Princes of the Universe D&D 3.5 campaign (Jeremy's game, winter 2012)

[GoatBoy]

What characters did everyone else come up with?

[Iron Wall]

I'm playing a Ranger/Foehunter/Druid.

[captaincommunism]

reminding bump: we will be having our first session Monday, january 9th, at 5:30. which, happens to be technically today. so maybe this isn't the best reminder. but maybe it'll work.
ask me today (i'll be there for a while) if you need help with character and whatnot. better yet, ask jeff. he's the go-to-guy for all things character related. also, for anybody interested, I'm going to the gym on mondays from 12-2.

[Anh]

Say, I want to keep Sieg as a Jade Phoenix Mage along with his Greataxe and a connection to the deity-like Phoenix that he says his powers come from, but I'd like to change up the character to be a Crusader//Sorcerer. Is it possible to ask for a bit of DM fiat on the following:

- Change his race to Dragonborn from Races of the Dragon [p8] (but flavorwise, he's a servant of the Phoenix, instead of Bahamut. I'll take the Mind or Wings aspect, so as to represent the ability to see through darkness or to fly, both of which are phoenix-like).

- Take the Dragonscale Husk alternative class feature from Dragon Magic [p12] to avoid the issue of wearing heavy armor as a Sorcerer. It could be flavored as divine protection from my deity. It'll give me... +8 armor bonus but can't be upgraded except by lvling up.

EDIT: Also I'd like to lose my familiar to get the Draconic Sorcerer substitution lvl in Races of the Dragon. This gives me +2 bonus to Knowledge (Arcana) and the feat Draconic Heritage (Brass Dragon). Again this could be reflavored, if possible.

[captaincommunism]

yeah, looks fine for most of the dragonborn stuff and the dragonscale husk stuff. as for re-fluffing, it doesn't really make sense for a person with a phoenix deity to be able to put things to sleep. so uhh.... look for something fluffier I guess. also, I don't want resurrection to be a spammable spell. you guys are immortals. that *should* make things harder to resurrect. (how much life does an immortal person have to have crammed down his throat to be resurrected?) -- so, if you want to get resurrected, a suitable amount of time in-game must be spent. the details of that I'll reveal later. so, basically, just no "I died. I come back from the ashes immediately bullshit"
-- I think it'd make sense to swap out the sleep capability for something like fiery burst, (still keeping the +2 arcana) or something like that. let me know if you have any ideas.

[Anh]

Put ppl to sleep? Where was that mentioned? I wasn't aware I was able to put ppl to sleep . And about the ritual for becoming a Dragonborn, I'd like to ask that the change be retroactive, i.e. he was always a Dragonborn (in stats) to start with. I know it's might be too late to retcon, but would some leeway be possible? I did only spend like 30 minutes making the character. Now that I've put more thought into it, I feel like I came up with someone who is better distinguished from the others' characters and who can fill the role of a support martial caster. I won't be doling out heals ala Cleric, but I can provide some relief to the frontliners while being tough enough to take a few hits without going down to easily.

Oh yeah, and do let me know where this putting ppl to sleep thing is from, I must have missed it while selecting classes and features, since I just wanted some fluffiness to go with the character.

[captaincommunism]

I was looking at the draconic heritage feat, which gives that sleeping ability. as for the ritual, basically I always expect people to be like "oh fuck, I didn't realize this was shit" or some variation on that. so, things are more or less cool. just don't make this a recurrent thing. (IE, somewhere early in the adventure is fine, towards the end i'd like to have more or less an idea of what characters are capable of so as to craft better challenges.) also, I can't find the actual sorceror substitution descriptor. mind citing the relevant page? also, as for the whole dragonborn thing: change name to phoenixborn. it more or less makes sense, yes?

[Anh]

Yar Dragonborn is just the technical term, you can call it whatever you like
Sorc Sub levels are on page 107 or somewhere real close. Draconic Heritage only gives you bonus on saves vs. Sleep and Paralysis, you can't put ppl to sleep ^^

[greencloak]

Okay, I've got my backstory finished up.

Spoiler for ???:

Contrary to what most people believe, there is more than one God of Death. For all of the uncountable trillions of life forms in the world, one deity is not enough to manage them all. Every person that exists on this planet, on this plane of existence, in every parallel dimension, must someday die. Every animal, every bird, every fish, every microscopic organism, every single-cellular life form. The vastness of life demands a great number of Deaths to regulate the flow of life and death in this universe. Some are responsible for certain species, others must hold sway over the kinds and categories of deaths; sacrifices, murders, accidents, heroic deaths. These deaths have their own champions, mortal stewards to act as their agents in the worlds of the living.
Grisham MacCloud was one such man.
He was born as the thirteenth son of a thirteenth son, a number which foretold of his connection with death. His family had already been a powerful clan, and with his rise into the ranks of the house’s warriors, they became nigh unstoppable. Grisham became a blood-fuelled juggernaut on the field of battle, a whirlwind of steel and hate capable of tearing vast armies asunder. A brute of a man, his skin was soaked through with sweat and gore, a paragon of war and conquest. At the height of his campaign, he was visited by a being in a dream, which revealed itself as the Aspect of Death representing Justice. It promised him strength beyond reckoning if he pledged himself to its service. He agreed, and his power was complete. With the strength of a god of death behind him, Grisham ruled over all the clans in a matter of years.
He became a cruel, tyrannical leader that cared nothing for the clans beneath him, letting them war without intervention or restraint. He actually preferred it this way; if the clans were too concerned with each other, they wouldn’t consider opposing him. Those that did were quickly and brutally put down. This continued on for hundreds of years – during this period, he begat many sons, and those sons begat him grandsons, and so on and so forth. These sons were Immortals, just as he was, and they slaughtered each other for the sake of acquiring strength and power. One of these sons, however, was not like the rest.
His name was Tiegan MacCloud. He was never the strongest of his brothers, nor the fastest, nor the greatest fighter. Like the rest, he was enlisted into the armies of his father, and was sent forth to pillage and wage war in the name of the MacClouds. Like the others, he was caught up in the brutality of battle, unprepared and terrified for his own life, and was struck down by enemy swords and arrows.
Unlike the others, he survived.
Crawling away from battle, he realized the horrors of war and the horrific stalemate between the clans that his father, Grisham, was manipulating. He vowed to over throw his father and restore the clan to glory, upholding the honor of the realm and bringing in a new era of peace. To this end, he cast off his old name and joined a clan under a false alias. Over the next few decades, he worked his way up through the clan’s hierarchy, training day and night to improve his own strength and skill. He eventually found himself as clan leader, and in an act that baffled the war-torn country, chose to ally himself with a rival clan. The leader was his brother, Malcolm, and upon their allegiance, Tiegan chose to reveal his identity. This act caused many clans to offer their services as kinsmen, and with an army in tow, Tiegan declared war on the MacClouds.
The campaign was long and arduous; many men fell on both sides. Yet Tiegan continued, fighting on the front lines in every skirmish, working alongside the lowest soldiers and serfs to press onward through enemy territory. Eventually, during the final battle, he found himself in the keep of the MacClouds, and with his brother Malcolm, the two fought until they reached the throne room. There, Grisham awaited them.
The two men explained their reasons for rebelling – to overthrow their father and usher in a new era of peace. Grisham scoffed at this before engaging them in battle, armed with the Black Sword, the proof of his allegiance to the Specter of Justice. The battle was fought well, Tiegan and Malcolm barely able to match their father in combat, but eventually, the two were able to overcome him. Grisham knelt before Tiegan; a single blow and it would all be over. Yet Tiegan hesitated but for a moment, which was all that Malcolm needed to take charge. He leapt forward and cleaved Grisham’s head from his shoulders, feeling the strength of a thousand battles pouring into his veins with each crackle of lightning. Yet this was not all; he felt the power of death itself rush into him, and the Black Sword materialized into his hands. With it came a lust for conquest and strength he had never felt before, and he turned on his own brother in his craze for power. Tiegan was no match for his brother’s new strength, and he fell to Malcolm’s powerful onslaught. He leapt out the window of the keep, landing in the deep river that ran through the city. There, he sunk beneath the rushing waters and fell into unconsciousness.
In a dream, Tiegan met the Specter of Justice, who told him of its pact with his father. By granting the power of justice to an unworthy host who craved conquest, someday a person would emerge with the desire to right the wrongs committed. This person would defeat the host, and by justly killing him, would prove himself as the Avatar of Justice. However, Malcolm’s betrayal had caused everything to go wrong, and he was even more powerful than his father had been. Since Malcolm needed to be stopped, the Specter of Justice needed as many players on the field as possible to stop him. The Specter could not grant Tiegan the power of the Heir that Malcolm possessed, as such power could only be granted by killing the previous heir, but the Specter could still grant him strength beyond mortal men. Tiegan was given the power of a Binder, and was commissioned by the Specter to find and kill his brother, which he agreed to.
Upon waking up, Tiegan learned that Malcolm had taken command of all the armies and had pledged his services to the Black Queen. With what little forces remained at his disposal, Tiegan prepared to face his brother once more with the hope of restoring justice to his clan once more.

[Gaming]

Summer 2013:

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