let me know what you think and if you like it then I'll start putting together a character sheet. Also, what level should I make it?


Name: Xanin Aqualiente (previously known as Davard Arkwright)

Backstory:
An adventurer returning from a treasure hunt with a small fortune was seduced by a Xana who lives near a magical hotspring in an enchanted forest. After putting him through many tricks and test, mostly for her own amusement, she decided he was worthy of her treasure. In fact, the Xana was particularly intrigued by the hero and rewarded him with more than just the treasure ... when the half-human baby was born, the Xana was not equipped to nourish the infant, so instead snuck into a nearby village at night and switched her baby with another, leaving a spell on it so the parents would not notice for months or even years.

As the spell gradually wore off, the parents slowly suspected that the child, who they had named Davard, was not their own. They had no explanation, so they loved it and raised it as their own despite their hunch. At least until Davard's magic began to express itself ... as the village disliked any type of magic.

Around the time Davard became a teenager, his fae-blood started to manifest. Strange happenings started around town. Initially, the townfolk thought they were coincidences, or unfortunate acts of nature, but eventually the events became too frequent and the effects too dramatic to be luck or a few folks' exaggerations. The town was suspicious that magic or witchcraft was at play, so they began to investigate. Davard's life in the village ended in tragedy. His uncontrolled magic was blamed for the accidental death of a villager. In the ensuing chaoes, he even had to kill his adopted father in self-defence before he was able to flee into the wilderness with his adopted mother's curses forever echoing in his head.

For a long time he was left wandering through the world on his own, a depressed beggar moving from town to town, barely doing enough to survive. Left abandoned his previous name. A new one that he gave himself, Xanin Aqualiente, was born out of fever dreams of his biological mother and the hotsprings in which he was born. He could not control his magic, but it would usually kick in to his benefit when he was at his most desparate. One day, perhaps had his lowest, he met a kind woman, a fellow sorcerer, who recognized his potential and took him under her wing as an apprentice. With her care, support and teachings, he began to grow towards his potential. Soon he was off pursuing adventures in the world on his own. His goal is to prove the village wrong. He is a good moral being and not the evil demon that they assumed and labelled him. He wants to be a hero by helping those in need. He hopes one day he'll meet his biological mother and be judged a worthy hero.


Questions I'm interested to find out as we play if it turns out to be a longer campaign:
How does he know his full backstory? I'm not sure he does fully, but I think he's pieced together hints from dreams, like those that caused him to pick his name, Xanin Aqualiente. Or perhaps there were rumors over the years, spread by the Xana herself and he gradually put two and two together.

Who is his biological father? Is he alive somewhere? Can he find him?

Can he find his biological mother (the Xana)? Will she recognize him and will she judge him a worthy hero or punish him?

Did the baby that he replaced survive somehow? If so, I suspect it has had a very tough life and perhaps wants revenge against Xanin or his mother, the Xana.

Are there any village folk who are searching for him to bring him to justice for the death of the villager and his adopted father?

Can he ever find a way to reach out to his adopted mother to discuss what really happened on that tragic day?

Okay to facilitate your request here are some of the things I have crafted. Note your character will look like a half-elf (fFolk) and I will work at creating an adjustment for your back story to accommodate that. However while your character appears to be half elf they are in fact half Fae

Racial Features
.... Ability Score Increase : Charisma +2, Dexterity +1
.... Dark Vision 60 ft
.... Keen Senses : Proficient in Perception
.... Fae Ancestry : Advantage on Saves vs Enchantments and Not affected by Magic Sleep
.... Fae Glamor : Gain Advantage on all friendly oriented Charisma checks
.... Amphibious : Can breath in water or air
.... Languages : Common, Sylvan

Sorcerous Origins (Fae Bloodline)
.... Expanded Spell List
.... Water Fae Ancestry
.... Fae Resilience
.... Misty Escape (6th Level)
.... Beguiling Defense (14th Level)
.... Fae Presence (18th Level)

I will give full descriptions of the above assuming this appears to be to your liking

Feel free to make my concept public. I'm happy to discuss and get input or feedback from the other players. If we decide any of the backstory should be "secret" we can label it later as secret meaning other characters don't know and should act accordingly, but I'm happy for the other players to know.

Yep, I think all those ideas for racial and bloodline features look good. I'm hoping to emphasize "hot" water springs in some way, but I think I can do that with my spell choices (I'm thinking themes like steam, earth-generated heat, fire or magma, maybe seismic activity, etc) and role playing - maybe warm baths are a huge favourite of mine, but we'll see as the character develops.

Sorcerous Origins (Fae Bloodline)

Looks good. I especially like flavour and mechanic of "Misty Escape." That's perfect!

The only one I wasn't sure about was Water Fae Ancestry. I'm imagining the character's mother to inhabit small/shallow hot spring pools in a forest. Sort of like this:I'm not sure much aquatic life would inhabit them, maybe some slimes and molds and thermophilic bacteria, so being able to converse with aquatic beings, although quite useful, doesn't feel quite right. Same with the ability to turn my lower body into a tail fin. That seems better suited for beings in large bodies of water. Again, could be extremely useful in game, but not sure it fits. Also, it feels a little too close to the ninja-mermaid I'm playing in our other game. I'd prefer to try something a little different. Let me know what you think.

To clarify the Fae Resilience, I get +1 HP at Level 3, then another +1 HP each time I gain a sorcery level. Is that right?

I've read through the char gen rules, so I'll start rolling my stats.

Stats Rolls:
3d6 > choose 2 + 6

Results : 16, 14, 14, 10, 17, 17

Not a bad set of numbers.

I think that might be the best stats I've ever rolled for a dnd game! I'm sure your house rule helps a lot, but that's pretty awesome. Also, I really like the way you do hp progression. I've not seen that variant before.

I haven't read through the house rules yet, so I'll do that before I fill out my char sheet. I have gone through the world dynamics. Looks great, I think I've got a good feel for the setting. Looking forward to joining the game once I've got my character figured out.

Just understand most of the character creation adjustments are in the Character Creation Parameters thread while some of the gear stuff is found under the House Rules --- I tried to keep the stuff that you only need during character creation within the first thread and things you may need for game play within the second thread.

Oh nevermind, Sorcery Origins begin at 1st. The last character I played was a Rogue, whose archetype started at Lvl 3. That's why I thought Fae Resilience started at level 3, so my question probably sounds weird. So just to clarify, it just gives me +1 hp each level of sorcery starting right at level 1, is that correct?

Okay, thanks for the heads up. In that case I'll browse them quick before building and then read in detail by the time I join the game.

That is correct.

Name: Xanin Aqualiente
Race: Half-Fae
Class: Sorcerer (Origin: Fae Bloodline)
Background: Haunted/Hermit

Stats:
STR 10
DEX 18 (17 roll +1 racial bonus)
CON 16
INT 14
WIS 14
CHR 19 (17 roll +2 racial bonus)

HP:
Lvl 1: 6 (lvl 1 base) + 3 (CON) + 1 (Fae Silience)
Lvl 2: 1d4+2 (lvl 2 base) + 3 (CON) + 1 (Fae Silience)
Lvl 3: 1d4+2 (lvl 2 base) + 3 (CON) + 1 (Fae Silience)

Total = 10 + 1d4+6 + 1d4+6 = 2d4+22
(Rolling below)

Proficiency:
Proficiency Bonus = +2
Languages:
Common (Race)
Sylvan (Race)
Skills:
Perception (Race)
Insight (Sorcery)
Persuasion (Sorcery)
Two of:
Investigation (Haunted Background)
Nature (Backstory)
Survival (Haunted Background)
Tools:
Carpenter's Tools (Backstory - Adopted Family were Arkwrights)
Herbalism Kit (Hermit Background)
Weapons:
Daggers (Sorcerer)
Darts (Sorcerer)
Slings (Sorcerer)
Quarterstaffs (Sorcerer)
Light crossbows (Sorcerer)
Armor:
None

Equipment:
To be decided


Special Abilities:

Dark Vision 60 ft (Race)

Fae Ancestry (Race):
Advantage on Saves vs Enchantments
Not affected by Magic Sleep

Fae Glamor (Race):
Gain Advantage on all friendly oriented Charisma checks

Amphibious (Race):
Can breath in water or air

Spellcasting (Sorcerer Lvl 1):
Spellcasting focus = arcane focus
Spell save DC = 14 (8 base + 2 proficiency bonus + 4 CHR mod)
Spell Attack Modifier = 6 (+2 prof + 4 CHR mod)

Cantrips:
4 To be decided

Spells:
4 (from Lvl 1 + 2) To be decided

Sorcerous Origins - Fae Bloodline (Sorcerer Lvl 1):
Expanded Spell List
Water Fae Ancestry
Fae Resilience

Font of Magic (Sorcerer Lvl 2):
Sorcery Points = 3

Metamagic (Sorcerer Lvl 3):
To be decided

Okay I have not finished working on your character I have read your concerns and I am bouncing some thoughts around to figure out what to replace the Water Fae Ancestry with that adheres to the basic theme.

As for the backstory I am thinking perhaps playing with that a little bit but you will of course have final say and such on anything I suggest.

Would like to get you included soon though if at all possible

As for Backgrounds you get both features outlined for the Background you choose. Also I am not seeing Haunted One -- the character is more Hermit due to Exile which is an aspect of that background however I will look over the Hermit a bit more along with some of the other backgrounds that I have not yet addressed to see if a better pair of Features could be formed for what you have outlined for your characters background.

Yeah, I'm not sure Haunted fits in the "horror" sense, but I really like the description of the 'Haunted' feature in that background and thought it might be an appropriate outcome of his experience when the lynch mob tried to get him and/or the memory of killing his father. I think perhaps it's more like Severe Mental Trauma, than Haunted, now that I think about it. Maybe we can adapt that mechanic into my background. I really like the Discovery feature in the hermit background and I think it fits well. I like the idea that the thing he discovered is what brought him to Far Reach, you can give me some ideas about what that might be. I'm less keen on the In-Depth Studies because I think his time as a hermit was non-consensual so probably less studious and more stressful. But I'm open to it if we need to get my character into the game soon. I'd probably take Expertise in Nature or Survival in that case.

I'll try to get my spells and equipment sorted tonight, so I can join in asap. We can workout the background details as we go. I'm fine leaving those features and the Water Fae Ancestry ability off my sheet until we solidify them.

As I was picking my spells, I remember that you said it would be good if the group had an arcane magic user. Is there something in particular I should be including in my spells, i.e. Attack/Buff/Control/Utility Spells?

I'm leaning towards these spells:
Cantrips: Fire Bolt, Mage Hand, Shillelagh, Vicious Mockery
Lvl 1: Shield, Speak with Animals
Lvl 2: Suggestion, Web

But I was also considering these ones: (Feather Fall/Sleep/Magic Missile/Create Destroy Water)

If there's some hole I should make sure I fill, let me know.

Well the Create/Destroy Water would be useful in this campaign as would anything that helps the group with surviving in the wild. Remember surviving in the wild is actually one of the challenges that the group will eventually face and depending on how well they deal with it determines how well they survive as a whole. That being said, Prestidigitation can come in very handy at times and is even more versatile than previously and can be used to help with survival versus the elements if used creatively in that manner.

In that vein Protection from Poison can be useful in situations as well.

Still the spells you chose can also be highly effective if used in the right situations.

So some of the other spells that might prove useful might be -- Burning Hands, Chromatic Orb, Detect Thoughts, Disguise Self, Enhance Ability, Expeditious Move (was Expeditious Retreat), Friends, Illusion (was Silent Image), Knock, Mending, Speak with Plants, and Weapon Ward (was Blade Ward)

Keep in mind some of these spells have been tweaked a little so be sure to look at the list of spells outlined in the House Rules

In a basic nutshell having a couple attack spells and then a bunch of versatile spells that can be used creatively can give you more latitude.

Oh and a big note you might not have seen yet -- Illusions in this world work -- they are not altered in any way if someone chooses to disbelieve them as they are simply false sensory data -- if you create an illusionary wall and someone walks through it -- it still looks to be a solid wall to them even though they know it is not a solid wall -- which means they might miss it if they were in a hurry. On the flip-side Illusion do not cause direct damage of any kind and the Phantasm spells have been moved to the Enchantment category where they belong, they being mind-affecting magic not Illusions

Just calculated my starting equipment and it's almost 10x my STR already and I haven't even spent any of the 750 gp! This is going to be tricky!

Do others have animals to carry their stuff or am I just weak? I haven't played with the encumbrance and equipment rules in this much detail before, so it's taking me a bit longer to figure out than normal.

RE: Spells
So many possibilities and only 4 spots!!! So hard to choose 😆

I hadn't taken a good look at all the house rules until now. I have a couple questions about the house rules before I decide on spells. I've also not played with such detailed travel/survival/emcumbrance rules before, so I'm slow because of the extra accounting.

Foraging:
So there's no such thing as a normal forage roll? It's always either with advantage (slow travel speed) or with disadvantage (normal travel speed)? What happens if you are on a rest day? Can you forage on a rest day, or is that not restful? If you don't rest, but you stay in one spot to forage (I imagine you might do this if you're starving), how does that work? In all cases, it's just 1 survival check for both water and food, or one for each? When you succeed on your daily forage roll, can you fill up multiple containers with water?

Hunger/Thirst:
If you take an exhaustion from lack of food or water, then you eat or drink enough, do you recover the exhaustion or does that just allow you to recover, you would then need to do a long rest with food and water to recover the exhaustion point?

Create Water:
Create water only makes 1 gallon? So it basically just saves you from 1 exhaustion point if you miss your survival check for the day and then miss the CON save? It also has creative utility uses, but I imagine given the survival aspect, then I'd probably be using it for sustenance most the time right?

Rest length:
In the House Rules, under "Watches" it says short rests are 1 watch (2 hrs) and long rests are 4 watches (8 hrs), but in "Exhaustion and Grittier Resting Realism" is says short rests are 2 watches (4 hrs) and long rests are 12 watches (24 hrs). I'm assuming it's the latter, but just wanted to double check.

Equipment Necessities:
Do we need a bedroll and mess kit? How will these affect survival mechanisms (ie. do you need a bedroll and mess kit to complete a long rest else you don't sleep well or have a relaxing meal?). Otherwise, they are 8 lbs and I could use the space.

Background:
Perhaps I will take that expertise in Survival from the Hermit Background given it's importance to the game. Then I'll take either a modified Haunted feature (Mental Trauma), or the Discovery feature. I'm happy with either.

Rest Length Answer:

Okay I have updated those Rest Length guidelines -- I was doing a lot of copy/paste and fixed that in at least one other instance of this game but must have missed fixing that in this instance.

Background Answer:

As for the Background let's just go Hermit due to Exile and I was working on something more in tune with your background but if I cannot figure something out that seems more appropriate that you like then we can fall back to the Discovery feature.

Regardless I can see having Survival as a focused skill being appropriate for this character based on their background -- aka forced self-sufficiency kind of thing.

***************************************

By the way thanks for all those questions I will address them all as well as outline them in the guidelines for ongoing clarity.

Foraging Answer:

For Foraging I have added an explanation for stationary situations as follows:

If a group is stationary they can make a normal Survival check to forage an area for food and water. Depending on the type of terrain the difficulty may increase with each subsequent day of foraging that takes place within the same area.

This is where the Normal Forage roll would take place, thus moving slowly and foraging allows for more food/water to be gathered more easily while moving at a normal pace makes it harder.

And it is just one Survival check for both food and water, although water can be augmented since the Survival check just means you found safe water to drink but with Nature, Medicine, Herbalism, Apothecary, and/or Alchemy knowledge one could now how to make tainted water safe to drink depending on how badly tainted it might be.

As for stock piling food and water foraging is usually meant to cover a single person for a single day if they can forage for rations and water then they do not consume their reserves. If they cannot find enough food or water then thye have to dig into their reserves. Again water can be found in larger quantities and if time is spent making sure its safe to drink then it can be used to fill up numerous waterskins if they are available.

Hunger/Thirst Answer:

Exhaustion if acquired is only cured either magically or via a Long Rest with adequate food and water.

Create Water Answer:

Yes Create/Destroy Water only creates 1 gallon of drinkable water when cast as a 1st-Level spell. So you might use it to cover someone who had not found water while foraging or you may use it for other things.

Equipment Necessities Answer:

As for the bedroll and the mess kit neither are required but the former does make sleeping on harder and/or rocky ground more comfortable (no Con save) and the mess kit is mostly a matter of civility although it does make it easier to eat hot food still not everyone uses one, especially the more barbaric individuals.

Thanks for all the answers. That clears things up.

I'm trying to figure out what to use my 750 gp for. What consumable magic items are available and is there a list of costs? I see the healing potions in the house rules, but are there any other consumables?

Can I use the 750 gp for masterwork on my weapon?

Yes you can use the 750gp to put masterwork upon your weapon and/or armor but you can also put masterwork upon other things that are not weapons such as a backpack or just about anything else. What it does when applied to non-weapon/armor depends on what you are trying to accomplish with the masterwork. For instance, perhaps you want a lighter weight bedroll or a bedroll that can also function as a hammock if the situation allows it to be used as such. Or perhaps you want both of those added to a bedroll (2 applications of masterwork for a x10)

Further there are special materials that you can have things made from which alters the cost of that item.

As for consumable items if there is something you think you might like to have just ask otherwise...

1st-Level Spell Scroll (100 gp)
2nd-Level Spell Scroll (200 gp)

1st-Level Dust, Oil, Ointment, Potion (100 gp)
2nd-Level Dust, Oil, Ointment, Potion (200 gp)

Dust of Dryness (200 gp)
Dust of Sneezing and Choking (200 gp)

Note casting a ritual tagged spell as a ritual means it does not use a spell slot thus it would not consume a scroll either.

Okay I settled on the change to Fae Ancestry and updated that previous post and made it more in line with the other abilities the character gets.

Thanks, that looks good except can I take an extra language because I already know Sylvan from my race.

I'm going to do masterwork on my Staff. It is my arcane focus, so it's base cost is 5 gp (not the usual 3 sp for a quarterstaff). I'd like the max +2 hit and +2 dmg (20x), and I'd like to remove the primitive property (5x). And might like to make it fully from dark wood (10x), but I don't understand what the following means: "reduce Damage by 1 Step, reduce Speed by 50%, reduce Knock Down by 2 Steps, reduce Required Strength by 4, increase required Dexterity by +2". That would make it 5 gp x 35 = 175 gp, is that correct?

How much does 5x masterwork decrease the weight of an item?

I'm just finalizing my list of equipment. I'll submit my character sheet on this weekend.

I say yes and thanks for asking -- however it has to be a language that makes sense to your background and origins. So if not obvious please explain your thinking on why they have learned it.

Note I was designing the Origin aspect based on itself and not the race that took it.

Still I would also allow that for a Dragonborn who took Sorcerer (Dragonic Origins) to take an additional language with the Caveat that it had to make sense with their background in some way.

Actually materials increase the Base Cost -- so 5gp x 10 Dark Wood = 50gp x 25 Masterwork 5 = 1,250gp

Apparently my wording was unclear so I have tweaked it to hopefully be clearer now

Some of those other elements I have not included but probably will eventually.
.... Reduce Damage by 1 Step means --- 1d6 becomes 1d4
----------- The following have not been included yet
.... Reduce Speed by 50% means reduce the Initiative penalty
.... Reduce Knock Down by 2 Steps means --- 1d8 becomes 1d4
.... Reduce Required Strength by 4 -- this is the required strength to use the weapon effectively
.... Increase required Dexterity by +2 -- this is the required dexterity to use the weapon effectively

Required Attribute -- for instance we have two fighters one with a Str of 16 and one with a Str 11 but this big heavy weapon requires a Str 15 to use effectively both can use the weapon just the Fighter with a Str of 11 would have a penalty and the same concept applies to Dex for instance to use Finesse weapons would require a higher Dex but a lower Str generally

These additional attributes gave reasons why someone might use a specific weapon over another one and created more variety in the weapons due to these aspects. Aka weapons become something to give a bit of thought to sometimes.

Here's my equipment. I'd like to use mastercraft to make some of the items that I'm directly carrying lighter, so let me know how much lighter 5x masterwork makes an item. I'll be carrying a few of these items in a backpack or pouches on my body, but the rest will go in two reinforced and locked chests that I carry on a cart pulled by a donkey. I'll make it clear on my character sheet which ones I carry and which ones I cart (I suspect for some parts of the adventure I'll leave my cart in town). I have a little left over for healing potions and antitoxin, but I'll wait to buy those once I know how much I need to spend on masterwork to make some things lighter.Also, I'm going to go with these for my traits to start. I just picked the most appropriate from the Hermit background:

Trait: I feel tremendous empathy for all who suffer.
Ideal: Greater Good. My gifts are meant to be shared with all, not used for my own benefit. (Good)
Bond: I entered seclusion to hide from the ones who might still be hunting me. I must someday confront them.
Flaw: Now that I've returned to the world, I enjoy its delights a little too much.

For the language, I'll choose primordial. I think my mother's kind has a special relationship with the elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Air) through the hot springs and thus I've discovered how to communication with elementals during my time in isolation.

Okay you should as a minimum have 2 Traits, 1 Ideal, 1 Bond, and 1 Flaw but you can have more. Inspiration, assuming players choose to use it, is much more viable in this game than normal and the Inspiration points come from your Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws so having more is actually a good thing. When I create a character using this I often have at least 3 of each and sometimes more and that is in games where the GM does not really even use Inspiration.

I will think on the Primoridial language and get back to you on that, I am currently on the fence, if I decide no I will provide a list of acceptable languages you can choose from.

Note you need a case to put your Crossbow Bolts into as that does not come as part of the basic gear, do not now why but it does not.

Okay you have both a Hempen Rope and a Silk Rope listed -- you can sell (for book price) the Hempen Rope if you like along with any starting gear you choose not to keep.

Alright I will approve Primordial

Are you planning on submitting a character sheet soon?

Re: traits etc. Okay, I'll come up with a few more add I think of them. I'm assuming I can add more as we play as long as it's before a circumstances when I claim inspiration.

Good catch on the bolt case. I was actually considering selling my crossbow, but since I still have some gold left, I figured I'd keep it. I'll add a case if I do.

I'm happy to say that I'm not fluent in primordial. My understanding is vague. I can communicate general ideas but not details.

Any idea about how masterwork affects the weight of items?

I was hoping to submit my character sheet yesterday, but didn't quite finish. I'll be a bit busy today, so probably tomorrow. We'll see, I might have time tonight.

I checked through your list but did not see any masterwork lighter items so I was guessing you had not chosen to go that route but I would say perhaps about 20% reduction 1st application, 10% for second application and that is as far as you can go with masterwork in the beginning of the game -- 2 levels for the same thing on a single item

Sorry, ran out of time today. I'll submit my character sheet tomorrow.

Okay

Submitted my character. I just realized I haven't picked my metamagic. I'll do that before I cast any spells. Otherwise, I think I'm ready.

Picked Distant and Heightened for metamagic. Updated my character sheet.

Btw a masterwork torch is called a lantern ;) and the lantern could be further masterworked

You have a Masterwork backpack -- what is the masterworking do?

you have a Masterwork Waterskin -- what is the masterworking do? And keep in mind a waterskin weighs but 1 lbs the water ways 4 lbs and you cannot masterwork the water.

Good point about the lantern XD I was thinking that lamps and lanterns were only for stationary or minimal movement that don't slosh the oil around (in town or in camp), while torches were for adventuring. But re-thinking about it, I feel like I can imagine a lantern designed for adventuring and I'm sure I've read about them used this way or seen them on shows. I'll update my equipment list.

Backpack: oops, should have said "30% lighter," I'll edit that.

For the waterskin, I had planned to make it 30% "lighter" as well. I had wondered about this issue that you can't affect the water itself but I concluded the value was not literal since a gallon of water is 8-10 lbs (depending if use US or Imperial) and the waterskin is only 5 lbs (full) on the equipment chart. Instead, I thought that it must represent the fraction of your capacity to effectively carry it for long periods. For instance, an awkwardly shaped amorphous blob with a single thin strap might be more efficient than carrying a gallon of water in a jug grasped in your hand, but could be uncomfortable over the course of a day of travel. It might rub/tire the body part it is hanging off, or if it's tied to the pack it might swing around slightly offsetting your balance with every step. Whereas a well designed one might have a semi-solid flexible structure with well padded wide straps that hug and contour it to your body so you hardly even notice it. If so, then I thought Masterwork could be applied to make it "lighter." Let me know what you think.

Correct a waterskin only holds a half-gallon and it literally takes 2 waterskins to cover a full days ration of water something many folks in many games seem to overlook including GMs but then you only need to use that water if you cannot find enough water by foraging

As for the design thing I find that intriguing and I will think about that and get back to you on it. For now just put it down as a normal waterskin and if I decide yeah to it will magically change into that engineered version -- just as a bonus for all the hard work you have put in thus far.

Oh wow, I totally misread that! I had even googled it to double check before writing that post but I must have read 4 "pints" as 4 "litres". Although, I think I was influenced ... First off, as a Canadian, I always think of a gallon as 4 litres, so as soon as I saw the "4" I assumed what was coming after (facepalm) And second, you tricked me too!!!

From "FOOD AND DRINK" spoiler in this house rules post (HERE):
"Each character needs to consume the equivalent of one gallon of liquid (=full waterskin) per day ..."

XD

That's cool, I'll update my equipment list to make it a regular waterskin for now. I'm definitely glad I took create water, and at least one water skin will give me advantage on the CON save if I'm desperate. Two waterskins are just too heavy for me ... I'm such a weakling XD Unless I've got my cart with me. Then I can last for days, but I realize I won't be able to take that many places.

Ah okay I will go fix that -- sorry that is a hang-over from the previous GM

Well you could get a porter dog maybe or some other exotic critter that you can use to port your things or better yet -- get that little magic chest thingy ;) spell

I'll definitely be on the look out for something like that or maybe we'll run into one of these and I can tame it 😆

I made a few changes to my equipment. I was going crazy trying to keep track of it all, so I ended up making a spreadsheet. I've pasted below, so it's easier to double check my work. You should be able to copy paste (text import) them into a spreadsheet if you'd like.Starter Package = 77 gp
+ 5 gp (hermit background)
+ 750 gp (house rules)
---
= 832 gpFull Equipment List = 823 gp
That leaves 9 gp left over.

I'm carrying 49.7 lbs (Carry/Backpack items), which is just under my 5x STR capacity. The rest is in my cart.

*note: I only charged 25 gp for "potions of healing" because I am proficient with herbalism, have the kit and the house rules say the recipe is common knowledge to herbalists with the ingredients costing 25 gp.

Xanin's Patron will be Mystra (Neutral Good, God of Magic)

I'll roll for my trinket. I thought it could be related to my Hermit Discovery feature. I like the idea that the Hermit Discovery is why Xanin has traveled to Far Reach, but I'll need to rely on you to give me some insight into what that will be.

Edit: 39 = An empty glass vial that smells of perfume when opened.
Weird ...

Okay well we can go with your roll or you can let me play with it as I have numerous tables I use to define a trinket not just that one rather limited list. Then once I have set of possibilities I sometimes merge them to come up with something a bit different in order to better match the background presented.

Yep, that's fine with me. I'm happy with whatever you think is interesting and fits nicely as part of the bait that convinces Xanin to venture to Far Reach.

Nice introduction working on that discovery item and the backstory melding

Thanks! Sounds good, looking forward to finding out what you come up with.

Have you had any further thoughts on what brought Xanin to Far Reach and the circumstances of his arrival?

Not yet but I think on it a little bit every day I will formulate something just some things form quicker than others and being really busy fighting fires at my new job does not help all the much.

Also feel free to poke me frequently and often that helps too ;)

Sounds good, no rush, just excited to find out 😁 I'll give you a nudge occasionally if I haven't heard anything in awhile.

Okay look this over and let me know what you think, its merely a suggestion upon your back story feel free to change as much as you want even pitching it completely if you do not feel it fits your character concept.

Great, I'll look this over later today and let you know what I think.

Yep, the backstory fits with what I had in mind. I like the added detail. I had a few half formed ideas about Davard's adopted parents and the incident that made Davard flee, so I might add more detail or modify some stuff later, but I like what you put, so I might just go with this.

Okay, sounds good. Thanks for the clarification. I was confused because I was going off the staff properties from the house rules (HERE)

Spoiler Weapon Properties:
Dual (Dmg Typ) These weapons can be used in a manner employ both ends during a single attack. This works the same as attacking with two weapons. The values in parenthesis indicate the amount damage and the type of damage done by the secondary attack.

Spoiler Simple Melee Weapons:
Staff ............. 3sp ... 1d6 .... B ...... 4 lbs ...... Dual (1d6 B), Two-Handed, Primitive

Thanks for reminding me, and my bad that was my initial stab at that and I realized later that it had been a bit more than it should have been. I have fixed the notations.

Chalrytharendir I apologize for not catching this - but you cannot have Expertise in a Skill that you are not Proficient in. I will fix the wording on that Feature but you can either adjust your Feature to cover a Skill you do have or change one of your Skills that you got from your Background to Survival

No problem, that might actually have been my fault. I have a vague memory of adjusting my skills slightly while we were tweaking things during the build, so I might have switched it without realizing it affected that ability. I'll take a look tonight and make an appropriate adjustment.

I switched my "Nature" proficiency, which was from my background, to "Survival" proficiency, which also works with my background, so my In Depth Study of Survival now makes sense. I also noticed that I get to re-roll if I want, so I might go ahead and do that.