The Grail Works Mission Dossier (Discussion & Ideas)

[Xamusel]

...sorry for posting again so soon. I couldn't go to sleep at this point in time, so I figured I'd share what Dario's Pathfinder sheet looks like, at least as of before the last session that was played in this particular campaign (my group alternates between campaigns every so often):

Character Name: Dario Caesar Alignment: Chaotic Good Player: Xamusel (would've used my real name here if I wasn't being careful to edit that out right now)
Character Class / Level: Rogue (knife master) Lv 6
Race: Human Size: Medium Gender: Male Age: 18
Languages: Common, Elven, Celestial

Strength 15 (+2)
Dexterity 18 (+4)
Constitution 9 + 2 = 11 (+0)
Intelligence 14 (+2)
Wisdom 17 (+3)
Charisma 15 (+2)

HP: 55
Current HP: 55
Nonlethal Damage:
Base speed: 30 ft.
Initiative modifier: +6
Armor Class: 23 (+4 Dex, +5 armor, +1 ring, +1 shield, +2 deflection), touch 15, flat-footed 18

Base Attack Bonus: +4
Spell Resistance: none
CMB: Base 4 + Str modifier 2 = +6
CMD: Base 4 + Str mod 2 + Dex mod 4 + 10 = 20

Saving Throws
Fortitude (Con): Base 2 + Con bonus 0 + feat 2 + cloak 1 = +5
Reflex (Dex): Base 5 + Dex bonus 4 + cloak 1 = +10
Will (Wis): Base 2 + Wis bonus 3 + cloak 1 = +6

SKILLS
Acrobatics: 6 + 3 trained + 4 Dex = +13
Bluff: 6 + 3 trained + 2 Cha = +11
Diplomacy: 6 + 3 trained + 2 Cha = +11
Disable Device: 6 + 3 trained + 4 Dex = +13
Escape Artist: 6 + 3 trained + 4 Dex = +13
Knowledge (local): 6 + 3 trained + 2 Int = +11
Linguistics: 4 + 3 trained + 2 Int = +9
Perception: 6 + 3 trained + 3 Wis = +12
Profession (cook): 5 + 3 trained + 2 Int = +10
Sense Motive: 6 + 3 trained + 3 Wis = +12
Sleight of Hand: 6 + 3 trained + 4 Dex = +13
Survival: 2 + 3 trained + 1 trait + 3 Wis = +9
Stealth: 6 + 3 trained + 4 Dex = +13


FEATS

Extra Rogue Talent: Gain a bonus rogue talent
Great Fortitude: +2 bonus on Fortitude saves
Toughness: +3 hp at level 1, +1 hp every level beyond 3rd
Two-Weapon Defense: Gains a +1 shield bonus to AC when fighting with two weapons.
Two-Weapon Fighting: Lessens penalties for two-weapon fighting (-2 for each hand)
Weapon Finesse: Use Dex bonus instead of Str bonus on attack rolls for light weapons
Weapon Focus (dagger): +1 bonus on attack rolls with daggers

ATTACK
+1 Daggers (2): +9 to attack roll (+7 with two weapons); 1d4+5 damage; type Piercing; critical 19-20 (x2); range 10 ft.
Heavy Crossbow: +8 to attack roll; 1d10 damage; type Piercing; critical x3; range 120 ft. (16 quarrels)
Rapier: +6 to attack roll; 1d6+2 damage; type Piercing; critical 18-20 (x2)
Short Sword: +6 to attack roll; 1d6+1 damage; type Piercing; 1d6+1 damage; critical 19-20


AC Items:

+1 Glaremed Chain Shirt: +5 to AC, +5 maximum Dex bonus, armor check penalty -2
Ring of Protection +1: +1 to AC
Bracers of Armor +2: +2 to AC

Gear:

backpack, bedroll, flint and steel, trail rations (7 days), traveler’s outfit, waterskin, torches (3)

Cloak of resistance +1: Gives a +1 bonus to all saving throws
Potion of Neutralize Poison (9): Neutralizes poison
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds: Restores 2d8+3 hp
Potion of Cure Light Wounds (2): Restores 1d8+1 hp


ABILITIES:
- Finesse Training: Dario gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. When he makes a successful attack roll with a dagger, he adds his Dexterity bonus instead of his Strength bonus to the damage roll.
- Sneak Attack: Dario's attack deals +3d4 damage to opponents that are denied a Dex bonus to AC. (+3d8 when using a dagger)
- Trapfinding: Dario adds +3 on Perception checks to locate traps and on Disable Device checks. He can use Disable Device to disable magical traps.
- Evasion: If Dario succeeds at a Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he takes no damage instead.
- Rogue Talents:
* Trap Spotter: Whenever Dario comes within 10 feet of a trap, he can attempt an immediate Perception check to notice it.
* Combat Trick: Dario gains a bonus combat feat
* Minor Magic: Dario can cast mage hand at will (see below)
* Coax Information: Dario can use Bluff or Diplomacy instead of Intimidate in order to force an opponent to act friendly towards him.
- Danger Sense: Dario has a +2 bonus on Reflex saving throws to avoid traps, and a +2 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. He also gains a +2 bonus on Perception checks to avoid being surprised by a foe.
- Uncanny Dodge: Dario cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does he lose his Dexterity bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible.
- Debilitating Injury: Whenever Dario deals sneak attack damage, he can also choose to bewilder the target of his attack for 1 round. The target takes a -2 penalty to AC (-4 against attacks made by Dario).



TRAITS:

Orphaned (Ex): Dario grew up separated from his birth parents, and had to learn to watch out for himself. He gains a +1 trait bonus on Survival checks, and Survival is always a class skill for him.

Reactionary (Ex): Dario's life as a street urchin taught him to anticipate sudden attacks and react to danger quickly. He gains a +2 bonus on Initiative checks.

That Which Should Not Be Alive Should Die (Ex): Dario has spent exhausting amounts of time learning about evil aberrations, their strengths and weaknesses. He gains a +2 trait bonus on his AC against evil-aligned aberrations, and a +1 trait bonus to any damage roll he makes against them.


MONEY:

55 gp
300 sp
1,250 cp
52 pp


XP: 24,160 To Next Level: 35,000


MAGE HAND
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (35 ft.)
Target one non-magical, unattended object weighing up to 5 lbs.
Duration concentration
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You point your finger at an object and can lift it and move it at will from a distance. As a move action, you can propel the object as far as 15 feet in any direction, though the spell ends if the distance between you and the object ever exceeds the spell’s range.

#

Now, I know this isn't an Epic Level character sheet, but that's alright. I wanted to use a character that had room to grow as a warrior in d20 rules.

With that said... what do you guys think?

[Kieran]

...sorry for posting again so soon. I couldn't go to sleep at this point in time, so I figured I'd share what Dario's Pathfinder sheet looks like, at least as of before the last session that was played in this particular campaign (my group alternates between campaigns every so often):

#

Now, I know this isn't an Epic Level character sheet, but that's alright. I wanted to use a character that had room to grow as a warrior in d20 rules.

With that said... what do you guys think?

I'd guess that enough time has passed that double-posting isn't an issue - and seems reasonable enough to me.

[Xamusel]

Thanks, Kieran... even if I'd appreciate word from the mods or admins as well, to be fair.

*ahem* Anyway, so I had an idea for what to do with my SI's adventures, even though I'm gonna need your say in how I'm handling this so far. To wit...

#

1. Arc 1: Is this Fate?
   
   1. Reign of Winter 0: Mirror, Mirror, on the wall… who’s the Valkyrur of us all? [Franchises Used: Pathfinder, Nasuverse, Valkyria Chronicles, Nexos Chronicles]
      
      1. Fate 1
         
         1. Samuel (under the alias of Dario Caesar), after having gotten adjusted to the idea of being in the body of a fictional character, is given a mission to undertake alongside Sakura and Rider. The mission goes that they’re supposed to get the Autocratic East Europan Imperial Alliance, otherwise known as the Empire, to surrender to a country called Gallia, since the Empire invaded it for a precious resource called Ragnite, while at the same time doing something about the corrupt officials of a federation of nations called the Atlantic Federation. While Samuel wonders where he might have heard of the Atlantic Federation before, he and his fellow co-workers accept the mission, before they are told to head out to the small town of Bruhl.
         2. Meanwhile, a shadowed figure fumes over the supposed demise of one of their pawns, when they get informed that said pawn is still alive. The figure begins plans to recover the missing pawn, starting with locating where they are now, before one of their Wizards attempt to scry for the location… only to find that the location blocks conventional scrying. It is then determined that they should summon a being capable of nabbing the pawn relatively intact… and the chapter ends with the name of the pawn being uttered (Dario).
         
         
      2. Fate 2
         
         1. Upon arriving in the outskirts of Bruhl, Samuel finds himself looking around for any signs of Imperial troops, before it gets made apparent that he’s alone (as in split apart from Sakura and Rider). He’s about to ask Ilya for assistance in figuring out where they are when he sees Imperial troops… and they’re about to fire on a group of civilians! Naturally, Samuel objects to that, so he defends the civilians… like a D&D Rogue should.
         2. As soon as the troops are defeated (by means of sneak attacks and the like), Samuel looks around for his co-workers, only to find Welkin Gunther, Isara Gunther, and the Town Watch (under command of Alicia Melchiott) instead… they had apparently heard the fight going on between Samuel and the Imperial troops. Samuel holsters his daggers in their proper place (like an Assassin from Assassin’s Creed should) and asks if he could be of help around here, while also asking for help looking for his co-workers, if they’re willing and able to provide it. He even provides a means to communicate with him over ridiculously long distances if they find his co-workers (something he didn’t realize was against the rules).
         3. At the end of the chapter, Sakura and Rider are seen in an eldritch place, at least compared to the Middle Feudal Era. Unfortunately for the two of them, they’re not exactly conscious at the moment, as they happen to be in a stasis field as cast by a powerful wizard. On the flip side, even though they’re not conscious, they aren’t being defiled by any means (the stasis field is that uncaring as to who is supposed to be conscious in its borders). Even so, they’re being examined in as many ways as possible by a group of mad scientists, among which is a pair of Ratmen… who, ironically, are the head scientists in the group (from an even larger cabal called the Malshapers). The wizard is seen talking to an Apostate Devil, explaining that his assigned target was not traveling alone, and that the same trap used to capture his companions won’t be available for a long while. The Devil says that the wizard had better get it right the second time, as there won’t be a third chance, before leaving him to try locating a good place to trap his target… Dario.

Those are the first two chapters that are completely planned out... and I have four stories planned to be in Arc 1. I omitted the part for the (Grail) Works in Progress thread, which is Arc 0, because I knew there wouldn't be much problem with that one... or so I'm inclined to say.

...would you guys like to see what I have for Arc 0? I had to essentially make notes of what Kieran wrote for the foundation of the Works... plus I'm waiting for his new Origin Story still.

[Vigilantia]

Still working on it; oddly enough, I have settings in mind, but difficulty deciding on whom to partner him with (and how to arrange it, depending on who it is) . . .

Regardless, I'd like to finish "Trinity" first - I'm so close by now . . .

"What's that George RR Martin? You said the Winds of Winter is close to being released? Sure, ok then."

Speaking of edits... maybe we should figure out about what the timeline will be like from the beginning onward. As it stands, at least one of the writers went AWOL while in the middle of writing his story, and most of the others are AWOL without having written stories. pureauthor is one of the only authors on the forum who still writes for this setting, but we need to know when and where things go, so to speak. Are you up for writing up a timeline of events, Kieran, or do you need someone else to do it with the new rendition of the Works?

Yeah, my Fate stuff is on hold in definitely due to my Overwatch stuff. And my Overwatch stuff is on hold till I finish Divinity: Original Sin 2... so... that'll be probably once George finishes ASOIAF. Hah!

[Kieran]

"What's that George RR Martin? You said the Winds of Winter is close to being released? Sure, ok then."

That's fair . . . But in my defence, I should be only two or three chapters (plus epilogue, perhaps) from finishing the last book - it's only a question of when they'll be written.

[Xamusel]

Oh, Kieran, did you see the list I shared in my prior post? I need your opinion on how that actually goes.

[Kieran]

. . . Again, since I only recognise literally half of what you're using, I really can't comment - I don't have the context. Sorry.

[Xamusel]

...I meant more like what happens to Sakura and Rider. I get that you wouldn't know about Nexos Chronicles, that's actually the creation of my Game Master, which I'm helping get put onto paper.

So... what do you think of what I did to Sakura and Rider?

[Vigilantia]

...I meant more like what happens to Sakura and Rider. I get that you wouldn't know about Nexos Chronicles, that's actually the creation of my Game Master, which I'm helping get put onto paper.

So... what do you think of what I did to Sakura and Rider?

Something funny about Sakura's first outting and here she is helpless and needing rescue again.

[Xamusel]

...my plan was more to have her and Rider break out of their stasis prison on their own. That was the point I was trying to get at.

[Kieran]

...I meant more like what happens to Sakura and Rider. I get that you wouldn't know about Nexos Chronicles, that's actually the creation of my Game Master, which I'm helping get put onto paper.

So... what do you think of what I did to Sakura and Rider?

. . . With Rider's Magic Resistance, that has to be one hell of a powerful wizard to keep her under - as in, a demigod or better.

[Xamusel]

...good point. I forgot about that.

Well, I suppose it could be said that Rider breaks out for both hers and Sakura's benefit, so to speak. They do have a mission to accomplish later (as in during the time of Valkyria Chronicles 2).

[Xamusel]

...no comment, Kieran? I mean, seriously, I need to know what you think of my idea, at least before I continue on with the planning phases.

[Kieran]

. . . I'm not sure what else I can give you; I've made the comments I can on the parts that I understand. Beyond that, I'm pretty much lost.

[Xamusel]

Sorry, Kieran... maybe I need to refocus my efforts on what you can understand, at the least.

[Kieran]

Arvandor
The Olympian Glades of Arborea, the Outer Planes








The Seldarine gathered, to wield their powers as they had not for dozens of millennia, though they were mere shadows of what they’d once been. They gathered, to heal a world, to lay a foundation for that world’s future . . . And in so doing, save a race of their children that, until recently, had been thought long since lost: the Ssri-Tel’Quessir, the dark elves who had become the drow, redeemed by sacrifice to become dark elves once more.

Unfortunately, that “race” represented a very small fraction of the drow; most of them remained corrupted by the demonic blood that had created them, to say nothing of the influence of their goddess, Lloth the Spider Queen. As such, they were at terrible risk—Lloth had never been one to take challenges to her rule over the drow lightly, and the Ssri-Tel’Quessir had earned her wrath when they had been drow elves, merely by worshipping her daughter, Eilistraee, over herself. That they had now disassociated themselves from the drow—and thus, from her—entirely . . .

No, Lloth would see that as an insult she could never bear. She—and by extension, her followers—would not stop until all traces of the Ssri-Tel’Quessir’s very existence had been utterly eliminated from the face of Aber-Toril. And that was not a fate that Corellon Larethian was prepared to countenance. Not in his role as leader of the Seldarine, the gods of the elven peoples, and not in his role as the Father of All Elves . . . Nor would he tolerate it as Eilistraee’s father, either.

His brilliant, beautiful daughter was gone—a great and terrible loss to a mortal elf, much less an immortal one. All that remained of her were the elves she’d sacrificed herself to save. He would not allow them to fall before Lloth’s evil.

Labelas Enorath knew this, of course. The Lord of the Continuum was, if not omniscient, as close to it as any god could truly claim to be. He had to be: the realms of fate, time and history were his to shepherd. He knew more of the future, and the secret workings behind it, than even Corellon himself—it was why he had allowed the solar to respond to the summons of a mortal, and grant the wish that mortal made. Because he knew what would have been the fate of the dark elves, without that wish . . .

“. . . You’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to arrange this, Labelas,” Corellon remarked. “Are we now to find out why?”

The scholar winced. He had thought he was being rather subtle, actually—he had to be, as he was working in realms normally forbidden even to deities . . . Or at least, deities of his level. It was normally restricted to Lord Ao alone; thus, he’d had to be exceedingly careful in his actions, lest he draw the Overgod’s attention—or worse, alert others to the existence of the path he’d used to reach those places. Only chaos could come from that . . .

“I merely sought to fulfill my duties as a member of the Seldarine, Lord Coronal, and protect a tribe of the mortals we oversee,” Labelas replied lightly. “That they are a tribe previously lost to the memory of any mortal living, and barely recalled even in history, made it a duty I thought required any and all efforts I could exert.”

And because, the god did not add, very soon now, as elves and immortals would reckon such things, the great upheavals that had plagued their world would culminate in a truly mighty cataclysm. And in response to that chaos, Lord Ao, the Overgod, would rewrite the very Tablets of Fate, restoring the Realms to much as they had been before. Dead deities, including Eilistraee, would be restored to life; and the Dark Maiden would take up her work of attempting to redeem the drow once more—because the dark elves which had already been restored would cease to be, in any significant fashion. The drow would be all that remained of them once more.

His task was to ensure that history was neither forgotten, nor altered. Labelas would not have stopped the Overgod from performing the act he would, even if he had possessed the power to do so . . . But neither did he wish for such a momentous event as the restoration of the true dark elves (as opposed to the drow, who were often referred to by that name) to be lost. It was an impossible dilemma, even for a god . . .

And in confronting it, he had discovered the existence of a Door—and what lay beyond it.

The mortals there were not yet prepared to deal with the scale of the problem that lay before him; not in the time which remained. But through them, he might be able to allow someone who was to act. And so, Labelas had sought a cat’s-paw, and made his transgressions—and the result had been everything he could have hoped.

“It is a truly beautiful world,” remarked Deep Sashelas—and as a god of beauty, as well as knowledge, magic, and the sea, he ought to know. “Perhaps the Alu-Tel’Quessir could benefit from it, as well?”

Labelas nodded. The sea elves were, in their way, as isolated from most elves as the dark elves would be, should they be returned to Toril. While they had no love for the drow, they had less history of conflict with them, as well; and as the world of Spira was mostly oceanic, such a world potentially offered them vast new territories, away from their traditional enemies. Likewise, they too would be less affected by the coming cataclysm—though not unscathed—and have less effect on it. Entire tribes of them could disappear, and not be missed in the histories—mostly because they would disappear, anyway.

“. . . Do you truly intend to kill the mortal, Lord Coronal?” inquired a feminine voice, and hearing it drew all male attention towards its source.

Hanali Celanil was the goddess of love and beauty among elves—the counterpart to the humans’ Sune Firehair, and a rival of Aphrodite, on the rare occasions when the Seldarine and the Olympians contested with one another. Her most common features, as now, were those of a sun elf: golden hair and eyes alongside porcelain-delicate features. She paired these with a body built to draw the eye, as her voice drew the ear—though she was not above taking other appearances, where and when she deemed it necessary; or simply for fun. She would hardly be the goddess of desire, otherwise.

Labelas coughed lightly. “He hardly seems your type, Hanali.”

The frown that crossed her features somehow failed to mar them in the slightest as she shot back, “He isn’t . . . Well, that half-elven aspect is kind of attractive, in a rugged sort of way—but there’s a human under it, and he’s not pretty at all.”

“Does he have a lover, then? Or perhaps he possesses some especial talent for artisanship?”

She snorted delicately, her expression answer enough.

Now it was Corellon’s turn to frown, as he understood the point Labelas was making. “Then what is your interest, Hanali? Gentle though you are, it’s unusual for you to be so concerned over the fate of a mortal—and a human, at that.”

“I’m concerned because he does love,” she answered. “That is at the core of this: that he is willing to die because he loved Eilistraee, in his fashion, as he loves all elves.” She shrugged. “It’s not romantic love, really—little more than the wondrous fascination we evoke in humanity. To some extent, that’s also true of Spira itself, and of those people he works for . . . But given the service that he’s performing for us in its name, I would find his death to be a poor repayment of that love.”

“So long as his resolve holds,” Corellon replied, “it should not be necessary; ’twould hardly be a worthy test, otherwise. But the question would then remain, of what to do with him afterwards . . .”

“Toril is no place for him,” Labelas said firmly. Had any of the other gods—even his fellows among the Seldarine—known even half of the sort of knowledge that was in that mortal’s head, or even just known of it . . .

Toril would not survive the ensuing conflicts.

“Nor would consigning him to Spira do our cause any favours,” he forestalled the next obvious choice, not unkindly. “Should the truth of his nature be revealed, it would undo all the groundwork laid for the Ssri-Tel’Quessir . . . And in truth,” he added, doing his best to sound off-handed, “he does not fit well with his compatriots, either. He is no more of their world than ours, and the differences, though often subtle, leave him somewhat adrift.”

Hanali smiled, and it brightened the whole of the glade. “Then perhaps we can change at least that?” She turned to a fellow goddess. “Sehanine, what would you say to the idea of trying to catch his spirit for a little reincarnation . . .?”

The moon goddess raised an eyebrow in response, her expression intrigued.

Labelas very carefully kept his own expression blank. From here, things became very delicate . . . But, handled carefully, it would place the mortal safely away from Toril and its associated planes—for a certain value of safe, at least. Moreover, it would net the Seldarine connections with a rising power, one with reason to think well of them.

All that aside, however, he had to admit to some excitement about what was about to happen.

After all, in all his tens of millennia of life, even he had never seen the ignition of a Planeswalker’s Spark before . . .

[hatori]

Planeswalking?!

Please do not make him a mix of gideon and jace.

[Kieran]

Planeswalking?!

Please do not make him a mix of gideon and jace.

Unlikely - I know very little of either, and more of the latter than the former . . .

*Shakes head* In truth, the primary colour alignment is proving a matter of fierce debate in my head; the deck I have is a Blue/Green mix, but looking at the philosophies of each, I'm not sure Red isn't a better choice (which, incidentally, has a 5th-edition D&D Sorcerous Origin in the Kaladesh adaptation) - and given what's happening in-story at this point, a White or Black alignment isn't unreasonable.

Even leaving that aside, he's a rookie: he has no idea what's going on, what he's capable of, and will probably only learn magical spells after they're used on him.

[Vigilantia]

Even leaving that aside, he's a rookie: he has no idea what's going on, what he's capable of, and will probably only learn magical spells after they're used on him.

He's like a shittier Shirou.

[Kieran]

He's like a shittier Shirou.

From what I've read of Aether constructs and how they work, that is a pretty good comparison - with the caveat that he's something of a superior Shirou, in that a Planeswalker can also duplicate creatures.

. . . Mind you, it's occurred to me that this can be horribly abused; if a Planeswalker can only construct things based on his understanding of them, then I could foresee the following situation occurring:


Kurai: "I need to investigate this - Summon: Batman - Kevin Conroy Edition! . . . I need to fight - Summon: Batman - Christian Bale Edition! . . . There is absolutely no way out of this - Summon: Batman - Adam West Edition!"


The perils of making a fanboy a Planeswalker . . .

*Shakes head* In all seriousness, I'd probably start him off as a Green-aligned Planeswalker, which would limit his summons to copies of dogs and cats I've met, and probably the druid Kieran Holt - the catch being that he has to figure out how to summon, of course. But I figured I ought to point out that I have realised how easily, and badly, this can go wrong . . .