[OOC] Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

[Sigil]

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Act 1: Harvestide

(completed)

Maybe it's paranoia. Maybe it isn't. One overworked and beleaguered Sheriff's suspicions direct him to a course of action he would never have considered a year prior - He is calling upon adventurers for aid.

Avonshire is a sleepy agricultural region in a greater Human kingdom which boasts highly productive lands and a solid population of Halflings among the Human majority. Disappearances and rumors of other things amiss have brought a sense of underlying dread to the region, and most people agree that something must be done.

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Act 2: Wintering In Wine Country

(ongoing)

^{<initial OOC post for Act 2>}

In a show of gratitude, the last of a renowned family of Vintners have invited the victorious adventurers back to their estate to spend the coming winter in comfort. While they appear sincere, even lavish with their hospitality, they have yet to answer old questions, even as new mysteries - and possibly dangers - arise.

The Rose River Vineyard lays nestled in the heart of the Avonshire region, near the town of Southmoor, and produces some of the finest wines in the kingdom. The master of the estate has perished and his only direct living heir is too young to assume the responsibilities of family affairs. This detail, sadly, is the least of their difficulties.

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Welcome to Avonshire.

This is an adventure based on Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons. I say based on, as I believe some aspects need to be altered or abbreviated to better fit the format here. To make things comfortable all parties, we will be using 5e character sheets, backed up by a more basic one on this site. There are excellent online options from Myth-Weavers and on D&D Beyond specifically for this purpose. Character sheets will be created there and linked on the CS tab, pending approval here. More about character creation will be discussed below. First let’s get a few things out of the way. Consider this our Session Zero.

Session Zero

-
This little adventure operates a a stand alone one-shot, such as these things are possible using a forum RPG medium. To put it differently, this it not a massive, elaborate campaign that will uncover lost depths of arcane study, nor will anyone resurrect ancient powers of old and receive the boons therefrom. This is not an adventure to loot copious amounts of magical goodies and pursue fundamental truths of the campaign world.

That being said, this is a low level adventure set in a charming, pastoral countryside, wherein foul things may or may not be happening at any given time. Like many such endeavors, this is collaborative storytelling.

If you decide to bring a character into this, it means that said character answered the summons. Edgy characters are okay. Hell, I’d be surprised if any adventuring party didn’t eventually bring one into the fold. But please, a mote of restraint here. If you have a “loner” character that you absolutely must play, we need to figure out a defining and compelling reason as to why they will join the group and continue to work with them as the story progresses. Disruptive characters and those who insist on “doing their own thing” regardless of what will happen with the rest of the party will find themselves left behind (at best). I will not be running a second adventure for characters who abandon or refuse to interact with the party.

Murderhobo-ing will be dealt with swiftly and decisively. I cannot stress enough that actions in this setting will have consequences.

The ONLY social skill that will affect another PC is Deception. Period. Every other one will have to be resolved via roleplaying. And Deception can be contested. Attempts to bully or exert undue influence over someone else’s character will not be tolerated.

PvP: As a guideline, I do not allow Player vs. Player shenanigans. BUT, if both players consent and I judge that it won’t adversely affect the gameplay, we can work something in. This might be handled on Discord, through group DMs, or in another manner to be determined for expediency. PvP is not limited to combat, as I count theft, grabbing, and use of influencing spells as PvP.

“It’s what my character would do,” is a poor excuse for poor behavior. If your character is doing something that intentionally ruins the fun of another player, then you have made a bad character. The same thing goes for loot hoarding. Don’t be that guy. Take the rolled-up newspaper swat to the face and try again.

Violence and violent descriptors are unavoidable. Combat happens, things come into play, and characters will hurt others and get hurt in return. Crank it up to 11 (tastefully) and go about your day. Sexual matters, on the other hand, are to be kept PG-13. Fade to black, move on. Anything that resembles something which begins with “R” and rhymes with “crepe” is strictly forbidden, on or off stage. Sexual assault in any of its forms will get you removed from this campaign.

Experience is to be handled with Milestone advancement. Specifically, at the end of this one-shot. You do not get extra experience for a high body count, nor does it matter who gets the kill shot. Keep this in mind as you develop your characters and decide their actions.

A comprehensive background must be submitted and approved prior to your character’s approval. If there are any details that you wish to keep secret from the other players, I still need to know what they are.

CHARACTER DEATH: I don’t like to kill off characters. People get invested. The children of their imagination can take on lives and personalities of their own, and parting with them by means horrific and violent, be it my means of evisceration via Bulette, consumption whole by a Purple Worm, torn to steaming, bloody confetti by a horde of hairy, unkempt, tick-ridden Gibberlings, or just mercilessly impaled on a great wooden stake by Orcs and raised in a row of dozens of other victims to mark the boundary of their hunting territory, all just make for bad juju. Bringing in a new character in the middle of something isn’t the most organic transition usually, and I’d like to minimize this. So here’s the deal - Character deaths can happen. I don’t get my kicks from it, but it happens. Uncommon at my table, but again, IT HAPPENS. Things may be challenging. However, there will always be a way to win, or at least a chance to escape. The only sure way to get yourself killed is to do something stupid.

Then I will show you no mercy. Seriously, I write embarrassing death scenes for fun. Sometimes for hire. Ask those I’ve RPed with here before. (Now, if you WANT your character to take The Big Dirtnap, we can arrange something particularly flashy and gruesome.)

COLOR CODING: Text used for character speech is to be color coded. Pick a color that is soft on eyestrain but still easy to read. Do not pick one that is too close to an existing character's color. This will make things confusing if you have to post a collab. Or just confusing, period. Your text color will also be used for your Header and Character Sheet. Choose wisely. To start off, no white, gold, dark orchid, or dark gray. These are in use for updates, except for white, which is common sense. Your color code will make it much easier to identify who is saying what in a rush.

That was fun, right? So, the previous items were semi-specific to the game and setting. The following are general rules for any RPG I run. You may notice a similarity to the general rules of Lady Absinthia's RPs. Pay no mind. Huge coincidence. HUGE.

General RP Rules. READ THESE. THEY ARE IMPORTANT.

• Gm is God.
• All Forum rules apply.
• No godmodding, meta-gaming, bunnying.
• Cussing will happen, you've been warned.
• Romance is welcome, keep PG-13 then fade to black.
• Take problems to PM.
• No post or CS edits ever without the GM's permission beforehand. I MIGHT BE WATCHING.
• Chat room for approved active characters only.
• Minimal 1 post every 7 days when not in rotation. If you reach day 8 on your counter you will be removed without warning from the RP.
• If you cannot post you must notify the GM in the OOC by day 5 on your counter that you need an extension - extensions will not be granted after day 5 of your counter.
• When in rotation - you have 48 hours when your turn comes to post or you will be skipped. Your character will automatically take the Dodge action, and we will move on. If you are skipped twice you are removed from the RP.
• Keep GM informed if you must drop, are busy, so forth. I’ll work with you.
• Seven days no word in IC, OOC, or Chat and your character is out.
• Check all IC and OOC posts before posting.
• Minimal 2 posts between last post.
• Fights will be done in rotation and special rules or circumstances will be given for each fight in the OOC when it begins.
• Players will use a dice roller in public format, reviewable by everyone.
• Have fun.
• Remember this is D&D based, not D&D law - so things may be different, don't argue semantics.
• CS template provided is required.
• Place only completed CS in OOC - Not the CS tab.
• CS tab is for approved CSs only.
• GM is God. I cannot stress this enough.

Things can get complicated with character generation. I am using a modified point buy system for establishing ability scores and limiting certain things in regard to source material, while opening up possibilities for wiggle room in other areas. Read this carefully and do not hesitate to drop me a message if you have questions. Once this hurdle is out of the way, it's all downhill, I promise. Sort of. Maybe. Okay, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it; suffice it to say that this is a bear and it cannot be avoided. Let us plow through together.

Character Generation Rules

Races:

Standard PHB races. Let’s keep this part simple.
Dragonborn, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Halfling, Half-Orc, Human, Tiefling.

Classes:

Base classes should likewise be PHB.

Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard. If you even ask about Blood Hunter, I will floss my teeth with your innards. And boot you from the RP.

Subclasses may come from a number of sources. Check with me first if it isn’t PHB. That uber Barbarian from Unearthed Arcana that casts cleric spells as well as a cleric and communes with lesser deities on the regular is not going to have a place here. In short, if I think you’re overly min/maxing for the purposes of “winning D&D”, this isn’t the RP for you.

Sources I will readily accept:

• Player’s Handbook
• Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
• Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
• Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

Levels:

There should be three five of them. Either one class brought to level three five, or a valid multiclass whose combined levels total three five. This gives opportunity for subclasses to be selected across the board.

Ability Scores:

This isn’t an epic quest (yet) and the characters aren’t demigods. That being said, I do want these adventurers on the high end of average. For ability scores, this translates to an even starting point of 13 across the board. That's 78 total, with caveats for balance.

You may raise an ability score by one point if you also lower another one by one point. Simple, right? Okay, here come the caveats:

• The lowest a score can go is 3.
• The highest a score can go is 18.
• One score may be raised past 15 at the standard 1:1 ratio.
• If another score goes past 15, it does so at a 2:1 ratio.
• Apply racial modifiers after your base numbers are settled.
• Modifiers cannot bring an ability score past 20.

This method will give you a character that is more than competent, maybe even exceptional, but not godlike. It also ensures that you qualify for multiclassing down the road (should it come up) and helps certain classes combat the horrors of Multiple Ability Dependence and remain relevant. A quick and dirty example with a simple 1:1 ratio buy gives you 11, 11, 11, 15, 15, 15, prior to racial modifiers. This allows for a workable character regardless of selected class.

Backgrounds:

Any backgrounds which are not specific to a particular setting are allowed. If you have any questions, ask. I’m fairly lenient.

Alignments:

The overall feel of this adventure is best matched with Good aligned characters. Motivated Neutrals are also acceptable. A reminder that Chaotic Neutral does not mean Chaotic Stupid. If you can’t play a CN without causing problems, don’t bother. Drama is fine(ish), but make sure your character can operate effectively with the rest of the party.

Equipment:

Starting equipment as per PHB to begin. But we’re not kicking this off at first level, now are we? Use the starting equipment as a base, then build from there. Your character, while not well known, has already seen some stuff. They’ve already done some adventuring. Equipment may reflect this.

Keep it realistic to level. Keep it simple-ish. Don’t go overboard. Custom gear that has no roll affecting properties is okay. Personal items or bits of curio are fine. Gear made of obscure materials and the like is not. Bulking out characters in thousands of gp worth of mundane equipment is also not okay. What actually fits your character? What might they keep on them, any why? Creativity is good here, but I remain the final decision on what makes the cut. One thing to point out, above all else: NO MAGICAL ITEMS. These you earn.

Homebrew:

This is few, far between, and subject to scrutiny that might involve a governmental inquiry and a proctoscope. The same goes for custom gear. Absolutely nothing may be added without my approval in writing, and you must be able to show me this if called upon. That out of the way, if you present something reasonable, not designed for specific advantage or to break your class and/or abilities, I will give it fair consideration.

If you absolutely must go this route, talk to me. Maybe we can work something out. Just don’t base your entire concept around it.

The Header is, oddly enough, to go at the head of every IC post. It serves a few purposes, not the least of which it as a quick reference for what your character is doing, where they are going, and their general state of condition and injury. Also, when we get into combat rotation, your header is where you declare bare bones actions, bonus actions, and reactions (if any are applicable). This is where character faceclaims or art will be shown, as well. Your color code will feature prominently here, so pick one you can live with.

Header Template

Change the hex color code in the Header to the color of your choice. This is going to be the same as your text speech color. Make sure it is one that is not currently being used by an active member of the RP, dark gray, gold, or white. Must use this Header for all IC posts - if you do not need a section because it does not apply to your character, just place N/A and move on.

While the Character Image is optional, if you use one please keep the height at 250 px MAX.

[center]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━[/center][table][row][/row][row][cell]
[h2][color=000000][i][b]Character Name Here[/b][/i][/color][/h2][i][b][color=000000]Race, Class (Subclass Optional), Level 00[/color][/b][/i]
[color=000000][i][b]HP:[/b][/i][/color] Current / Max [color=000000][i][b]Armor Class:[/b][/i][/color] 00 [color=000000][i][b]Conditions:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=000000][i][b]Location:[/b][/i][/color] Character location in the RP
[color=000000][i][b]Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=000000][i][b]Bonus Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=000000][i][b]Reaction:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[/cell][cell]
[right][img]Character Image Here[/img][/right]
[/cell][/row][/table][center]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━[/center]

Here we go, the almighty Character Sheet. To clarify from earlier, I will need a 3rd party site online CS, fully filled out, completely legit, IN ADDITION to the one below. Myth-Weavers and D&DBeyond are really good for this. I have a bent toward D&DBeyond myself, but I am open to others. When this is done, link it to the CS here in the space provided.

Submit CSs in the OOC only. Do not post it to the CS Tab until I have approved it. Do not post Works In Progress. Use a self-addressed PM to work on it if you must. After your CS is approved, it becomes immutable without permission. If it's small or something you overlooked, just send me an ask. Edit your CS without permission and you're kicked. Get caught cheating and you're kicked. Standard stuff.

Oh yeah, and when your CS is posted in the CS Tab - Put it in a hider. The hider's title is your character's full name. Keeps things tidy.

So brace yourself, fuckle up buttercup, hold your loved ones close, for here we delve into the sublime horror of...

...The Character Sheet!

Character Sheet

Change the hex color code in the CS to the color of your choice. This is going to be the same as your text speech color. Make sure it is one that is not currently being used by an active member of the RP, dark gray, gold, or white. Must use this CS - if you do not need a section because it does not apply to your character, just place N/A and move on.

Also, remove the "." from every instance of [hr.] before submitting.

While the Character Image is optional, if you use one please keep the height at 250 px MAX.

[hr.][hr.][center][h1][b][i][color=000000]Character Name[/color][/i][/b][/h1][/center]
[center][img]Character Image Optional[/img][/center]
[center][b][color=000000][h3]Race, Class (Subclass Optional), Level 00[/h3][/color][/b][/center][center]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━[/center]
[center][color=000000][b]STR:[/b][/color] 00 (+0) [color=000000][b]DEX:[/b][/color] 00 (+0) [color=000000][b]CON:[/b][/color] 00 (+0) [color=000000][b]INT:[/b][/color] 00 (+0) [color=000000][b]WIS:[/b][/color] 00 (+0) [color=000000][b]CHA:[/b][/color] 00 (+0)[/center]
[center][color=000000][b]HP MAX:[/b][/color] 00 [color=000000][b]Armor Class:[/b][/color] 00 [color=000000][b]Movement:[/b][/color] 00 ft [color=000000][b]Spell/Save DC:[/b][/color] N/A [/center]
[center][color=000000][b]Alignment:[/b][/color] XX [color=000000][b]Defenses:[/b][/color] N/A [/center][hr.][hr.]
[center][url=INSERT CS LINK HERE][b]Full Character Sheet[/b][/url][/center]

[hider=Description]
Just give a basic description here. What does one see when this character walks into the room? Preferred style of clothing, gear or items that are always on their person, obvious weapons or armor, talismans or foci, etc. Apparent age (vs. real age, perhaps)? Does this character always have a foreboding sneer, or a cheerful and open expression? Walk with a limp? Add it here! This is the overall visual introduction that your character will make.
[/hider]

[hider=Personality]
Broader than alignment, what makes your character tick? What face do they put off in public, and is it different than what they actually feel? Flesh out those personality traits in this section. Hopes, fears, dreams? Two good paragraphs should be plenty, more if you feel the need.
[/hider]

[hider=Backstory]
"What have I experienced?" in a nutshell. Not exhaustive; three paragraphs may suffice. More if you have a story to tell.
[/hider]

[hider=Bestiary]
Do you have a pet? Familiar? Working animal? Regular summoned creature? Eldritch horror living within your very blood which rips from your skin to demand tribute? Um... favorite horse?
[/hider]

[hider=Extras]
Likes, dislikes, hobbies.

The weird stuff. The quotes. Your faceclaim.

The interesting tidbits that don't really go anywhere else.

Nothing in here is really [i]required[/i], persay, but it helps flesh out and make your character more of a living, breathing creation. Also, it can help with writing ideas during those lulls.
[/hider]

And lastly, what role do you serve in an adventuring party?

Approved Characters:

• Victoria Belmont (Half-Elf Bard)
• Marita Bärbel (Human Cleric)
• Kosara (Tiefling Warlock)
• Kathryn Pyke (Human Fighter)
• Baronfjørd Chedgusah (Dragonborn Monk)

[rush99999]

Standard PHB races. Let’s keep this part simple.

@Sigil

Is this non-negotiable? I've always been more partial to the Volo's Guide races.

[Sigil]

@rush99999
No offense intended to the lofty and experienced Volothamp Geddarm, but races are standard. This is a low level adventure in a seemingly idyllic countryside. Simplicity with race selection prevents a lot of complications as we go along.

[rush99999]

@Sigil
What complications are you referring to?

[Sigil]

@rush99999
Some race/class combinations, and in this setting, social factors which may come into play. Doing so also implies the addition of lore which might not have a balancing factor elsewhere. I am not looking to make the setting complicated. At first.

[rush99999]

I am not looking to make the setting complicated. At first.

@Sigil

Fair enough. Feel free to @ me once the 'at first' segment of your game is done.

[rivaan]

Ohh goodie, I'm game, @Sigil!

[Auz]

I'm interested, making up a character

[Martian]

It's been quite a while since I last played D&D. So I'm totally down for this. Right now I have ideas for a cleric or rogue (both classes I've never played before) but that could completely change by the time I finish my character sheet.

[Sigil]

Initial IC post is up.

That being said, as no one is approved yet, NO POSTING. It's there to give a better idea of what to expect and a little about the setting. Maybe even help in choosing a character type. In any case, enjoy.

[Lucky]

I know I'd still have to be accepted, but I want to let everyone know I have in the works a pretty dedicated healer with ranged spell damage.

[Sigil]

It looks like the party won't suffer for healers, that's for sure. After the initial group has been accepted, I might have to allow some character tweaks or spell selection adjustments for the sake of balance. Or just let the lopsided chaos ensue. Coin toss at this point.

[Lucky]

It looks like the party won't suffer for healers, that's for sure. After the initial group has been accepted, I might have to allow some character tweaks or spell selection adjustments for the sake of balance. Or just let the lopsided chaos ensue. Coin toss at this point.

@Sigil

I'm quite a fan of chaos, permitting everyone has fun. I spied those heals on your bard, but I was struck by a bolt of inspiration and had to go with what I did. I should have a completed CS by the end of the day.

I know, no rush and all that. But I'm excited!

[Sigil]

I'm quite a fan of chaos, permitting everyone has fun. I spied those heals on your bard, but I was struck by a bolt of inspiration and had to go with what I did. I should have a completed CS by the end of the day.

I know, no rush and all that. But I'm excited!

@Lucky

Yeah, the character is a reskinned (read: creepy) Lore Bard that was designed to run as an NPC to fill in some roles in another campaign. The spells were intended to change depending on the needs of the party, as they probably will have to here. Especially if the group has a ton of healers. I do love the flexibility of the College of Lore.

And sure, no amazing rush. Just color within the lines on character creation and we'll get to this when we get to it.

[Guccicorn]

I will be working on a concept as deeply offensive as it is unique ... an Elven Wizard >thunder and lightning<

[Sigil]

@Guccicorn

Sounds positively blasphemous. Looking forward to the horror.

[rivaan]

@Sigil There we go... it only took..*looks at time* 5 hours. Now time to eat...

My Hider

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Kosara

Tiefling, Warlock (Celestial), Level 3

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STR: 9(-1) DEX: 15(+2) CON: 12(+1) INT: 12(+1) WIS: 10(+0) CHA: 20(+5)

HP MAX: 21 Armor Class: 12 Movement: 30 ft Spell DC: 14

Alignment: CG Defenses: (Reistence)Fire

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Full Character Sheet

Description

Kosara's a rather curious tiefling to witness. Different from many of her kind's usual appearances, she doesn't have the usual skin colors their race is known for. Instead she's got a bronze tanned milky colored skin, white eyes and 4 white curved horns that have blue hues towards the tips. She wears her long white hair on a long big braid that she carefully maintains. Her expression is one of confidence and curiosity as she travels the world to see it's mysteries and write them all in her traveling journals that she plans to one day go back home and publish.

She prefers to wear easy to move in clothing that some( especially uncultured prudes!) would consider revealing, however they are typically worn by many of the dancers from her homeland in the deserts where she grew up. Usually that means very revealing tops and bottoms, acompanied by varying additional overclothes made of often see through veil cloths. More often than notin her case they are in different shades of blue. In addition she's wears a number of exotic jewelry and decorations on herself.

With her on her travels, she brings a well worn traveling bag that houses all her possessions and her traveling journal. To the bottom of the bag is attached with tight straps a bedroll. With her she brings a scimitar, dagger and a light crossbow. Her main weapon of choice is the scimitar. As it pairs well with dancing.

Personality

Kosara is an orphan. She has no memory of her parents nor anybody in her life really. Her earliest memory is already aimlessly wandering the desert as a small child, delirious from starvation and thirst. She has seen the worst and after she was saved and lived on, she has also seen marvels and miracles. Both of mortal and divine make. Despite the horrors of her earliest part of her life, she was raised by a kind being that showed her the good in people, though it also showed her the bad and how to deal with that. Is Kosara a good person? Yes, she revels in helping others, meeting them, learning of their life, their history and making friends. Is she harmless? No, Kosara's well adept at defending herself and understands that both good and evil exist in the world and that sometimes you just have to pull out a blade and fight for survival. The harsh deserts have well engraved that lesson down to her very core, so has her Grandpa's teachings in how to smite evil.

Having been raised from early age by a Ki-Rin of all things, Kosara saw a lot of the desert that the Ki-rin lived in and looked after. He taught her morals, history, to read and to write. He was the kindest being she had ever met to that point and honestly since. He taught her kindness and as the Major parental figure in her life she grew up, striving to be just like him. Admittedly living with a Huge Horned Golden Grandpa Horse, is an experience that few can relate to. Needless to say, the Ki-rin also had her often live within one of the towns under his protection while he dealt with his usual Celstial tasks of smiting evil and the like. The place she lived at when not with her Grandpa Horny Golden Horse, was an inn at an Oasis town where every night there were exotic dancers entertaining weary travelers. Watching them so often and living among the dancers, she naturally picked up on the craft and got to really enjoy it. It is also what sparked her wanderlust as most nights, she'd meet travelers from far and distant lands, retelling stories and marvels they've seen along the way.

Backstory

Kosara origin is a bit of a mystery that is likely to never be discovered even by herself. Her earliest memory is that of endless sands as she was wandering starved and dehydrated in the desert. She was barely a 4 years old at the time give or take a few months or maybe a year as she doesn't exactly know her birthday or birth year. In her weakest and most vulnerable moment, she was saved by death and oblivion in the soft embrace of the sands by what she thought at the time to be a mirage. It was a huge golden scaled horned horse, what else was a child of that age supposed to think? Turned out it was a Ki-rin that lived in those deserts and he had decided to save her and helped raise the unusually colored tiefling child.

Since that fateful day, her life turn a turn for the better. The Ki-rin looked after her and cared for her like a grandfather of sorts. He was old and mentorly, but also kind and caring. The first time he broke through her shell of wariness, she called him' Grandpa Horny Golden Horse' since she didn't know his name and it kinda stuck. He never did tell her if he had another name and to this day, years later when she is already an adult, Kosara still calls him that affectionnally. When she grew up a little, the Ki-rin started to leave her in a Oasis town he protected when he was doing his duties. She grew up there in the care of a innkeeper that the Ki-rin had saved years ago. The place was a stopping point for travelers across the deserts. There were exotic dancers and other entertainers every day and every night. She grew up watching the nimble and dextrous dancers with their graceful movements that captivated the eye and mind and often times would politely ask the weary travelers to regail their stories and many did so for a curious child. Thus her life growing up was spent between living with the Ki-rin who taught and cared for her and living in the inn in the care of the inkeeper and his employees. Eventually she started to also help around the place when she was old enough and gradually moved on to oftentimes performing with the other dances. She actually lost her tail early on when she tried to do a sword dance as an untrained child. She was grounded for a long while and the Golden Grandpa Horse was very disappointed with her. She eventually had the entire rest of it removed so half a tail doesn't be in the way.

As she grew up and matured, the sensations of wanderlust only grew in her heart until she couldn't wait anymore. She had learned all she could for the time being from her Grandpa and as much as she loved dancing with the other girls in the inn, she wanted to go out there and see hte world! Grandpa had brought her to the ocean that bordered the desert, but she wanted to see beyond that too! The fabled snow covered Northern lands, the jungles beyond the oceans and even the seemingly endless fields of wheat that were apparently like sea of gold even more beautiful than the desert sands. One day after meeting with the Ki-rin, she told him she wanted to venture out on her own and see the world. He gave her his blessings and a promise to always be with her, if not by body then at least by mind and will. He wasn't really lying, seeing she had become a warlock tied to him. After a few days of talking and living like how she did as a child, she gathered her traveling bag, said goodbye to her Grandfather, did the same with her friends and sisters by all, but blood in the Inn and ventured out with the first merchant caravan heading towards the great ocean port cities.

Bestiary

Grandpa Horny Golden Horse - a Ki-Rin that is also Kosara's patron. Kosara named him when she was a small child and came under his care in the desert and the name stuck. She grew up under his care and cares for him as true family would. He's a grandfatherly figure more than anything and he doesn't really hangs around much. He's after all busy with other grand Celestial or Patronly tasks.

Extras

Faceclaim( if one is that needed beside the picture): Gemma Arterton

Fun Fact - Grandpa Horny Golden Horse often times reaches to Kosara in messages through the use of winds and sands if he feels dramatic, forming the words from a pile of sand that's being blown away by the wind until only the message remains or by plain old messaging spells if he's just missing her. On occasion it's to give her a task or another to complete.

Fun Fact - Kosara's has trained as exotic dancer and it's part of the reason why she still wears the costumes and styles of it. She's proud of it, plus it makes stupid people do funny things around her. Despite losing her tail in stupid childishly stubborn attempt to imitate blade dancers, she still does it, having overcome the initial trauma of it.

Likes:

• Dancing
• Music
• Blades
• Rainy days(she gets REALLY happy)
• GOLD
• Jewelry and shiny trinkets
• Traveling
• To explore strange new lands. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!

Hobbies:

• Culture
• History
• Dancing
• Writing

Her main role in an adventuring party is being jolly, maintain morale, document all curios and people they come across and fire an inordinate amount of magical Eldrich(Celestial) blasts at enemies! Also backup melee support should the need arise and some magical healing. Making her have mainly roles in combat as damage dealer/healer hybrid with a bit of a social role on the side.

[Moon Man]

Hi just a question, how many paragraphs are required in each post?

[Lucky]

Mona Holcombe

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Mona Holcombe Human, Warlock (The Celestial), Level 03 HP: 24/24 Armor Class: 11 Conditions: N/A Location: Darenby Action: N/A Bonus Action: N/A Reaction: N/A

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The Sheet

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Mona Holcombe

Human, Warlock (The Celestial), Level 03

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STR: 10 (+0) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: 14 (+2) INT: 14 (+2) WIS: 14 (+2) CHA: 18 (+4)

HP MAX: 24 Armor Class: 13 Movement: 30ft Spell DC: 16

Alignment: NG Defenses: N/A

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Full Character Sheet

Description

“Gaze upon her countenance, and rejoice; for so her visage is divine and her temperament fair, so too can thine character become within and without.”
Book of Evensongs

From the outsiders’ perspective to the devout followers of All Things Good, Mona has cultivated a pious yet approachable look. She appears to be in her late twenties, a woman with a fairly average shape and form (if not slightly more athletic due to her constant travels and occasional hostile encounters) for a human. Golden brown heavily freckled skin and almond eyes contrast her almost unnaturally cream-colored hair, its curly lengths reaching past her shoulders.

To fellow religious folk, she welcomes their approach with a blessed smile and radiant eyes.

Her preferred colors are soft whites and creams complemented by shades of browns, evident by her flowing long dresses and corsages. The bodice is layered with inverted tones, though no matter her choice of wardrobe she always bears an amulet that adorns the center of her chest; a rather inexpensive piece of jewelry in the silhouette of a horse head profile with the telltale horn. The perimeter is silvered metal, and within is obsidian glass that shines whenever the caster evokes the patron's power.

Besides the amulet, she’ll rarely equip anything else unless on an adventure. A simple quarterstaff is kept to her quarters until she is required to hike; a plain dagger that she usually hides within the sheath of a leather belt; and a component pouch, attached to said belt filled with various reagents.

Personality

“Beware, as dawn proclaims forth the revelations of day, so thus dusk forewarn the veil of night.”
Book of Testimonies

Once a nameless face within the masses, young Mona sought to stand out from her delegation by way of unpopular research. Various gods of good are popular among the humans and halflings, so the very nature of pursuing godly power turned her own community’s noses up at her as a dangerous fool. Regardless, her searching granted a sense of fulfillment all on its own. The thirst for power and knowing, a sense of individuality.

Thanks to her patron’s just judgement, her intentions and deeds seem contrarian in nature. Indeed, altruism and other acts of selflessness are ultimately lost on her soul as she reveals in privacy. There are no prayers to an understanding god, but rather admonishment from master to prisoner. A life sentence to become an unwilling champion for the forces of good. Can she keep this up indefinitely?

Besides Mona’s eternal internal conflict, she makes appearances almost seamlessly. A few years of persistent memorization along with her youth spent in faithful provinces prove effective as a counterfeit cleric. By following the guidelines set forth by her patron, the mask of a devout follower to All Things Good easily outweighs the deception as long as none involved are harmed. And so she ventures forth, reluctantly with one foot in oblivion.

When the faux enlightened warlock is granted personal time to enjoy herself, she will take up disguise and visit various vices -- as long as evil is not beset upon others by her doing so. She finds it difficult to keep grievances to herself, but her guard may be down around various accomplices and companions. The one thing she can take great joy in during her holy demonstrations is her freedom of interpretation. Good is the goal, by means of law or chaos is left to the covert priestess.

Backstory

“Angels have fallen, and demons ascended. Look not to the heavens for justice, but to the hells.”
Book of Testimonies

Throughout Mona’s childhood, she was subject to the extensive teachings of her parish as every empty-headed child was. The droning of every morning lesson, the punishment for every sin committed, the collective aversion to her presence; with no objective reason for her being treated as a pariah, at least none explained to her. It came as no surprise to any townperson or clergyman that she attempted to stray from the proverbial flock by way of secular books imported from some foreign country or following whispers that teased a more understanding community.

‘A cult’ they would hiss. Her parents. The vicar. The congregation. Of course they wouldn’t understand. While she attended the lessons to eternal holiness, she also lurked about the lesser known organization’s meetings. Their teachings made sense. They appealed to her nature, promising fame, fortune, wealth, and power. The gods were little more than well of power to drink from. All one needed was desperation and confidence in committing a grave act and ritual.

Fortunately for the Covenant of the Faithless (or unfortunately according to the annals), an inclusive society of those who shelter the shunned and feed the godless, long-term member Mona, now twenty-three, has taken a right-hand position of the Faithless pastor. Her life dedication to advancing the Faithless for her own gain was apparent to the inner circles, though her schemes soon ran antagonistic to their objective. Where they tried to garner support from the downtrodden masses, she would recruit men and women to carry out secret missions.

Only a year passed in this position before the day came. Mona managed to grow the Faithless in her vision, and grabbed the attention from the Church of Light. News of a dark society gathering cult members drew zealous crowds, and soon a troop of paladins and clerics were sent to squash the blasphemers. The church expected hostileTheir arrival heralded the end of the Faithless, thoroughly jailing or banishing the most resistant members. What the miniature crusade did not expect, however, was a holy leader among the Faithless.

For that very morning, Mona concocted a ritual. Incense. Eldritch symbols. Jars of unidentifiable liquids and solids. A dark, silent room. With her senses depraved, she established an unlikely spiritual connection to a being from the Upper Planes. She could feel the torrential power reverberating along the strings of fate as she sought a divine source. Oblivion obfuscates her physical senses, though she does not require them.

This astral search bore a single entity that she could not identify. But its power lie just within her metaphysical reach. With a single tap into its existence, divine energy flowed through her. A sensation she had never experienced before, cut off immediately as she drew the gaze of the entity before her. A horned being, speaking to her directly, its voice ephemeral and choir-like.

“A siphon? From a mortal. You deserve retribution. And so it shall be done.” The fear of divine judgement stunned her spirit, but the entity continues. “Your punishment lies in spreading the will of all things good. Acts of selfishness are no more, lest you wander oblivion. I will grant you the way.”

Relief? “An understatement.” Now her fate is clear, despite the contrasting ideals and life goals to her own.

Those in need of healing of their ailments called upon a certain traveling cleric, who also happens to be able and willing to defeat evil enemies. While the truth behind the source of her power is deceptive, the Unicorn accepts that as per her pact. To all who divine her alignment, she appears as Neutral Good, though she will hardly mind confessing she would prefer to do what she wants rather than the will of a greater being (Chaotic Neutral).

However she feels, a delegate of a particular church within one of Avonshire’s villages decided she was the perfect candidate to assist the Sheriff.

Bestiary

“Call the hordes your flock, name the devils your clergy. The masses consider your lies whilst the divines ink your final weights.”
Book of Evensongs

Morphine
A Sprite acting in service of Mona, an everpresent reminder of the Unicorn’s message. It quite literally sits on her shoulder, pushing her toward opportunities of redemption and cautioning her of evil roads. It calls its arrows “Injections”, much to her confusion.

Extras

☑ Vastly prefers the company of opportunists over “holy book thumpers.”
☑ Has tried various native delicacies around Avonshire, and absolutely loves what one called a “beef wellington.”
☑ Not a glutton for any particular vice, though she will partake in any and all of them… time and company permitting.

☒ Organized religion, especially those that prey on the weak-willed.
☒ Her patron.
☒ Flying things. She doesn’t fear anything that flies, but she has a strong distaste for anything with wings. Yes, that includes Sprites.

🕀 Covenant of the Faithless. While the inner circle was severely diminished, many of the lower caste members continued their practice in private small groups. They are of no great influence, but they can offer shelter and resources, should she need them.

“There are two ways to shine light in the darkness: to become the lantern, or the mirror that reflects it.”
Book of Evensongs

A dedicated healer and supplemental magical ranged damage. Can assist in religious activity, especially those requiring some pious gravitas.

[Sigil]

@rivaan
Cool deal, Celestial Warlock lady. Couple of things: 1) Image - 250 px height at max. And while I know it's just for a representation of the character, I couldn't help but notice the rifle. Artwork is spiffy, though. For a quick and dirty pic, I might suggest Heroforge.

2) This setting is in a temperate climate, away from the ocean, in the middle of Autumn. As she has no special protection from the elements in a magical sense, wearing the clothing you described will present difficulties. Summing up, it's cold. On a social metric, this is a place of grain harvesting and stodgy, conservative folk. But that's a roleplaying issue.

Numbers crunch okay. Fix the image size and let me know.

@Moon Man
Two well-developed paragraphs at minimum. Given that there will be some witty banter back and forth between characters, you might be compelled to do more. And most people put a good amount of work into their initial post, but... two well-developed paragraph minimum.

@Lucky
Looks good. Numbers crunch okay. Everything is in order. Check your PMs for stuff, then move your CS over to the CS Tab. Welcome to Avonshire.