PC2: Making a new Low Level Party for more adventuring

Seems it's about time to start up a thread about the new characters that Gold had in mind! My new character, above, in full armor The new party, in defensive formation.

Ha ha ha. Discuss! A few DM guidelines. It's the same world, same campaign, same timeline, same house rules. Players have license to be as creative as ever. Important Note: You are strongly encouraged to start extremely-basic in your character backstory idea. &nbsp;You should have a character concept that can be explained in under 1 minute (Species, Gender, Class, Kit, and maybe 1 sentence of background). Don't limit yourself to a known archetype or stereotype necessarily, but create your own unique combination and boil-down to reduce your expression to the core traits, at first. Wait until after playing the character before you write-out something like a 2-paragraph backstory. Give time in-game in-situ to dialog with DM and the other Players, deciding on origins, relationships, rank, and other finer details that come with character development. The 1st level PC's don't necessarily come from Portlandio per se. The guidelines are the same as before. You've arrived in the greater Portlandio region, either by origin or by immigration. Big picture: What flavor of adventures for the new party & when will they be able to meet the original Challengers of Destiny? The new 1st level PC's first big adventure is EITHER (or potentially both played in-succession): Locate a seemingly-barren island in The Bay which has mysterious magical lights on certain nights. Fergel the Leprechaun Ninja already went there, by the way, and he has not reported back. Involves mystery, cartography, puzzle, weirdness, exploration, high magic, wizardry, tech, and some fights. Explore an Old Fort for orc-related clues and artifact. Follow the footsteps going after Kaz The Minotaur and the old Greek scholar, who went together towards an Old Fort on the Southern coast (South east from Portlandio, across The Cape). They went to explore rumors of ancient orcish artifact(s) in a historical ruin that had once been an Elf-And-Human Fort hundreds of years earlier, which was then overtaken by orcs during the cataclysmic times, and is now said to be abandoned. This adventure involves orcs, elves, dwarves, mystery, trickery, double-crossing and even triple-agents, traps, dungeoneering, high magic, fights. In either case, the big-picture campaign idea is that your new 1st Level PC's will eventually complete a module/adventure, and along the way... rise in level,&nbsp; return to Portlandio,&nbsp; report information to the current PC's,&nbsp; join the Challengers of Destiny,&nbsp; and become your henchmen / allies / backups / troops for assignments and missions. The new PC's may or may not know about the reputation of the Challengers of Destiny at first. Your new PC may-or-may-not have existing connections to the current party. The 2 parties will be able to meet on friendly terms in the long run (those who survive til then). Here are the available character types (Class & Species, homebrew-allowed list, subject to DM approval on a case-by-case basis) Choose your species/class from here, get approved from DM, discuss with the group... Intro To Character Types LINK, <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/258819/intro-to-" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/258819/intro-to-</a>... Jennifer is considering the Earthbender or Firebender homebrew classes. (!!!). &nbsp;Everyone should watch the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1, Episode 1-2-3 to get the idea of her powers. I would like to see a good mix of classes (Rogue, Priest, MAGE SPECIALISTS, Warrior, Bender). Menagerie species are welcomed again (pixie, goblin, orc, half-orc...), but I would like to see SOME halfling(s), elf(s), dwarf(s), human(s) in the mix.

Here is what I'm thinking: I saw this picture while reading about "El Cid" and loved the concept; especially the clothing. Human Fighter - Knight or Cavalier Aiming for high strength, constitution, and charisma. Skilled with a long sword, bastard sword, and lance. NWP - Jousting, Riding, Heraldry, etc...

That would be fun, Solid . It's approved if you want to proceed in that direction, and roll the Ability Score roller in the game table this week (roll 3 times, choose best set of the 3, arrange the stats to taste). I've got WARRIOR-Cavalier as a listed Class in the offerings on the Intro To Character Types. We will have to look together into the appropriate 2E sources to follow or create the class, either a Class existing in one of the books (non-core, maybe Skills & Powers 2.5E), or a Fighter Kit that exists (Complete Book of Warriors!), or utilizing Cavalier Class from 1st Edition AD&D as a conversion-ready resource. &nbsp; The NWP's you mentioned will be straight from 2E, and you can get some of the NWP free with the Kit, others Required or Recommended. The weapons are cool and fitting. You would want to have a horse (when you can afford one). The style of the guy is similar to Lord Harlepen, a recent NPC you've encountered in the Portlandio area. Not saying your new PC is related to him, but perhaps a parallel social status in their backgrounds. &nbsp;Knighly, armored, cape, strong jawline, firm gaze, longsword, and so on.

Excellent! I was thinking of the following background: Young knight who just earned his spurs Comes from one of the mainland empires Comes from minor nobility&nbsp; Sent by his order to investigate a "threat" The idea would be similar to a conquistador arriving in the "new world" hungry to prove himself. (Lord Harlepen would definitely recognize his status as a fledgling knight who is still unblooded. Maybe he could be a source of mentoring...) He would definitely want to purchase some kind of a warhorse for battle and jousting; which would be a side source of income. I will find the kit and present it this afternoon. I got several backup plans if my rolls don't meet the requirements.

Solid, that's good material, nice and bite-sized. (I mean bite-sized description for a starting character, not bite-sized for a small dragon, but that too.) We will look at the Homebrew World global map to decide your origins-location. As described it would be a more knightly / feudal sort of continent / nation. &nbsp;There is a King-Arthurian island (the English continent also contains Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest), though it is so far away from Portlandio (1000's of miles across land and ocean) which makes it tricky to explain how you got to Portlandio area and still just 1st level after all that traveling. Think of an explanation. You might've been a stowaway, or working on the ship as an animal handler rather than combat defender. Or you might've been flown & dropped off (Hippogriff paratrooper on mission from a King), or maybe teleported all that distance for some assignment. Or perhaps a witch sent you away by curse and you don't know how to return or what uncivilized world you've landed in. Just some ideas to think about. Your rolls will probably meet the requirements, since my dice roller has several reliefs built-in. You're rolling 7 stats, arrange to taste, and classes don't have a minimum requirement for Perception so you can dump the lowest there if necessary. You're rolling 3 sets of 7 stats and choosing the best. And the roller is designed so that most rolls get at least 3 scores 15-18 (along with at least 1 somewhat-low stat!). Everyone who's ready can do Ability Score roller in-game today or tomorrow.

I hadn't checked the forum's in a few days... seems you guys have been busy! I also would be interested in messing with one of the bender classes or possibly a druid - whatever ends up working better~

Chris , discuss bender-class with Jennifer , because I would like 1 bender in the party, but probably not 2. The class isn't fully developed yet for AD&D so it will be a work-in-progress as we play it out. The Bender player should be someone who watched the full Avatar The Last Airbender cartoon series Seasons 1-2-3, if possible, which you could watch in probably a few weeks' viewing if you haven't yet. Familiarity with the TV show will help us develop the bending class abilities together. Homebrew World has differences from Avatar world. &nbsp;We have no "Avatar" position, benders are rare, and most of those rare benders are evil in Homebrew adventures. PC Bender will be the exceptional non-evil bender, similar to PC Bullywug or a Goblin PC. Druid would be welcome. Complete Book Of Druids is in-play, optional not required. The Complete urges you to be a Druid of a certain environment such as a Desert Druid, Tundra Druid, Forest Druid, etc. Classes that I would more-readily permit more-than-one in the party: 2 Specialist Mages 2 Priests of different pantheons or specializations, or a Cleric and a Druid 2 Fighters of differing backgrounds (Cavalier, Barbarian, Samurai, etc)&nbsp; 2 rogues, 1 being thief, 1 being bard or other non-thief such as an Asian class like Ninja

Chris , just considering your play-style, I want you to have a Class that has plenty of abilities to list, tailor, tweak, and narrate. On the other hand I don't want you to feel burdened with another huge list of spells if you think that might get confusing in cross-over with your bullywug conjurer. Druid could be an ideal alternative for you. Druid is animal-friendly which sets up a future alliance with Airen & Rhubarb. I really want the party to have a Specialist Mage (fits with High Magic tone of the world), but don't want Chris to be pushed to Mage-Again. It is possible for a Bender to substitute for the Mage position, but having 1 bender and 1 mage would still be cool too. Having 1 other Priest along with the Druid is strategic because Clerical spells can be important in this game, but I will make healing potions available if you don't have enough Cleric-power in the new party. Chris look through the Character Types list again. I spotted a few more classes that might suit you: Shaman, Monk, Bard, Archer, Ninja, Witch/Warlock. If desired I can also add-back-in the Wu'Jen (Oriental Adventures magic user) or the Sha'ir (Al Qadim mage that uses a djinni to fetch spells). Most of these are customized variations from Core 2E. Some of them exist in 2E sources, for example there is a whole book (rare 2E sourcebook) called "Shaman" which I will send if you decide on something like this.

Gold, Easy fix could be: He&nbsp;was ship bound on his intended quest when (bad weather, sea monster, pirates, battle, etc...) caused it to wreck. Only by luck, chance, or the gods blessing was he rescued from sea. The ship that saved him required he work for room & board. When it reached Portlandio he was released from service with report of his good conduct.&nbsp; This could explain why he doesn't have his usual equipment. He Mustered out with an old sword, second rate armor, and no horse. With few options he would have to start working for a patron or begin adventuring.&nbsp; OR when we find him... He's work himself back to basic starting gear through military service. Whatever works best... (I hate D&D's sword descriptions... What they call a long sword is really an arming or knightly sword. A real long sword matches the description of a bastard or two-handed sword.)

OMG i have the perfect lvl 1 idea for a future Swargen henchman, or all out party ally. I wouldnt mind at all doing a warrior with the beastrider kit from The Complete Fighters Handbook. - A banished Barbarian, near death found by the mount, instantly bonded and now their bond is all (s)he lives for. i dont want to lock myself into this tho, normally with a lvl 1 char, o like to roll then decide what class fits the numbers :P

I think I may play against my usual type, and so I have this in mind: Sigma : Σ (appropriate considering its many meanings: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma</a>) 7' tall Minotaur Ranger, neutral good, 18/78 strength Archer/Combat Falconer. A broadchested powerhouse with a recurve bow that fires telephone poles.&nbsp; (Just kidding... except in the LOTR films I saw what the Uruk-Hai were using and thought, dayuuummmm) I am in the mood to play someone just plain physically powerful, I think, as well as a marksman.&nbsp; Since I can't have Sigma firing a Black Powder .60 cal Punt Gun from the shoulder, I think Gold might let me go with the recurve. :)&nbsp; (Punt Guns were called that because they were so large & heavy they were fired from a small boat, called a punt, to handle their recoil by driving the punt & gunner back against the water. They were used to take out entire flights of geese for banquets, as in, 40 or 50 downed with one load of shot) I used to joke that if you played a falconer realistically in D&D, you'd spend 90% of the game training and cleaning up after your bird, and never dare risk the fragile thing in a dungeon (and I type this after spending an hour scraping falconry owl poop).&nbsp; But! this is Gold's High Fantasy so we may invent a smart species of raptor that the minotaur works with. So guaranteed NWPs: Bowyer/fletcher, Falconry, Camouflage, Carpentry. Weaponry notes: Sigma uses his bow as a shield and tripping hook (as in Oliver Queen style on Arrow), and his favored hand weapon is a fullsized fire axe. That's what's on my mind right now.&nbsp; All subject to change!

Everyone and their fantastic species... Sheesh! You people are in love with the menagerie...

Yeah, in this world our party is unlikely to be Snow White & The Seven Fellowships Of The Humandwarflings! We're more like... Guardians Of The Homebrew Galaxy. Larry , Sigma character concept looks like a good foundation. Proceed. PC2 new party of 1st level, work-in-progress: Chris - Solid - Human Cavalier Jennifer -&nbsp; Larry - Minotaur Ranger Paul - Halfling Thief&nbsp;

Kind of like the new cabinet is a "Canada that looks like Canada," I see us more as a "Homebrew that looks like Homebrew."&nbsp; We aren't so much a menagerie as an accurate representation of a non-humanocentric, high-magic planet.&nbsp; If anything, we're short on elves!

We represent the Lollypop Guild, The Lollypop Guild, The Lollypop Guild........ sorry, my thief had momentary flashbacks lol

Larry D. said: If anything, we're short on elves! We are elf-deficient! By the way I agree and enjoyed that slogan "Homebrew that looks like Homebrew". I get that. Wait til someone plays a Bender class, or a species like Pixie or Oni. Those are ultra-homebrewy. But seriously, elves! Why have I not been able to keep an Elf PC in the group? (Fortunately we have Mora Sura who is a half-elf). Musing about elves and the upcoming 1st level branch of the game... There is a whole sub-plot of Adventures In Homebrew World plot-line that centers on the elves trying to migrate westward. This was part of the original vision for the epic-size campaign. Elves convey high fantasy (as do our alternative playable species) but more than that, I am into RP'ing some fantasy anthropology with the migrations of populations across the planet. Circle-and-arrow maps of shifting populations, armies, cataclysm vs civilization vs frontier, were on the 1st maps I devised for this game (circa 2012). In fact my working-title was "Run The Elves" when I was dreaming-up this game, before I pivoted the title to "Adventures In Homebrew World". The Gods of the Elves are in-play as we speak, however unseen. One idea was recruiting players who would want to run an all-elf party. &nbsp;Similar to allowing multiple mage specialists, or multiple Priests of different pantheons, I would welcome multiple elves with variation from each other. But I'm also fine with no elves, making the elves a more mysterious and aloof people-of-the-northern-woods compared to the more worldly party. The population dynamics & trade economy between Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Orcs, is a larger ongoing machination of civilizations on the Canadian continent and even Homebrew World global scale. It's happening in the background and subtly influences the adventures, even our current 100% Elf-Free party adventures. &nbsp; The upcoming Orc-related adventures are elf-related, but also will connect nicely with Dwarves, halflings, half-elf, and anyone who wants to stop orc armies from retaking the Portlandio coast and devastating the toehold of civilization as they did in the cataclysmic times before. The 4 points of contact we have so far with this are: Mora Sura is a half elf and her aunty Ota Sura is an NPC you can meet to start orcy adventures. Torvald the dwarf, a hill dwarf from the surface lands and near-surface.. In contrast most of the mining dwarves have disappeared, whether dead or going deeper into the earth, and this relates to orcy adventures. X-PC Sandoval (Elf), Mitel (Elf / now an NPC) X-PC Kaz the Minotaur, after departure, DM-decision he eventually joined up with Crom The Sage who wanted to lead a mission to the Old Fort on the coast of The Cape southeast from Portlandio, for the purpose of excavating and studying old orcish historical artifacts said to be buried there. This leads into the 1st level orc-dwarf-elf related adventures. The new PC2 party of 1st level characters will naturally connect to this story, through their 1st module(s). &nbsp;It's cool if your origin or species relates to orcs, dwarves, halflings, or elf, but not required, because ultimately any species of PC will find connections to it as the game develops. You'll see. It's going to be some pretty classical D&D, but with my own twists. Elves with elven chainmail, nasty armies of mean orcs, dwarves who mine too deep for a particular reason (Top $ecret), plus homebrew high fantasy & high magic, plus some of my favorite and best-reviewed published modules.

Haha =P I will be around this weekend if you have any free time to discuss new char before Monday.

Chris said: Haha =P I will be around this weekend if you have any free time to discuss new char before Monday. How bout now. You just posted 10 minutes ago. Trying to think of how to hit you up though, may turn on the skype or the discord or the tabletop and see if you're on. P.S. I'm open to any ideas that you want to play Chris Let's talk about it MONDAY in the "Secondary session" :D

Just emailed this to Gold, and figured I'd open it up to y'all as well: "Heya Gold. Was thinking of the Pathfinder Ranger kit for Sigma the Ranger. I didn't pick the Falconer kit because I figured that Sigma's animal companion would be some kind of special/rare/big creature that would not normally count as a falconry bird. Might even be a very small dragon (you have to admit that would look pretty awesome down the line). Could be a one-of-a-kind like a former wizard's-familiar or construct." For a 7' tall barrelchested minotaur falconer?/creaturer?, what would an amazing-yet-scalable animal companion/hunting-scouting creature be?&nbsp; Would it even be a falconry NWP creature, or should it start as a Familiar (via scroll in the backstory)?&nbsp; What sounds most awesome to y'all?

Larry, I definitely think falconry would work. Sigma would need something to help him catch smaller game due to his size. I would vote for some large raptor... Golden eagle or maybe even a large flightless bird like a Moa. Kaz, our previous Minotaur, came from a savannah area... Lots of big creatures there to pick from! As for weaponry I see him using a large recurve bow or salvaged arbalest; firing small tree sized bolts.

Larry D. said: If anything, we're short on elves! Nothing wrong with the lack of those pointy ears snobs...&nbsp; Seriously, if we need an elf I don't mind changing my character into one. However, I'd probably change into something similar to a Warhammer "white lion" class. It would be a mixture of fighter and ranger. Lore and background wise he'd fit in alot better with our upcoming adventure. <a href="http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/White_Lion" rel="nofollow">http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/White_Lion</a> (IMHO - Pretty bad ass for an elf! Yeah I'm really liking this concept better. The double irony is that I would be playing a dwarf and elf... Two polar opposites!) The closest kit that matches this idea would be: Ranger - Justifier. The only change would be to make it available to elves; instead of being human specific. The character would be more oriented towards the fighter sphere... The ranger side would represent his woodsman background and natural animal handling ability. Or if you really want to get crazy: Elven paladin (As we've never had one yet.)

Good ideas and discussion. I'm open to all that has been written here. Solid , I will review Justifier kit if you go that direction. I don't have a problem with making it elf-available (approved), but would still review it for whatever other bonuses come with that kit, as I usually approve the narrative aspect of kits & give free NWP with it, but will usually limit or omit kit-based combat crunch depending on what it is. By the way I'm 100% fine with Human Cavalier idea, so you don't need to switch to the Elf, but if you are leaning towards the Elf idea(s) that's cool too. Since I'm not familiar with the Warhammer White Lion class, I'll look up information and you can tell me more. One more thing, since Larry is probably making a Minotaur Ranger (which is a fighting ranger), that would be 2x Fighting Ranger types, which I'm not strictly opposed to, it just sounds like some overlap. Larry , I'll be thinking about some suggestions/options for Sigma's falconry / animal companion. Myself and the group will look at any proposals. I'm not sure about a small dragon as of yet, possibly the pseduo-dragon with its stinger tail, possibly something else, likely a non-dragon but open for consideration.

Gold, White Lions are basically high-elf fighters (woodsman backgrounds)... They're special because they use great axes, stubborn/fierce opponents, and sometimes gain a white lion animal companion.&nbsp;All these could easily be full-filled by being a fighter with matching NWP's for flavor. I was just looking for something to give added flare.

Taking a look at the new PC2 Party composition as-of January 12 session: An awesome group of AD&D 2nd Edition Player-Characters... Listed from tallest to smallest! MINOTAUR Ranger Pathmaker Sigma Larry HUMAN Cavalier Baradin Solid HUMAN Priest of Ilmater Friar Hugo Hans ELF Witch Mage Cylara Silverbane Silks GNOME Rogue Tinkerer A. Whistlebell Aepod HALFLING Rogue Dragonlancish Rajhad Paul FIRE DRAKE Dragonette Furnace Larry Elsewhere at this time: FLIND, Advanced Gnoll Dog-person Earthbender Warrior, Wei-Ting, Chris. ELF, Militant Mage, Millicent, Jennifer.

Ask anything in this thread for the PC2 party character development. Character creation questions? &nbsp; Aepod you can ask here and also just post your thoughts and ideas here, any links to Tinkerer references or pictures for example. Hans the same, anything about Friar Hugo's deity can be asked or recorded here, such as Ilmater profile and rituals, and pictures. So if you find something on the internet or 2E books that pertains to your character Species - Race, Class, Kit, archetype or style, deity or culture, feel free to post it. Add to this thread. It's a sharing thread for the Characters of the party, so the other PC's and the DM can get to know your character from a game/sheet perspective. (In comparison the Journal thread is more of your character's thoughts and opinions, where this thread is more about what abilities a Gnome would have, or how a Mage gets new spells). I guess you could say this is a Meta thread for character Q&A. Leveling up questions? Magic items you are questing or seeking? Anything you're not sure how to fill it on your character sheet or Bio Tab? Anything you're not sure how to get spells, abilities,&nbsp; how we do certain rules? A.M.A. Ask Me Anything and also use this thread to talk about your new character to the others, and make sure we are in agreement on your special abilities, gear, and so on.