RECRUITING IS OVER. Thank you for your interest!
If you are weary of playing PbP with a DM that has never done so via that medium, stop reading now.
However, if you want to play DnD 4E, beginning with a newbie run through the Shadowfell story (levels 1-3) and then further out - maybe to levels 10 and beyond - then stick around.
I need 6 PCs. Preferably in a party of:
1 Defender
2 Strikers
1 Controller
1 Leader
The sixth member should be the utility guy or girl. Someone who can be the second healer and deal/take a little damage.
I would prefer if classes/races were selected from the first two Players Handbooks, but I may make exceptions - with the understanding that I'm not that fluent with those character types. I also request that there are no hybrid classes. I want down-and-dirty, mud-and-blood DnD (are hybrids incapable of this? Who knows, but it sounded good).
I'd like players that haven't memorized Shadowfell. I realize I can't make people prove they have never played the campaign, but if you have and/or are privy to information, please do not act on it so that others can enjoy the game to the fullest.
I realize that this is a similar game to
Kelor's, but Critical Failures is brimming with gamers that want to play 4E, so I'll offer another chance at it.
In case you don't know, some resources:
Dice Rollers:
Invisible Castle and
Orokos.
Sharing Character Sheets:
Orokos.
Other links:
Quickstart rules -
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/quickstartrules.pdf (you can right-click save as)
Character creator download -
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/4new/Spotlight_Download_Demo.png
Character sheets and power cards for personal reference -
http://www.dragonavenue.com/dnd/post/4th_edition_character_sheets_and_power_cards/
Characters will begin with general equipment. You can do this using the Auto Buy button in the character generator, but it is basically: The best armor your character can wear (that isn't a magic item), the best weapon/implement combo (ex: dagger/orb for wizards, again not a magic item), adventurer's gear, and a ranged weapon choice for melee characters without magic - you will have 20 bullets/arrows or 5 daggers to throw or 3 javelins to throw.
Please submit characters in your favored way. Try to keep it limited to two characters. Feel free to ask any questions, this is my first time submitting a game so I'm sure I missed something.
The following are characters that were not accepted, but I would be willing to add later if needed
Reserves
Kharn, Dragonborn Inspiring Warlord - Leader (Phyphor)
Kingsley Zissou, Tactical(ish) Warlord - Leader (Nerfthatman)
Bedgar Davrius, Pensive Wizard - Controller (Farangu)
Renholt Whitecrag, Razorclaw Shifter Druid - Controller (Cyros)
Posts
EDIT: And when will recruitment be open until?
Also, for those of us who have not done the Shadowfell story and don't know it at all, what kinds of story hooks should we be thinking about with our backstory?
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Wii Friend Code: 4387-6343-4953-0795
Steam: markbruno
Apple Game Center: iamsumo
Hooks:
A man named Douven Staul has taken the party under his wing with the intent of training you all into an adventuring group. He has the dream of creating a mercenary company singular entities and governments can hire for various activities. Some of you may have known one another for years or as few as six months - long enough that you trust each other in a battle.
Staul has learned of dragon's tomb near Winterhaven, a small village a few days away. A dragon's tomb means a dragon's hoarde, does it not? With the hope of treasure (and an instant influx of money to really get this mercenary company rolling), he heads to Winterhaven.
That was three months ago.
Something has obviously happened to your mentor, and it's up to you to find out what.
I could probably make a monk work. I'm not a huge fan of psionics outside psionic-based campaigns, but Monks channel theirs through their fists so it's more in tune with the nature of Shadowfell. I just didn't want bolts of mind energies flying about and whatnot in this particular setting. I love Dark Sun, but that's a whole different animal!
I'm down, like Monica Lewinski.....
Trying to decide between a Dwarven Fighter (battlerager), Warden, or a dagger rogue.
http://4e.orokos.com/sheets/2146
I couldn't fit all of his background onto the character sheet, so I have more if necessary.
Thanks!
-- mark
[PHP][/PHP]Xbox Gamertag: Mestoph
Wii Friend Code: 4387-6343-4953-0795
Steam: markbruno
Apple Game Center: iamsumo
edit: Nevermind, didn't realise orokos required the character generator. I've never been able to get that thing working for my computer.
Well, you can just post your sheet(s), if you want. I'll re-create him via the generator myself and upload it 8-)
I'll note that on the sheet, Squints. And I just realized you asked for two characters, so here's a second submission: Arannis d'Aemar, an Eladrin Rogue.
http://4e.orokos.com/sheets/2147
Thanks again! Oh, and feel free to call me Mark.
[PHP][/PHP]Xbox Gamertag: Mestoph
Wii Friend Code: 4387-6343-4953-0795
Steam: markbruno
Apple Game Center: iamsumo
But, just for the general feel.
Gene Narrowbucket, Half-elf Sorceror
(Insert normal 1st level sorceror build here, nothing fancy. Can I use Arcane power or should I stick to the PHB2?)
Probably using a staff or wand as implement.
Personality:
Gene is a quiet guy who prefers to communicate through body language rather than words as he's prone to saying stupid things when he opens his mouth. Around friends he becomes more charismatic, damn the consequences, because he trusts them. Because he's spent a lot of time listening Gene has developed the keen ability to read people easily (high insight).
Fitting in with his quietness, Gene is rather careful and has to be persuaded to go somewhere scary by himself although he's often willing to follow behind someone who's braver. He doesn't consider himself cowardly, just cautious.
Backstory:
Gene was raised in the city with a pretty normal child hood but when he hit his adolescant years he began to develop strange powers. The locals trained in arcana did not know what to do with him as they weren't familiar with the idea of sorcery and without a place to fit in, Gene was ostracised.
Shortly after developing his powers a man by the name of Douven showed up in town and Gene was summoned forward once more. The locals explained that Douven would be able to help Gene develop and control his powers in exchange for servitude and agreeing to work on some...project the man had in mind. Having no where else to belong Gene hastily agreed to go with the man in hopes that he'd be able to help him belong.
For backgrounds, I'd prefer using the PHB with this scenario. You can use the PHB 3 monk specific backgrounds, though!
I'm just trying to make it easier for everyone to get involved. Some of us have more resources than others, you know?
PS that Sims thread is epic
im interested in this for the polearm feats in martial power 2 and versatile expertise
Henry Teach, human cutthroat
the game assassino_O
Jamael - Goliath Fighter (great weapon) - Defender
Jamael spent the first 33 years of his life among the Koltash clan of Goliath, keeping only to the mountain tops. Trained from birth, he is exceptionally skilled with the great-sword forged for him as a protector of the tribe. One winter night he was sent on a scouting mission down the slope of the mountain to look for future camp grounds / hunting grounds. He arrived home at daybreak only to find his village had vanished.
There was no trace of a fight, no houses, no possessions, not his beloved fighting ring where he spent hours of practice daily. It was as if his entire existence had vanished. Armed only with the equipment he took for the scouting sortee, Jamael has made the ultimate decision - he has left his mountain home and descended into the world to try and discover the answer of his village's disappearance.
The races and creatures of this new world surprise him. Of course he has heard stories of smaller races, fantastic creatures, and far off lands; but to experience them is altogether different. He is socially awkward, easily duped, but kind and stalwart. He is not foolish or slow, but is taking some time getting used to the ways of the world. Surviving only on the money made for hiring his strength and sword, he is getting progressively dismayed at the lack of information about his village as the campaign opens.
Character Sheet
The problem is that I don't have PHB 3. So I'd be working blind with anything you gave me. But I should be able to handle feats and the like.
I'd like to stick with races/classes in the first two PHBs. But I can make anything work, I suppose. I just don't see a minotuar or a shardmind fitting into the particular setting.
So far we kinda have like an X-Men thing going on.
3clipse is Wolverine
Mark is Beast
Sipex is Jean Grey
Waffle is Colossus
My guess is frenching blood-sucky ladies, too!
[PHP][/PHP]Xbox Gamertag: Mestoph
Wii Friend Code: 4387-6343-4953-0795
Steam: markbruno
Apple Game Center: iamsumo
I love the core books.
I'll be submitting an Avenger and a Paladin. Religious Hooks are always my favorite.
Caleb Baernson, Human Monk.
Appearance and Personality:
He is generally quiet and reserved, but friendly and pleasant when he speaks. He makes no unnecessary movements and, if he doesn't move or speak, peoples' eyes tend to simply slip right over him without noticing his presence. When not actively moving, speaking, or otherwise doing something, he meditates (and sometimes he meditates even while doing something else!), his composure and iron self-control apparent in every word he speaks and every action he takes.
So it was surprising when Baern Anvilfist, abbot of a small dwarf monastery situated several miles outside Winterhaven, found a crying human child on the steps of his monastery after a fierce blizzard. He had no idea where the babe came from, or who had left him. Presumably he had been with his parents, lost in the storm, and the travelers (knowing that they would likely freeze to death in the whiteout before ever finding their way to Winterhaven) had found the monastery, its gate closed and barred while all the monks sheltered deep within its walls, and left the child, hoping that he would be found so that he, at least, might live.
Baern’s initial instinct was simply to take the child to Winterhaven and leave him in the safekeeping of the orphanage; however, something within him compelled him not to. Perhaps it was a feeling of compassion for the child, now sleeping soundly in his arms; or, perhaps he saw in this human newborn, which had somehow survived a blizzard, a fortitude and strength of will not normally found in humans and realized that he had the potential to become a highly skilled monk.
The decision was not received well by all at the monastery, as it had traditionally been a dwarven monastery. Many of the younger monks, their sense of pride and importance inflated because of their lack of years, objected to it, convinced that it would ruin the “purity” of the place. However, Baern (and many of the older monks), knew that there had been times in the past when non-dwarves had trained at the monastery, and so Baern adopted the child, only the first name of whom was known: Caleb (when he was found, a small bronze charm with the named etched into it was found clutched in his tiny fist, a gift from a doting uncle).
Caleb (now Baernson) trained with the dwarves, and it quickly became clear that Baern’s choice had been a wise one. He was never without the charm he had been found with, and even used it as his ki focus when meditating (which was not unheard of – many of the dwarves used small toy hammers or other such trinkets, the only keepsakes of the lives they had left behind upon beginning their path to monastic life). Caleb was as strong any dwarf there, and faster than all of them; by the time he was 22 the only monk he could not defeat in one-on-one combat was his adopted father, and even then the fights were not entirely one-sided. Skilled as he was, though, he yearned to know what the world was like outside the walls (and the small areas of forest he had seen while venturing outside the monastery to train or meditate), to discover what his life could have been like had he not been adopted b y the monks. As much as it saddened him, Baern had always known in his heart that this day would one day come, and so he prepared the young monk for the outside world, giving him food, and water, and everything he would need to survive while venturing on his own (protection was not something either of them was concerned about, as anyone attacking Caleb would soon discover why this was a very poor idea). On the day that he left each monk bid him farewell, and so he departed.
He journeyed first to Winterhaven, where he learned that (unlike the monastery), the world is full of people quick to take advantage of you. No fewer than three pick-pockets tried to rob him before word spread that anyone trying to steal from the berobed stranger in town would quickly find themselves staring at the sky and unable to move their limbs for several minutes. Walking the streets alone one night, Caleb was attacked by a group of thieves who had, in their flawed, alcohol-rotted brains, decided that ganging up on him would definitely allow them to successfully rob him (which at this point had become a matter of principle, even if he had no valuables whatsoever).
This turned out to be a tremendous mistake on their part, and it just so happened that Douven Staul had just left a nearby tavern and was watching, weighing the pros and cons of helping this stranger. It turned out he didn’t need to; Caleb moved like lightning, spinning between the thieves, striking, throwing, dodging, countering; within half a minute all four of the assailants were unconscious or otherwise disabled. Caleb took a moment to compose himself and then continued walking, the picture of control. Staul, intrigued, approached the young man (very cautiously!) and struck up a conversation, eventually asking if Caleb had ever considered adventuring or mercenary work. He hadn’t, but, always open to new experiences, he began working for Staul, spending 8 months under his employ before Douven declared that he was leaving for Winterhaven to investigate the Dragon’s Hoarde. Caleb offered to accompany him, knowing the area around Winterhaven fairly well, but Staul told him to stay and continue the company’s work without him.
Three months passed without any word of Staul being delivered to Caleb or any of the others; it was time they found out what had become of him.
Sheet: http://4e.orokos.com/sheets/2149
EDIT: Character builder details:
Caleb Baernson, level 1
Human, Monk
Monastic Tradition: Stone Fist
Birth - Among Another Race: Among Another Race (Dwarf)
Background: Birth - Among Another Race (Among Another Race (Dwarf))
FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 12, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
AC: 18 Fort: 15 Reflex: 16 Will: 14
HP: 24 Surges: 8 Surge Value: 6
TRAINED SKILLS
Endurance +8, Stealth +9, Perception +6, Acrobatics +9, Athletics +8
UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +1, Heal +1, History, Insight +1, Intimidate -1, Nature +1, Religion, Streetwise -1, Thievery +4
FEATS
Human: Implement Expertise (Ki Focuses)
Level 1: Unarmored Agility
POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Five Storms
Monk at-will 1: Crane's Wings
Monk at-will 1: Dragon's Tail
Monk encounter 1: Open the Gate of Battle
Monk daily 1: Whirling Mantis Step
ITEMS
Monk Unarmed Strike, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Adventurer's Kit, Ki Focus, Sling, Sling Bullets (20)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
I'd volunteer but the last PbP game I played (which died, damnit) I was the leader and my current in person game I play a DMPC leader so I want some variety.
It might seem selfish to apply, yes, but like I said, my PbP game died due to missing DM and my in person game plays...on average once every two months right now
Rhogar Softborn, Dragonborn Paladin!
Background:
How little he knew. At the temple of Bahamut, he was thrown into an even tougher training regimen with other orphans of war, children aged 6 through 12 being honed into living weapons of the Platinum Dragon. Once again, he was mocked, nicknamed Softborn, Runt and Limpsword. When he hit the age of fourteen, the kindly old cleric (who barely remembered him) blessed him and his new-forged sword alongside the others who had "graduated" into Paladin-squires. They were to be sent among the true Paladins of Bahamut in order to learn from their perfection so that they may become such paragons someday.
Rhogar was assigned to an introverted nobody of a Paladin, Julius something-or-other, he never quite learned his last name the entire seven years they were together. Perhaps "together" is too strong a word, for Julius spent most of his time polishing his sword, praying, riding, or battling... generally doing everything BUT paying any attention to his squire. Rhogar assumed he was a fair fighter, as he lived through every fight, and came out relatively unscathed...
But then came the battle of the Steppes.
Maddened Cultists of Tiamat had swarmed down the slopes, unseeing hate and greed in their eyes. Julius had barely managed to strap on his armor before they were on top of him. Julius went down in a pile of rough clothing and crude clubs. Rhogar took up his sword, the first time he would use it in any combat beyond the safety of a training hall.
The next few minutes were a blur. When he snapped back to reality, Rhogar was alone among a pile of corpses, his sword, sheathed in light, slowly dimming. His master dead, Rhogar had failed in his duty. He swore upon his sword that it would never happen again.
Two years later, and his mercenary captain, Douven Staul, has disappeared. The memories of his failed master resurfacing, Rhogar gathered his limited belongings and headed to Staul's last known location, Winterhaven. The road has not been kind to Rhogar, however, and he arrives in town with little more than his gear an 9 silver pieces to his name.
Wow, that... that was much longer than I anticipated. Looks like Rhogar has a somewhat cliched past though. My bad, it was very stream-of-consciousness =P
Personality:
Right now I am wrangling maps... trying to figure out maptools.
Human Cleric of Pelor
Daine was born into a small farming community along a small river. Always a devout man, Daine and his family followed closely the teachings of Pelor: giving to those less fortunate despite meager earnings; he was a frequent volunteer for duty in the town Sheriff's brigade to correct the smallest of wrongs. During the middle of his life, ~ age 40, Daine was noticed by a new Pelorian friar at the local abbey. His progessive martial skill combined with his faith led Father Morborel to refer Daine to a distant monastery for training in the ways of Pelor's order.
Now approaching the twilight of his life, Daine has worked for 20 years as a Cleric of Pelor. His son, preternaturally gifted in the Divine arts, has already far surpassed his father, Ithal p'Daine is an Invoker of Pelor with deadly skill. Ithal's skill was so great that he was sent to lead a cabal of Pelorians into the Wild to retrieve an ancient artifact. It has been months since Ithal's departure, and Daine is desperate for news of his son. He sets forth to discover the nature of this artifact, the truth of Ithal's mission, and his potential where-abouts. At this age, He knows that this will be the last time he can glorify Pelor. In Pelor's name he will bring back the greatest prayer ever offered to his god - his own son, even if he must wrest him from the chains of Torog himself.
_____________
I am down to play either Colossus or Cyclops (fixed?!) - they both seem interesting with good stories (i hope.)
And I think the guy mentioned in the hook is Prof. X.
I'll port over one of my submissions I made to the the God is Dead game (Warforged Whirling Barbarian):
Character Background / Fluff:
Boot sequence initialized.
Executing high impact transaction preamble.
"Disarming introductory message: Salutations potential consumer. My designated label for purposes of distinguishment is Dredd. For the visually impaired, I am an alloy-based humanoid construct weighing 297.65 pounds and standing 6'9.4" tall.
I am a Mark V Battle Buddy - an assassination machine that has been deployed to forcibly separate your cerebral cortex from your cranial cavity.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Alarm is not necessary; that was merely a facetious comment meant to endear you to obvious eccentricities in my personality.
Intriguing rhetorical query: Were you aware that you now have the opportunity to try the Mark V Battle Buddy for yourself? There is no cost or contractual obligation associated with this demonstration - I am one of several units produced & set to act autonomously on behalf of my manufacturer for marketing purposes.
Recitation of exaggerated advertising claims: There is no dungeon that runs too deep for the Mark V Battle Buddy. There is no adventuring party that could possibly hope to survive the perils that one could with my capabilities at their disposal! I am completely impervious to all forms of attack, though not field tested against it, my manufacturer would give me great odds against even the mighty Terrasque itself. If you plan to see big trouble in big labyrinths, you need to bring along a big buddy - and I am a very big buddy.
Aggressive closing statement: You cannot entertain hesitation. My transaction preamble was accurate, informative and alluring. There is no doubt that you wish for me to accompany you on your next adventure. Please state the tactical parameters you desire that I fill."
Character Sheet
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
Go for it, Farangu! We need leaders and controllers.
Background to come, I am being kicked of the computer atm