Character Discussion

Please parse out your ideas, ask questions, etc.

Ideally, everyone served in the Greek army in some capacity, whether by blade, prophecy, etc. Let's also say that you each know at least one other party member personally, and the others at least by recognition. There has to be some basic trust for the initial escape to work out, after all.

A note, since it came up with Jom.

You may have different types of relationships with multiple gods. But I do need everyone to establish at least 1.

Query - Would you be okay with variant multiclassing especially as a method to acess some aspects of classes that are otherwise not allowed. (Such as oracle and bard)

I'm also curious if you (and the others) would be happy with a paladin or ranger who swps out their spellcasting abilities (As that's the main reason the book says no) . (Though understand paldin may still be a bit too magical)

If the bove I no no worries. I've got several chara ter concepts so just trying to work hat does and doesn't work with the restrictions.

Also I'm trying to research, but where are we standing on woman in the army? I've at least fou d amazon were linked to the Trojan war.

Couple of concepts I'm leaning towards - warrior linked with athena. Rogue (and bard if allowed) linked with Diomysus who 'officially' was only with the army for moral and menial support.

howdy, thanks for the invite @lavtodd

I am thinking of a common sailor character, so probably affiliated to Poseidon. After all, the deployment of troops in the Trojan wars required quite a lot of naval support. Maybe the character has even been demoted to help in the kitchen for some transgression, like he's been caught snoozing on a watch... so he spent the last three months cooking. I like the idea that he might be a bit of a scoundrel. He values his own safety over heroism, and is quick to adapt in situations of dire need. So this one will become a hero (if his destiny is such) almost by chance, or against his better judgment.

To simplify things, can you point me out to a suitable 5th level pre-gen to adapt (or to a character generator) to make creation easier for me, new to Pathfinder?

How do you want to handle character wealth? By 5th level a character is expected to have amassed 10,500 gp in wealth and normally that would go to magical items. Since this is a low-magic setting, I would assume that said magical items do not exist, or at least not in the quantity that they can be easily picked up.

Mulling over options and still not settled on anything, but right now I'm leaning towards a Slayer w/ Vanguard archetype and a devotee of Artemis. As such, they'd be a bow wielder. The vanguard archetype gives them some play with teamwork feats and sharing those to the group.

The description sounds rather fitting for where we're coming from: "Vanguards are battlefield commanders who focus on the brutality of combat and lead their allies to bloody victory. Quick to react to danger, a vanguard is a valuable scout, capable officer, and skilled tactician."

Good morning, all!

Variant multiclassing: I like this version better, anyway. It's much smoother. If you want to multiclass this way, go for it.

Hybrid and "Original" classes: Allowed, but let's talk about it to make sure they fit. For example, Jom's bloodrager got the Hellenic Sorceress's limited spell list, though the concept overall remains. So Paladin, Ranger, Bard, etc. are not off the table, they'll just need some discussion.

Women in the Army: I'll allow it. (For C1nder, too, if devotion to Artemis implies that). Like all the backstories, let's make sure there's a "darn good reason" (Amazon, replacing your brother, mad that this whole thing started over abducting a woman, mad that Paris didn't choose your goddess, etc.). If y'all at least know of each other, have survived a 10 year war together, and are able to successfully escape together, I will expect that among the party this isn't a notable issue.

Dr_B:What a delightful weasel. I love it. Let's find a relevant PC class just so his core stats scale properly and he knows which end of a sword to point out. (I'm also open to knife-and-pot proficiency, but we can chat elsewhere).

Let me brush up on 5th ed and I'll help you out.

Wealth and Magic Items: I have a couple ideas on this, I think, that would tie back to your devotions and experience. Give me a little time and I'll propose them (since my stats might be off). Because yes, low magic changes a lot, but I'd rather not completely reinvent the wheel when it comes to party balance with encounters.

C1nder: Great idea, but be careful with the Teamwork feats. Some only work when 2 allies have the same feat.

Everyone, I love the vibe this is giving off so far. Please feel free to start your own thread to work out the grittier details of your particular character.

Posting as I find things so I don't forget or bury details in a wall of text.

Because the Trojan War was about 10 years, Pathfinder human adulthood is 15, and Middle Age (and stat changes) start at 35, please aim to be between 25 and 34 unless we discuss something else.

Again, these things are baselines, but I personally find them helpful to discuss.

I was hoping to play a younger lad. Perhaps only joined at the end of the war?

Sure. Please pick one:

1. There were occasional reinforcements sent, but since the big names weren't on those boats people didn't mention them in detail.
2. You were brought as a young'un to cart supplies or something, either as an orphan or another soldier's only kin, then joined the fight when you came of age.
3. You were a Trojan taken prisoner who now fights for the Greeks.
4. You weren't taken prisoner, but you can tell staying in your homeland ain't a great idea.

Ooooh, an orphan of 'unknown parentage'? That's a classic for the genre.

Excellent choice. I'm not doing demigods due to folks' interest in "Normal Dudes Doing Amazing Things," but a lack of clear parentage is chock full of potential.

Well, correction. There are "more than human" options through classes such as the Hellenistic Sorceress, but I'm not going full "Swan Zeus swooped on your mom."

For those considering ranger (and I'm ok with multiple due to archetypes), here's a spell-less version that may be worth considering:

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/kobold-press-open-design/spell-less-ranger/

I'm also willing to do a limited spell list like with the sorceress in the source book.

Dr_B, this might be an interesting archetype for your sailor: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo-ranger-archetypes/deep-diver/

Of course, if he's spell-less it takes a slight adjustment, but some of the effects are pretty darn cool for a sailor.

*Sideways glance at the son of Osiris*

Just realised that a Disciple of the pike cavalier 9Refluffed to not be a hellknight of course) could be fitting for ancient greece, as it is a monster hunter with a spear. Would nee to have fun picking an appropriate order though. (Thinking Dragon, or asking Hero to be tweaked)Tactician could combo well with Vanguard.

I had looked at Cavalier as well. It seems like a great fit, but the mount would be tough. I was looking briefly at the Esquire archetype, which has him gain a cohort rather than a mount.

I think I'll stick with the Slayer idea though

Pike gets rid of mount, as does Daring champion which I was also eyeing.

Not the son, Born of Osiris. From death came life. Cut from his mother's corpse yadda yadda

"God only knows" who his father is.

It was a bit of a wall of text in Tawiz's page. But it's more of a syncretist "You ain't from 'round here" title. He's just a dude.

Frankly, what I'm thinking with the orphan so far is that someone, not sure who yet, is keeping an eye on him, and part of his jouney is discovering his patron.

Of course maidens of Artemis would be rewarded by their Lady.

Am I reading the room wrong? Do you guys want to be more than just dudes?

Slayer and Cav both fit wonderfully. I don't think Slayer needs any adjustments. For Cav, it depends on the archetype.

If you do see an unattainable magic item that would make a neat boon later on in the story, put a bug in my ear.

As just a dude, it is the dudest of dudery to claim divine origin. I'm am a large man, but not a very large one. It's a weekly occurrence that I blow the minds of men who are much larger than me. I just tell them I'm the main character and they get it. Usually they laugh, sometimes they agree. Never once offended anyone.

Main Character being a synonym for quasideity.

The Greek concept Arete is the zealous pursuit of greatness. I think possibly the origin of heroic storytelling is that part of the reason great characters throughout history became epics is they encouraged others to view them as icons, archetypes, not just merely mortal, but supernatural in origin.

Yeah... the caveat being this is a party-based game, so there's no main character within the group. How we as a group present ourselves to the rest of the world is up for debate.

As an example, I eyed the Vigilante class. I could imagine that my character often just appears like a strapping lad, but when he puts on a fancy helmet he is seen as an iconic hero (totally not batman). The rest of the party would know boy=hero, but the rest of the world wouldn't.

That said I haven't made a choice yet. Fighter and Unchained Rogue also seem like wonderful fits for the no-magic theme.

Edit: A mask something like this;

I like the idea of being something a bit "more"

I'm good with a regular dude, would be fun to overcome odds without constant use of magic, in a campaign like this.
Looks great, I like the nets/harpoon specialization a lot, as well as the diver aspects. Maybe this guy was a fisherman before the war, enlisted as sailor to make the best use of his skillset.

Yes, I would say he would know no magic at all...

Skills that spring to mind that might fit the sailor theme could be Climb (getting up those masts!) , Knowledge (nature) specific to marine life / birds, Swim, Survival.
I guess Profession (sailor) might cover a lot of the sailor tasks.

(just brainstorming looking at the SRD skill list)

I also maybe found an applicable Feat called Sea Legs ?

Aight, I can see i've been reading the room wrong. Gonna put the kibbosh on details for a minute because this matters a LOT.

When we speak of divine influence, what are you guys looking for?

1. The gods are present, they intervene in extreme cases, and the truly heroic can get boons from the gods who particularly like them, but you are just human. (This is where I thought we were).
2. Favorable relationships with the gods are more common, and it's not unheard of for folks to have a deity somewhere in their bloodline, albeit probably not a direct parent. Direct parents may be mythological creatures. (This is where Odysseys and Achilles fall, since Thetis was his mom, but just a nymph. I am comfortable bumping to here without any adjustments.)
3. First-generation demigods are more common, as is direct favoritism from deities, but the Big Six, Apollo, etc, are cautious about who they sire, thus you're more likely to be a demigod from a lesser deity. (This may change the tone of the campaign, but I can keep y'all fairly low magic until you complete a series of appropriate Trials.)
4. You're PC's, you're effectively writing your own myth, all bets are off. (This would change the campaign to normal Pathfinder, high magic, etc. To be honest, I'm not really interested in running another "I can melt you with my brain" RPG.)


And, Joms, you're welcome to play Tiwaz with that level of charisma and bravado, but I will roleplay the dangers of falling into Hubris because it's such a central theme to so many stories.

It sounds to me like we're really looking for level 2 or 3 here. Yes?

I was assuming 1.

Dr_B, yes to sea legs, and if you still want to be completely normal, I can work with that. Whether you accept the boons of the gods or not will be an RP decision, and I'll make sure there are some negatives to being "something more" so that your sailor's contributions are still clear. I mean, there should be negatives anyway. The Greek gods are complicated.

Alternatively, if the group is going towards magic knowledge, the way in which this sailor/fisherman could use a little magic could be the Gifts from the Sea feat (adapted for a human).

Perhaps he is no spellcaster, but an old seafarer from distant lands (or possibly an ancestor) revealed to him how to do this with water. With a limited, fitting list of spells.

That could add a little magic flavor and not break the character concept?

Always thought that all PCs are by default main characters. Since the action, suspense, and intrigue, revolve around them. Not in any way am I suggesting matginalizing anyone. More to say "I am THAT guy" who would ascribe any trait that sets me ahead of the ordinary as divinely inspired, even if that divinity is merely my work ethic and discipline.

As for thematically 1 is my general assumption. But that is already setting our heroes/antihero as a step further ahead than we have ever experienced in our real world. If the gods are real and really do influence players on the board, then our characters are by definition more than any of us ever have been. Considering that Deified humans exist in our real world with no concrete evidence of divine favor, it would be no stretch at all to assume that great men and women of our game world would hold similar, and grander, opinions of themselves.

Let us not forget, Alexander the Great was certainly no demigod. Yet, that never stopped Alexander from believing he was. And his life certainly seems to fit the Archetype of Demigod. He's written about in every religion that currently exists.

Not withstanding the feat that all of our characters just survived, the Sack and Razing of Troy. Troy has another name in mythology, Asgard. Or according to the myth of the cities founding, the seat of Palladium, literally a city of paladins.

It would be a wonder if the issuers of such a victory remained humble following such a feat.

I'm happy with whatever others want. I was aiming for 1 with my concept, or a little more, depending if we'd need a higher number for monsters as was leaning into into monster hunting with pike, but can also go daring champion if we're vs more humanoids.

Okay. This is good conversation. I like it.

Please move character mechanic discussions to your respective threads so we can focus on group dynamics here.

I will say, then, that we've got a slightly open-ended 1 for our theme. As GM I reserve the right to add a nymph cousin or something later if I see fit, but as GM, it is my responsibility to deck you guys out evenly (even if it's not at the exact same time).

My personal hope is a mix of environmental, human, and monster challenges. I know that doesn't narrow it down, but I'm still getting a feel for conflict, and your characters wouldn't be able to predict with that much granularity anyway. Rest assured, if someone picks an archetype, they will get some conflicts that showcase them. That's part of the fun for me.

I am going to ask that we not use the term "Main Character" due to conflicting connotations. This is an ensemble cast. I've been in a game with a stated MC and a clear "GM's pet", and the pacing was really stressful for everyone else. So I'm going to distance us from that terminology. Yes, you're the Player Characters, yes, that means you have some experiences and will have some experiences that others could only dream of.

Along those lines, be mindful of backstories. Trying to talk yourself up convincingly will require a bluff roll if you're exaggerating, or at least a flat charisma roll to see if you express it well. Starting at level 5, you guys actually do have more street cred than some farmer who picked up a sword.

But most if not all of that street cred is from the Trojan War.

And you're still "minor" enough that you deserted your king and (as far as you can tell so far) got away with it. So sure, have the bravado and reckless confidence. I acknowledge there may be some inter-party disagreement (please no full conflict). But recall that sometimes that won't be enough. I think that's reasonable, though. You are elite humans, but humans nonetheless.

Am I wrapping my head around your goals better now? Anything else to add?

If not, we can start discussing the ship: Larger ship with an NPC crew, which makes it harder over time to pilot ~ or a smaller ship you guys can handle on your own that might be less sea-worthy?

What's the point buy?

Standard fantasy, even though it's a low-magic campaign. I want you guys to be able to have decent martial or tactical stats.

Regarding ship, anything we should know now about the conditions of our desertion/flight/escape that might help make the size of the ship make sense? Or is that all stuff that will develop based on what we pick?

The broad stroke right now is "You heard Odysseus screwed up big time and are trying to avoid the aftermath."

The type of ship is a meta question. It really boils down to, do you want complicated resource management from the start (small vessel) or later on (larger vessel)?

Another note, C1NDER and Khulod, your characters have the easiest connection thus far, if you'd like to explore that.

Recall I'd like everyone to know at least one other party member personally. You know, enough that you'd trust them to steal a ship with you.

@Khulod - My PC, Nikias, will have been an officer in the war with about 100 soldiers in his command. Perhaps your PC was one of those soldiers? Would he have been likely to look up to and respect his commander enough to go along with him when he leaves?

@ All doing some quick reviewing online, it seems there was approximately 1 ship for every ~80 soldiers accounted for on the Greek side. It happens to be that Nikias is a Lochagos, a leader of a 100-man unit called a Lochos. A fair portion of his unit could have arrived to war with one of those ships. Maybe that's a ship he might have thought to take, due to familiarity?

@Dr_B would your PC have been the captain of said ship?

For that matter, he could have taken his ship in particular.

Great point!

You know, I'm gonna have to make sure there's something y'all can do so you're not smited for abandoning your king haha

But also, C1NDER, when you get the chance, please roll a percentile die.

You got it!

Are we using the Hero Point system at all?

Sure, if that makes things easier my sailor guy could have arranged to take the very ship he was assigned to.

Not sure he'd be the captain, but maybe he took advantage of particularly dire losses after a naval conflict to seize control/help the others seize control of the ship and survivors, after the officers perished?

The other characters might have been passengers on board, and they plotted this together.
Would that work?

Hi, didn't want to invade Dr. Bs thread but I've been reading along with the others and thought I'd point out the Skirmisher archetype that is handy one for removing spells and combos with deep diver, as a suggestion instead of trying to fit in a 3rd party.

It was the archetype I was considering if I had go for ranger.

Obviously just a suggestion!

thanks - let's see how wrong is the spell-less Ranger I cobbled together, I might have to start a new one using Skirmisher!

Nope, my PC is not a soldier, but a hanger-on of the army.

Khulod, If he's the local "scrounger" with the scout archetype, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to at least partly serve as a messenger, as well. We could have him and Nikias in the same "neighborhood," for lack of a better term.

Looks like with have a lot of sneak attack in the party.

Looks like @Cinder may be the min connect to majority, as was thinking possibly Cavaliers group of Amazon's fought alongside Nikias's group, and after the war.

Or possible the two units at a friendly (or not friendly) rivalry to who got most kills/best victory.

Also don't know if we want to corinte teamwork feats o that we can always trigger one another even if we haven't had a chance to give them out, or if we wanted a spread of options?

I volunteer to be your loud screaming distraction so you can stab their vitals with impugnity

The Custom Character Sheet for PF1 is here

So, I realized something. The initial event that ticked off the gods was Odysseus' sacking of Athena's temple in Troy (and one of his men violating Cassandra). Athena sent a storm that scattered the fleet. Poseidon only really got involved after Odysseus mocked Polyphemus the cyclops.

SO

If it's cool with y'all, those of you who worship Athena will get the first "oh crap, this is not going to go well" vibe. Because, like, you'd have reason to know what ticks off your goddess. And pillaging is fun, and your right as soldiers! But there are lines you do not cross.

Which means you guys on your ship can play it cool until the storm hits. No desertion, no dishonor, we're not starting the game with various war gods mad at you. I was concerned about the implications of deserting. Now you can anger different gods for totally unique reasons!

Also means we get to start the game with ship chaos, so I think that'll be fun.

What do you guys think?

(C1nder, you rolled quite well. 66 of your men are still alive to start, not counting the rest of the PC's.)

And yes, we'll use hero points. Everyone starts with 1 at character creation. For those not familiar, the rules are here.

I dig all of that!

Oh good. I can save that soliloquy for in game then.

Sounds good to me, thanks

Teamwork fears are good if we coordinate for them. I was going to go with an archetype that works with teamwork fears but I dropped it in favor of more feats toward my shield bash build.

I think it might be easier to save teamwork feats for after you guys get some player knowledge of how all your builds work together. For instance, in the last PF game I ran, I had no way of predicting that the major party procedure would be "Make the giant rabbit into a killing machine and support the tanks from the air."

I know there seems to be a lot of cutscene prep for the start of the game, but it really is just to kick things off.

I'm mostly asking as I get a free one :p. It will likely be precise strike or escape route.

Been busy last couple of days but half term next week so gonna work on character over weekend.

Still trying to figure order... Flame sounds fun but get the feeling she's not gonna get the final kill often to make use of its challenge.

Real life comes first, of course, but it's nice to have a heads up, thank you.

3 characters are approved with minor edits.

For those of you getting time for this later, please don't forget:
* You can take 2 traits to start.
* Your wealth is 5,250.
* There are some armor and weapon bonuses that aren't magical.
* You get 2 extra levels (so 7) of the Automatic Bonus Progression since we're low magic.
* The human "Racial bonus" to stats is +2 to one ability score. It's cheaper to apply this after you do point buy.

This is looking good so far. Thanks!

The trait of a good orator is the ability to tell a story in any language and have its meaning universally understood. I think the Trojan's would probably understand the meaning of the act. As Proto-Norse and Hittite are almost identical languages, just different dialects of the same Akkadian root language.

Have I mentioned how cool I think it is being Asatru and playing in a game that begins with the destruction of Asgard? Because it really is cool to me.

I'll bite. Asgard?

From Gylfaggining:

IX. Then said Gangleri: "Much indeed they had accomplished then, methinks, when earth and heaven were made, and the sun and the constellations of heaven were fixed, and division was made of days; now whence come the men that people the world?" And Hárr answered: 'When the sons of Borr were walking along the sea-strand, they found two trees, and took up the trees and shaped men of them: the first gave them spirit and life; the second, wit and feeling; the third, form, speech, hearing, and sight. They gave them clothing and names: the male was called Askr, and the female Embla, and of them was mankind begotten, which received a dwelling-place under Midgard. Next they made for themselves in the middle of the world a city which is called Ásgard; men call it Troy. There dwelt the gods and their kindred; and many tidings and tales of it have come to pass both on earth and aloft. There is one abode called Hlidskjálf, and when Allfather sat in the high-seat there, he looked out over the whole world and saw every man's acts, and knew all things which he saw. His wife was called Frigg daughter of Fjörgvinn; and of their blood is come that kindred which we call the races of the Æsir, that have peopled the Elder Ásgard, and those kingdoms which pertain to it; and that is a divine race. For this reason must he be called Allfather: because he is father of all the gods and of men, and of all that was fulfilled of him and of his might. The Earth was his daughter and his wife; on her he begot the first son, which is Ása-Thor: strength and prowess attend him, wherewith he overcometh all living things.

Do the Asatruar consider the Gylfaggining an historically accurate text?

No text based on Oral tradition is historically accurate enough to call it as such. But the same argument can be applied to any religion that has existed since the bronze age. However the literal mounds of bodies and DNA evidence support the claim. Many Godi are speculative of anything Snorri wrote because he is a Christian.

I am not. Of course Snorri said he was a Christian, of course he didn't identify Odin as a metaphysical concept, of course he concealed truths from the conquerors. It was en vogue to burn heathens alive.

The fact remains, DNA evidence proves all Germanic tribes have half their ancestry from the Sarmatians. Who themselves are the direct descendants of the Hatti tribes. Same exact region same exact pantheon. I don't believe in coincidence.

TL;DR:

If a Godi has issue with my position they're welcome to challenge it. But it doesn't matter what the Asatruar believe in if it is not supported by fact. Odin doesn't care what you believe in if it isn't supported by reason.

Thank you for the thoughtful response!

Apologies, fellows: some unforeseen RL circumstances are forcing me to step down from this game. I thought best to leave it now before it starts, than inconvenience you all later.

Enjoy what promises to be an amazing campaign, and see you in the future in some other adventure 🙂

Hey, all, I made an "out of character" thread to keep us chatting but organized. Thanks!

Do you guys want a 5th party member, or are you cool with 4?

I'm fine either way.

Almost done with my sheet by the way!

Nice! Busy weekend all around, so no prob either way.

4 means 5% more XP so 4 is fine.

I'm ok either way as well - I think a 5th could help round out the group and provide a pre-emptive stop gap in case we lose someone else

Ah, Joms raises a good point.

I was planning on Milestone leveling. I've found it's nice to not have to constantly count XP. This story is shaping up to have an episodic feel (different islands are different chapters, and all that), so it should go rather smoothly.

"Vikings use axe not pen"

I think the idea of having a 5th already in case life happens is wise. I've got a couple people I trust to run with the narrative but also give everyone space, so I'll ask one of them.

Sounds excellent!

Okie Dokie! I would like to start the game with at least a prologue during the sacking of Troy, the temple, etc. So, let's firm up some of the previous relationships.

C1nder - Lokhagos (captain) of the men on the ship
Joms - Mercenary
LoM - Amazon
Khulod - go-fer etc.

Yeo just had a work schedule shift, so we're still working things out. Messenger is easier for him. Come to think of it, if Discord is preferable for nitty gritty character specifics (not things related to the group or game as a whole), my Discord tag is lavtodd#8426. Just let me know who you are in the first message.

At any rate, it seems logical that Nikias (C1nder) is in charge of the ship, at least highest ranking on it. As the most direct worshipper of Athena, he's going to be the one who gets the Initial Bad Vibes (TM).

Dolios (Khulod) and Tiwaz (Joms) are both kinda wild cards, so I was thinking perhaps they were in the same "neighborhood" as Nikias' phalanx. Perhaps Dolios was a runner, and he and Tiwaz both helped deal with Trojans who broke formation? What do we think of that?

As for Iantha (ToM), I guess it kind of depends on whether she felt the Call to Adventure, was in a similar position to the other guys as a wild card, or something else. If it helps your decision, Penthesilea, the queen who led the Amazonians to Troy, fought with the Trojans and was killed by Achilles, who later mourned her. So certainly, the warrirors were well-respected on both sides.

Of course, simply recognizing a person at a glance doesn't mean one would necessarily think of them first for the "avoid the wrath" initiative. So as mentioned in passing before, if everyone can have a closer relationship with at least one other person, I think that'll help.

The nice part with not starting on the ship proper is we can add folks as they're ready.

Also, if you have not already, please specify your belief level on your character sheet and share with the group. The list is back in the house rules thread.

Edit: Or I can just add it here ~

1. Hostile: The gods exist and eff those guys.
2. Indifferent: I don't know or care whether the gods exist or not.
3. Cultural: The gods may or may not exist, but the rituals are important to me.
4. Transactional: The gods exist, and their favor is like a bank.
5. Aspiring: The gods exist, but I'm only human.
6. Devout: The gods exist, and I always do my best.
7. Zealous: The gods exist, and woe be unto the nonbeilever.

You will not be able to take any sort of divine perk, even from the limited setting, unless your character has at least "Transactional" belief. I don't mind which deity you pick, as long as they're actually part of the pantheon.

Hello gents, I am Yeo (for those who don't know me), happy to be aboard.

Thinking of playing ye olde spelless ranger, Spartan, zealous traditionalist devotee of Aphrodite Areia. Men in Spartan culture were still considered "Youths" in their 20s, so I'd like him to be middle aged for this campaign. An older gent, to be sure, but also a rank-and-file army scout. I'd like, if possible, to use either the bow specialization for spelless ranger, or straight spear-and-shield specialization.

Character Concept: Every 80s action movie with the "I'm too old for this" character.

An amusing juxtaposition to Nikias, who's older but "I'm gonna be a soldier until I die and love every minute"

Tiwaz will call him old man affectionately

Good to have you. One the one had think we have two spear and shield fighters already . On the other hand Shield Wall is a teamwork feat and it very much fits with the setting :P

Re Knowing each other think I suggested before but Ianthe order could have been fighting close alongside side Nikias so they know what each other are capable of?

I dont think it'd be very Greek to hire a bunch of barbarians. But maybe it was one of Odysseus' manifold hubris. If he was part of a larger Corps they're all dead now.

I like where this is all going!
I had suggested, though I think it got buried, that perhaps Tiwaz sought advice regarding his percieved curse from the notoriously wise king of Ithaca, and was on the island when the call to war rang out. If you're cool with that, then there'd be a higher-up NPC who made sure he got paid and whatnot.

I'm cool with whatever. Just as long as the story moves.

Ah, pipeweed and smutty vases.

Oh that Sly devil

There's a starting post! Please take a moment to introduce yourselves. It's fine if you're still working out final details on your sheet.

I'm sorry, I was a little scattered yesterday. Of course, you can springboard off another person's post to introduce yourself if you want. I'd just rather save lengthy back-and-forth until everyone's been introduced.

I'm going to enjoy the back-and-forth between them.

They're the same age! He's a Spartan, but there's no reason they can't have known each other and shared a few cups over the years. Scouts do get detached to serve other units during wars, after all.

Yeah, I like that - the kind of old drinking buddies that know they might someday face each other on the field. They probably have enough shared experiences and stories, it's hard to not find some mutual respect there.

Hey buddy, check out my new scar(s)!

Everyone please take a moment to share at least the broad strokes of your characters' desires after the war. As we ended up with only one Ithacan, I want to see where the common threads are. I have wiggly connections for everyone, but I want to give you guys a chance to discuss as well.

Kouru - someone has to watch all of Menelaus's stuff
Tiwaz - Odysseus probably owes him more info on his curse
Iantha - stuff's complicated at home so a break could be prudent.

These feel watery, so again. Chance to discuss.

Tiwaz wants to know Odysseus' thoughts and also seems to consider that the best way to get personal glory is to stay with an army.

But you told me not to tell you more on that subject... 😜

I walked into that. That's my fault XD

Is what I said in my character thread sufficient to answer though? I can give a little more if you'd like.

Yeah Iantha's suddenly got a lot more introspective when planned. She's not sure she'll be welcome home, even with her letting Helen go. So sheike just wants to find some sort of purpose or justificatication even if as simple as a monster to hunt for glory, her and her groups orginal goal when younger.

She's likely going to be praying to Artermis, hoping for a hunt, monster or something to distract her/regain glory in a more clear cut way.

But yeah she'll be a little lost in what to do so easily dragged along by others.

Nikias is good. We'll try to get him home to his adorable family and sheep

I'm reminded of Maximus' homecoming scene from Gladiator.

Which is, I believe, based on the same historical figure I got my idea from: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. The guy was a roman consul and farmer when he was given powers as a dictator due to threat from barbarian invasions. He put down the barbarian threat, allegedly pretty quick, then opted to give up his power and returned to farming. It encapsulates a romantic ideal of an ideal leader - the person who does not thirst for power and sets it aside when they have completed what they set out to do. It always stuck with me.

Hopefully Nikias' homecoming is Happier than Maximus'

Hah! I hope so, though I suspect it may take quite some time for him to get home.

Well barring his wife and children being crucified there's a lot of leeway there