Would a Shienar guy who had his family killed by Whitecloaks because he was mistaken as a Darkfriend because of his yellow eyes be cool? He'd currently not be top knotting, if only to hide his lineage.

@POOHEAD189 - the Whitecloaks were never strong beyond their own borders, and weakest with the Borderlands. I doubt if they would dare to kill an entire family of borderlanders, people who are known for their stand against the Shadow. It's not improbably, but definitely stretching it thin. It would make sense if he were an Andoran or a Ghealdanin - places where the Whitecloaks routinely stir up trouble.

Hmmm, might go Andoran as an ex-soldier then.

@JoosCan we start adding the skills now or are we waiting until all CS's are accepted?

I'll add the two NPC's accompanying my character to the CS, will provide a short summary on each one to serve as a reference. The bodyguard will either have +1 to Con or Str, not decided yet. Needless to say, I expect one or both of these guys to die or otherwise be removed from the group at some point.

Wonderful. I like nothing better than expendable NPCs. They tend to be so much more... memorable.

And yes, you can start picking your skills. If anyone has any doubts about skill points allocation, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, if you have a good argument for why a particular skill should be a natural skill for your class, please do prod me.

Hm, as I start with 12 skill points and can only have 4 ranks in anything at the start. That means I can spend at maximum 8 skill points so will lose 4 on level at least. Which makes me sad :P
Also is the 12 points per level or just for level 1?

Whatever those answers are my stat spread probably going to look like

Diplomacy - 1
Concentration- 1
Hide- 1
Sense Motive- 1

@Eklispe The way I read it is that you cannot spend 4 points on any one skill (or 2 if it's a non-class skill), not that you can only spend points on 4 skills.

So, for example you can put 4 points in Diplomacy, placing you at rank 4. Since it's a class skill for Warders, that's OK. However, Balance isn't a class skill for Warders, so you can only increase it to rank 2 at level 1.

Ohhhhh, entirely right good sir, that makes much more sense. In which case these would be looking more like...

Diplomacy - 4
Concentration- 3
Hide- 2
Sense Motive- 3

Having a hard time figuring out a backstory other than 'wife and kid killed by whitecloaks while he was on patrol'

@POOHEAD189 - If you are having trouble with a backstory, how about this: Raurfen was an Andoran soldier, enlisted as part of the Ten Nations Concord against the Aiel. He left behind his wife and kids to fight this war. It was during this campaign that he first figures out that he can talk to wolves. Probably he meets a fellow wolfbrother and learns, or maybe he picks it up on his own. He returns home to find his wife scared of him. Even his kid looks at him like a stranger because of his yellow eyes. People whisper that he is a Darkfriend. Someone paints the Dragon Fang on his door. He is forced to flee his home. He lives wild, trying to get his wife and kid back. But they are too scared to come back with him. He tries repeatedly to get back in town. Finally, he is caught by a Whitecloak patrol. In the ensuing battle, he kills two whitecloaks with his bare hands in his frenzy. After being captured, the Whitecloaks make a public execution spectacle. To Raurfen's final shock, his wife and kid are there, denouncing him with the rest. In anger and sadness, he manages to escape after a daring fight. He kills three more whitecloaks before leaving the town. Stories of his escape are still spoken with awe in the town. Meanwhile, he heads into the woods, grief threatening to engulf him. It is at this time that he hears of the Great Hunt - a purpose to fill his empty life. So he heads to Illian, to try and save whatever humanity he can in him. Secretly, he also seeks a cure for his 'ailment'. He wants to be normal again, to watch his kid grow up.

@Eklispe - the skill points you received are for first level only. With every level, you will gain skill points dependent upon your class and your intelligence modifier. The more intelligent you are, the faster you can learn new skills.

@JoosHmmm, that's a fairly good one. I'll think on it and finish it on the morrow.

My primary character

Name: Lord Haron Gregoras
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Nationality: Illianer
Class: Noble

Appearance: Lord Haron stands slightly less than 6 feet tall, with a fit frame and an erect posture that belie his age. His deep-set black eyes and his curved nose give him the appearance of a bird of prey. He wears his facial hair in the classic Illianer way, a stubby grey beard and a shaved upper lip. His greying hair has also started receding, reinforcing the image of a hawk.

Background: Lord Haron was born to Lord Eamon and Lady Eltema of House Gregoras, the first of three boys. House Gregoras is an illustrious Illianer house with ties dating back to Artur Hawkwing himself. Before the establishment of the Council, there have been two kings of Illian from the House Gregoras. Since then, there has been at least one Gregoras Councillor every generation.

While his father was busy with matters of court and his mother with matters of nobility, the young Haron found love in books. He devoured his father's study, then proceeded to the Council's collection. By 17, the boy knew more about the world through books than some men did traveling. Every time Ogier stonemasons visited the city, Haron would pester them with questions and pay exorbitant money for books.

It was around this time that his father sought to educate his son further. Haron was sent to the Fortress of Light in Amador, to study under the Children of the Light. It was a calculated move on the father's part. The Children didn't care for marriage alliances, but they did care for indoctrination. By sending young Haron to study with the Whitecloaks, he was forging a relationship that would define Haron's life in the times to come.

Initially, Haron hated the martial environment. He longed for the quiet gardens of Illian, for an afternoon filled with books. Instead, the young man was forced to learn to fight, to ride, to wield a blade. Haron took to it kicking and screaming. But one day, he discovered the works of Lothair Mantelar. The Children prohibited any other books but his. But his books awoke something in Haron. He started contemplating on the idea of Light, on how to define it better. The mental exercise calmed him, and allowed him to ease into his surroundings.

For six years, Haron studied with the Whitecloaks. During that time, he had become a Blademaster and was asked several times to stay and be anointed as a Captain. But Haron had different ideas. His time with the Whitecloaks had opened up something in him, an obsessive desire to define the concept of Light, to understand the nature of the Creator so that man can seek to govern his realms better.

When Haron returned home, it was a different son that greeted the father. Haron was itching to be part of a power group like the Council, to try his new ideas. He was appointed ambassador to the Whitecloaks. With the help of his friends among the Questioners, Haron managed to forge a non-aggression pact. His successes won him many admirers and a few detractors. Using the same Questioners, Haron cast aspersions on their character, quietly eroding their authority in the background.

For six years, Haron toiled in the background. When his father passed away, he effortlessly moved in to full his position. People called him ruthless, the way he did away with the competition. But among commoners, Haron was something of a hero. By ensuring trade with Amadicia and Tarabon, he had ensured the well-being of his people. He was known as a man who did not set much store by class or rank, only of a person’s worth.

Haron married the Lady Elise when he was 30. To him, marriage was just another alliance. Haron never really preferred women and their marriage was purely a political one. With her as his wife, he had also become the son-in-law of the oldest and most respected Councillor. The position gave him an enormous influence over the voting of the Council.

Over the past decade, Haron has constantly consolidated his power in the Council. Now, the council is mostly filled with his supporters or cronies, including one of his two devoted younger brothers. Several times in the past, Haron and the King have had a showdown regarding Haron’s Tairen connections. While Haron has so far stood down, nobles are already muttering that Lord Haron plans his counter-attack. Of late, several rumours have been flying about regarding Haron’s own kingly ambitions and his vision of a Council-ruled Illian.

Haron's crowning achievement so far has been the calling of the Great Hunt. For years, Haron has talked about reviving the glory of Illian. After months of bribing and cajoling councillors, by using the strongarm tactics of the Questioners and the subtle political maneuverings of the nobility, Haron has brought about the Great Hunt of the Horn, to be held in two days' time in the Tammaz Square, presided over by the Lord Haron himself.

Lord Haron Gregoras is a Level 6 Noble.

Attributes
Strength - 16
Dexterity - 17
Constitution - 15
Intelligence - 18
Wisdom - 16
Charisma - 18

Skills
Ride (8)
Knowledge of Nobility and Royalty (7)
Knowledge of the Karaethon Cycle (6)
Diplomacy (7)
Concentration (8)
Listen (6)
Gather Information (2)
Sense Motive (4)

Feats (available from 3rd level):
Lightning Reflexes, Mounted Combat

@Eklispe - since you start as a Warder, your Warder cloak will provide you a +2 bonus to all Hide checks. You might want to rethink spending four points on getting two ranks that you already have by default.

My list of skills:

Balance(2) - 4 points (non-class)
Concentration(4) - 4 points
Diplomacy(2) - 2 points
Ride(4) - 4 points
Geographical Knowledge(1) - 2 points (non-class)
Knowledge of Nobility and Royalty (2) - 2 points
Knowledge of the Karaethon Cycle (2) - 2 points

@Joos
There seem's to be a slight difference between the Class Features skill list and the skill list in terms of what classes get what.

For example under Class Features Warders are said to have Disguise as a skill but the list says that's for bard and rouges

Likewise the skill list says Spot is for Warders but its not under Class Features. T.T

My bad, @Eklispe. I was still constructing the Warder class from the Paladin class from D&D when I wrote the class descriptions. The first post of the OOC now stands corrected based on your observations. If you note any other such errors, do let me know and I will correct them.

When in doubt, you should go with what it says in the Skills appendix. I wrote that later, when I had a clear idea of how a Warder should be.

Regarding your particular observations, Spot is now listed under the Warder class as one of the class skills. And Disguise is not a class skill for the Warder.

A note on feats

If you read my character sheet, you will notice I have a section called feats. For those not familiar with D&D, feats are special acts that your character can perform that borders on the superhuman. There are a number of Feats to choose from, including a Mighty Cleave with your sword, Sheathing the Sword, death-defying acrobatics, stealth killing techniques etc. Feats are not like skills and they don't cost any points. Some feats have prerequisites, like a certain strength requirement for those wanting to master the Mighty Cleave move.

You will get to choose your first feat when you get to level 3. From there, you will get to add a new feat every 3rd level. Since my character, Lord Haron, is level 6, he has two feats: Lightning Reflexes (which lets him react faster than normal when only instincts guide him) and Mounted Combat (he can fight better on a horse and his mount will be sturdier in battle).

Feats are standing bonuses. You don't have to perform a feat like a sword move or a saidar weave. For instance, a person with the Acrobatics feat will always get a +2 bonus in when it comes to a question of Jumping. You either have a feat, or you don't.

I will shortly publish the list of feats, but I don't want to get down to it right now. It only comes into play when you get to level 3. Once @POOHEAD189 finishes their CS, we'll start the RP and then get down to fleshing out the feats.

Alright in which case methinks I'll be looking like this for skills. ^.^

(Cost)(Total Cost)
(-3)(-3) Diplomacy - 3 (class)
(-2)(-5) Concentration - 2 (class)
(-2)(-7) Sense Motive - 2 (class)
(-2)(-9) Slight of Hand- 1 (non-class)
(-1)(-10) Ride - 1 (class)
(-1)(-11) Knowledge of Nobility and Royalty - 1 (class)
(-1)(-12) Spot - 1 (class)

Good one, @POOHEAD189. You are accepted.

Your attributes:
Strength - 18 +4 (Very high due to a life of being a soldier and also of being a wolfbrother)
Dexterity - 13 +1 (Normal.)
Constitution - 15 +2 (High due to a rugged life in the wilderness.)
Intelligence - 11 +0 (Normal.)
Wisdom - 15 +2 (High due to being a Wolfbrother)
Charisma - 9 -1 (Low due to being a Wolfbrother.)

Your hitpoints = 12 (for being a wolfbrother) + 2 (your constitution modifier) = 14
You have (4 + intelligence modifier) x 4 = 16 skill points

Now you can proceed to choosing your skills.