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Post by chris on Aug 16, 2017 5:23:26 GMT
Exciting prospects for Stephen's game. My preference would be for the Azlanti option but I'd be happy with any of them provided Strange eons doesn't get too dark. Off the top of my head I'd play the following in each of the games by preference: AzlantiAn elf or half elf wizard, worshipper of Desna, all the knowledge skills and wears a battered leather greatcoat. An explorer and archaeologist, friendly, enthusiastic, optimistic, slightly overbearing type. Hells rebelsGot to be a halfling rogue who has survived so far by gathering rich peoples' 'lost' and 'misplaced' items and repurposing them to help the oppressed and vulnerable. Will be sneaky, light fingered and light footed but with a heart of gold and compassion Strange EonsLirts is a literal half orc - as in he is made up of half orc body parts and half human crudely sown together and, using unknown magics, has been brought alive by an unknown person in a process he can't remember (he is not undead). He has almost no charisma, but thanks to a second brain clearly visible and pulsating on the side of his skull, a surprisingly average intelligence when 'that' brain temporarily takes control. He is large, lumbering, quite strong and very very tough. Either a half orc fighter or a half orc barbarian. It's fun coming up with character ideas isn't it?
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Post by Stephen Mawson on Aug 17, 2017 13:22:28 GMT
Sounds like we are leaning towards the Ruins of Azlant adventure path.
Below is the bulk of the players guide to that adventure path going through the basic background to the adventure and some tips for what sorts of characters will fit the campaign best.
Introduction You have been selected for a very important expedition to the lost continent of Azlant! After hearing of the expedition, you applied for adventure, and those responsible for organizing the expedition selected you to join other colonists to stake claim to an island named Ancorato in the Arcadian Ocean.
The Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path begins with your characters standing on the deck of a ship after a long voyage to a newly founded colony called Talmandor’s Bounty on an island in what is left of Azlant. The journey from Almas in Andoran to the island of Ancorato has taken 6 weeks aboard a ship called the Peregrine, and you and the other PCs have had a chance to get to know some of the other colonists. (See page 12 for more information about these individuals.)
While the destruction of Azlant was a defining moment for the Inner Sea region, many people who live there these days know little of the ancient Azlanti. Some don’t believe the tales unearthed after millennia of burial and regard them as myth. Those nonbelievers can’t imagine a world so rich in magic that it was ubiquitous in Azlanti society, with everyday citizens benefiting from the culture’s deep interest in magic and science.
Now is your chance to not only establish a foothold in this fabled and broken land, but also to potentially uncover valuable lost lore once held by one of history’s most powerful and enigmatic cultures.
AM I GOING TO GET WET? I’m not going to lie to you. Your characters are going to get wet during the course of this Adventure Path. As much of Azlant now lies beneath the Arcadian Ocean, knowing how to swim and how to deal with the complications of underwater exploration is going to be important in this Adventure Path. While many of the character suggestions presented in this Player’s Guide bring up aquatic adventuring, know that this isn’t the primary focus of this Adventure Path and your character isn’t going to be thrown into the deep end immediately. The main focus of this Adventure Path is exploring terra incognita, delving into ancient ruins, and uncovering strange and archaic magic that the world hasn’t seen in thousands of years. However, that said, it’s in your interest to future-proof your character into being good at dealing with some of the restrictions of fighting underwater.
Coming Together Even though the Peregrine set sail from Almas, characters in this Adventure Path can hail from anywhere in the world, as long as they could make it to Almas to join up with the expedition.
Two major sponsors back the expedition: the government of Andoran and a finance company called the Bountiful Venture Company. The group already sent an initial ship to establish a colony named Talmandor’s Bounty, and each character in this campaign is part of the second wave of colonists. Characters in this campaign had to apply for membership in the expedition, and were put though numerous interviews and screenings to select the best individuals for this wave of settlement.
Maybe you are a scholar who heard about the expedition and wanted to join up to further your own research. Perhaps for some reason you needed to get out of Andoran (or another nation) fast. Maybe you’ve always wanted to travel and see this as your chance. Maybe you’ve shown promise in a previous endeavor and now the company has recruited you for the colony. Maybe you’ve always loved the sea and the idea of a long voyage to a place few have visited sounds exciting. Whatever your motivation, you stood out to the leadership of the Bountiful Venture Company and won a spot on this expedition to establish a new colony in the ruins of Azlant.
During this campaign, you are going to be isolated on an island hundreds of miles away from the closest civilized port. Keep this in mind when planning out your character. You won’t have great access to markets or services outside of the colony of Talmandor’s Bounty. There might be some other colonist that can provide you with healing or magical or alchemical goods, but their wares are as restricted as yours will be. Through adventuring, you have the chance to come across new and fantastic treasures that can help you as you progress through this campaign.
Character Tips You’re starting the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path, but what kind of character should you play?
The following hints, tips, and suggestions are designed to help you create characters perfectly suited to conquering the threats and challenges the Adventure Path has in store for you and your party.
The following suggestions are not exhaustive, and there are thousands of viable character concepts that can excel in this campaign. The suggestions listed in this guide are provided to give you an idea of what kind of environment and themes that show up in the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path without spoiling the experience. They are not suggestions on how to create the most powerful and optimized character for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. For more discussions of character concepts for the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path, visit the messageboards at paizo.com.
Something else to consider is that you should leave urban characters that are afraid to get dirty back home. This isn’t the campaign for courtly intrigue, dainty dandies, or back alley skullduggery. There’s no urban center in which to increase your fame, and characters that shine in the wilderness or excel at navigating caverns and dungeons are going to feel right at home in the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path. This is not to say that you should show up to the table with a lone wolf character. The point of the expedition is to found a successful colony, so working with others is important (as always). Since all of the colonists are isolated far from civilization, getting along with each other is crucial to the long-term success of Talmandor’s Bounty.
Classes, Archetypes and Prestige Classes As a thriving colony needs a wide range of settlers, nearly all character classes have something to contribute to this campaign. Ideally, classes that don’t rely on urban settings are encouraged. This doesn’t mean that they can’t survive this Adventure Path, but cosmopolitan characters won’t have as many chances to shine as they would in an urban campaign. Classes that are best suited to exploration and dealing with natural hazards can find great success in this campaign, and ones that can use magic or guile to eliminate some of these hazards and challenges can excel as well.
Since all classes can find their place in the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path, archetypes for those classes can as well. The following archetypes might work well for this Adventure Path. Keep in mind that if you are selecting an archetype to help overcome the dangers of adventuring beneath the surface of the water, some of those helpful options don’t kick in for a few class levels.
The following archetypes fit the themes of this campaign.
The child of Acavna and Amaznen fighter archetype in Pathfinder Player Companion: Arcane Anthology draws on Azlanti lore, something of which is prevalent in this campaign. The eldritch scoundrel rogue archetype in the same book is perfect for a character delving into the ruins of ancient civilizations. Likewise, the relic raider rogue archetype in Pathfinder Player Companion: Black Markets is useful for similar tasks.
Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat has the archaeologist bard archetype, which is well suited to exploring long-dead civilizations, and the warden ranger archetype is good for exploring uncharted islands.
If you want to give your character a leg up on aquatic adventuring, the following archetypes, listed by source, all have ways to assist a character in that endeavor. Pathfinder Player Companion: Advanced Class Origins: Pureblade (slayer). Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide: Aquatic druid (druid), shapeshifter (ranger; particularly the form of the otter choice). Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide: Undine adept (druid), wave warden (ranger), watersinger (bard). These archetypes are for undine characters. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Aquatic Adventures: Aquachymist (alchemist), aquakineticist (kineticist), aquanaut (fighter), deep shaman (shaman), drowned channeler (spiritualist), oceanrider (cavalier), pearl seeker (paladin), pelagic hunter (hunter), tidal trickster (rogue). Pathfinder Player Companion: Dirty Tactics Toolbox: Kraken caller (druid). Pathfinder Player Companion: Elemental Master’s Handbook: Abendego diver (ranger). Pathfinder Player Companion: Legacy of the First World: deepwater rager (barbarian). Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat: Sea reaver (barbarian). Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic: Oath against corruption (paladin), sea witch (witch), shark shaman (druid).
Domains Choosing a god to worship typically comes before selecting a domain, but your deity selection might hinge on what you want to get out of your cleric. With exploration as a major theme of this campaign, the Travel domain and the Exploration subdomain are great choices for clerics. Something to keep in mind if you select the Liberation domain is that the liberation special ability automatically triggers when your character’s movement would be restricted, so falling off the side of a boat into the water would start eating up those precious rounds of freedom of movement. Given the themes of building a colony and discovering ancient lore, Community and Knowledge would be suitable domains to choose for this campaign. If your divine caster wants to commune with the waves a bit more, selecting Water or any of its subdomains would be a good choice.
Animal Companions, Familiars, and Others If you have an animal companion, eidolon, familiar, phantom, spirit animal, or the like, you can make several choices when designing your character to match your companion to the campaign. You start off in the port city of Almas, a wealthy Andoren city rich in trade, offering a wide variety of familiars and animal companions. After your arrival in Talmandor’s Bounty, the selection becomes a bit more restricted due to climate and geography. Your characters will be on an island in the middle of the ocean, and only creatures that are common to a humid subtropical climate can be found on the islands in the region. In addition to plenty of coastlines, the islands have forests, hills, mountains, and small plains flush with plenty of animals that are suitable for these terrains.
Pathfinder Player Companion: Familiar Folio introduces the patron familiar, which gains a special ability for itself. One of the options is a water patron familiar that might make it easier for a witch to explore some of the locations in this Adventure Path.
As eidolons and phantoms are far more varied and personal to the summoner or spiritualist, there are no must-have options for them, though the aquatic eidolon base form in Ultimate Magic is a good choice for an eidolon that can survive and thrive in the depths.
Favored Enemies and Favored Terrains Solid favored enemy choices in Ruins of Azlant include aberration and monstrous humanoid, and good secondary choices are humanoid (aquatic) and construct. These categories won’t cover all the monsters and challenges your character will face in the campaign, but they cover plenty of ground. This Adventure Path takes place on rocky, forested islands far from the Inner Sea region, so forest and underground make for good terrain choices. There are a number of times in this campaign where your PCs’ adventures will take them beneath the waves, which makes choosing water as a favored terrain an excellent choice.
Feats and Skills Feats that help a character explore wild lands, fight against dangerous monsters, and be self-sufficient are always good choices, and particularly in Ruins of Azlant given the campaign’s focus on exploration.
Pathfinder Player Companion: Melee Tactics Toolbox has two feats that will prove useful in parts of this campaign. Aquatic Spell allows a character to cast spells underwater with little difficulty, and Aquatic Combatant removes the penalties to fighting while underwater.
In addition, Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Aquatic Adventures adds a number of feats to help characters deal with aquatic combat, including new style feats, and to aid characters moving around in a foreign environment. It also provides a couple of new metamagic feats that help with casting certain types of spells, like fog-based or fire spells, underwater. While it’s not absolutely imperative, at least one character in the party should have a selection of Knowledge skills with a focus on arcana, history, and religion to help puzzle out Azlanti ruins. Other than that, most characters should be able to hold their own in dangerous environments when they have to climb or swim, and since they are part of a growing colony, being able to influence others will be of use this campaign.
Languages As you are venturing to the shattered remains of Azlant, having someone in the party that knows a bit of ancient Azlanti could be helpful in case you come across any ruins or artifacts from thousands of years ago. Knowing that you will be living on a remote island and studying the area might point to the usefulness of learning Aquan in case you meet any aquatic natives and want to open up diplomatic relations. Other than these selections, the main importance is being able to easily communicate with your companions and the other members of the colony, and Common fulfills that goal.
Races The draw of exploring new land and establishing a foothold in them appeals most to humans, and since this expedition is into the heart of the ancient society that predated humanity’s spread across the Inner Sea, humans are the most likely race to clamor for a place in the expedition. However, as the expedition originates in the Andoren metropolis of Almas, a wide variety of races can make sense. Essentially, any race that could be found in Almas could find its way into this campaign.
Even though dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs have little racial connection to lost Azlant, many of them still have an urge to explore untouched lands. It’s widely believed that halflings lived among the Azlanti, so a member of that race might feel inspired to investigate this ancient claim. Elves familiar with their race’s history prior to Earthfall might know that there was animosity between the elves and the Azlanti (which is why the Mordant Spire watches over ruined Azlant to this day, as they did in the past), and elves in this campaign might want to explore that millennia-old relationship. Some races might make more sense later in the campaign rather than at the beginning. Since the expedition to Talmandor’s Bounty begins in Almas, it’s not as likely that exotic races would be a part of the initial expedition (of course, exceptions to this are always possible as PCs are exceptional among their kind). For example, a half-elf from the Mordant Spire could be a thematically appropriate race selection for this campaign, but it’s unlikely that such a character would be hanging out in Almas applying for the expedition. An option for exploring a more exotic race later in the campaign is to change characters, having your original character fade into the background of the colony while your new character (such as a merfolk or Mordant Spire elf ) enters the scene and joins up with the fledgling colonists or the rest of the party. A minor exception to this would be gillmen. Nearly 50 years ago, a delegation of gillmen came to Almas to present to the nation of Andoran the keystone from the Arch of Aroden as a gift. While many of those gillmen who originally made this gesture would be old by now, your character could be the child or grandchild of one of these diplomats. (If you choose to play a gillman in this Adventure Path, make sure to look up the lore surrounding them; this race has some significant weaknesses that, given the themes of this campaign, might place them at a serious disadvantage compared to other races.)
Dwarves focused on fighting against aberrations can select the deep warrior (Advanced Race Guide) or the sense aberration (Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures) alternate racial traits, and those looking to dive into the depths can select the saltbeard alternate racial trait
(Advanced Race Guide). Advanced Race Guide also has the spirit of the waters alternate racial trait for elves, the heart of the sea alternate racial trait for humans, and water child alternate racial trait for half-elves as options for characters in aquatic environments. In addition, undines have a number of helpful options in Advanced Race Guide, such as the amphibious, deepsight, and terrain chameleon alternate racial traits.
Half-elves with aquatic elf heritage can use the shoreborn subrace found in Pathfinder Player Companion: Bastards of Golarion, and shoreborn half-elves can choose the child of the sea alternate racial trait. For a creepier take on humanity, humans can select the aquatic ancestry alternate racial trait in Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures. Changlings spawned from sea hags have the sea lungs special ability, but they can trade that for the ocean’s daughter alternate racial trait if the character is more interested in swimming than holding her breath. These rules can be found in Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide.
Religion While the venture that brings you to Talmandor’s Bounty is a secular one, there isn’t any judgment against the faithful. An exception to this would be the veneration of any evil deities, as those don’t lend themselves to ideals of cooperation and building community. It’s possible you are aware of other members of your particular expedition, and as such you might have learned that an Abadaran priest and an Erastilian priest are traveling with you.
Traits In addition to the campaign traits listed on pages 9–11 of this player’s guide, players might consider several other traits suitable to this campaign. In addition to traits that are a good fit for your particular character, traits that aid in exploration, discovery of ancient relics, and ways to expand your knowledge of the world fit well in this campaign.
Garundi characters might be interested in the relic hunter race trait in Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the Sands as it pertains to uncovering ancient magical devices in long-lost ruins. Likewise, the pragmatic activator magic trait in Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign can aid in this endeavor. Similarly, the scholar of ruins human race trait, also from Ultimate Campaign, could be useful in this campaign. Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the Stars offers the born under the stranger combat trait that can help when feinting against aberrations. If you are looking for ways to help your character with swimming and dealing with the difficulties and challenges of aquatic terrain, consider some of the following traits. Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of the Elements has the aquatic survivor region trait. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods has the strong swimmer religion trait for characters who worship Gozreh. Pathfinder Player Companion: Inner Sea Primer has a couple of region traits: Oagon diver for characters from the Sodden Lands and Mordant heritage for characters from the Steaming Sea. The pearl diver race trait in Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the Sands could be helpful for half-elves, and if your GM allows undines, the slippery step race trait in the same book might be a good trait choice. The regional traits sea-souled and river rat from Ultimate Campaign could represent characters who come from places that might make them better at dealing with the dangers of watery environments.
Campaign Traits When the Bountiful Venture Company announced this expedition to lost Azlant, many people were excited and came to Almas from all around Avistan and Garund in hopes of being selected for the colony. Competition was fierce, especially for the founding journey. Many who were in the running for that first trip but weren’t selected were automatically slated for the second outing. Others had to compete with plentiful applicants to get a spot on the Peregrine. For one reason or another, you either didn’t apply weren’t selected for the first trip and now you have to stand out among a large crowd of qualified applicants.
The following campaign traits represent an element of your character or ability that edged out other applicants and led to the Bountiful Venture Company choosing you as one of their colonists.
Athletic: You have always had a knack for physical activity. You either grew up in a rural area and had an active childhood where you were always climbing trees, swimming in lakes and rivers, and clambering up rocky hillsides, or you competed in and excelled at contests or sports while growing up in a larger settlement. Due to this background, little can slow you down or inhibit your movements. When the Bountiful Venture Company interviewed you, they noticed your stature and physicality, and they chose you for the colonial expedition knowing that a strong back is always helpful in a growing colony.
You reduce your armor check penalty by a number equal to one-third your character level (minimum 1) for purposes of Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim checks, and you gain a +1 trait bonus to one of these three skills, chosen when you take this trait.
Azlanti Scholar: You are familiar with an aspect of Azlanti lore. Maybe you first became enamored with this ancient culture after stumbling across a copy of the first volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles or after learning about Azlant in a university or another type of formal education. Perhaps your parents or guardians were scholars and you’ve grown up hearing about and reading about the ancient Azlanti. For years you dreamed about visiting the continent’s ruins and returning with a discovery that could propel your career. Due to this scholarly bent, the Bountiful Venture Company selected you to join the colony at Talmandor’s Bounty.
You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), and Use Magic Device checks, and one of these skills is a class skill for you. In addition, you gain Azlanti as a bonus language.
Eagle Knight Recruit: Since Talmandor’s Bounty is an Andoren colony and is unlikely to see the threat of slavery, the presence of the Eagle Knights isn’t strongly needed, and the Bountiful Venture Company would prefer to not have that organization immediately associated with the colony (despite the colony’s name having been derived from the Eagle Knights’ patron, Talmandor). However, the need for safety can’t be overlooked. You were a soldier in the Andoren army or you were a civilian who showed great promise in military matters. The Eagle Knights recruited you and offered unofficial Eagle Knight status if you managed to make it into the ranks of the colonists. There, you would see to the safety of the colony and send back reports with each supply ship regarding the general state of the colony and any threats you notice. The Bountiful Venture Company admired your military prowess and selected you for the second wave of colonists to arrive at Talmandor’s Bounty.
You begin play with a breastplate, a longsword (or some other martial or simple weapon), and an additional 100 gp of gear. In addition, you gain a +1 trait bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting effects.
Employee: You have worked for the Bountiful Venture Company or you are the child of one of its current employees. This connection helped you get a leg up on the competition to get involved in the establishment of Talmandor’s Bounty. The company didn’t want nepotism to show through too strongly, so you weren’t included in the first wave of colonists and instead have been selected to accompany the second wave of colonists to the island. You don’t want people to know that you’re part of the company, but your contacts in the Bountiful Venture Company didn’t necessarily tell you that you needed to keep it a secret.
You begin play with an additional 150 gp of equipment and know (at least in some capacity) one of the other company employees: Lyra Heatherly, Perrell Beys, or Ramona Avandth. Due to your association with the Bountiful Venture Company, your words and ideas may carry additional weight with the other employees of the company. (Your GM can grant a +1 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks in regards to these people in certain situations.) In addition, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks, and Bluff is always a class skill for you.
Expert Explorer: Adventurous scholars raised you, or perhaps you were born during an expedition and haven’t known any other life. You get fidgety and impatient when you become too familiar with a certain place. You are used to having excitement and the quest for knowledge guides your path in life, and you picked up a number of skills along the way that relate to this lifestyle. During your interview with the Bountiful Venture Company, they were impressed with the diverse locations you’ve visited in your life and selected you because of your skills in maneuvering uncharted territory.
Choose one Knowledge skill when you gain this trait. You gain a +1 trait bonus to check with that Knowledge skill and Survival checks, and either that Knowledge skill or Survival is a class skill for you. In addition, you treat the machete as a simple weapon.
Following in the Footsteps: One of your dear friends or family members was part of the first wave of colonists to be selected by the Bountiful Venture Company to establish Talmandor’s Bounty. You applied for the first wave as well, but weren’t selected. Now that you’ve made your way into the second wave, you can’t wait to be reunited with your family member. Your devotion to your family or friends is important to you, and it shows not only in how you feel about that friend or family member you are soon to reunite with, but also in how you treat other people with respect.
Whenever you use the aid another action to aid an adjacent ally, increase the bonus you grant your ally by 1. In addition, due to your positive and helpful nature, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks.
Healthy: You come from a long line of hale and long-lived people. Growing up, you rarely got sick and had enough energy to run all day if it suited you. You don’t get as tired as other people and repeated physical activities don’t seem to bother you much. You were selected as part of the expedition because the Bountiful Venture Company saw great importance and promise in your robust health.
You gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saves, Swim checks to prevent nonlethal damage from fatigue after swimming for more than an hour at a time, and Constitution checks to prevent fatigue. In addition, you can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to 3 times your Constitution score.
Pathfinder Recruit: Explore, report, and cooperate. This is the credo you’ve lived by since you’ve joined the Pathfinder Society, and after hearing about the expedition to found Talmandor’s Bounty you applied, eager to see the remains of Azlant. However, you quickly learned that the Bountiful Venture Company wasn’t interested in involving the Pathfinder Society in the formation of the colony. This struck you as strange, because who else has as keen an understanding of some of the elements of ancient Azlant as the Pathfinder Society? Regardless, you went through the application process, making sure to highlight all of your applicable skills and experience while keeping your involvement in the Society to yourself. You were elated to receive notice that you were selected for the second wave of colonists bound for the broken continent of Azlant.
You begin play with a standard wayfinder (see sidebar on page 11) and you gain a +1 trait bonus on initiative checks.
Resourceful: You’ve always had a knack for building and repairing things. As a kid, you always got into your parents’ tools and tinkered with things around the house. As you got older, you started making things not only to entertain yourself but also to take in a little extra money. People have noticed your skill and have frequently come to you to make something for them or to repair a pesky device or item. Every time you’ve amazed them at how quickly you do your work and how few resources you squander in the process. Likewise, the Bountiful Venture Company noticed your skill at not only creating wonderful wares, but also how effortlessly and efficiently you work in your trade. You always seem to make do with less, often in unexpected ways.
Choose one Craft or Profession skill when you gain this trait. You gain a +1 trait bonus on checks with that skill. In addition, the time required for you to create a magic item is decreased. You require only 8 hours for every 1,500 gp in the item’s base price (instead of the normal 8 hours per 1,000 gp). You can create potions and scrolls whose base price is 375 gp in just 2 hours; potions and scrolls with a base price more than 375 gp but less than 1,500 gp take 8 hours to create, just like any other magic item.
Seasoned Hunter: You grew up hunting every season, any season. Maybe you grew up in a rural area and hunted to put food on the table, or perhaps you come from a comfortable lifestyle where hunting for sport is an excellent excuse to camp in the wilderness and hone your skills. After sharing stories of your most exciting hunts and proving to them that you can hit a bull’s eye at 100 feet, the Bountiful Venture Company selected you for the expedition assured that you can provide food and security to the young colony.
Pick one of the following creature types: aberration, animal, magical beast, or vermin. You gain a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls or damage rolls (choose one; once chosen it can’t be changed) against creatures of that type.
Set Mind: Every time that you’ve said you’d do something, you’ve made sure to follow through. You can’t remember a time when you weren’t this way. People have a hard time making you change your mind once you’ve set yourself on a certain path. You might be exceptionally stubborn or you may just have a particular determination. Either way, you’re going to keep doing what you set your mind to. The Bountiful Venture Company recognized this useful trait of yours and selected you for the second wave of colonists because of your great resolve and unswerving dedication to what you set your mind upon.
Once per day when you fail a saving throw against a charm or compulsion effect that would cause you to act differently than you normally would, you can immediately reroll that saving throw as a free action. You must take the second result, even if it’s worse.
Skillful: You’ve always been interested in a wide array of things, and growing up you’ve spent time honing some of these talents, which has helped you in life. Some have attributed your successes to luck, but others have recognized what you truly have—skill. This interest in and practice of a diverse array of skills and abilities has served you well in a number of different jobs, and following in your varied interests you learned of the expedition to the ruins of Azlant. After your application, the Bountiful Venture Company selected you for the expedition because your skillful approach to matters would be helpful for a growing colony.
Once per day when you fail an Acrobatics, Climb, Spellcraft, Stealth, or Use Magic Device check, you can immediately reroll that check as a free action. You must take the second result, even if it’s worse.
Joining You on the Voyage After spending 6 weeks on the open water aboard a sailing vessel named Peregrine, your character has a chance to get to know the other PCs as well as the other people on the ship.
Captain Jacob Markosi (LN male middle-aged human fighter 5/expert 2), a blueeyed man in his 40s, leads the Peregrine’s crew. He’s a fair man, and steadfastly loyal to his crew, even above his loyalty to the Bountiful Venture Company. Directly below him is First Mate Naerath (NG female half-elf fighter 2/rogue 2), a half-elf from Andoran. The Peregrine’s navigator is a woman with a powerful presence named Tyra Swain (N female human oracleAPG 3), and a burly half-orc named Raerg (N male half-orc brawlerACG 4) serves as the boatswain. The final officer on board is Bean Counter Brady (LN female halfling expert 2/ranger 2) who serves as quartermaster. The Peregrine also has 16 sailors who work the rigging and keep the ship tidy.
The passengers on the Peregrine consist of all the colonists, the PCs included, who are part of the second wave of settlers to Talmandor’s Bounty. In addition to 6 colonial soldiers, the following people accompany the PCs and 36 other colonists.
Alba Divenvaar (LN female middle-aged dwarf alchemistACG 4) has traveled the Inner Sea extensively in her years, and longs to one day make it to the shores of Arcadia to discover the alchemical secrets of that land. Anya Sandstrider (CG female human ranger 3) is a Shoanti exile from the Cinderlands. She comes across gruff, but this is just a cover for her kind nature. The skills she displayed as a hunter and naturalist led to her inclusion on the expedition. Carver Hastings (NG male human bard [archaeologistUC] 4) is an aloof and serious explorer who joined the expedition as a soldier despite his academic yearnings. He is incredibly interested in the history of the region. Eamon Caranth (LG male half-elf cleric of Erastil 3) is a relaxed and friendly priest who can often be found joking and playfully arguing with his longtime friend Kurvis. He eagerly helps others out on the ship. Harcourt Carrolby (LN male human aristocrat 4) came from a wealthy family of horse breeders and is a bit of a snob. He joined the expedition to Talmandor’s Bounty to establish a stable and ranch on the island. Kurvis Nurpico (LN male middle-aged human cleric of Abadar) is the other priest among this second wave of colonists. He outwardly appears to be a curmudgeon, but at times his expression softens. Luetin Calewick (N male human commoner 1/ expert 3) is a balding man with a bushy moustache who is traveling to Talmandor’s Bounty to serve as an assistant to the blacksmith who arrived in the first wave of colonists. He’s harmless enough, but often rubs people the wrong way, and is prone to sizing people up to determine their attitudes and opinions, often adjusting his own in order to fit in with those he associates with. Lyra Heatherly (CG female half-elf expert 3/ranger [guideAPG] 1) is a surveyor with a penchant for danger and is an employee of the Bountiful Venture Company. Perrell Beys (LN female human expert 3/rogue 1), an employee of the Bountiful Venture Company, is a scholar and historian who plans to document the growth of the colony and provide advice on any ruins or ancient relics the colonists come in contact with. Ramona Avandth (NG female human bard 5) is the Bountiful Venture Company’s designated leader for the colony, sent along in the second wave to relieve the leader of the first wave of colonists.
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