0. Eltesla chargen

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Jan 9, 2025 4:46 pm
OOC:
Welcome to Misthaven University! This is your character generation thread.

Before we dive into the wonders and challenges of the University, let us take a moment to focus on your PC. Every student who steps into Misthaven’s lecture chambers carries with them a story, a legacy, and a spark of magic all their own.

So, please, tell us more about them.... If possible, do this In Character, as part of a letter, a dialog with one or more NPCs that you create and we share their control, or something else.

If you want, your posts in this thread can happen years before your admission in the University, by the way.

Eltesia says:
A naïve homeschooled elf that set out against her parents' wishes. At eighteen years old, she is physically and mentally mature but still considered a child in the eyes of elven society. Thus, when she expressed a desire to leave home and attend university, her parents were quick to reject the idea. They believed she wouldn't be ready to leave for at least a few more decades. Of course, she disagreed, so she secretly sent out applications. Of the acceptance letters that came back, one stood out among them: Misthaven University. Despite her parents forbidding her to go, she packed up and departed for Misthaven. She couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend such a prestigious university and see what the outside world was like.
I am curious to read her application letter (or at least a summary of it). Would you like to share?
Jan 10, 2025 3:22 am
OOC:
Thanks for the invite!

To whom it may concern,

My name is Marlena Everbrook, and I write to express interest in enrolling at your wonderful institute.

I hail from Frondaar, the bustling capital of Drastyria, an elven continent in the west. Contrary to the nature-dwelling reputation of us elves, Drastyria is about progress. I'd wager we're keeping up with gnomes in terms of technological advancement. Personally, I think we're a little bit ahead, but I suppose most would say that it's debatable. While gnomes are more focused on 'pure' technology, Drastyrian elves pursue the combination of magic and technology, most commonly known as magitech. I believe we're entering a new era of innovation!

Anyways, I've never left Frondaar, and if my parents had their way, I bet I wouldn't leave for centuries. They've been the overprotective sort for as long as I can remember. Ever since the day they adopted me, they've watched me like a hawk and imposed their rigid structure on me. I won't get into the details, but I think it's because of my elder sister, Moranna. I never actually met her, but judging from the stories, she was wild and fiercely driven. Like fire took an elven form. I'm told she left to become an adventurer, but she went missing. At this point, she's presumed to be dead. I guess my parents view me as a 'second try' of sorts? Moranna and I even have similar names.

I love my parents, but I want to get out there and see the world. I want to learn what I can't get from books. That's why I want to attend Misthaven University. There's no other place where so many different types of people and schools of thought coalsece. In addition, I hear you have remarkable labs. I might not have a specialty in mind yet, but I'm interested in involving myself in the research of magitech. I even have a few prototypes laying around. I don't think they're anything too remarkable, but I'd love to improve upon them.

My interest in magitech also stems from something that I think you should know before making any decision: I think I'm some sort of anti-magical anomaly. Some sort of sorceress, perhaps. Spells unravel at my touch, even when I don't mean to. As you can guess, this can hamper my own casting at times. It even caused my parents to think I had no talent in the arcane arts at first, but once I experimented, I found out this strange effect was magical in origin. I created some lead-lined gloves to suppress the effect, and it worked... for the most part. It's still not quite there yet, so I wish to build something that may help me control it better. Failing that, I'm sure I could compensate with magitech.

To conclude, I want to leave my ivory tower and truly learn about the world. I'm told I'm not ready, but if not now, then when? Fifty years from now? A hundred? As an elf, I could easily spend that long studying, but then I'd miss my chance to be a part of history. It's no wonder so many important figures come from shorter-lived species. They have no time to meander, so they live fast and loud. I'd much rather live like that. After all, what's the point of having so much time if you don't do something with it?

-Marlena Everbrook
OOC:
I expanded upon the base concept a bit. Figured it might be cool to play someone forced to rely more on magitech as opposed to traditional magic.
https://i.imgur.com/XBQAmRD.jpeg
Last edited January 10, 2025 8:02 am
Jan 10, 2025 7:17 am
OOC:
Is your magic anti-magic or so wild that it disrupts other magics, and you need wands, crystals and other tech to harmonies your magic?
Personally I see the disharmonious magic as the most interesting
Last edited January 10, 2025 7:21 am
Jan 10, 2025 7:46 am
runekyndig says:
OOC:
Is your magic anti-magic or so wild that it disrupts other magics, and you need wands, crystals and other tech to harmonies your magic?
Personally I see the disharmonious magic as the most interesting
OOC:
Hmm. I left it somewhat open-ended, but I'll go for the disharmonious magic angle. It may stem from some sort of sorcerous bloodline, or maybe just a random mutation.
Jan 10, 2025 8:10 pm
OOC:
Great! That brings us to the first part of our character sheet. It contains general information and 3 distinctions.

Distinctions are sort of like your character’s "elevator pitch:" reading all of them should tell anyone a lot about who the character is, whether they describe personality quirks, backgrounds, origin or the character’s role in the world.

Mechanically, the same distinction can be used in two ways:

1. To help you, by adding 1d8 to your dice pool
2. To hinder, by adding 1d4 to your dice pool. This greatly increases the chances of a Hitch

If the distinction will be used as a D8 or D4 or not at all, will depend on the situation. Only up to one distinction (the most relevant one) should be used in a single roll.

In our game, the best distinctions are double-edged, say more than one thing, and keep the phrasing simple. They are pretty much written like Fate aspects, if you ever played that RPG.
CHARACTER INFO
NAME: ???
RACE/ORIGIN: ???
PROBLEM:???
PRIDE: ???
SHORT-TERM GOAL: ???
LONG-TERM GOAL: ???

DISTINCTIONSFACILITATESHINDERS
???1d81d4
???1d81d4
???1d81d4

Please quote this message and fill in the "???" =)
Jan 11, 2025 12:02 am
htech says:


CHARACTER INFO
NAME: Marlena Everbrook
RACE/ORIGIN: Elf (Drastyrian)
PROBLEM: Eager to see the world, perhaps too eager
PRIDE: Her intelligence
SHORT-TERM GOAL: To control or at least focus her power
LONG-TERM GOAL: Learn all she can and truly make a mark on history

DISTINCTIONSFACILITATESHINDERS
Steadfast Mettle, Headstrong Meddler1d81d4
Shamelessly Obsessive Gearhead1d81d4
Spellbane Sorceress Bloodline1d81d4


Jan 11, 2025 10:50 am
OOC:
Character sheet approved! While we roleplay in the Biblioplex thread, let's use this one to talk about attributes.

The simplest (and default) option is to have them all on D8. But if you want, you can have one on D6, another on D8, and the last one on D10.

Our attributes are:
charsheet says:
Physical
Mental
Social
Ratings
DieNameDescription
D4 Poor Notably deficient in this area.
D6 Typical An average degree of ability.
D8 Excellent Above-average performance.
D10 Remarkable Greatly above average.
D12 Incredible Peak levels of ability.


I feel like Marlena should have Mental as D10. What do you think?
Jan 12, 2025 12:32 am
OOC:
I think so too. I'll take D10 Mental, D8 Physical, and D6 Social.
Jan 14, 2025 12:17 pm
OOC:
This is now a purely Out of Character thread. In-character posts for Marlena have been moved to the Biblioplex thread. No need to tag everything with OOC


Let's continue with the mechanical parts of character generation in here. The next steps are:

1. For mundane/regular skills in your character sheet, you start with everything at D6. If you increase one at D8, reduce another to a D4. Now, you must increase at least two of them to D8 and reduce the same amount to D4.

2. Choose something to add at D10. It can be a skill specialization of one of your D8s (ie. You roll a D10 instead of the regular skill in some situations. For example, Kirae rolls 1d10 instead of her 1d8 Melee Combat, when she uses daggers). It can also be an extra ability/not listed skill (Lion Tamer D10), special power (Darkvision D10) or gear (Heirloom sword D10). Some of those D10s will be used in addition to the regular skills, depending on the situation. Write it down in the "Other traits" section.

3, Which of the 8 schools available here and listed in the "Magic" section of your character sheet does Marlena have the most affinity with? You will start this school with a D6 ability. You should also choose two secondary schools of magic to start the game as a D4. For now, your character won't be able to cast spells from other schools (but you may learn them in the University)
Jan 14, 2025 1:07 pm
I'll increase Crafting, Observation, Willpower and Lore to D8. I'll reduce Melee Combat, Insight, Deceive, and Brute Force to d4.

I'll add Magitechnician D10 as a specialization of Crafting.

Due to her bloodline, Marlena has the most affinity with Excidium, so that'll be D6. Her secondary schools are Creatio and Mutatio.
Jan 14, 2025 4:13 pm
Great. Now, please choose some special gear/magic item that will give you an extra D6 in some situations. A medallion, wand, gloves, etc. Most gear is used just for flavor/roleplaying but this item will grant you a bonus.

In the future, you may craft or improve others (using XP) but, for now, what do you want to start the game with?
Jan 14, 2025 6:22 pm
I think I'll choose a bag of holding.
Jan 14, 2025 7:08 pm
A bag of holding? Didn't expect that. =)

How is that going to give you a bonus to a roll? Which skill(s) would be involved?
Depending on your answer, that item could be misued or "useless". =) We don't want it to apply to all situations or to none at all...

If it's related to crafting, a magic hammer would be ideal...
https://i.imgur.com/ydxPGUu.jpeg
Jan 14, 2025 8:04 pm
I wasn't intending for it to give any bonus. It'd simply be an excuse for her to carry a large amount of stuff. However, I'm reconsidering due to your suggestion. Instead of just a hammer, maybe it'd be a magic toolbelt that gives an extra D6 when crafting?
Jan 14, 2025 8:08 pm
In that case, she can have both: a bag of holding (no mechanical bonus, just for flavor) and a magic toolbelt. =)

Please write down the toolbelt and you can roleplay the bag of holding in your posts. =)
Jan 14, 2025 8:11 pm
I have moved your old distinctions to the Notes sections. We think that it will work better if this game have dice mechanics just for your Pride: something very personal your character takes great pride in—an ability, a defining event, or something similar.

Unfortunately, Marlena's current Pride (considering the above) is too broad. It overlaps with an attribute. Maybe we can change it to "Shamelessly Obsessive Gearhead"? =)
Jan 14, 2025 11:03 pm
I believe the gearhead aspect of her is thoroughly presented already, so I'll change her Pride to "Spellbane Sorceress Bloodline". She doesn't know anything about it just yet, but it'll be something she comes to take pride in.
Last edited January 14, 2025 11:15 pm
Jan 14, 2025 11:23 pm
Sounds great! She is almost ready. Let's roleplay a little more and I will come back here later.

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