[OOC] Fall of Faerieland

[Birdboy]

Let me precident this by stating the obvious: I know that everything I am about to write is dorky. You're right to gawk but don't be a jerk and bash other people's fun!

It was staggering to see the speed faerieland was rebuilt. Only a decade ago the floating landscape crashed into the ground, leaving the people scattered and the country destroyed. Now the fallen city has been rebuilt on its foundations. Nowhere else in all of Neopia matches the luxurious city and its thriving economy. After rumors spread that King Altador had destroyed the darkest faerie once and for all, Queen Fyora felt content putting all her resources into rebuilding the country itself, rather than its army. It seemed as though nothing could stop the faeries from bringing their city back to the clouds. Great wizards from all across the world had gathered here to help in the magical affairs. There was no doubting that things looked good for the faeries.

But looks can be deceiving.

Meanwhile, in Brightvale, Lord Hagan and his court all diligently work in a lab. A faerie with dulled skin, sunken eyes, and withered wings watch on as they test various samples of her blood and skin. The test isn't conclusive, only reaffirming what they know: her elemental magic had been completely drained from her. She was a grey faerie, the first one in nearly a century. Her story was troubling still: a group of brutish Lupes had taken her to the haunted woods, where experiments were done on her by a mad chai. They drained her powers from her with a bizarre machine. Who this strange group remained a mystery, but Hagan smelled trouble afoot.

Lord Hagan was a wise man, and he knew not to waste his element of surprise. No one knew he had the faerie in his castle, and he sent out his spies and diviners to gather information. Rumors of a number of kidnappings revealed a secret society, and worse yet, Hagan was able to identify a few members of Lord Darigan's court. Hagan couldn't risk a full-on war, but using his hefty wealth as an incentive has begun recruiting 'neutral' adventurers to deal with the problem without involving his kingdom. The group of adventurers gathers at Hagan's castle now, preparing for a foreshadowed 'test' to see who is worthy.

• Gain a feat at level 1!
• Use Standard Array please!
• Players will be starting at level 3
• Bring all homebrew classes to the group to decide upon, leave backgrounds open for your Neopet's 'paint'
• This is a current list for Neopet races but please feel free to talk to me about editing it: docs.google.com/document/d/1-CYA6QaeO…

Can't wait to get this started!

[Birdboy]

Do we want level 1 feats?

[Olive Fontaine]

I certainly do! I’ll be working on getting my character sheet together in the next few days.

[XxFellsingxX]

Sure. Also, wanted to ask you about this before I started working on my character: I'm thinking of playing a Beast Master Ranger, meaning I'll get an animal companion, which I assume is a petpet in this setting. Do you have any ideas for petpet stats at the moment? Sorry if I'm making more work for you ^^;

[Moon Man]

Sweet, looking forward to this. I'm planning on playing as a Bori Monk

[Birdboy]

@XxFellsingxX Hadn't thought of that, hmmmm. What sort of petpet would you want? I'll happily make some stats with you. So far all I have for petpets is a spyder.

[XxFellsingxX]

@XxFellsingxX Hadn't thought of that, hmmmm. What sort of petpet would you want? I'll happily make some stats with you. So far all I have for petpets is a spyder.

@Birdboy

Been looking through various petpets. A ganuthor or a gallion, maybe?

[Birdboy]

@XxFellsingxX Medieval petpets I see! Are you planning to be from Meridell? I'll get to work on some stat blocks for these, but feel free to spitball ideas.

For the Gallion: As it says it's a 'little' guy I am going with the small size. It mentions having a nasty bite so maybe adding acid/poison damage to it's chompers? Since it has horns I am also giving it a Ram attack! For skills, I am thinking of giving it Acrobatics and performance, since it likes being the center of attention.

Stat wise I'd give it the higher ac, since it has scales and therefore deserves some natural armor. With Wings, it deserves a flight speed but I think making them more of a secondary means of movement seems fair, maybe limiting its flight speed to 15-20 feet rather than a full 30. Finally, I'd slap some dark vision on it and call it a day! What do you think? Stat-wise, I am not too sure though.

For the Ganuthor: This creature seems much larger than the Gallion, so probably medium, maybe even large. Based on its description I would give it the stealth skill to be an expert in (Basically giving it expertise). Beyond that, it's really down to its appearance for us to work with. Obviously it gets a fly speed, a claw attack, and a bit attack. I could see this petpet getting the flyby attribute too! Not sure what else would go into this beat though: it would likely end up being a flying, watered down Tiger/Lion.

Thoughts? Also, don't be afraid to play a revised ranger or use any of the Tasha's optional class abilities! As a ranger player myself I know how it can often feel very underwhelming as a 5e ranger.

[XxFellsingxX]

@Birdboy Yeah! Well, Brightvale at least. And I'm really leaning towards the Gallion now, as it sounds like it might be quite useful. I did read that Beast Master rangers are... controversial, and their usefulness does depend a lot on the companion they pick. And yeah, if it's okay with you, I will definitely look into some stuff for rangers, particularly the revised ranger.

[Birdboy]

@XxFellsingxX Of course, I love revised ranger! I'll finish a stat block for the Gallion right away!

[Birdboy]

Here is a basic Mock-up I made in my spare time. Everyone let me know what you think! I am open to edits. As is, I would say this is a pretty tough 1/2 Cr, I might end up taking a hit die from it.

Gallion

Gallion
Medium beast, unaligned
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 18 (4d8)
Speed 35 ft., fly 30 ft.
STR
12 (+1)


DEX
16 (+3)


CON
10 (+0)


INT
3 (-4)


WIS
10 (+0)


CHA
8 (-1)

Skills Athletics +3, Stealth +7
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Keen Smell. The Gallion has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Pounce. If the Gallion moves at least 20 ft. straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the Gallion can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.
Actions
Bite. Bite: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Claws. Claw Attack: [+5] to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage.

[Olive Fontaine]

I just posted a character sheet using a standard format. It's pretty simple, but it expresses the idea well enough. Let me know what you think of it! The HP is based on average per level. I'll roll for it if you prefer that.

[Birdboy]

@Olive Fontaine No that's perfect! I completely forgot to put a standard array or pointbuy as options. I do have a question though: Where can I find the sorcerer subclass you chose?

[Olive Fontaine]

It’s from unearthed arcana 28 - the sorcerer. You can view the source here: media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/…

EDIT: I can rework Pallas to be more of a healer rather than a tank if that work better for the other applicants.

[XxFellsingxX]

Thank you @Birdboy, that build looks great, though admittedly I'm still fairly new to DnD ^^;

Also @Olive Fontaine, is Pallas' name a reference to the greek goddess Athena? If so, that's pretty neat.

[Olive Fontaine]

Yep, that’s right! I’m a big religion/mythology nerd.

[Birdboy]

@Olive Fontaine Checked it out and seems fine! Love the character, approved!

[Birdboy]

Pallas is awesome, love her story and she seems like a perfect candidate for this quest! The Sorcerer subclass is fine, however, I am not sure how I feel about the undying light warlock.

Radiant Damage immunity, two free cantrips is fairly scary to me as a dm. You mentioned not wanted to go pat 1st level in the class, but the 6th level ability is also very scary! If other players disagree, I will let it pass but as of right now please consider reallocating the level to another class or to a different patron, for a weary dm.

Please tell me if you guys are using homebrew subclasses too, I would like to look over them before we use them!

[Olive Fontaine]

It’s only radiant resistance, right? Being a light fairy already grants that. You can take away the bonus cantrips if you like; I can grab sacred flame as a cantrip with my sorcerer subclass all the same, and the light cantrip was already granted as a bonus with my racial choice.

I was really only interested in the bonus damage for radiant and fire spells. It will allow her to make some otherwise uninteresting spells her bread and butter. (Notice she doesn’t even have eldritch blast - I would rather use sacred flame and fire bolt).

[Birdboy]

@Olive FontaineOh, I hadn't noticed that. The radiant damage was really the only thing I was super skeptical of. I can live with that! You're accepted, ignore my prior hesitation.