Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:12 PM	Thanks to all who entered! I'm posting each entry so it will be anonymous. Voting will close on Sunday at 6 PST. This poll is for: Which character do you think is the best developed? Remember, the criteria were: 1) Vikings and/or Norse customs, mythology, etc 2) Cloud Cities 3) Demons 4) A "big brother" ish government/ ruling class/ leadership etc 5) Traveling, crime solving/adventuring minstrels Winners will be determined by the entry that gets the most points: Best Use of the 5 Criteria: (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=309695)10 Points Best developed: (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=309711)10 points Best overall entry: (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=4426301#post4426301) 20 points These polls wil serve as 1 vote each, combined with votes from 2 judges. Good luck! And if you entered, do NOT let people know which entry is yours! You could be disqualified if you do.
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:15 PM	#1: Loki Loki, Shifter Ranger Loki is a small Shifter, only 5’4” tall. He is a bit shaggy and reminds most people of a stray dog of mixed breed. He can look very innocent and cute when he wants to and then steal your boots out from under you. He always carries his sling around, an inconspicuous weapon he is quite skilled with. When he gets into close combat, which he tries to avoid, he shifts to an even more bestial state and his claws appear. Growing up in Thrane is not always the greatest experience for a young shifter. The Church of the Silver Flame is always there to find any sign of heresy or blasphemy and most of all lycantropy. But how different can things turn out! Loki thrives in Thrane. The Metropolis of Flamekeep is full of opportunities for a shrewd lad like Loki. At home in any environment, Loki is the ideal ranger. He treats the city like just another type of wilderness. Accompanied by his newly found hawk companion Freya, he steals, cons and scavenges, all while dodging the strict laws of the Church of the Silver Flame. Loki’s true goal is not to keep hustling people and scraping together a meager living. He actually has a much nobler goal. He has found that in the darker bowels of this grand city some very unwholesome creatures can be found. Demons trying to corrupt this bastion of good by seducing the weak. Loki hunts these creatures with a vengeance and he has gained some special insight in how to kill them. After he was first confronted by these demons he was approached by a small secret society of demonhunters. They pose as a troup of entertainers named ‘the Rainbow Bridge’ and they recruited Loki into their ranks.
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:15 PM	#2: Dane Vadergeld Dane Vadergeld, Human Rogue 1/Druid 3 Background Dane Vadergeld serves as a frontman for one of the sailing cities of cloud, massive ships used by an elite force of raiders who terrorize the western coast of Khorvaire. Traveling the coastal lands either on his own, in disguise as a storytelling minstrel, or with the sailing city of Fearstow, named for the Zovyut who founded and still rules the city (and whom most of the citizens are related to to some degree), the wild rogue serves as an operative within the cities Fearstow plans to raid. Most of what Dane does is spread stories of the fearful creatures that supposedly live within the clouds surrounding Fearstow. Clouds which are, in truth, merely the result of dozens of obscuring mist and fog cloud spells cast by the raiders as they pull their ship up to the coastal city of their choice. Beyond this simple task, however, are those that require a certain degree of finesse beyond an ability to perform; for the wild rogue also serves as a pointman for certain "discussions" with the rulers of the cities and observes the citizens for dangerous free thinkers who might look too closely into the mystery of the floating cloud cities. And, of course, when the danegeld has not been paid and a city is ready to be plucked, Dane has the opportunity to serve as one of those frightening monsters, mysterious orbs of fire taking the bravest individuals from behind and identifying them to others in the heavy fogs. Personality and Description Dane enjoys his position in the hierarchy of Fearstow immensely, and takes delight in seldom appearing the same twice between cities. In one, he might have long dark brown hair and fair skin; in another, blonde hair and a ruddy complexion. It's all the same to him
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:16 PM	#3: Kharlendir Ivanholf Kharlendir Ivanholf - Bard Kharlendir’s original home is the Cloud City in the Elemental Plane of Air. It was there he learned his love of wind, and has thus focused on wind instruments ever since. H is tall and of light athletic build. His handsome silver hair and alluring gold eyes are the only recognizable Aasimar traits, but they help attract people when he plays his enchanting music. Often referred to as the “Slippery Bard,” Kharlendir is now a traveling minstrel who is an avid believer of man’s destiny to topple the gods as told in the Norse Ragnarok legend. He roams the land in search of the heroes destined to fulfill the prophecy. His zeal is only confirmed by the orders of capture sent by the rigid and almost totalitarian ruling system of the Norse gods who deny such a legend and forsake its telling. His nickname comes from the clerics sent from the gods, some even outsiders, where his talented use of his mystic music and equipment often confused and incapacitated his enemies long enough for him to escape. He hardly stays in a fight for long, believing the fighting is best left in human hands, unless the vassals are from a demonic god or of demonic race. In which case, his Aasimar bloods rages in anger as he shows no mercy and he will fight to the death. Kharlendir sides with no one organization, and prefers to single-handedly spread the retell the prophecies of Ragnarok among the mortal lands. He will sometimes support any good-aligned mortals who believe in the legend and fight against the will of the gods, but even then he uses his same tricks to aid his allies, and then make his exit in the end.
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:18 PM	#4: Pastrid Pastrid, Half-Orc Monk Male Half-Orc Monk 4; CR 4; Medium Humanoid; HD 4d8+8; hp 29; Init +2; Spd 50’; AC 15, touch 16, flat-footed 14; Base Atk +3; Grp +6, Atk +3 melee (1d8+3 unarmed strike); Full atk +1/+1 melee (1d8+3 unarmed strike, flurry of blows); SQ darkvision, Evasion, Still Mind, slow fall 20’; SA Flurry of Blows, Ki Strike (magic); AL LG, SV Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +7; Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16 (15 +1 4th HD), Cha 6 Feats & Skills: Improved Unarmed Strike (B), Stunning Fist (B), Combat Reflexes (B), Power Attack, Dodge; Listen 8, Spot 10, Sense Motive 8, Diplomacy 2, Tumble 11, Jump 10, Perform Harp 0, Knowledge Religion 3. Possession: Masterwork harp, Masterwork quatterstaff, Tomes of Philosophy, Monk Outfit, Bracers of Armor +1, Hat of Disguise, 3 Potions of Shillelagh, 3 Potions of Shield of Faith +2, 3 Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds, 1 Potion of Spider Climb, 2 Potions of Undetectable Alignment. At first, the old Galenor didn’t understood what he just found. It was a strange barrel of thirty inches long, with an trap on the side. He opened it, and found inside, wrapped by many clothes, a baby! Old Galenor looked around if there wasn’t anyone watching him: there was some dwarves, looking the garbage for some iron scrap, an elven druid looking for spell components, some halflings looking for anything valuable, and some desperate peoples, looking for something to eat. Galenor wasn’t looking for anything specific; he was looking for information. On of the few literate person in Konegoeth, he knew much more than many of his neighbours, and in the same time very few. He knew that some three hundreds years ago, the Council of Arcane sealed their castle, and the castle took off. Today, the Flying Castle is still above Konegoeth, sending minions to collect taxes and rejecting an impressive amount of garbage everyday. The Council of Arcane was composed exclusively of human archmages, and their orcish slaves. In the first decades, the Council was sending their orc servants to collect their taxes via a special gate, called the Levitation Road. Perhaps the orcs weren’t good enough, the Council quickly began to send squads composed of Babaus and Dretches. It’s been so long since everyone saw any orc that Galenor thought there were no more orcs in the Flying Castle. But the child he just found in the Flying Castle’s dump proved him something else: it presented as much orc than human features. How could a human archmage produce offspring with an orcish slave? Galenor didn’t know. Hiding the barrel under his cloak, the old monk left the dump. Crossing the shantytown toward his home, he met Niamor, the Incubus acting as a detective for the Flying Castle. It was never pleasant to meet Niamor; he always has some questions no one wanted to answer. This time, the Incubus was especially concise: he was looking for someone named Pastrid. Answering truely, the old monk said he didn’t know anyone of this name. But once at home, upon examining the half-orc baby carefully, he found he was in much more troubles he was thinking. The baby was dressed in lace clothes, and a name was embroidered in a corner: Pastrid. On the spot, the old monk decided to left the shantytown of Konegoeth; he joined a group of wandering musicians, aiming to the north. The group leader was named Zay, he was a warrior skald and old friend to Galenor. In the savage northern territories, no one would attack a skald or anyone travelling with him; the news the skald was sharing willingly was much more valuable than any possession he might have. Galenor and Pastrid travelled with him many years between the barbaric clans, in all security. Pastrid learned how to play music, but he was not really good at it. Galenor taught him much more, going from how to fight to the history of the Flying Castle, passing by knowledge about the demons collecting heavy taxes in the poor shantytown. It was good and well, until Zay heard a terrifying rumour: a huge monster, with a corpse the size of a bull and legs of fourteen feet long, was roaming the northern lands, searching for someone called Pastrid. Galenor and his student decided to left Zay and his followers, to protect them. It’s only a few days later that they met the Retriever. Forgetting his old age, Galenor tried to brave the beast; a few rays later, the old man was turned to ice. Pastrid flee him as fast as he could, but the Retriever was too fast. He was about to grab him when a beautiful horsewoman appear between them both, screaming her warcry. Deflecting the deadly rays, she pressed Pastrid to return to Konegoeth, because his place was there. The half-orc hesitated to let the woman alone with the monster, but her divine aura convinced that she was able to handle it. So he fled. Pastrid is now heading toward Konegoeth, and he doesn’t know what he will find there…
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:19 PM	#5:Rifein Rifein Sneak-axe CG Male Dwaven Soccerer 3/ Rouge 1 In the city of Greyhawk, Rifein Sneak-axe was born. His family was a famous(infamous) group of Dwarven theives who worshipped the evil Viking god, Loki. His family picked up the religon of Loki when the joined a theives gulid. The gulid was run by a man of a faraway land who had brought the his religon with him(thats the norse mytholigoy and the big brotherish goverment). By the age of 100, Rifein’s the theives guild he belonged to was attacked by a team of adventurers. In all the confusion, a Cleric of Loki summoned a demon(thats the demon) to fight the adventurers. At that time, Rifein saw what true evil was and hated it. Right before the adventurers met there bitter end, Rifein grabbed a knife and stabbed the demon in the back. The demon roared and turned to face the Dwarf, but suddenly the wizard of the adventuring party cast a spell on the demon. The spell killed the demon, but as it destroyed the evil being, it went stight through to the dwarf and something magical happened. Rfein felt power corse through his body and found he had magical powers. He immediatly quit the guild and joined a group of adventurers. While he was a dedicated member, his true intentions were to find the secret flying city of Loki(the cloud city and the crime solving). When Rifein learned that the adventuring team’s employers were members of the theives guild, he gained yet another clue to the location of the flying city...
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:21 PM	#6: Jaren Lek Jaren Lek: Male Human Barbarbian 4; CR 4; Medium Humanoid (human); HD 4d12+12; HP 50; Init +1; spd 40ft; AC 19; touch 11, flat-footed 10; base atk +4; Attack +8 melee (1d10+4/x2 +1 waraxe); SQ: Rage 2/day, uncanny dodge, trapsense +1; AL: CG; SV: Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +5; Str: 16, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10 Skills and Feats: Climb 10, Survival 9, Listen 9, Intimidate 7, Spot 5, Exotic Weapon Prof (waraxe), Tracking, Iron Will Possessions: +1 Waraxe (named Frostjager), +1 chain shirt, +1 large shield, potion of Bull’s Strength, 2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds Description: Jaren is tall (6’2”) and muscular. He wears his long blond hair in a thick braid and has a thick mustache. His eyes are icy blue and he wears furs and a horned helm, in the style of his frost giant masters. Since he became free he broke the horns off his helm, leaving only stumps so that it is no longer the symbol of frost giant raiders, but rather one of contempt for their culture and ways. He bears the scars of his slavery and a hatred for all giants. He is a man of few words, but no dullard. He merely chooses his words well. He has an indomitable spirit and no tolerance for those who wish to control and enslave others. He travels with a motley band of musicians-***-explorers, together they explore the ruins of Xen'Drik, uncovering clues to the past. Background: Until the sky fell, Jaren never knew freedom. Born into the servitude, the slave of a savage tribe of frost giants in the land of Xen'Drik, Jaren knew only fear and pain. The oppressive giants watched their slaves every move, brutally snuffing out all signs of unrest. Their vile leader, Lothgar Frostheart, was possessed by a demon, which was the source of both his power and cruelty. Survival required Jaren to be either informant or warrior, for these were the only slaves the barbaric giants respected. So Jaren fought and fought hard. The marauders would take him aboard their massive longships, ranging up river to pillage and burn all in their path. With each passing season, Lothgars reach grew. On one such raid Jaren and his masters discovered a band of adventurous bards snooping about an ancient ruin. The band had been searching for the fabled cloud giant city of Skyhaven and at last they had found it. Using magic they awaked the air elementals bound within Skyhaven's great dragonshards and commanded them to raise the shattered metropolis skyward once more. During this ritual Lothgar and his giants struck, capturing the band and claiming the city as their own. Jaren knew Lothgar had to be stopped. With Skyhaven at the demons disposal, their reach would be unlimited. They could enslave whole nations and rain death from the skies. Unable to overcome the giants alone, Jaren freed the bards. With their aid he released the elementals that kept the city aloft. By sheer luck they escaped unharmed, leaping into a deep snowbank as the city plummeted to the ground. The sky fell that day, never to rise again. With it went the giants and their demonic master. Jaren now adventures with the band, exploring the ruins of Xen'Drik, free at last.
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:22 PM	#7" Simgul Ironstar Simgul Ironstar "the Apathetic Outsider", Tiefling Barbarian The 507th layer of the abyss is a open aerial plane dominated by flashes of lightning, gloomy black storm clouds, and flocks of angry demons soaring betwixt them. A small demonic civilization lives among the gothic-styled cities that cling to gigantic asteroids of volcanic rock that drift aimlessly throughout the cloudy plane. The demon lords are fat and lazy in these cities, using lesser demon underlings for protection, and hundreds of human and demi-human slaves to perform labor and other menial tasks. The humans are allowed to live in their own hovels, but demonic guards are stationed everywhere, and tiefling spies are sprinkled amongst them, to keep everyone performing at peak efficiency, and to disallow freedoms of recreation or expression. Simgul was born and raised there, by brutish parents who are also tieflings. Simgul, along with his family, is obediant and hard-working. His youngest years were spent laying obsidian bricks, and eventually he was promoted to pulling hand-carts around his asteroidal cloud-city. There was never any dramatic "horror" that altered his life; he did not suffer torture at the hands of demons, or even get into brawls with other slaves. All he did was work. Perhaps he was just lucky, for many slaves are killed by their demonic masters on a whim. Simgul had, and still has, no care for entertainment or emotion, for him there is only efficiency. That's the way the human slave population of the 507th layer are trained, and required, to live, so for him, that's all that he expects from life. He has no desire or aspirations for anything more. Simgul is now an adventurer in the prime material world, so there eventually was a turning point in his mindless routine of course. During his 21st year, a band of traveling "minstrels" came to his particular abyssal cloud-city to "entertain" some demons. In the dreary alleyways of the demonic city, these human minstrels stopped a random slave to ask for directions, and Simgul was the guy. But as these tales often turn out, the minstrels were actually a gang of evil human thieves there for a clandestine mission, to steal treasure. When the minstrels later skipped town in a hurry and asked Simgul to help carry some of their newfound "procurements", he did. And then right before magically departing the cloud-city they asked if Simgul would help carry their load even further, so he did; abandoning his abyssal home without a concern or regret, for his natural instinct was to complete whatever task presented itself. This band of thief-minstrels used Simgul as their personal "porter" for a year. The band of rogues was great in power, and often handled dangerous missions; so the unremarkable simpleton tiefling spent alot of time waiting outside the entrances of dank dungeons and tall castles, while his thief masters performed their dangerous work within. Simgul's routine assignment was merely to carry all the stolen treasures home on his back after the hard part was over. But just as Simgul joined the thieves on a whim, he left them the same way. While at a seaside tavern in a remote northern coastal port, he was conscripted by a naval press gang, captured and taken asea aboard a longboat, and told to row. The thief-minstrels did not pursue the issue, for their tiefling porter was not crucial to them, so merely parted ways and left without incident. The military ship itself was a oarboat manned by the local navy, who patroled the northern waterways and protected the coastlines from pirates, orcs, and other hostile invaders. The ship was a long and sleek oarboat known as a "Drakkar", and the prow of the ship was shaped like the head of a mighty dragon. The crewmen were required to wear steel caps adorned with curved ivory horns above the ears, a sort of informal badge identifying them as fearless "Huskarls", the knights of northern seas. Simgul spent 5 years aboard this ship, first as an oarsman, then a deckhand, and then later he begin participating in sea battles. Of course Simgul feels little attachment to anything, so when a request for performing an unrelated task was placed before him, he accepted it. While in a coastal port one day, an adventuring band named the "Dauntless Delvers" asked him to join them in exploring some nearby ruins. He did, abandoning his post as a Huskarl without a concern or regret. The Huskarls now consider the barbarian to be a fugitive, and have plans to recapture and punish him. But now many years later, they have probably forgotten. Simgul still travels with this same adventuring band today, exploring abandoned dungeons and crawling into remote crypts. Simgul wears bland clothing with little or no coloration, usually light brown tones with perhaps a splash of dark brown. He has no favored weapons and usually just uses whatever is available. Most often he carries a reasonably sharp battleaxe, a circular steel shield with a central spike, and a suit of dull grey ringmail. His twin-horned Huskarl helm is long-since lost, and he currently wears no cap. Aside from his furry boots, a belt, a few coins for food, and a leather backpack to carry whatever his companions ask him to carry, he owns little or nothing else. In appearance, his demonic heritage is very subtle. He looks like a typical human, medium height and medium build. His hair is black, trimmed to stay out of his eyes, which are black and unremarkable as well. However, his skin is unusually grey, giving him an eerie granite-colored tone, almost sickly, as if there was not enough blood coursing through his veins to maintain any color. He has no horns, nor any evil glow in his eyes. There is however a stubby pig-like tail hidden at the base of his spine. Simgul has little or no personality and just does what ever the party is doing, and whatever they ask him to do. It's almost as if he were an automoton, such as a golem. He is neither happy, nor sad, he just "is". He is reasonably intelligent, and will respond to questions as one would expect, or even offer suggestions if asked. But his voice is always flat and emotionless, and his ideas are always predictable and uninspired.
WizO_Autumn 09-18-04, 04:23 PM	#8: Slanin Gernsnalt Slanin Gernsnalt Feytouched Barbarian 2/Bard 1 The frozen lands of Falmis are controlled by giants, which reside in several great cities. These cities are shroud in clouds, which can, upon command, rise high above the ground, leaving the cities out of the reach of all but the most cunning invaders. These defenses are necessary in this troubled land, for the giants face one of the most terrible possible enemies – demons. Slanin was born in one of the few nomadic human tribes that travel the nearby sea in magnificent longboats. One of the followers of the berserker tradition, Slanin was banished from his tribe once his fey ancestry was revealed. He managed to sustain himself for a while in the wilderness until he found himself, after long and perilous journeys, in the city of Gabral, protected by a stone giant policeman named Bon. Slanin was recruited into a special unit, whose purpose is to thwart the plans of the demons against the city. The members of this small group, none of them giants, disguise themselves as traveling minstrels and travel between the few neutral cities and villages, searching for demons and their servants. When contact is made, or when there is a need to enter the demon-controlled lands, Slanin is often the one to lead the group, thanks to his impervious mind – the demons' telepathic abilities, coupled with their fondness for mind-probing spells, make it almost impossible to enter their lands with malevolent thoughts. Slanin is a very strange-looking man. His face is comely, and his body is well built, but his hands seem too long, and his head too thin. He is a very lonely person, craving for the company of his own race. The members of the group are his only friends, and they are extremely important to him.