The Player Character Worktable

Okay, so Gustov now has one Bardos Steedhound.  Due to refined breeding (and a good roll with the eight-siders), Gustov's dog is exceptionally hale, with 17 Hit Points.  His heavy warhorse is hardier yet, with 32 Hit Points.  Feel free to name the steedhound and the warhorse as you wish (as long as it's nothing too crazy) and choose their sexes (in case the question of animal husbandry and breeding--another possible use for the Handle Animal skill--comes up later down the road).

As another option, Gustov may also wish to make the actual command words or phrases something besides "Attack" and "Find," perhaps words or phrases which are less likely to come up in unrelated conversation and confuse the animal.  Examples would be the classic "Mush" for "Go faster" or "Geronimo" for "Attack".  The commands need not be words, either; whistling a certain pitch or a specific sequence of notes may also be used in lieu of language (ie. the Lone Ranger whistling a rising and falling ditty to summon his horse).

Speaking of horses, Gustov may have also taught his warhorse up to two commands (of your choosing) as well.  Choose them shrewdly.

In time, Gustov may train his animals to follow even more commands.  Raising his Handle Animal skill will make this a much simpler task, of course.

And here are five possible pogs for Gustov: two of the Space Marine (which isn't really too outlandish and may actually be quite fitting if Gustov does become a Blackguard eventually) and three of the Inquisitor (which I also like).  Pick the one which you prefer most, and that will be the pog which represents him in-game.  Or, if none of the pogs works for you, let me know and we'll come up with something else.

#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:
#5:

Which one would you prefer, if any?

WHAT NO SPACE GUN!!! What kind of a world do we live in where an old friend can't even convince his buddy to let him have a space gun.    

Anyway I will go with number 3.  It seems the most intimidating without a mask.  For the dog I will call him Heftig.   I will use whistles as commands and the theme from the X-files seems like a good one for the dog to begin tracking prey.  Just because I want Gustov to have a sense of humor, whistling "Don't Worry Be Happy" will be the attack song.  Yes as the dog is ripping you apart you hear that song in the background.  

I will call the horse Kämpfer.  The commands will be words.  I think heel for Kampfer to come to Gustov should be a safe command.  While in battle I will use the command zerstören as the command for the horse to rear up and stomp the enemy bellow.  

I have read The Song of Blood and Steel and I realized there is background information that Gustov knows, but I don't.  Which side is Gustov fighting on and who are his allies?  What is the civil war about, who started it, and it what kingdom ,if any, is Broadsylvania a part of?  I am sure that this information has been available to everyone, but as I just stated where do I find such stuff.  I want to be as up to snuff as possible on campaign, and I don't want to look too much like an idiot for asking questions.  Answers to these questions will help me in formulating my battle plan.

Spirit of the Tiger wrote:

WHAT NO SPACE GUN!!! What kind of a world do we live in where an old friend can't even convince his buddy to let him have a space gun.   

A sane one.  

Spirit of the Tiger wrote:

Anyway I will go with number 3.  It seems the most intimidating without a mask.

Number 3 it is!  Thank you, drive through.  

Spirit of the Tiger wrote:

For the dog I will call him Heftig.   I will use whistles as commands and the theme from the X-files seems like a good one for the dog to begin tracking prey.  Just because I want Gustov to have a sense of humor, whistling "Don't Worry Be Happy" will be the attack song.  Yes as the dog is ripping you apart you hear that song in the background.

Oh, for goodness sake...yours is a strange little mind.  Did anyone ever tell you that?   

*jot jot jot...*

Spirit of the Tiger wrote:

I will call the horse Kämpfer.  The commands will be words.  I think heel for Kampfer to come to Gustov should be a safe command.  While in battle I will use the command zerstören as the command for the horse to rear up and stomp the enemy bellow.

All right.  So "Heel" for Kämpfer to come, and "Zerstören" for Kämpfer to strike with his hooves, even without an enemy's provocation.  That latter command could be useful for getting in the first shot, as horses tend to wait until they're attacked before striking back.  It seems that Gustov has groomed a more aggressive warhorse.  What more will he accomplish in the future?

Both animals are male, correct?

Spirit of the Tiger wrote:

I have read The Song of Blood and Steel and I realized there is background information that Gustov knows, but I don't.  Which side is Gustov fighting on and who are his allies?  What is the civil war about, who started it, and it what kingdom ,if any, is Broadsylvania a part of?  I am sure that this information has been available to everyone, but as I just stated where do I find such stuff.  I want to be as up to snuff as possible on campaign, and I don't want to look too much like an idiot for asking questions.  Answers to these questions will help me in formulating my battle plan.

You have questions, I have answers.  


The blue forces are the forces of the Eternal Empire; the red forces are the forces of the Red Alliance (though at this point in time, Karkova--the greatest of the Red Alliance nations--is the last Alliance nation standing, so the red lines, arrows and names also represent the Karkovan resistance as the Imperial forces continue to push deeper into their homeland, now nearing to threaten the capitol itself).  There have been numerous battles in the campaign against Karkova to this point, and Karkova has thus far put up a fierce and dogged fight; the blue stars on the map represent victories for the Empire, while the red stars indicate victories for the Alliance.

Some battles have ended in an enemy force's retreat (ie. Wiesedorf's retreat from Karkovan skirmishers in the forest southwest from Geir Buri, a resource-draining battle which forced Wiesedorf's forces to reunite with Reiherstadt's forces at the subsequent Battle of Eulogos.  Though the sacking of Eulogos has replenished Wiesedorf's forces, Wiesedorf has chosen to remain with Reiherstadt for the final push to Karkovagrad).  Other battles have ended in the complete rout--or even the obliteration--of an enemy force (ie. Savassci's second battle against Kaganovich at the Zelezo Mare Delta.  As the Empire's vanguard drove into the Karkovan heartlands, rebel forces led by Captain Emilio Savassci rose up and attempted to liberate a defeated Shadhir'zor from Karkovan occupation, then took to the waters and attempted to unite with the Imperial forces at Zelezo Ford; Kaganovich, alerted to Savassci's approach by Karkovan scouts, harried Savassci's river fighters with batteries of archers on the shores; Savassci attempted to retreat to the safety of the Black Stratum Sea, but Kaganovich pursued him in a bid to prevent the Shadhiran force from regrouping.  The pursuit worked, and the Shadhiran river force suffered total losses at the delta, including Savassci himself).  Darrovan and Gustov Ainsley themselves have encountered two battles with Karkovan forces on the way to Zelezo Ford, but Karkovans are chiefly people of the plains, hills and rivers.  So predictably enough, the Bardosylvanians proved to be the superior forest fighters, and the Ainsleys continued onward with trivial losses.  These losses have already been factored in, so you may choose Gustov's forces freely and without reservation.


Here is a more local view of Zelezo Ford, where forces of the Empire stand ready for a decisive battle against the Alliance.  Two bridges cross the Zelezo Kanvica here: a great stone bridge towards the center of this arena, and a simpler wooden bridge towards the west.  There are shallows, rapids and small river islands further downstream; while this means shallow water which forces on foot or on horseback can ford, the river's volume ensures that the current here is very swift, and units which lose their footing and fall may be swept downriver.  Heavily armored units have a chance of drowning if this happens, of course, while lightly armored units will merely be inconvenienced at having to swim or wade back to shore and trying again.

The river here winds through a gorge with a grassy flood plain and steep bluffs to either side, cut away by centuries of erosion.  The theatre depicted here is roughly three miles square.  Gustov and Darrovan will have opportunity to arrange their forces on the northern side of Zelezo Ford before the battle begins.

Spoiler:

The Red Alliance forces are--or were--chiefly comprised of the people of Karkova and Hrothjurgan Major.  The Red Alliance has also consisted of Ghalbatastan, United Escaldenia and isolated rebel cells throughout the Imperial nations, though the contributions from these forces have been minor; Ghalbatastan formed from the ashes of a civil war which shattered the sovereign desert kingdom of Lebeq in centuries past, the Imperial Civil War has rekindled those old embers of bitterness into all-out warfare, and so Ghalbatastan has been too busy fighting off Lebeq and Lebeq Prime on two fronts to mobilize against other nations of the Eternal Empire.  The islander nations of United Escaldenia launched a small number of naval attacks against the Amethyst Coast before turning their martial attentions to Fioriallia.  Fioriallia, being the heart of the Empire and the seat of the colossal Palace of the Faceless and Eternal Emperor himself, quickly retaliated with a massive naval counterattack, leaving the bulk of the Escaldenian navy at the bottom of the Cleoptean Gulf, and though United Escaldenia has not officially surrendered, they have thus been stripped of an effective fighting force and so have kept to themselves ever since that profound humbling.  And the rebel insurgents, consisting of random citizens who have tired of the Eternal Emperor's reign for whatever reason, are too isolated, underequipped and undertrained to pose any threat.  Bardosylvania has had her own rebel insurgents, but making a few examples out of such insurgents by having them drawn and quartered in the town squares has, thus far, coaxed the commonfolk into stifling whatever seditious thoughts they may be harboring.

The majority of the continent comprises the Eternal Empire, helmed by the sovereign nation of Fioriallia and including Lebeq Prime, Kunyakarova (a formerly neutral nation which joined the Empire after Karkova launched a campaign against them in a bid to strip Kunyakarova of resources and thus fuel Karkova's war effort), Hrothjurgan Minor (which broke off from Hrothjurgan--which became Hrothjurgan Major--as the Imperial Civil War loomed), Konegheim, Bardosylvania, Nellowswann, Caed Fainne, Brustagg, the elven nation of Fallowvale, Omikoros and the Amethyst Coast.  Shadhir'zor was a member of the Empire until surrendering to Karkova; thus, Shadhir'zor is presently occupied by Karkovan forces, though incessant skirmishes from Shadhir'zor's Midnight Resistance, coupled with Karkova's preoccupation with the rest of the war, have thus far fettered the Karkovan occupants and prevented Karkova's subjection of Shadhir'zor from becoming absolute.

Neutral nations include Calaix (which has divided herself into two regions in the wake of political disputes and a religious schism, and her own civil war may not be long in coming), Lebeq (aka. Lebeq Minor, whose sultana has her own reasons for summoning forces from the Elemental Planes and waging war against the Alliance sultandom of Ghalbatastan), the savage nation of Jahalio Island, Padia Forax (which, after seeing Karkovan forces wipe their neighbor Malnobais off the map and assimilate those lands to expand Karkova's borders all the way to Lebeq Prime, has taken great pains to placate Tsar Orsek and avoid antagonizing Karkova out of fear of conquest), Banika Gorov, Shakrozea (who, like Padia Forax and Banika Gorov, has abstained from the war out of fear of being crushed by the superior Karkovan forces), Seolemark and the tiny yet superstitiously dreaded wizard nation of Morribord.

And cartographers are not lying when they attribute the continent to the southeast--and its islands--of being infested with dragons; though the mysterious and largely unexplored Dragon Continent is rumored to be home to several kingdoms of dragons, dragonkin, fire giants and tribes of barbarians who worship the dragons as gods, none have dared to cross the ocean and curry an alliance with these rumored nations for fear of being devoured or vaporized in a draconic fit of pique.

This topic may be worth a read as well.  If you have any further questions about the campaign or its world, I invite you to ask at any time.  I strive to be a helpful and informative sort.  

And to address any possible confusion, I admittedly have had some trouble deciding on a name for Karkova's capitol throughout the campaign, having previously named it Karkov, Karkovia and Yukurovgrad before finally settling on Karkovagrad.  Which name do you guys think sounds the best?


EDIT: I've also taken this opportunity to add some more units to your list of choices. Enjoy!

So!  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of the House of Ainsley, GOOB and Turnarex!  I received your messages (and again, apologies for the long delay, GOOB), and I am here to help both of you establish your characters and integrate you into the campaign-in-progress.  And here's where we'll start.

Firstly, I'll direct your attention to the Building Your Character topic, and we'll start by asking — and answering — the first founding question to get our feet set on the right path:


1)  The nation at the focus of this campaign is Bardosylvania, a small yet thickly forested nation encroaching on the Imperial Sea, near the heart of the Eternal Empire.  A nation of ill repute, Bardosylvania is prized for her lumber as well as her talented foresters and rangers, yet her three centuries of dominion have been marred by tyranny, oppression and malignant superstitions, a domain where the commonfolk are sequestered in their homes — and behind barred doors and shuttered windows — before sunset, out of dread for what fiends and monsters creep forth from the dark hearts of the forestlands and roam freely between dusk and dawn.  And at the heart of it all, Bardosylvania's reigning family, the feared, despised and maleficent House Ainsley, of whom their peers in neighboring nations speak in hushed tones of consternation, for the commonfolk and their tales claim that the rising tides of Bardosylvania's horrors — of moon-tortured werebeasts, prowling devils and the malevolent dead spat forth from many a grave, tomb or crypt — are the curse of the land, and that Bardosylvania's curse and the House of Ainsley's curse are on in the same.

So...which shall each of your characters be?

• A blooded Ainsley.  Descended from House Ainsley and legitimized through birth and marriage, these characters enjoy greater wealth as well as greater political power and social privilege anywhere in Bardosylvania as well as in neighboring lands and, to lesser extent, lands elsewhere in the Eternal Empire as well.  Wherever the Ainsleys walk, the commonfolk part and make way.  Wherever they wish to rest, the commonfolk provide mead, beds and privacy, and woe betide the commoner who refuses the Ainsleys their due or fails in their hospitality.  Unfortunately, the Ainsley Curse weighs heaviest on those begotten of the Ainsley bloodline, and when the House of Ainsley falls — as surely it must — then these characters could very well join the rest of their House in their fate.

Due to House Ainsley's insistence on keeping their blood pure — as most any noble house does — the only permissible race for such characters is Human.  While individual Ainsleys may certainly be wed with non-humans, commonfolk and outcasts, such marriages will be considered scandalous and disgraceful, and the House will not recognize such marriages as legitimate.

Current Blooded Ainsley player-characters: Gustov Ainsley.


• An Ainsley bastard.  With human nature being what it is, the occasional noble will take some shade of fancy to a person outside of marriage and nobility alike, and the carnality betwixt the two — be it a mutual love, an impassioned feat of debauchery or a vicious and one-sided violation — may result in pregnancy and children.  House Ainsley has their share of such episodes, and while these illegitimately sired descendents of House Ainsley may enjoy some measure of the House's wealth — whether that gold comes in the form of the noble parent's earnest concern and support for the child's well-being, hush money to keep the other parent silent about the child's link to House Ainsley or trickle-down coin from Ainsley-built and Ainsley-supported orphanages and charity houses — these bastard-born heirs can rarely hope to attain the power and prestige of their legitimate kinfolk.  With little to no responsibility to the House's affairs, these bastards typically enjoy more freedom and autonomy in their deeds, though this may at times result in further shame to House Ainsley (and further ostracism of the bastard in turn).

As for character races, Ainsley bastards may be either Human, Half-Elf or Half-Orc if descended from the bloodline.  Elves, Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes who marry into the Ainsley bloodline are understandably rare (and equally reviled), and they shall be effectively shunned and treated no better than bastards if one of these highly unlikely relations should arise.

Current Ainsley Bastard player-characters: Keitha Ainsley, Keagon Ainsley (inactive), Corwin Ainsley (inactive).


• An Outsider.  After the Fall of House Ainsley and their return from oblivion, Lord Darrovan Ainsley comes to recognize how gravely his House needs allies if ever Bardosylvania is to be rebuilt and if House Ainsley is ever to rise from their ashes.  To this end, Lord Darrovan reaches out to old friends, former servants, long-standing allies and clandestine orders of priests and mages vested with command over dark forces.  These outsiders are not typically beholden to House Ainsley, save for the promises of wealth, prosperity, land, titles and scraps of power if they succeed at restoring House Ainsley to the dominion that they once were...and, perhaps, securing vengeance against the Eternal Empire, for turning their backs on the whole of Bardosylvania in their darkest hour and their time of direst need.

Outsiders may be of any race.  They begin with less starting money but enjoy greater independence of House Ainsley's command, and they may quite likely be spared from the Ainsley Curse as well.  But beware; those who dance too close to the fire often get burned, and Bardosylvania's litany of suffering speaks of some very wicked burns indeed.

Current Outsider player-characters: Karnoz Tellen, Sylvea Aringerille.


So...for starters, from which of these three origins shall each of your two characters hail, GOOB and Turnarex?  Blooded Ainsley, Ainsley Bastard or Outsider?  Feel free to answer in a reply here.  

Name:Slate Ainsley
Race:Human
Class:Rouge
Diety:N/A
Age:18
Skin:Tanned
Height:5'10
Weight:133lb
Alignment:Lawful Evil
Bloodline:Ainsley bastard
Sex:Male
Hair:Black
Eyes:Green

Okay, let me grab a few things right quick. It looks like we might be off to a good start with Slate.

Un minuto, por favor....

ok i have to go to a doctors here in like 5 mins
so i might have to get back to you in a little

i also have a basic backstory as well i thinking about but i wqanted to get more info about the ainsley backstory and in general more info first

GOOB wrote:

i also have a basic backstory as well i thinking about but i wqanted to get more info about the ainsley backstory and in general more info first

Let's see if I can help you with that.  

Okay, here we are.  Digging up this old, half-finished family tree (which I really should finish and tidy up one of these days)...

...I see a few places where we could squeeze Slate in.


1)  Slate, Son of Sir Barrovik Stern and a presently unknown woman.  Near the end of the Imperial Civil War, Barrovik Stern — a knight sworn to the enemy nation of Karkova — opted to save his own skin in the face of the Imperial onslaught by becoming a turncoat and, with Lord Heward Ainsley's permission, was allowed to defect to Bardosylvania in exchange for information on Karkova's military strengths, supply lines and lines of defense, information which greatly aided the Imperial offensives into Karkova.  Although Tsar Orsek Yukurov ordered Barrovik stripped of his knighthood, named him Oathbreaker and called for the dishonor of House Stern after hearing about the betrayal, Lord Heward was swift to knight Barrovik after the war's close, in recognition of Barrovik's service to Bardosylvania and to the Eternal Empire as a whole.

To secure Barrovik's allegiance with House Ainsley, Lord Heward offered welcome and Bardosylvanian citizenship for the surviving nobles of House Stern — now scorned among the Karkovan people — as well as the hand of his own daughter (and Darrovan's younger sister), Lyria Ainsley.  As Lyria is far from lacking in social graces, Barrovik gladly accepted, and although it was an arranged marriage with political undertones, Barrovik and Lyria found genuine romantic attraction to each other, an uncommon thing among Bardosylvania's nobility.  But Lyria does not yet know about Barrovik's years of unrestrained womanizing back when he was a squire, then a young knight and a local hero in his native Karkova.  And if a bastard son sired during his erstwhile liaisons in Karkova should come out of the woodwork and make himself known now that Sir Barrovik has been wed into House Ainsley, it would be terribly inconvenient for all involved.

(The only caveat with this origin would be the surname; taking his father's surname, he would be Slate Stern, not Slate Ainsley.  Everything else about Slate thus far would remain virtually unchanged.  Green and hazel eyes are common among the Ainsley bloodline, as are black hair and brown hair.  And while the Ainsleys are typically a fair-skinned sort, one forced into the life of a commoner would surely earn a rosy or amber tan after toiling outdoors for a number of years.)


2)  Slate, Son of Winimere Ainsley (nee Oshar) and a presently unknown man.  Winimere Oshar was bewed to her second cousin Darrovan Ainsley, but unlike Lyria's marriage to Barrovik, Winimere's marriage to Darrovan is rather loveless, a mere product of inbreeding in an attempt to keep the Ainsley blood pure.  And although Darrovan refuses to stain his own honor and integrity by seeking women outside of his marriage, Winimere harbors no such concerns and at times travels to Bardosylvania's outlying settlements incognito, simply to find a man capable of showering her with some measure of tenderness and affection.  Some fifteen to twenty years before the present time, Winimere was away from Ainsley Manor for almost a year, claiming to be managing diplomatic efforts with Bardosylvania's allies and aiding the Brustaggans with quelling an uprising among the dwarves.  But her explanation was a lie; she had secretly grown heavy with child after one of her adulterous relations, and while living under that man's roof, she clandestinely birthed a son and handed that son off to the father before returning to Ainsley Manor with her deceitful explanations.  With the first day of every month, she delivers a small pouch of gold from the Ainsley coffers to a stable in Dark Grove Hollow, for "Stabling expenses".  But the true reason behind those payments is coin to aid in her illegitimate son's upbringing, as well as a little something extra to keep the father quiet about the boy's true heritage.  But now, that boy is coming of age and making the transition to manhood.  Winimere's hush money won't keep her secret son under wraps for much longer, and she rightly fears Darrovan's ire if he should ever learn of this secret.


3)  Slate, Son of Banney Oshar and a presently unknown man.  Cousins to the main Ainsley bloodline, House Oshar of Nellowswann has striven to prove themselves through numerous supporting roles in House Ainsley's prominence and success.  In this service to House Ainsley, Banney took up a role as a merchant-princess, travelling abroad to secure trade routes between Bardosylvania and any nation willing to bargain with them in the name of commerce.  Banney's heart came to harbor scorn for her own mother Prudence after hearing that the latter had lain with another man — a wood elf man, at that — after the untimely death of her husband (and Banney's father), gracing Banney with at least one illegitimate, half-elven half-sister — Keitha Ainsley — from that union.  So Banney thought nothing of falling in love with a merchant during her stay in the Amethyst Coast.  From that relationship she birthed several children — Slate being one of them — and out of spite for her mother, she doesn't particularly care who knows about her love affair with a mere merchant and what bastard offspring came from that union, so long as her mother suffers further from the disgrace.

(The bad news?  Slate's surname would probably be something besides Ainsley if you chose this origin.  But that leaves you free to choose any last name you want; as the Amethyst Coast is a cosmopolitan melting pot with many port towns frequented by many traders and seafarers, that merchant who came to entice Banney into a torrid romance could be anyone from anywhere.)


4)  Slate, last descendent of Iridia Ainsley.  Star-crossed House Ainsley has had more than their share of tragedy, misfortune and unpleasantness, and Iridia Ainsley — the lost princess of House Ainsley — is one such tale.  Her eldest brother Borogon was by every right an absolute monster who freely mutilated his underlings, hunted captives for sport and forced himself on whomever he could catch, with a father too weak and too frightened of Borogon to stop him.  After their eldest sister Gwenlyn became one such "catch" (and the hated archpirate Corwin Ainsley born from that incestuous violation), Iridia concocted and used every conceivable excuse to be anywhere besides Ainsley Manor, desperate as she was to put great distances between herself and Borogon.  And after Lord-Prince Borogon ascended to the throne upon Lord Rasketh's death, Iridia's fears of Borogon redoubled, and she fled the whole of Bardosylvania for parts unknown, assuming a false name, vanishing from the eyes of history and resigning herself to an unknown fate.

(With this origin, well, I'll actually have to get off my butt and come up with a family tree descending from Iridia onward.  But this is certainly the most freeform option for character creation; with three or four generations coming and passing ever since the life and death of Iridia Ainsley, who knows what saints, fiends and troubled souls young Slate has lurking among the branches of his family tree?)


So...which origin thus far would you prefer?  Or should we share our thoughts, pick our brains and come up with further possible origins yet?

Well here was my idea of a backstory ok...Arthur ainsley the son of a ainsley related mother and a outsider father in an affair of some kind...eventually at around 8 years of age his mother and father became worried that Arthur would be found out about and disbanded and cast out to the streets to fend for him self....after months on the street a poor familiy with a couple children of their own adopted them become good friends and eventually brother and sister to the new familiy...over the joy and caring the new familiy brought him he couldn't stop thinking about how selfish and sad his old familiy was and decided to drop all kinds of connection with his familiy renaming himself Slate (from Arthur Ainsley) as this name found himself in a dream he had about his parents...eventually 3 years later slate's new familiy became into an even farther economic depression and couldn't pay back loans and trade deals...when one night a group of bandits and outsiders to him broke into his house and killed his new mother and father...luckily however his newest siblings would be safe hiding in one of the closet s witnessing the whole thing unfold before him...now all these years later mouning over is loss and poverty found his only option was to steal and rob and trick and sometimes bounty for extra coin for his siblings stealing for the better of and giving to the worst off such as him self for he felt this was deserved

Idk how we could incorporate that into the tree anywhere like you were mentioning or maybe helping me with the backstory I just mentioned if possible

Idk I just wanted to see what you thought about it

acually i want to do the 2nd one with windmere after looking at them again and would like to do that

still keeping the slate ainsley name and not arthur ainsley lol sorry

Ok on to actually stats and stuff?

All right.  So let me see if I have everything right here.  We have Arthur Ainsley, who goes by the alias Slate.  Mothered by Lady Winimere Ainsley during one of her philanderings away from home and sired by a stablehand who took Winimere's horse in during one of her visits to Dark Grove Hollow...a strapping young man by the name of Galreth Duresain, who already had two young children...

Okay, here's where we have to diverge a bit.  Pick one, either one:


1)  ...two young children from a young wife who perished to swamp fever.

(I think we'll have to remove the stepmother there; the father's wife wouldn't take too well to her husband rearing someone else's baby and letting that someone else stay under their roof without a fuss, despite Winimere being able to go wherever she wants (so long as it's in Bardosylvania).  Some of that emotional fallout would fall on Slate as well.)

2)  ...two young children and a young wife who had just lost a third child during childbirth.

(This way lets us keep the mother alive but emotionally bereft, with a sudden void in her life that needs to be filled.  Though she would probably be angered with this news that her husband had been enticed by Lady Winimere's wiles, the prospect of being a mother with an infant again might grease the wheels of acceptance.  Winimere's monthly stipend certainly would make their lives easier, and Galreth's wife either got over her scorn for Winimere and took a personal liking to her (thanks to Winimere's attractive personality), or Galreth's wife had personally witnessed how nasty the Ainsleys can be when crossed and figured that antagonizing Winimere would not be good for her health.)


And I'll go ahead and stop you before criminals kill Slate's commoner family, because there lies a tale to tell...and the beginning of a new Prologue.


As for stats, here are ten sets of Abilities.  Choose one, then switch any two scores.  Bear in mind that although Rogues get plenty of mileage out of Dexterity, this isn't 1st Edition D&D anymore; Dexterity doesn't need to be his highest Ability (although it certainly does help).  If Slate ends up with a Dexterity of 16 and a Strength of 18, that's fine; he would be very burly for a Rogue, and his Sneak Attacks would be even more vicious.  

Set 1:
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 18
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 9

Set 2:
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 11

Set 3:
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 11

Set 4:
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 13

Set 5:
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 10

Set 6:
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 16

Set 7:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 13
Charisma: 15

Set 8:
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 17
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 13
Charisma: 10

Set 9:
Strength: 13
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 9
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 17

Set 10:
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 14


Which one will it be?

We'll sort out Slate's starting Saving Throws, money, equipment, Attack Bonuses and Armor Class right after this.  


Ability Scores and Their Modifiers
Ability Score (Modifier)
1 (-5)
2-3 (-4)
4-5 (-3)
6-7 (-2)
8-9 (-1)
10-11 (0)
12-13 (+1)
14-15 (+2)
16-17 (+3)
18-19 (+4)
20-21 (+5)
...Et cetera...
A character who has any Ability reduced to zero through the course of the game will be subject to a malady so grave as to remove the character from play; these maladies include complete paralysis (Strength or Dexterity), amnesia and comatose stupor (Intelligence), crippling madness (Wisdom or Charisma) or death (Constitution). Reversing the Ability's losses will undo the malady (with the exception of death, of course; guard your Constitution well).

i think ill do number 1 with set:4 switching wizdom and strength

and i am aware of some game mechanics myself for i have been a GM myself jus so your aware

And lastley do i need to copy a character sheet or do you have one online or what?

We're forming the character sheet as we go, actually. Once we're finished, I can splat the finished result right here in Character Creation, if you wish.

So to make sure that I have everything straight here, Slate Ainsley will have these Abilities after we swap his Strength with his Wisdom, giving him stronger formidability in battle and a higher limit to his Encumbrance, though at the expense of leaving him more vulnerable to mind attacks, certain enemy spells and anything else which invokes Will-based Saving Throws:

Strength: 16
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 11
Charisma: 13

And so, if I conclude rightly, Slate Ainsley was illegitimately born in a torrid union between noblewoman Lady Winimere Ainsley (who was — and still is — trapped in a loveless marriage with her second cousin, then Lord-Prince Darrovan Ainsley) and stablehand Galreth Duresain (who was emotionally bereft and grieving after recently losing his young wife to a fatal case of Swamp Fever). After the delivery, Slate was promptly handed off to Galreth for him to rear along with his own two children (from his deceased wife), as Lady Winimere did not wish to stain her own hands with the scandal of birthing a bastard child.

And so Slate grew and came of age in the wretched conditions of Dark Grove Hollow, stomping about the muddy roads by day and hiding from the stalking werebeasts and the restless dead which haunted the town by night. Even though Galreth made his efforts to raise Slate as his own and to teach him the values that he taught his own children, he could never convincingly feign such love and acceptance for Slate, and through sensing as much, Slate could never shake the intuition that he was somehow different, somehow not one of the common people of Dark Grove Hollow. And so his resentment for the town, its people and even his own adoptive family came to be. He became more underhanded, more deft and more inclined to skulk about the town and to swindle something which he wanted from whichever neighbor had it. (Thus came his Alignment and his Class, though if we are going this route, then perhaps you should lend some focus to such Skills as Bluff and Diplomacy when we come to that part; he does have a Charisma above average and on the verge of becoming even better, after all.)

But over a decade later, as the social chafing between Lord Darrovan and Lady Winimere grew to open disgruntlement, her thoughts began to weigh on her distant son in Dark Grove Hollow; although her coin had kept Slate in some measure of health and comfort over the years, not being able to watch over such a loose end personally had always worried her. And so Winimere finally returned to the troubled town and reclaimed Slate to take him home to live with her. But she still feared Darrovan's ire and temperamental nature should her infidelity from over a decade past be made known, so she sequestered the lad in her own personal stables not far off among the hills, one of the few places where she could enjoy a brief while of solace, for Darrovan never thought to visit there.

So now Slate toils as his mother's stablehand. She shelters, feeds and tends him as well as a noblewoman should, but her parenting is distant, often neglectful and almost as loveless as her marriage is. So Slate is often given to leaving the stables and wandering the countryside during the long stretches when Winimere is abroad and away, and it is during one of these wanderings when he happens across something — or someone — most unusual and most unfamiliar to him....

Does all of this sound right and well so far?