Character Creation

1. If Erden had to take a feat at 4th level I'd probably pick Lucky, owing to his background in the magical arts of Divination. Other possible options include: War Caster, Keen Mind, or Spell Sniper.

2. Right now, I picture Erden as being kind of a shell of his former leadery-ness. I imagine that whatever got the party into their outlaw status was his fault (or at least he thinks it is!). I think at level 5, he's beginning to get his mojo back, becoming more confident and commanding.

Mechanically, he'll be taking a diverse selection of spells, allowing him to do damage, lend support, and shape the battlefield as needed by his men.

Sounds awesome, Nate! I'm so looking forward to seeing these characters grow!

So, I'm not sure how much my head cannon matches your world history, but I'll lay out what I'm thinking and we can modify it to fit.

The Half-Orcs of Qinglai were once a proud and independent people with a vibrant culture and history. Now they are mostly conquered / assimilated into Qinglai. But before this happened, Baracus's father led his people on a final, brutal war against Qinglai. He likely knew it was impossible to beat them, but his goal was to wage a war so terrible and glorious as to gain the attention of Gruumsh and secure a place of honour and prestige in the afterlife on the plane of Acheron.Baracus believes his father was successful in leading his people to Acheron, but Baracus himself was too young to join the war and is now stranded in the material plane with no deeds great enough to allow him to follow after his father's footsteps.

After Qinglai conquered his people, Baracus was taken to a monastery. I haven't worked out the details here in my mind. I suspect it was a kind of prison sentence that kept the son of the great war leader apart from his people in case the son had ambitions like his father. I think they tried to 'civilize' him and probably succeeded in part. Baracus definitely values kindness, friendship, and other human things more than the average Half Orc barbarian.

I'm not sure how he ended up in Cysegr with the A-Team. Other than friendship, I imagine he stays with these guys because they are great magnets for trouble, and given that his number one motivation is to rack up great deeds, probably sees this as an efficient path to that goal.

Would he return to Qinglai? Probably. But he is a leaf on the wind. He sees his time on the Material Plane as a temporary speed bump on his way to eternity, and has few attachments here. But not sure if there is much waiting for him there. I suppose his people might need him, and he has a connection to his old monastery that is still ill defined, and therein would lie his strongest ties to Qinglai.

I'm loving reading everyone's back stories! This gives me some interesting ideas for inter-character dialogue. Baracus is fairly laconic, but improving and increasing my interactions with other players is one of things I think I can do to contribute to this game. We had some great stuff early on, but I've kinda let it slide in recent times. I feel like Rydler and Baracus had some good character bonding woven into combat, and Erden and Baracus have developed some good quirks like Baracus carrying him in crowds. Looking forward to more of that in the future :)

Here's a question regarding Warlocks and the Pact of the Tome's Book of Shadows/Ancient Secrets.

I have this idea of Ybus using his own body as the book, and tattooing the spells onto his very self. I know that the rules state it is a physical book and that implies the chance it can be lost and must be replaced. Is it game-breaking to go with the tattoo idea?

I LOVE the idea! I'll allow it as long as no one objects (can't imagine anyone here would object, but I feel like it's only right that I ask).

How woild he go about tattooing himself? It imagine it'd be a ritual even more involved than the one described for inscribing to a standard book.

As you already guessed, i have no problem at all with Ybus tattooing his body instead of having a ritual book

I'm fine with it as well. Maybe a couple ideas to help alleviate CM with his game-breaking worries:

Increase ritual time/cost.

Ritual time: It takes a lot longer to write the letter 'A' on skin than it does on paper.
Cost: Infections! Clean needles, even higher quality ink(?), alcohol or something to clean the area before and after.

I'm okay with any additional difficulties. I am also interested in the discussion for similar customized class features, so the suggestion of adding difficulties is a good one to file in the DM skillset.

Everyone advances to 4th Level. Congratulations!

Thanks Jabes, tough choices here!

After much deliberation, I think the situation best supports another level of monk. That brings with it +9hp, +1 ki point, deflect missiles, and the Way of the Open Hand monastic tradition.

Should be awesome!

Looking forward to even more kungfu from Baracus!

Level 4 of Wizard, of course. +6 HP, +1 L2 spell slot, +1 Cantrip (Shocking Grasp for some melee power), +2 spells (unchosen as of yet), still deciding between ASI and a feat

Sticking with Warlock. +5 HP, +1 cantrip (Create Bonfire), +1 spell (Hold Person).

I was leaning heavily towards Actor as my feat, but now I feel compelled to get Magic Initiate as a Warlock. Two more Warlock cantrips (Prestidigitation and Frostbite) and a 1st-level spell (Comprehend Languages). If I'm reading it right, the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation means I can cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual, since it is a warlock spell. I can cast it once per long rest, and in an emergency I can cast it again with a spell slot.

Now Ybus will finally understand what the voices in his head are saying!

I actually was quite shocked (pun not intended) when you had Erden go into melee with those ochre jellies in the sewer when he saw that Urban was in trouble! I absolutely love how he not only takes command but really looks out for the team. Great stuff!
Yes, that is my understanding of that invocation, that particular spell, and ritual casting in general. I'm looking forward to the description of Ybus tattooing his ritual spells on his skin!

It was a pretty fun moment for me, though I was half-sure I was going to lose him! That's when I realized that I needed a melee attack lol

Yo, fellas. I've had a tough time staying consistent on participation lately, but hoping to stabilize.
Wow! Level Up - that's always a BLAST! Thanks, DM.

Urban will move to Paladin 4 and take the Brawny Feat.
Weightlifter, y'all. Flex zone. Large carrying capacity: that just happened. Master Athlete. Incredible Grappler. Dangerous Shover. World's Strongest Man contest. 20 STR for the win.

Level 6, guys. Congrats!

Going to take Monk-4, giving me +9 +11 hp (+5 from Monk, +4 con, +2 from First Sword Tough Feat), slow fall, 1 Ki point and an ASI which I will spend on +1 Cha, +1 Wis to reflect Baracus's self-reflection and personal revelations.