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[D&D 4E PbP]In the Wake of the Plague [OOC Thread]
Chanus
Harbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered User regular
Harbinger of the Spicy Rooster ApocalypseThe Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered User regular
In the Wake of the Plague
A Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Play by Post Adventurganza
It has only been a couple generations since everything was torn asunder. The plague only lasted about thirty years but it changed everything. What is now referred to as “Year Zero” by the Scholars of Vandris may as well actually be, for life since would be unrecognizable to anyone living before the Great Evil as the plague has come to be known. The plague destroyed nearly two-thirds of all living beings, rent each of the
four kingdoms to rubble, and brought upon the strange happenings.
Some people have exhibited powers since the end of the plague. Magical powers, divine gifts, primal energies, and psychic abilities have become manifest in many people. A few have embraced these as fantastical gifts from the gods, though many are terrified and intolerant of them claiming such abilities are not meant for humans. In many places the use of such powers is at the least shunned and at worst forbidden and penalized severely.
Strange races have also appeared, some mutated by the effects of the Great Evil, others seeming to have arrived from lands beyond any of those previously known to humankind. Like the apparent supernatural powers, many do not welcome these new Others. Most areas inhabited by humans are clinging to life by threads, where every day is a struggle to secure enough food for the next and simply continue living. Law does not extend very far down the roads between villages and hamlets, and outsiders are generally neither trusted nor given the chance to earn a place in these closed societies. Such is not entirely unheard of, however, and there are even a few places which recognize the benefit of any helping hand, regardless of its color or how scaled it may be.
On the whole, however, life is pretty grim, prejudice and superstitious intolerance is all too common, and few places offer any sort of safe harbor (much less protection beyond their walls). This is a world left alone and in the dark, picking through its own ruins to try and rebuild some semblance of order.
The adventure begins in the township of Khenua, a seaside village in southern Arepath. The year is 37 AP (After Plague), and a long winter has just begun to give way to the coming spring. Khenua is one of the largest villages in the region, hosting a population of roughly 5,000 people, and is hoping to establish a trading partnership with the city of Vandris to the east. Even almost 40 years on, it is still unknown whether any major towns or cities to the west have survived the plague, making Khenua the effective western outpost of civilization. As such, its citizens tend to be more tolerant of the strange happenings.
A Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Play by Post Adventurganza
It has only been a couple generations since everything was torn asunder. The plague only lasted about thirty years but it changed everything. What is now referred to as “Year Zero” by the Scholars of Vandris may as well actually be, for life since would be unrecognizable to anyone living before the Great Evil as the plague has come to be known. The plague destroyed nearly two-thirds of all living beings, rent each of the
four kingdoms to rubble, and brought upon the strange happenings.
Some people have exhibited powers since the end of the plague. Magical powers, divine gifts, primal energies, and psychic abilities have become manifest in many people. A few have embraced these as fantastical gifts from the gods, though many are terrified and intolerant of them claiming such abilities are not meant for humans. In many places the use of such powers is at the least shunned and at worst forbidden and penalized severely.
Strange races have also appeared, some mutated by the effects of the Great Evil, others seeming to have arrived from lands beyond any of those previously known to humankind. Like the apparent supernatural powers, many do not welcome these new Others. Most areas inhabited by humans are clinging to life by threads, where every day is a struggle to secure enough food for the next and simply continue living. Law does not extend very far down the roads between villages and hamlets, and outsiders are generally neither trusted nor given the chance to earn a place in these closed societies. Such is not entirely unheard of, however, and there are even a few places which recognize the benefit of any helping hand, regardless of its color or how scaled it may be.
On the whole, however, life is pretty grim, prejudice and superstitious intolerance is all too common, and few places offer any sort of safe harbor (much less protection beyond their walls). This is a world left alone and in the dark, picking through its own ruins to try and rebuild some semblance of order.
The adventure begins in the township of Khenua, a seaside village in southern Arepath. The year is 37 AP (After Plague), and a long winter has just begun to give way to the coming spring. Khenua is one of the largest villages in the region, hosting a population of roughly 5,000 people, and is hoping to establish a trading partnership with the city of Vandris to the east. Even almost 40 years on, it is still unknown whether any major towns or cities to the west have survived the plague, making Khenua the effective western outpost of civilization. As such, its citizens tend to be more tolerant of the strange happenings.
Infos:
- Adventure for 5 level 1 players. 22-point buy. Standard equipment. No magic items.
- All races and classes are allowed, though non-humans will have a more difficult time in certain circumstances. Exhibiting non-martial abilities in public could raise hackles in many situations and the wise would use strict discretion with such matters, especially when the town’s disposition toward supernatural abilities is known.
- Any ability that can be found in the Character Builder can be used.
- Five characters will be accepted. When submissions will stop being accepted depends on demand. The adventure will start shortly thereafter. Provide a token with your submission if you’re able.
- Use Orokos for rolls and such. Flavor text in the IC thread with rolls and explanations in Spoilers.
- OOC will be in this thread.
- Ideally I’d like to see at least one post per day, excluding weekends. Workarounds can be handled as needed.
- This is my first shot at DMing a PbP, though I have DMed for real peoples before, so bear with me. :P
Allegedly a voice of reason.
Chanus on
0
Posts
Edit: And 22pt Buy.
I will make backstory when I have a chance.
http://4e.orokos.com/sheets/2388
Token:
PSN: Corbius
Any race restrictions/changes? Do they new races know anything more about what happened then the native humans? Were just the races transported here, or were their whole nations a la forgotten realms style? Do the humans worship the normal D&D pantheon of gods, and/or did they before the event?
3DS Code: 5043-2172-1361
Xbone Tag: Salal al Din
Some members of the other races may know more than the native humans, but a player character wouldn't.
The normal pantheon of gods (from the Player's Handbook) is known to the humans, though the people of Khenua would mostly worship Pelor and Melora.
Image:
Background:
That's when he ran away, he spent the next 20 years of the plague wandering from village to village, and town to town trying to come to grips with what has happened to him. During this time he developed an affinity to the bow, and he managed to control some of the primal forces in the world.
And so Terion came to Khenua with his shield on his arm and a spear over his shoulder. Finding nothing but frightened looks and bolted doors, he sought out a quiet place to rest. With shield and spear lying on the ground beside him, he did his best to look as harmless as a minotaur can and waited. Surely someone would come and speak to him soon, out of curiosity, if nothing else.
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Is this plague responsible for non-humans, a-la Shadowrun? Or did the non-humans just turn up around the same time that the plague unlocked the weird and magical powers? Just wondering, as the slow transformation from human to something really whacky like a kenku or minotaur or goliath could make for a great origin story.
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
That's unclear and in some cases a little of both.
Non-human races being a part of daily life didn't happen until after the plague, and some humans were transformed by the plague.
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
Basic background:
PSN: Corbius
I think I'll wrap up recruitment probably Wednesday, agonize over it on Thursday, and probably get things rolling by Friday.
Let me know if anyone else has questions.
And just another little tidbit, the idea for the beginning of the adventure is kind of like "Point of Light" to the extreme... there is a larger city about 200 miles to the east called Vandris (which is larger, stronger economically, and has a sort of academy dedicated to studying the effects of the plague and such, but if they know anything information isn't forthcoming), and that's about all the people of Khenua know about the rest of civilization outside of rumor, superstition, and the occasional passing traveler or merchant from elsewhere. It's the kind of time when people don't travel much past the outlying farmland, and those who do often don't return.
Human Psion (controller) - Aria
Description:
Aria is tall and thin for a human woman. Her pale skin makes a stark contrast with her jet black eyes and shoulder-length black hair. She has a strong preference for dark, utilitarian clothing, though those with an eye for tailoring will notice that she clearly has gotten the village tailors to do their highest quality work for her.
Personality and Background:
As the only child of one of the town's elders, Aria is well known and comfortable with most of the residents of the village. Lately, she has been seen to be increasingly reserved which has caused some discussion amoung friends of her family. Unknown to them, she has begun to see flashes of thought from those around her and on a couple of occasions has found that she could change the thoughts of others as well as read them. She had been somewhat enjoying this new gift -- and thanking any dieties that came to mind that this was how the Plague affected her vs. changing her into some new strange form. That enjoyment came to a bittersweet end when she caught a flash of thought from her fiance.
She had been expected (and somewhat pressured) to marry the son of another prominent family in the village. Sarron, the man in question, had always seemed a reasonable, if uninspired, choice. They had continued along through engagement until one day when she saw clearly from his thoughts what sort of person he really was. Though no one knew, he enjoyed nothing more than causing pain to others - so far he had restricted himself to torturing animals and had been very careful to hide his activities from everyone in the village.
With no proof and no desire to expose her psionic powers fully, Aria began to look for any excuse to leave town and quietly call off the engagement...
I'm looking at playing a Ranger character, and trying to decide between a few of the races.
Do Bugbears lose the oversized racial?
Gnolls...seems to me, ferocious charge should be a minor action....all the other abilities for monstrous characters damage abilities are minor or free (bugbear's predatory eye, and half orc's furious assault, even orc's warrior's surge has an attack with the surge ability)...
Can I get a houseruled minor instead of standard? Might be OP after the "If you're bloodied, the damage doubles and you gain an equal # of THP"....still might not even go with gnoll...dunno.
Anyway, just curious...can't even decide if I want to play a Melee, or ranged ranger...
if I played ranged, it would likely be a human crossbow ranger, POSSIBLY beastmaster....
If I play Melee, it'll likely be a nonhuman marauder ranger.
Also, if that turns out to be a big pain in the butt for you (I don't want to make you research a whole bunch of junk that I may not even use) i'll happily revise my thought process on what I'd like to play.
For some reason, in this fantasy-post-apocalyptic game, I want to play a ranger type though...
Probably one who doesn't often visit the towns, and most likely hates them when he does. That's why I was leaning towards a monstrous race...would give him a reason to hate them and avoid them.
Although, as a more humanoid race he could have no qualms about towns, just prefer the wilds...which is why he'd possibly be a beastmaster. Plus, ranged ranger with big nasty crossbow sounds pretty good.
My other thought was going to be a halfling rogue who pretends to be a child.
I play leaders/defenders lots, so I'm leaning towards being a striker.
I will say the adventure begins in the town and in public, so being a monster race (while not impossible) might be... interesting to explain.
Uh, I would definitely rule no. A minor action charge with bonus damage? With more bonus damage if bloodied, and temp HP too? As a minor?
It's a standard. Predatory Eye and Furious Assault can only be used when you are already attacking, and buff the attack. Ferocious Charge is a buffed charge, it's not a buff to layer on an attack. That might not seem like much of a difference, but if Ferocious Charge was a minor, you could charge in with the bonus damage, AND THEN ATTACK, unless you made Ferocious Charge a minor action with the trigger 'When you charge, deal bonus damage moar if bloodied temp hp if bloodied blah blah', in which case it would be worse. For a Standard Action, you get to charge and add damage. You can even use your Hunter's Quarry as a minor first for even more.
(We have a Gnoll Beastmaster Ranger in our RL group, and he does this often. He even has a Battlecrazed Weapon that he can use to count as bloodied for the turn if he likes, which is pretty potent with Ferocious Charge.)
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
I'm convinced it should stay a Standard :P
Too bad, would've been nice to have the +2 damage, extra bloodied, THP trigger once an encounter off a power that could be used as a charge...such as marauder's rush.
Marauder's Rush is an at-will, and we've always allowed our Gnoll Ranger to use it as part of his Ferocious Charge. He needs all the help he can get as a Beastmaster.
I mean, it depends on the GM, but as Ferocious Charge states 'you charge and deal an extra 2 damage on a hit', we read it as you charging, and are therefore able to sub in an attack that's usable on a charge. If it was 'Move your speed to a square adjacent to an enemy, then attack the enemy - STR+1 Weapon attack vs AC, 1[W]+Strmod+2 damage', then you wouldn't be able to use a charging attack, but I'd say you could use it with any related power, such as Marauder's Rush. Which is an excellent Ranger power because it is not Twin Strike.
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
Chanus, what do you think?
A charge reads as 'Move up to your speed to the closest square adjacent to the target enemy. You must move at least two squares. Make a melee basic attack against the enemy with a +1 bonus to hit.' or something similar.
Marauder's Rush states 'You may use Marauder's Rush as a melee basic attack as part of a charge.'
Virtuous Strike, a Paladin power, may be used as a melee basic attack regardless of the situation. This includes Opportunity Attacks as well as Charges, and any power which allows you to make a Melee Basic Attack, such as the plethora of powers Warlords use to allow their allies to attack.
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
Celgar Pius, Paladin of Erathis
Background:
The world they lived in now was so much different then the ones in his parents stories. People openly hated and feared them, few towns would welcome them. Not only that, they were afraid of what they could do. In the old tales, there were fantastical magical devices that let people soar among the heavens, marvelous cities filled with wonders. This one seemed to be only dirt poor village barely eking out an existence. He would learn then when all the 'new comers' came here, apparently there was a great plaque that swept the land, killing most of the population. But instead of trying to embrace the changes and use them to rebuild, they blamed it on them. Even their own people who started to gain magical powers became feared and hated.
But neither his parents or any of the others in their small traveling group of 'non-humans" wanted to do anything about it. He became fed up with it one day, and left them one night. This world had some much potential in it, but them and everyone else was content to simply get by. Thought his own force of will if need be, he would shape their world into one worth telling to his own children one day.
3DS Code: 5043-2172-1361
Xbone Tag: Salal al Din
Edit: Ha! I totally looked at the calendar to see what day today was and then kinda forgot to add 2 :P
In any case, I've wanted to try out a psion for a while now, so I hope I have a good roll for "save vs. being rejected from the party"
The "General" ones are fine to use.
Vimak is big... like, really big! The goliath may be able to pass off as simply a huge human - maybe tales of his mountain home having great fish and water that built him up had been passed about. The real tale could be that the plague has... augmented his body, causing him to grow into a form that is basically the Goliath class.
I can expand on this background, if you wish and everything else passes your wants in terms of this campaign setting.
Let's see about a Leader, maybe. We look kind of light on those.
Edit: I really wanted to use that frog hunter background, too.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
My Seeker idea was actually employed as a frog hunter. Family business.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.