I'm just about done with Shadowkin, do they look acceptable/not broken? I'm mostly worried about the Background Feature

The background is fine, however, understand that just because you have connections doesn't mean they always come through/available for use. More than likely, when you exercise the feature, you will be rolling vs a DC that is modified by the situation, population size, and type of infofmation available in that area of the kingdom.

In the end it's up to you on how exactly you want to implement the class. I'm just saying be careful :)


So, which classes and roles do we have in the group? So far, we have these classes:
- Griswold Ortmann: DEX based fighter. (Sword and board)
- Sigi Stonebrow: Rune Priest. (will you focus on defense or offense?)
- Kharash: Paladin. (Two-handed)
- Eli Reiner: Rogue.
- Fariel Kriegborn: Rogue.
- Brother Sul: ?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:54, Sat 24 Dec 2016.

Class-wise, Eli is a Rogue (with potential to multiclass as the story progresses). He is pretty good at getting into trouble places where he isn't supposed to be. Combat-wise, don't expect anything spectacular for now.

Griswold will be a sword and board melee fighter.

He probably wont ever be strong enough to wear plate though, which means his highest AC will never be the max and will be obtained from wearing studded leather.  Which is why I currently have the defensive fighting style down on his character sheet.  However, I am considering Protection.  Disadvantage on an enemy's attack against one of my allies one per turn seems pretty powerful.  So I am open to suggestions.

In regards to the future, I was planning on going Eldritch Knight at level 3 and possibly multi-classing into Paladin later, to represent him becoming even more knightly, if the GM agrees and you do not mind Kharash.

In reply to Griswold Ortmann (msg # 21):

Fariel is a rogue, likely speccing into the Assassin specialization.

That's OK with me, Griswold. You should make the character you want. Just make sure that what you get from paladin would cover what you'd lose from additional fighter levels. Level 3+ is still quite far so plenty of time to figure it all out.

If you're taking a more protective style, I think I'll go for the two-handed style then. Also, since I'll be wearing heavy armor anyways, the added AC of a shield has less impact for me.

Brother Sul is a Cleric of the Silver Flame!

I picture Sigi being more defensive in nature, following the ideals of Cronus most closely.

I've thought about some oaths and rivalries for the Knightly Orders.  I haven't done allied and non-allied.  To me they are all allied, it is just that they have certain views each other.  Though those views are not always mutual:

The Helmets of the Rose

Relationships
I don't think they would have any enemies.  They are effectively elevated beyond normal assessment.  The epitome of knighthood.  Maybe some people might not agree with their methods/their personalities, but the results speak for themselves.

Tenants
So the position of a Rose is basically honorary, isn't it?  The 4 became Roses after the fact.  The Order was created for them.  So the 'tenants' are more likely all about being a symbol and a reflection of their achievements:

Inspire others
Defy the odds
Achieve the Impossible

The Spring Order

Relationships
The Spring Order is about protection of the People.  About sanctuary and security.  Hearth and Home.  So I think they would have strained relations with Orders that encourage people to take risky action, whilst being friendly with those that strive either protect Krieghold's interests or dispose of its threats:

Likes
The Guardians of the Quill [They protect the people's interests]
The Custodians of the Coin [They reclaim our people]

Neutral
The Ashen Order [They hurt innocents, but still save more lives than they ruin]

Dislikes
The Dragon Legion [Glory is their only concern]
The League of the Golden Thread [They encourage people to endanger themselves]

Tenants
My thoughts here were basic.  Set the tenants in an order of priority.  Like the three laws for robots.  These are the actions a Spring Order Knight must do and the order they must do them in, to ensure the lowest number of casualties.

Defend the People [the immediate danger must be dealt with first]
Sure up their defences [you don't want the people dying whilst you are away]
Hunt the Predators [With the people safe for now, it is time to end the threat once and for all]

The Guardians of the Quill

Relationships
I am not sure the Guardians of the Quill have many friends.  They seem like a very self-reliant force that is most interested in its own duty and their own legacy over others (that thing about a tome never being lost on their watch is probably a point of pride for them and a record they will do anything to keep):

Likes
The League of the Golden Thread [they encourage the gathering of knowledge - see below]
The Ashen Order [they are hunters of villains]

Neutral
The Spring Order [Their actions do not affect us]
The Dragon Legion [Their actions do not affect us]
The League of the Golden Thread [Their actions do not affect us]

Tenants
So I figured that the Tenants for the Guardians of the Quill revolved around their watchful duties and stopping thieves.

Remain Vigilant [standing guard all the time is boring.  don't get bored!  Also, anyone can be a thief.]
Perceive the Truth [Do not fall for lies.  "Do not judge books (people) by their covers"]
Punish without Mercy [I see this as a fairly recent adaption.  It might once have been 'deal with threats' or something.  But now the Order's pride has led to it being rewritten to something very merciless against anyone that dare besmirch their reputation]

The Dragon Legion

Relationships
The Dragon Legion are driven and proactive.  They favour Orders and tenants that take action over those that hold back:

Likes
The Ashen Order [Better to act with cruelty than suffer the consequences of not acting at all]
The League of the Golden Thread [Being true to oneself means charging head on, right?]

Dislikes
The Guardians of the Quill [What's the point?  They don't do anything...]
The Spring Order [They take too long.  Chase your enemies down - don't give them a chance to regroup!]
The Custodians of the Coin [They ignore other, more immediate threats in the pursuit of own goals (which happen to be very dull)]


Tenants
So I figured that the Tenants for the Dragon Legion would be simple-minded and action based:

Dragonrage: Strike First
Dragonfire: Strike Decisively
Dragonfear: Subjugate your Foes

The League of the Golden Thread

Relationships
I see the league as being about encouraging adventure as, presumably, they are unable to operate outside of Krieghold.  Which can also be viewed as encouraging people to follow their dreams.

Likes
The Spring Order [They keep the children safe, allowing them to grow up and become adventurers!]
The Guardians of the Quill [They keep our discoveries safe for future generations.]

Neutral
The Dragon Legion [They believe in the importance of passion, but believe in breaking their enemies, demoralising them and so stripping away their dreams.]
The Custodians of the Coin [They ensure that a few fallen adventurers are not forgotten, albeit inadvertently]

Dislikes
The Ashen Order [Too many fall to their heavy handed ways before having the opportunity to prove themselves]

Tenants
Their tenants are about pushing people to have courage and begin their journey:

Promote belief. Never let doubt interfere with one's dreams.
Drive the first step. It is always the hardest.
Pave the way for others.  Immortalise discoveries for future generations.

The Ashen Order

Relationships
I see the Ashen Order as being very Inquisitorial.  Interrogation is a tool and they dislike anyone that would stand in their way.

Likes
The League of the Golden Thread [They keep the people soft.  Soft people are easy to interrogate]
The Custodians of the Coin [They don't get in our way.  We don't get in theirs.]

Neutral
The Guardians of the Quill [They keep the lore.  Hard for magic users to increase their knowledge and power.  But they keep the lore.  Stopping the Ashen Order from having access to everything that might need]

Dislikes
The Dragon Legion [Their fervor poses major risks to the Ashen Order's investigations.  Such as startling an witch into hiding before the Order could strike against her]


Tenants
Since the Order was effectively destroyed before, their tenants should be vengeful and merciless:

Suspect Guilt [Everyone has something to hide]
Hound the Truth [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  Everyone breaks eventually.]
Annihilate Corruption [Magic is power.  Power corrupts.  It spreads and takes route easily.  Ensure no trace escapes]

The Custodians of the Coin

Relationships
Much like the Guardians of the Quill, I see the Custodians being very insular.  They don't care about others and regard their own agendas as being of the utmost priority.  Unlike the Quills though they are not prideful, but detached.  Jaded and cold.

Likes
The Guardians of the Quill [Their purity of purpose rivals our own]
The Ashen Order [Their purity of purpose rivals our own]

Neutral
The Spring Order [We 'nothing' them.]
The League of the Golden Thread [We 'nothing' them.]

Dislikes
The Dragon Legion [They mess up the trails]


Tenants
They are effectively trackers.  Drawing upon evidence to follow a trail and complete their mission.  So I made their tenants are about getting to the end of their journey and made them very, scientific, to show their single-mindedness in this.

Analyse. [A trail can be hard to spot and becomes harder to follow the less informed you are]
Theorise.  [When a trail ends, review your findings.  Draw the right conclusions to take you forward]
Capitalise. [Claim your objective]
This message was last edited by the player at 23:48, Sun 25 Dec 2016.

Update on the party's composition:

- Griswold Ortmann: DEX based fighter. (Sword and board)
- Sigi Stonebrow: Rune Priest. (Defense focused)
- Kharash: Paladin. (Two-handed)
- Eli Reiner: Rogue.
- Fariel Kriegborn: Rogue.
- Brother Sul: Cleric.

I think this looks like an interesting party. Some roles and styles are overlapping (several characters able to survive in melee, mostly cleric/paladin spells, and two rogues), but this doesn't have to be a bad thing - it can actually be a really good thing. Not having every base covered opens up the opportunity for more role-play and problem solving. Spells/abilities that would make some hurdles easy to pass will now require some improvising on our part, which is fun I think!

I for one am looking forward to how y'all will deal with some of the possible storylines I have ready. I have never liked the idea of people shoehorned into a character class simply because it is what the party needed. With a bevy of healing at your disposal, I hope you all like tough fights! ;)

Bring it on ;)

About the christmas gift, I was initially thinking of taking the horse. Until I realized that Kharash + items weigh 446 lbs. The horse can carry 480 max.. Guess I'll have to pick something else.

You may instead have a draft horse or mule and a cart if you wish. I won't let you be excluded because of your character's size.

I think I'll take the silvered weapon instead, which also fits well with his background.

Character sheet and biography are ready, if you want to check it out. I'll update the biography with his background as soon as it's been talked about IC.

Okay. Sounds good

Speaking of - has the group been in each other's company for any amount of time, or will we just now be meeting each other?

Any shared background should be worked out now. Tomorrow I will open the IC thread and we can begin the RP portion. I do want characters to be done by New Years.

If I remember correctly, I think the other Rogue said he was going the Assassin archetype. I'm pretty sure we will not be identical Rogues. Mine is the charismatic type whose bark is worse than his bite, so to speak.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you'll be the same character :) Was just wondering what everyone will play.

With the Cleric in the party I think I'll go the route of Runesmith, giving me access to wizard spells.

I decided to stick with the defence fighting style.  Mostly to keep combat simpler in this play by post format, whilst I get more comfortable with 5E mechanics.

Hey hey DM, does my sheet check out a-ok?

Griswold and Kharash have had thier sheets approved and locked.

Alright, Eli and Sigi have had their sheets approved and locked.

New Year's Day is when the game will start in earnest. I will need any changes you wish to make and final character sheets before then.