OOC&D

Welcome!

This thread is for all kinds of fun out of character banter!
We'll also use this to discuss your characters. I have (or will have by the time you read this) created a intro/prologue post so you can have a look at where your characters will meet and come together, so that you can make sure that works for you.

Please also check out the Safety Tools thread over here

Looking forward to playing with you all

Alright then, now that we're all together, introduce your character ideas. I think what you applied with would make a neat party with no particular overlap (not that I'm worried about balance but as a player, I usually like to have a unique class at least, for differentiation).
As I mentioned before, you can still go with a different concept if one has come to mind by now that you prefer.

What we need right now is:
- Name, race, background, quirks, interesting tidbits, whatever you can think of to make your character come alive
- The actual character sheets (If you need help with that, feel free to ask here or on the discord. I will try to help but also, feel free to help each other as I'm pretty sure some of you have more experience with the system than I do)
- A job you got hired for that takes you to the small and unremarkable village of Lambor's Hold. Maybe you were hired to pick up a delivery there and bring it back to your employer. Or to deliver something there. Maybe someone wants you to check in on a relative living there or deliver a note... The possibilities are almost endless :D While this is mostly just an excuse to get you there, it might also be fuel for a little scene or scenes.

I am assuming for now that none of your characters know each other before the adventure, but of course you're welcome to come up with linked backstories if you want.

For character creation:
We're going to start out at level 1 and using the Standard Array [15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8]. Thanks for reminding me about it, jack

no problem will edit my sheet in here in a few

Name Race Background
Auras human noble
Class(es) Alignment
warlock - 1
Chaotic Neutral
Inspiration 0
Proficiency Bonus +2
Strength 14 +2
Dexterity 9 -1
Constitution 15 +2
Intelligence 11 +0
Wisdom 13 +1
Charisma 16 +3
Total HP 10
Temp HP 0
Current HP 0
AC 12
Initiative 0
Speed 30
Skills
Prof? Skill Stat
Acrobatics -1 (Dex)
Animal Handling +1 (Wis)
Arcana +2 (Int)
Athletics +2 (Str)
Deception +3 (Cha)
History +2 (Int)
Insight +1 (Wis)
Intimidation +3 (Cha)
Investigation +2 (Int)
Medicine +1 (Wis)
Nature +0 (Int)
Perception +1 (Wis)
Performance +3 (Cha)
Persuasion +5 (Cha)
Religion +0 (Int)
Sleight Of Hand -1 (Dex)
Stealth -1 (Dex)
Survival +1 (Wis)
Feats/Abilities
This character currently has no feats/abilities.

Weapons
Name Attack Bonus Damage
hand axe +2 1d6
Notes
Name Attack Bonus Damage
dagger +2 1d4
Notes
Spells
dissonat whispers lv1 (Cha) +5 +13
eldrich blast (cha) +5 +13
witch bolt lv1 (cha) +5 +13
chill touch (cha) +5 +13
Items
deck oof cards signet ring scroll of pedigree annd 25gp. two hand axes and two daggers


Auras The Sage of The Shadowed Ones has a few interesting quirks such that her eyes glow in the dark, and they are completely white. she comes from a long line of warlocks who have served the shadowed ones for eons. she travels at the behest of her patron and has since become a food critic, tasting all sorts of food and drink. She hopes to record the true history the world as forgotten and taste all the food and flavors the world has to offer. now her patron wnats her to travel to lambor's hold and to await further instructions. being bored of hwere she was she hopped on the nearest caravan traveling there. hoping for some good food and drink when she gets there.

(- Name, race, background, quirks, interesting tidbits, whatever you can think of to make your character come alive)


Name: Arphaxad
Background: Reared and grew up in a dwarven family (Folk Hero)
Quirks: Due to having been born to a Dwarven clan, he mostly acts, speaks, and thinks like a stereotypical dwarven man.
Interesting tidbits: fond of strong drink, like to cook, and has an obsession of trying to grow a beard worthy of any dwarven warrior...
Character Sheet: Arphaxad

Backstory: Arphaxad was born in the aftermath of a battleground. Amidst the rubble of the final battle between a dwarven clan and a cult of evil Dragonborn that worships a ''god of darkness''. The war between the cultists and the dwarves lasted long and bitterly with both sides losing lives. Finally, the Dragonborn were defeated in their final bastion and all that remains is this single black egg. The scarred leader of the clan has only to crush this unborn abomination and it will all be over: all the lives lost, the pain of his wife becoming barren due to an attack by a cultist shaman years ago; all of that will finally be avenged...

And then the egg cracked.

The grizzled warrior stood his ground and resolved to look at the enemy one last time. The creature that came forth was pitiful: its small limbs flailing around in futile exertions. it's voice a tiny squeak of life that is out of place in that room filled with death. It is only a simple matter of raising his hand and letting his axe deal the killing blow. The ancestral dragon-slaying battle axe Wyrmbane was already slick with draconic blood. It rose high...

...and fell on the ground.

As if in a parody of final defiance, the Dragonborn hatchling grabbed hold of Osgrath Blackstone's beard and cooed. He suddenly felt three centuries older as he visibly deflated, tired, and spent.

'''No more death...I've had my fill...'' He whispered.

The dwarven clan leader picked up the mewling creature, swaddled it in a bloodstained cloak belonging from one of the fallen cultists, and strode out of the citadel. He brought the child to his home to the disapproval of his remaining men and to the shock of his wife Brallwynn. She was disgusted, and angry at him to dare bring a reminder of the enemy that had taken away their happiness. The sound of the crying hatchling drew her back to look at it. There was something about it that pulled at the heartstrings of the woman.

''Listen, Osgrath said, We can take the child and raise it as our own...we can teach it to become better than the evil bastards that birthed him. We would nae tell it its true origins and turn it into something good. With this, we could still have our vengeance...''

Brallwyn Blackstone looked at the bawling child lying on the stone table of their room. She finally picked it up gingerly while removing the bloody cloak that serves its swaddling clothes. she felt the hatchling's soft leathery skin and wondered how someone so small and helpless could turn out to be evil? The little Dragonborn finally stopped crying and looked at her with those small beady eyes the color of emeralds.

''What do we call him?'' she asked her husband.

''How d'you ken it's a He?''

''Use your eyes ye fool''

Osgrath looked and chuckled despite himself after seeing the little nub between the hatchling's legs.

''Well, the lil' bugger grabbed my beard before I can end him with my axe. He deserves a fine name for being a brave lad. I think we'll call him...'' (CONTINUED IN THE SEPERATE INTRODUCTION THREAD)

Have you ever used https://www.dndbeyond.com/ ? You can make several characters there for free and it walks you through your choices.

But my Discord tag is Andy_#0798. I don't mind helping you figure that stuff out if you want.

Name: Tassarien "Taz" Brightwood
Race: Half-elf
Class: Bard
Background: Charlatan
Character Sheet: Here
Story:
Taz's father had five children when he was widowed unexpectedly, and a dalliance some years later with an elven performer passing through the tavern he owned resulted in Taz being a half-siblings to some much older kids. Taz was a sickly child, always prone to illnesses for reasons no one could explain. The extra demands this created, in addition to a flighty nature in general, prompted her mother to take off when Taz was still small. Her weak constitution meant her father was over-careful with her, and when it was discovered that she had a decent singing voice, she was allowed to help the family business by entertaining the tavern guests with song, rather than joining the more back-breaking work her half-siblings did. This only antagonized an already strained relationship between Taz and her siblings, so she learned to enjoy spending time alone. She became a storyteller and dreamer early on, finding more color and drama around her in the world than most did. She was the child who "knew" there were monsters in her closet and fairies in the flowers, the one who was happy playing by herself with her imaginary friends for hours on end.

As Taz grew, she became more and more attached to performing. She learned how to work a crowd, how to bring them to cheers or tears on her whim, which was a kind of power she couldn’t seem to wield in many other aspects of her life. She got to know the regulars, and made it a point to befriend those more adventurous travelers who had the most interesting stories to tell. She folded these stories into her songs and short plays, and earned a reputation of being able to immortalize an adventurer’s tale with skill.

She was much too young still, by anyone’s measure but her own, when she decided that hearing these stories second-hand wasn’t enough. When a trio of adventurers were once a little too loose-lipped about where they intended to go next, Taz snuck out and went as well. Her presence, when discovered, nearly derailed the whole adventure in a comedy of errors. But she managed to charm the angry wizard antagonizing the party, and everyone left with their lives in tact.

The whole experience was the most thrilling thing Taz had ever been through, and she eagerly rushed home to write a ballad to commemorate it. Worried about her very protective father’s opinion of her actions, Taz chose to ascribe her own antics to a hero she made up named Silver Tongue, a brave and hearty bard and grizzled adventuring veteran. This let her tell the story of her own heroics without risking her father’s ire.

Part of the resolution Taz reached with the disgruntled wizard was her agreement to deliver a message for him to an associate of his in the small village of Lambor's Hold. Along the way, she kept a weather eye out for new adventures to add to her journal to serve as inspiration for future songs.

-Name: Narissa Andariel
Race: Tiefling (Brood of Levistus)
Racial Traits:
Darkvision (60 ft.)
Hellish Resistance (Fire Resistance)
Legacy of Stygia (Frost Ray Cantrip)
Class: Sorceress (Divine Soul)
Divine Magic (May use Cleric spells)
Favored by the Gods
Good Divine Magic
Background: Prisoner
Character Sheet: Here.
Story: She couldn't remember anything prior to waking up in the abbots hall in the Halfling village of Jinglepot. One of the locals had found her a fortnight earlier unconscious and barely clothed in the forest to the west of town and he had, with the help of a few of his friends, dragged her back to town. Her clothing, what remained of it, was singed, threadbare of poor quality and utterly unremarkable. Other than the branded mark on the left side of her back, a pair dragon or perhaps demon wings within a circle, there was no clue as to who she was or where she'd come from.

As she recovered the locals quickly figured out that the blue devil girl from the forest had a talent for fixing things, fixing things faster than even Omi the travelling Goblin tinker could. So the locals set her up inside a small abandoned house on the edge of town, no one wanted to live next door to a Tiefling after all, and brought her things to fix so that she might work off her debit to the village. Time passed and she continued to repair things, and eventually the locals gave her the name Narissa, because of her dark hair and because she still couldn't remember her own name. Truth be told having a name made Narissa smile as it felt ever so much better than being called Hedge Witch all the time.

More time passed and word got around, soon people from neighbouring villages were bringing their broken things for Narissa to repair. This irritated Omi because her work was cutting into his work and so Omi, proud business Goblin that he was, begin looking for a way to readjust the scales. On one day in particular Omi was working at a village several leagues to the north of Jinglepot he encountered a bounty hunter whose weapons were in need of maintaining and they'd struck up a conversation. The bounty hunter had a large number of contracts that he was working on and one of them in particular caught Omi's eye, a blue skinned Tiefling with dark hair, crimson eyes and a brand on the left side of her back.

Two weeks earlier Narissa had escaped through the back window of her house as flames burst in through the roof, she hadn't seen the bounty hunter but she'd felt him gathering his magics before releasing them on her house. Nothing had remained but ash the next morning and now she found herself waiting nervously outside of the Harpyie's Nest Inn for a caravan to the South Eastern Coast.

Looks good so far! I'll have to check over the mechanics side of your characters when I have a moment. Maybe you can all also (if you haven't already) make your character sheets public so that everyone in the group can see them [Go to Characters in the top bar, then All Characters and hit the book icon next to the sheet].

For your motivations, they should best lead you to the village itself, rather than just along with the caravan.

Please all think about a short scene you could have before you join the caravan. It could be just moments before than teaser post I made, as you're being seen off by someone or it could be a few days before, when you set off to go here or some moment on the road. Just a short individual scene (no more than maybe 6 or 8 posts total for each of you) to get a feel for your character.

---

If everything is ready by then (and looking at the speed you all submitted your characters with, it should be 😄), we can get started with the intro threads tomorrow

Just a heads up, I'm getting my second Covid jab in about an hour so if all goes as it has for my co-workers I'll probably be flat on my back tomorrow and the day after that.

which shot you getting ember?

Ah ok. Interesting.

Can use it both ways I think doesn't have to be thrown.

3 - If our background gives us one pack and our class gives us another, do we get both?

I think so.

1) Can you give an example? I'll have to look this up.

2) I think spears are both melee and ranged but will need to check again

3) I think so

I'm easily confused and often lost. Do not follow me. =) I haven't made a D&D character in a very long time. I'm noticing the character sheet keeps deleting my weapons, oh well.

You need to fill every field for your weapon. Otherwise it disappears. At least I think that's what I gleaned from discord. I havent made a 5e character in ages and I'm pretty inexperienced with the system as well, so we're all learning

Damn those packs ... If I get both that's like 110 lb. That is insane. Might need to do a ton of pruning. I lug about ~ 100 lb. regularly and it is awful after about 50 steps.

I will fill out every field then. I hadn't thought about that, thought it might just leave the field empty.

You don't have to take both, I guess. 💁‍♀️

Bowl I noticed blue posted a thread so I'm confused on how we are starting?

I just ... deleted a whole whack of stuff that I figure I don't need. I have dark vision, why do I need 13 torches at 13 lb.? I don't need a wooden chest, manacles, wooden stakes, a hammer, a crowbar etc etc ... I just clipped and clipped because these sets are kind of insane.

That thread was for this request, Jack.

Oh ok I thought bowl was starting that. Ok.

I do like it, it's a very good post Blue.

Also ember you could sell the stuff? Some if it might get useful for us who dont have dark vision I also never paid attention to weights on items anyway.

The conversation about it for context. Same thing I told blue goes for everyone, of course

Ok thanks bowl I'll dm you what I'm thinking for my character start scene. Thinking early morning doing her bizarre dance around a small fire the spews red smoke.

I had pondered selling it but then I thought, it was a free thing from the game turning about and turning it into cash just seems like something against the spirit of the game.

I'll hang on to the torches if you want.

I'm not 100% on the portrait but I guess for now it'll do, I used an app I supported the kickstarter of to customize it, it's still in beta. It's called Portrait Workshop.

@blue, that seems pretty much like a well-finished introductory scene as I'd. Do you have anywhere you'd still like to go with it or are you happy with just that as your character intro?

@Ember, knifesedge, mormegil: Any thought on how you want to introduce/initially explore your characters in a small intro scene before you all get together?

I’m upgraded to full 5G now and holy sugar does my body not like it. My shot arm is sore from my shoulder to my elbow and I ache. I’ll try to write something quick this morning.

@bowl I'm fine with it as-is if you are.
Also, thanks very much, Ember. :)

You're welcome. I wrote something up quick, wanted to write more but I have chores to do.

Added mine, Bowl.

Updated my previous post here to add a little Background story and I have already finished putting up an Introduction in a separate thread as well... Hope to play with you guys soon ^^

Okay, since most of those intro posts seem like they can simply stand on their own as they are, I think rather than dwelling on them for too long, let's just move on to get you all together. I've edited the final bit of the Caravan post a bit to make sense with mormegil having already talked to Mork and I've unlocked that thread now. Let's get properly started!

You probably don't need to but maybe for the sake of the other players/characters, it would be good. Though you can go with what your character would do

Oh wow that yellow text is really hard to read. I assume you did it because it’s a player name but on my phone I had to zoom right in to see what the missing words were.

I'm using Dark Mode, so it was easy to read. But colored text can get complicated 😅

I changed it to blue, hopefully that's easier on the eyes. :)

I forgot to describe Taz's appearance in the last post, but I'll do it in the next.

Jackwolfking, what color is Auras' hair? I have a pic that you might like for your warlock.

Oh? Show me?

@jackwolfking Lemme know if you want me to fix the eyes on any of the Discord pics

@bowl Do you want us to stick to a turn order for the IC thread, or can we just post at-will?

You can post at will

Hero Forge?

Clearly it is, it's definitely fun to play with. I've never mucked about with it before. I've also never had a need for a miniature before either so there's that.

I'm not a huge fan of how it looks but a lot of people on the site use it. I recently tried it out for the first time and wasnt super amazed by the results 😅

It's the first time I've used it and amazed by how much customisation there is. Compared to where miniatures were in the early 80's, this is incredible.

That for sure. There are tons of options!

What's hero forge? is it some kind of miniatures game ala warhammer 40k?

It's a website where you can design miniatures like on the picture Knife posted.

Nifty website indeed:

Jack is on the road so I'll already keep us moving. Since everyone else rolled to forage, I'll assume, Auras goes as well

These dice are most disagreeable….

Also I can see Taz singing the Ballad of Sera.

100%

Seconded.

Translation of Arphaxad's dwarven battlecry:

From Mahal to the earth!
From earth to us!
Let's kill these people!
And take what they own!

holy. hell.
taz's dice are cuuuuursed so far this game.

Welcome to the Low Rollers Club XD

We meet on Thursday to drown both our sorrows and our dice…

I think auras is probably going to be carring you all through this.

Three Cheers for Auras for continuing to save our asses one after the other! Auras beloved of the dice gods! ^^

20%??? Jebus.

I can see either a fight or this dissolving into the Monty Python "Haggle with me" sketch from Life of Brian.

Eh if my plan is approved and the dice won't fudge me, hopefully we'll get out of this soon... *scaled fingers crossed*

They're very eager taxmen 😉

I could try to be more convincing that fighting us is not a fight it will be them instigating their own mugging.

two d20's rolled and both come up on single digits...wow...what have I done to offend the dice gods?

Welp I say diplomacy has failed I'm gonna fry the ork hopefully

Taz could try casting Sleep on them, maybe? It's a 20' radius so it's *possible* it'd hit them all, but if it fails it'll likely initiate combat for sure. I don't expect it to go perfectly, considering how angry the dice gods seem at the moment, but it might take out one or two of them.

If they take my offer I think we can avoid combat hopefully.

You could put your hand out and ask the orc for 15g as agreed upon... Oh I thought you were going to pay us not to kill you.

Lights a massive fire and casts all of her dice in them and laughs manically as they burn.

New version of the portrait thingie has come out I might try to make some of your pics. I might play COD zombies too.

First time?

Also, we should really stop now on trying to intimidate the bandits...the dice gods don't allow it ^^

I know, I figure sooner or later one or us has to roll somewhere above the single digits.

Here’s what I came up with based on our descriptions. It’s an alpha so currently dragonkin haven’t been added yet. Sorry.

Let me know what you think.

Nice I like it

I forgot to add in a background for Taz which irritates me to no end.

Nice! What is the tool called Ember?

aww...now I'm starting to rethink my race choices..I don't have a nice looking portrait like you other guys lol...

Lol, there’s a lot more things they’re still adding in. It’s called Portrait Workshop it was a Kickstarter I backed.

Portrait Workshop.

Those are great, Ember!

I wasn't sure about the program when I got it, I thought it had potential and I wanted to support them and the more patches they've done the more amazing I think it becomes. I wish I could stream it on Twitch from my iPad. Then you could hook up with me and say no not that hair the one that'd down two and over one. His hair should be longer and her eyes should be green. But when I tried that it blocked the program.

If you have thoughts or ideas things you'd like changed lemme know and I can rebuild the images fairly easily.

Serious aside question… Do tieflings have hooves or feet? I mean hooves save money on shoes. I can’t find a straight answer. I know PF lets you choose things like wings and tails and such. I don’t see anything like that in D&D.

Various images here suggest both are possible

Sorry I've missed a few days, folks. It's not a lack of interest, I promise. Work has just been busier than normal and the days got away from me. I'll try to be more careful about posting daily.

What do y'all think about setting up a group DM in Discord? Just a place to post a "tag" so we all know when someone's added a post? It would help me keep the game in the front of my mind, though I understand 100% if not everyone's into a notification thread. Just an idea.

I wouldn't mind setting that up if it'd be helpful

I could be conned into watching Discord. I’m easily distracted by shiny things and Discord is shiny.

If I set up a separate server, it shouldn't be as distracting as if we use the main GP server.

Plus they don't like if one game takes it over too much 😅

I made a quick Discord server for us, nothing fancy.

We can also discuss leveling up on there. Might be easier than on the forum

testing dice...just pissed off in another game...

😆
What are you trying to find out?

---

Speaking of, I think I should implement the dice rolling features!

Let me check

We have highlighted Nat 1s and Nat 20s on D20 now!

it's for a Savage Worlds game with Remnant... rolled a double one in there...previously I rolled another 1 and succeeding low rolls...just tested the dice rolls if I am just unlucky or the curse of the fudgy dice made by the Mormons (as Adam said somewhere in Discord) is still in effect...

Averaging those rolls in my head they do give us a pretty even 10.

Just rolled below a 10 first time damn it

just came back from the hospital (COVID-19) hope to play with you guys again ^^

Welcome back! You haven't missed much so it shouldn't be too hard to get back in the game 😊

So, who do you want to talk to then?

We've already spoken to Darney and the priestess. Did either of them say, oh hey the bugs seem to be coming from the east or anything useful like that? I suppose we could start with the mayor. My brain is a little zzzz this morning as one of my cats (Bessie) woke me up freaking early with, Hey! hey! hey! pay attention to me! hey! hey! big stupid cat pay attention to me!

Level Up new Stats and new Features/Feats:

ARPHAXAD, Lvl 3, Fighter, CG

HP: 20+4=24

Lvl 3 Martial Archetype Chosen: Champion
Lvl 3 Improved Critical

I updated my character sheet last night.

I updated Taz's sheet for level 3. She got Expertise (Persuasion & Perception), bonus proficiencies in medium armor, shields, and martial weapons, another couple spell slots, and combat inspiration. And five more HP, cause screw the dice.

Any ideas guys? I was thinking of using my awakened mind ability to talk to it without revealing our position?

Can we safely say this game has died?

Yes

OK, thanks Bowl. I'll withdraw Belathor and get the game off my list. Thanks for your great GMing :)