Character Creation

I am going to aim for starting after the weekend.

If not everyone is ready, that's ok.

For the new folks, I'll have posted a page with much of the common rules used in the game.

I will also lay out how some of your attacks will work and what some of your personal options are going to be.

---

Shadow:

Your standard melee attack will be with your scimitar. You'll roll 1d20+2 (from agility, because it's a finesse weapon). You have the option to apply one boon, due to trickery. You'll do 1d6+1 damage. If your boon/bane total is positive, you'll add 2d6 damage (1d6 from trickery, and 1d6 from dirty tricks). You can also expend a casting of a spell to add additional damage. You can attack anyone within your reach (1 yard), or out to 2 yards by adding a bane to the attack roll (see pg 50).

Since you have a sword and shield, you can attack with two weapons. If you do this with your shield, then you lose your defense bonus until the end of the round. If you attack with both weapons against a single target, then make a single attack roll and add 2 banes to your attack roll, and then add 1d3 damage to your total (the shield damage). If you attack against two separate targets, you make each attack roll separately, adding 3 banes to each attack - but since this is two separate attacks, then you can use both uses of trickery on each attack, dealing your full damage for each attack (1d6+1, +extra damage if your boon total is positive, then 1d3+extra damage if your boon total is positive).

Your standard ranged attack will be with your hand crossbow. You'll roll 1d20+2 (from agility). You have the option to apply one boon, due to trickery. You'll do 1d6 damage. If your boon/bane total is positive, you'll add 2d6 damage (1d6 from trickery, and 1d6 from dirty tricks). You can also expend a casting of a spell to add additional damage. This ranged weapon can fire out to SHORT range (5 yards) without penalty; you can double this distance by adding one bane to your attack roll (see pg 51). Your hand crossbow is a reload weapon, meaning that you need to use an ACTION to reload it before you can fire it again.

You also have several attack options you can add on to these attacks. You typically add a bane to your attack roll in order to add on an additional effect. See here for some attack options.

Your standard use of magic requires a free hand to wield your implement. Please note that you won't be able to cast spells if both your hands are being used to wield weapon & shield; you'll have to drop or sheath your weapon to wield your implement. This does not apply when you are expending a casting to do one of your paladin talents.

If you roll a 20+ (including bonuses and boons) on an attack roll, and the result is 5 higher than the target number, then you get a second turn, used at any time you would like in the round.

You have two uses of trickery per round; this means that twice you can add a boon to any of your attack rolls or challenge rolls. You also have Hunches & Instincts, which allows you to add a boon to any challenge roll.

---

Caranthir:

Your standard melee attack will be with your maul. You'll roll 1d20+5-1d6 (+5 from strength, with one bane from cumbersome). You'll do 4d6 damage (3d6 from the maul, 1d6 because you're size 2). You can attack anyone within 2 yards of you, and you can make it 3 yards by adding another bane to your attack roll. This is a two-handed weapon, meaning you must use both hands to wield this weapon. You can expend the casting of a spell to add additional damage.

You have several attack options you can add on to this attacks. You typically add a bane to your attack roll in order to add on an additional effect. See here for some attack options.

Your standard use of magic requires a free hand to wield your implement. Please note that you won't be able to cast spells if both your hands are being used to wield your weapon. This means that you cannot be wielding your implement at the same time, and you must figure out some other way to quickly access your implement while you have your weapon out. This is relatively easy to do, just give me a reasonable narrative justification for it, such as having your implement always out and showing while hanging off a leather shoulder belt or something. This does not apply when you are expending a casting to do one of your paladin talents.

All of your magic attack spells use will, which means you will be rolling 1d20+3. Please refer to the spell to see which attribute you're targeting.

If the total of your attack rolls (melee weapon OR damaging attack spells) is 20+ (this includes attribute bonuses and boons), and also exceeds the target score by 5, then you will add 1d6 damage to the attack and they must make a strength challenge roll or fall prone. This will be on top of any other 20+ effects your spells may have (e.g. Ice Shards).

---

Hugh: I'll do this for you once you have selected all your equipment.

Sigrid and Fachtna - you're both experienced players, so I don't need to do this for you. But if you would like to do it for yourself so our new players can learn, I am sure everyone would appreciate it.

Its like D&D but sensible and way more deadly.

Yeah!

The author, Rob Schwalb, was one of the 5e authors, as well as the author for Warhammer Fantasy (4e, I think). He said that this game was an amalgamation of those two game, with everything he wanted for 5e but was turned down.

In my experience, it also has really good balance between narrative play and mechanics play, focusing more on Combat as War while still utilizing grid-based combat.

While we're focusing more on the combat side for this particular adventure, there's still a lot of leeway for narration.

For example, there's no skills in this game; instead you use your professions to determine what your good at, making reasonable arguments for how your profession would be applicable. So as a whaler, it's reasonable that you'd know how to handle water craft, how to read the seas, how to tie knots, how to hunt sea animals, how to strip a carcass (especially very large ones), and things like that.

Professions don't add to combat rolls (being a soldier doesn't mean you get attack boons, etc), but can instead be used to expand your narrative capabilities and broaden your character.

Regarding spellcasting implement. Would having the mummified human skull on a hook and chain around the waist work?

Also jotun harpoons will deal 2d6 damage?

Implement: Yes, that spell casting implement will absolutely work.

Jotun Weapons: Weapons designed for your size will either increase to 1d6, or add 1d6 damage to them. So yes, a Jotun harpoon will be 2d6.

For a harpoon, I've written up stats for them before:

Harpoon. 1d3, One handed, Finesse, impale, thrown, range (short), special.

The harpoon can impale a target. While the creature is grabbed by impalement and the harpoon has a rope attached, you can use a triggered action on your turn to make a pull attack.

Finesse: You can use strength or agility when attacking with this weapon.
Thrown: you can throw this weapon out to 5 yards, or double if you add a bane.
Impale: When taking damage from a weapon with the impale property, the target becomes grabbed. While grabbed this way, attacks made with the impaling weapon automatically succeed. Attempts to escape the grab are made with 1 bane.

Using these rules, a Jotun harpoon would do 1d6 damage instead of 1d3.

oh... right... I haven't listed an implement yet... can it be a ring so he can wield weapon and shield at the same time?

Absolutely!

Just know that you still have to sheath your sword to "wield" the ring when casting spells. It doesn't make the most narrative sense, but it's important for martial-caster balance. Also, if it let you bypass that requirement, every munchkin would do it. Lol!

I think it may help to know that sheathing and drawing your sword is a minor action. Same with stowing or equiping your shield. You get 1 minor action on a fast turn, and 2 on a slow turn.

So if you want to sheath, cast, draw, you could. You'd just have to go on slow turn.

Alright, I think I'm done (outside of the questionnaire). By all means review me and let me know anything I messed up.

I will be checking it out tomorrow! :)

Questionnaire is a nifty roleplaying tool, but it's not needed for this game if you don't want to use it. I generally only require it for campaigns that start at level 0.

Hugh

Your standard melee attack will be with your bastard sword. You'll roll 1d20+3+1d6 (from strength). This attack has net 1 for boons, as you have 1 boon from weapon training, 1 bane from using a cumbersome weapon, and you reduce your banes by 1 for the enchanted property.

You'll do 3d6+1 damage (2d6+1 from the weapon, and 1d6 from combat prowess). You can add +1d6 extra damage on this attack if you want, OR make a second attack against a different opponent within your reach. You have a reach of 1, meaning you can attack anyone one yard of you (or one square on the battle map), or 2 yards if you add a bane. If you roll a 20+ and score higher than 5 against their defense, you add 1d6 damage. You can add additional damage by expending the casting of a spell.

So against a single opponent, you'll do 4d6+1 (+1d6 crit, +1d6 smite). Or against two opponents, you'll do 3d6+1 (+1d6 crit, +1d6 smite) to each.

Your standard ranged attack is with your pistol.You'll roll 1d20+2+1d6 (from agility, with 1 boon from weapon training). You'll do 3d6 damage (2d6 from the pistol and 1d6 from combat prowess). You can add +1d6 damage against a single target from combat expertise, or do a second attack against a different target. CAUTION: You cannot make a second attack with the pistol without reloading it - it requires an action to reload. You can, however, make your second attack with your sword. You'll add another +1d6 damage if the result of your attack is 20+ and beats the target number by 5. Be careful with switching weapons, as you don't have a second hand available when you're equipped with your shield (although you could use your shield as a second weapon; you'll lose your defense bonus until the end of the round, and you'll deal 1d3+1d6 damage).

Your novice path healing talent allows you to heal your healing rate (aka 1/4 your total health); you are the only PC who can do this on a triggered action OR and action. This allows you to both heal and attack in the same round, whereas every other PC requires a full action to heal.

Please note that weapon training and combat prowess grant you that boon and extra damage to *every attack.* So you could attack once, use combat expertise to attack again, then use a triggered action against a foes fleeing your space to attack again (and use combat expertise again for a second attack) - and all of those attacks would have a boon and +1d6 damage. And for each of those, you could add.more damage using your smite talent, extending a casting to add +1d6 damage. And if any is a crit, them that's another +1d6 damave.

Because you have this free boon that applies to all attacks, you can take advantage of your combat options (see here), expanding your capabilities.

On top of all that, you've got a couple of spells you can cast.

@dmbrainiac

The ship we came in on sank. But I get the sense a Jotun ship is nigh unsinkable due to their construction methods. Even a whaler would boast immense firepower by most standards. This begs the question of how it ended up sinking.

Also Sigrid and Caranthir are terrifyingly powerful as a team holy moly!

I'm hoping to get the opening post up in a day or two. We're almost done with all characters, too!

With our powers combined... :D

It must have been one terrifying kraken that sunk the ship! :O

Kraken it is. No one will believe us, but thats alright we know what we saw.

Forsaken only has equipment left to get. Everything else looks good.

I'll be opening up the game tomorrow!

🥳🥳🥳

Character should be done. Are we starting with one interesting thing or multiple based on the starting at a higher level rule? Also, I know equipment is being done pretty loosely, so should we worry about having any starting coin? It'd be awkward to roll into an inn and be asked to pay for a meal with no money to speak of, haha!

Don't worry about money. We'll just assume you have what you need.

The only stipulation I have for equipment is that you get 5 healing potions, but no other potions or incantations. This is to help keep the focus on the builds rather than the equipment. I ignored that for the two enchanted items, because you should have two by this level.

We have Shadow's magic item being a Shifting Tunic... In keeping with her image, see below... could we make it a Shifting Skirt instead?