Milk and Tea - OOC

[Archemist]

Greetings, players!

This will be the OOC thread for the Milk and Tea campaign, a colonial/steampunk 5e game. The original Recruitment thread can be found here.
The IC thread is here.

Spoiler: story hook from Recruitment Thread

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It started with Tea and Milk. Not the drinks - the guilds. Aveiro had always been a rural state, dominated by two main exports. Tea, from farmers always eager to devote any spare land to lucrative tea plants, sometimes even land that should have been growing food instead. And dairy, via the rancheros, grazing their cows wherever possible, clearing forests one day and making the finest cheese on the continent the next. On any continent, really.

One might think Tea and Milk would go together nicely. But these groups didn't mix. Milk had been winning: From local mayoral races to the ruling Landowners' Council itself, the Milk faction had the edge.

And this would have been fine, perhaps, if Aveiro was alone. It wasn't. Still under the thumb of the kingdom of Daelesa across the sea, many in Aveiro wanted independence. Milk wasn't having it, though - they wanted Daelesa's help in starting a war against their neighbor Belo Campo, which had lots of good ranch land to the south. So Tea had naturally started making more and more pro-independence noises. And rumors were that they were getting some financial backing from Aveiro's neighbor to the north, Minas Gerais, a halfling kingdom that predated the Daelesian arrival.

Your characters find themselves in Aveiro's largest city, Amarelo, and the streets are feeling charged with nervous energy as another mayoral election approaches.

Edited to add:
I'm going to try to sum up the various factions and their relationships, starting with the Old World:

Spoiler: Old World kingdoms

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Daelesa: the colonial power that owns Aveiro.
Otral: the colonial power Ara's from, a smaller ally of Daelesa. They own some more fringe colony area north and west of Aveiro, but mostly isolated settlements.
Vanicia: a larger colonial power neighboring the first two. It is a bit more magitech in its style and it is the original colonial power of Belo Campo.

The "New" World:

Spoiler: New World democracies

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Belo Campo: a mostly independent republic to the south of Aveiro. It has some magitech and interestingly, its aristocracy is mostly elven. The elven natives there allied themselves with the colonists in their independence efforts against Vanicia.
Aveiro: where you are! Aveiro is a giant area of land in the middle of the continent and while its east coast is pretty firmly under the control of Daelesa, its other borders are... flexible. Its exports mainly head back to Daelesa but go everywhere as it is a great environment to grow the food that the Old World's big cities need, cheaply. Much of Aveiro's labor is native "servants" and poor refugees, so it is not as technologically advanced or as organized as any of the above. Aveiro has a ruling council of Landowners that has a lot of power over local affairs but hasn't ever gone against Daelesa. And since most of the settlements are a long ways away from each other, local mayors have a lot of power too, at their level, almost like regional governors or lords.
Minas Gerais: The halfling nation to Aveiro's north. They were here first, but were happy to just live off the land in their little burrows before everybody else showed up.

Aveiro's factions:

Spoiler: Milk and Tea

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Milk: the ranchers that currently control much of the colony's power. They're loyal to Daelesa since Daelesan soldiers enforce their policies on who they can trade with and what products leave on which ships. The ranchers get priority over the farmers, often, and have less tax on their goods leaving the colony. They also tend to get first dibs on new land around settlements that has been conquered in the west.
Tea: the farmers who grow tea (among other things). The leaders of the faction are mostly plantation owners but Tea includes many villages and family farms or homesteaders, too. They tend to favor more progressive policies and want independence from Daelesa, since they don't get to keep much of their profits.

Go ahead and post your sheets/backstories again for reference and pick a color to speak in. Also feel free to discuss how your characters might have interacted, if you like.

[animorte]

Kamp favors this color.

Kamp: Character Sheet

Spoiler: Backstory

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Always kept to myself, ya know? Was always smaller than the rest of 'em. So I watched. I always watched and remembered what I saw. Learned a few tricks along the way. There's so much going on and we're each a little piece of it, even the ants on the ground, bees in the air, and spiders in between. Those are the most fun to watch. They don't care what's going on out there, just doing their thing.

So, I left and took some of those little guys with me. I didn't mean to, but it's like they were watching me too. Anyway, I figured out that others don't really care what's going on in those darker places, as long as you leave them alone. I fit in, but when somebody came at me, I would always have some bit of information. The more I hung around, people started to figure out I knew things. So I made some coin out of it, learned a few more things, and moved on. I started keeping track of what I watched, who I watched. I got pretty good at finding a way to make the information work for me. For the right price, me and my swarm might be able to figure a few things out.

Mostly, we just watch... and wait...

Added: Looking forward to more detail as I'm thinking Kamp is from the side with Tea, where some areas likely went hungry, but he grew up on the outskirts of civilization, gradually making his way to greater populace with more opportunity to learn and share information. Also, eventually making some friends, perhaps a few whose path he'd crossed before. Definitely open to having closer ties with somebody of similar origin and experience.

Kamp: Hero Forge

Confirmation of accepted applicants?

[Archemist]

animorte, you may have jumped the gun slightly - but you've ended up in the right place, haha. Sorry if my table yesterday was confusing - it was meant to just be compiling the submissions I'd seen.

My plan is to have IC up by tomorrow morning, for what it's worth - so we have a little time to introduce the characters here as you like.

Is everyone here familiar with Roll20.net, if I were to put encounter maps there? I can also just keep things on the forums if folks prefer.

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: Forge

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Spoiler: Forge

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Forge is not a living being in the way most understand it. She is a construct, made of blended steel and other exotic alloys. Despite, or perhaps because of, her technically unliving nature, she has a spark in her-the spark of magic. She wields the might of the divine, though even more curious, she pays no heed to the realms and words of the gods, preferring instead to live in the moment and in this reality. She spends her time wandering, learning new magic, new smithing techniques, and perhaps even upgrading her own body. Forge often takes time to help those in need-from a simple Cure to an injured farmhand, to fixing horseshoes on a steed, to fighting off a pack of wolves, she stands proud in the face of adversity.

She is a huge fan of metalwork, from sculptures to scaffolding. She could go on for literal hours about smithing technique, alloying, and all manner of other minor details most people don't care about.
She doesn't like rust monsters, for obvious reasons. She also dislikes pipe organs. "The vibrations rattle my gears," she says.

If given 1,000 GP, she would likely invest them into the most promising pupils of a tinker, smith, or similar. She has, for now, reached the limit of her abilities to upgrade herself, and would like to let others learn so she can further enhance her form.

Forge's Sheet

Spoiler: Telepathy Details

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Forge is still working out her own mental abilities, as they came with a minor carryon. A spirit, a vestige, an apparition... Something that is not her that is in her mind. It hasn't seemed to be anything but benevolent so far-it lets her communicate silently with others, scan surface thoughts with some effort, and has even provided bits of advice via mental nudges. But she doesn't know what it is-and that concerns her.

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Couple of ideas for what Forge's passenger is-feel free to use them or not!

1) A deific messenger, from a god that wants Forge on their side.
2) A remnant of whatever spark was used to make Forge-her creator, after they passed? an innocent child, forced into the confines of a metal shell? an ancestor of some kind?
3) A more nefarious spirit, masquerading as a wholesome one in an attempt to gain a foothold into the world.

Forge, reporting for duty!

I've used Roll20, but often won't have proper access to it. So long as I can just say where Forge must go, though, it should be fine.

Forge will talk in indigo.

Spoiler: Thoughts On Other PC Interactions Thus Far

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Spoiler: Kamp

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Forge might've paid for assistance from Kamp once or twice. She's not exactly subtle, whereas Kamp is much sneakier, thus providing a good complement when needed.

Spoiler: Bota

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Bota and Forge could quite possibly have interacted with similar groups of people-healing those in need. Both being oddities, though Forge a little more obviously one, they might've felt kinship for one another.

Spoiler: Daniela

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I don't see tons of interaction here-possible small encounters, since Forge would often be amongst beggars and others in poverty, but not much reason for the two to have spoken a ton.

Spoiler: Aranarei

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Perhaps she had commissioned Forge for a metalwork project? Or possibly Forge worked with some of the soldiers for a stint. Also not seeing a ton here.

Forge's Sheet

[Lentrax]

Aranarei Kalythross will speak in this color.

Spoiler: Backstory, in progress

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Aranarei Kaylthross is the youngest child in the House of Kalythross. Her status, and her minor abilities with magic made her ideal to perform her duties as an officer in Her Royal Majesties army to gain some prestige for the family. So her father, Chalcei, Duke of the House of Kalythross, purchased her commission as an Ensign at the age of 14. She was able to purchase her way up to Lieutenant and during one of the wars on the Subcontinent, she purchased her Captaincy, but before she had served long enough to purchase her Majority, she received a letter from home.

An outbreak of disease had ravaged the family, and in the chaos that came after, her family’s holdings were threatened. So she sold her commission, and on the voyage home, she began studying her arcane texts in earnest, knowing that every scrap of power would be needed to restore her House’s position in the gentry. Upon her return to Oural, she found her family in disarray. Her eldest surviving brother had taken over the title of Duke, but his health was rapidly declining. With no one else healthy enough to do so, Aranarei made the decision to make another voyage to try and increase her House’s holdings in Aveiro, hopefully to stabilize the family’s position in court.

I have a Roll20 account, but haven't done anything with it yet, so I am not familiar with it, but we'll see how it goes.

[animorte]

Ah, I see now.

I have no experience with Roll20, but I've always been interested in the idea. I'll give it a look (though I mostly access here through my phone). Just going into work, so I'll be checking in periodically to interact this evening.

It should be noted that Kamp has acquired information from/for various alignment and class of folk, generally leaning toward the greater good in that everyone has a part to play, but likely has some unconventional contacts (provided working with the DM).

I definitely see the interaction with Forge and agree that they compliment each other nicely.

[Ridai]

Against all odds, rocking that gloriously mid statline, Senhor Bota Secreta and his spiffing hat are gonna get that mayo!

Spoiler: Character interaction ideas (wip, 3 out of 4)

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Aranarei
in the works

Daniela
So there Daniela was, going about her usual spy business, when a particularly juicy target entered the tea house, a merchant unusually secretive in his ways. He also came with bodyguards, making things a bit more difficult. But he was meeting a larger land-owner, so who knew what she might learn! At the same time, Bota was there, as locals had invited him after he did a bit of healing (mostly via handing out treats). He was not all that familiar with tea, but he heard there was milk in it! To his dismay, there was no milk. But even worse, there was so much porcelain. On all tables. Near edges. Heavy breathing ensued as Bota tried to keep it together and not test how close a cup could get to the table edge. Daniela and Bota had a brief interaction when she in her servant role tried to suggest teas to Bota, while Bota tried his best to be polite and keep both front paws flat on the table and in place. Spy business was getting rather aggravating because of how pushy the bodyguards where, but just when one of them got a bit rude at the supposed servant, Bota got startled, accidentally pushed a cup of tea off the table, burned his tail, startled even more, and bolted in seemingly all directions while meowing loudly. Daniela used the chance to snatch a document or two with no one the wiser. Bota remembers the nice lady who gave him something to cool his tail (after being reassured the tea wasn't out to get him), and some milk!

Forge
Perhaps they met accompanying a caravan, Forge to seek out a blacksmith in the town they were heading to, Bota just randomly traveling but welcoming not having to walk himself and mostly lying in the sun (though he had to make himself useful via healing, mending, and protection). So the two would chat, help people out, generally having a neat time. Once they reached the town, the people were a bit weirded out by Forge, but she seemed to at least ply a good trade with a respectable blacksmith, so she was out of everyone else's hair. Bota, meanwhile, was seen as an ill omen. So in the evening, when it was pouring outside, Forge saw a familiar cat with a hat, drenched from head to toe and looking rather miserable, since no one would allow him inside. Forge convinced the blacksmith to let Bota inside, and the grateful Bota helped cook food, aided Forge's trade with a bit of magic, and dried off close to the fires.

Kamp
Perhaps Kamp was hired to investigate alleged sightings of a beast in the forest, stealing food from the village at night. Bota was also there, handing out treats (goodberries) to the villagers to tide them over the food shortage. They chatted a bit on a chance meeting (Kamp also got asked if he needed a treat), though the cat seemed nervous. Through their respective investigations (or rather, for Bota, shenanigans), Kamp happened upon the shrouded food thief, who turned out to be a man living in the village, stashing what he stole in a small hidden hut. The beast, meanwhile... was Bota, who was seen in his giant cat form when accidentally came across the thief unknowingly while fending off wolves, but didn't get a good look at the guy. The thief pinned his deeds on the giant beast as a diversion, and was growing rather lazy in his attempts at stealth, since no one wanted to face a giant beast. Kamp easily found all the evidence, locations, and the man himself, the two apprehended him, Bota was no longer afraid of possibly getting lynched if someone connected the giant beast to the cat, and they went their merry ways.

[Lentrax]

Interactions With other PCs:

Spoiler: Forge

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It is possible that she would have met Forge while commisioning some kind of work. But It is also just as likely that they met at some point recently and had a conversation about magic, Ara being an obvious wizard (That fancy staff giving it away) makes that likely.

Spoiler: Kamp

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Reading the backstory lends me to think he is an info broker? So Ara may have paid for a name or two of someone she wanted to meet?

Spoiler: Daniela

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She possibly met Ara in a market. Her noble nature and obvious wizard possibly marking her as a mark for some cash and maybe info?

Spoiler: Bota

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Not sure yet.

[Archemist]

An attempt at a synthesized backstory:

Spoiler: Aranarei

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Aranarei Kaylthross is the youngest child in the House of Kalythross. Her status, and her minor abilities with magic made her ideal to perform her duties as an officer in Her Royal Majesties army to gain some prestige for the family. So her father, Chalcei, Duke of the House of Kalythross, purchased her commission as an Ensign at the age of 14. She was able to purchase her way up to Lieutenant and during one of the wars on the Subcontinent, she purchased her Captaincy, but before she had served long enough to purchase her Majority, she received a letter from home.

An outbreak of disease had ravaged the family, and in the chaos that came after, her family’s holdings were threatened. So she sold her commission, and on the voyage home, she began studying her arcane texts in earnest, knowing that every scrap of power would be needed to restore her House’s position in the gentry. Upon her return to Oural, she found her family in disarray. Her eldest surviving brother had taken over the title of Duke, but his health was rapidly declining. With no one else healthy enough to do so, Aranarei made the decision to make another voyage to try and increase her House’s holdings in Aveiro, hopefully to stabilize the family’s position in court.

GM notes: The trip to your home country takes about two weeks, a week or so longer than the trip to Daelesa. Options (your choice) for your "holdings" in Aveiro: Tea plantations, a mid-sized Ranch (Milk faction), or "untamed" land granted to you by your king on the far border with Belo Campo. Your military service likely involved some conflict with native fey and the founding of an outpost on the Belo Campo border called San João, which is a possible place you could have met Forge or Kamp.

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Spoiler: Forge

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Forge is not a living being in the way most understand it. She is a construct, made of blended steel and other exotic alloys. Despite, or perhaps because of, her technically unliving nature, she has a spark in her-the spark of magic. She wields the might of the divine, though even more curious, she pays no heed to the realms and words of the gods, preferring instead to live in the moment and in this reality. She spends her time wandering, learning new magic, new smithing techniques, and perhaps even upgrading her own body. Forge often takes time to help those in need-from a simple Cure to an injured farmhand, to fixing horseshoes on a steed, to fighting off a pack of wolves, she stands proud in the face of adversity.

She is a huge fan of metalwork, from sculptures to scaffolding. She could go on for literal hours about smithing technique, alloying, and all manner of other minor details most people don't care about.
She doesn't like rust monsters, for obvious reasons. She also dislikes pipe organs. "The vibrations rattle my gears," she says.

GM notes: Do you know the purpose for which you were constructed originally? With the Wanderer background, I think you've traveled pretty widely around Aveiro's continent and may even be "from here" if you want.

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Spoiler: Kamp

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Always kept to myself, ya know? Was always smaller than the rest of 'em. So I watched. I always watched and remembered what I saw. Learned a few tricks along the way. There's so much going on and we're each a little piece of it, even the ants on the ground, bees in the air, and spiders in between. Those are the most fun to watch. They don't care what's going on out there, just doing their thing.

So, I left and took some of those little guys with me. I didn't mean to, but it's like they were watching me too. Anyway, I figured out that others don't really care what's going on in those darker places, as long as you leave them alone. I fit in, but when somebody came at me, I would always have some bit of information. The more I hung around, people started to figure out I knew things. So I made some coin out of it, learned a few more things, and moved on. I started keeping track of what I watched, who I watched. I got pretty good at finding a way to make the information work for me. For the right price, me and my swarm might be able to figure a few things out.

Mostly, we just watch... and wait...

Looking forward to more detail as I'm thinking Kamp is from the side with Tea, where some areas likely went hungry, but he grew up on the outskirts of civilization, gradually making his way to greater populace with more opportunity to learn and share information. Also, eventually making some friends, perhaps a few whose path he'd crossed before. Definitely open to having closer ties with somebody of similar origin and experience.

GM notes: Kamp having seen the pros and cons of the Tea guild faction is great. You probably have indeed encountered any/all of the other PCs around the wilds or in some anti-Milk-faction work. Do you have an opinion on the natives of the continent vs. the colonists, though? Fighting alongside Ara might be just as likely as against, especially if you and/or Daniela want to have deeper connections with the wilds and native elf/centaur/fairy or halfling groups.

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Spoiler: Daniela

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Having been born as the illegitimate child of a ranch owner's wife and a native fey, with her and her mother both being sent away as soon as she was born, Daniela could expect to live and die in poverty as an outcast child. For her early life, she certainly seemed to be following this trend as her and her mother were forced to beg in the street. But as she grew toward adolescence, she showed a talent for all manner of mischief and thievery. With her experience as a courier and a petty thief, she was recruited into a local gang where she honed her skills. Daniela didn't lose her heart, however, and made sure to support her mother with whatever she could spare. And when she started hearing rumblings of the tea farmers' bid for independence against the ranchers, she made sure to join up to get payback on the people who had wronged both her and her mother. She was placed as a spy, posing as an easily-ignored servant among various ranchers to gather intelligence and cause trouble. Her very reason for being in town is to meet with her contact after being sent in on a shopping trip.

GM notes: Being "half fey" definitely works. How "visible" is your fey-ness? Just the ears? We'll say you haven't been in the capital city Amarelo very long, but have made some Tea faction contacts, including a half-orc man named Rodrigo da Silva who's done some behind-the-scenes work and delegated a couple tasks to you as well.

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Spoiler: Bota Secreta

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An awakened house cat, charged by his owner "Mama Shanty" to do penance for his extreme laziness and indifference by nurturing life until he has learned his lesson. After eight years of traveling, what appreciation Bota has gained for people and doing his work is also accompanied by being perpetually grumpy because of how many times people are ungrateful for his help, or how often people try to spit on him or kick him (or worse) because they think he is fey. Worse, he has been inflicted with enough empathy that he wants to continue, and no matter where he goes he ends up where he is needed in some way. Bota has trouble following the dizzying politics of the peoples, something about tea versus milk, and milk people starting bad things. But, well, bad things are coming. Mama Shanty hasn't forgiven him yet. And someone needs to be there for the people in the crossfire. Hopefully they remember to be grateful. He has adopted the habit of haggling for some kind of reward or return favor for his healing (within reason).

GM notes: I'm thinking you may be from the Old World / Daelesa and were a ship's cat for a little while, if you like the sound of that. The "New World" is a little friendlier and you absolutely can have traveled into the wilderness and developed some shifting skills to survive among the larger jungle cats. But I like all your PC interaction suggestions and think it'd work well tie you to most of the others, especially "working" with Daniela, which makes for a fun pairing.

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Other notes: I'm super surprised that none of the character submissions went for guns in this setting. Others may have them, though, especially folks from the Old World.

I'm going to try to sum up the various factions and their relationships, starting with the Old World:

Spoiler: Old World kingdoms

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Daelesa: the colonial power that owns Aveiro.
Otral: the colonial power Ara's from, a smaller ally of Daelesa. They own some more fringe colony area north and west of Aveiro, but mostly isolated settlements.
Vanicia: a larger colonial power neighboring the first two. It is a bit more magitech in its style and it is the original colonial power of Belo Campo.

The "New" World:

Spoiler: New World democracies

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Belo Campo: a mostly independent republic to the south of Aveiro. It has some magitech and interestingly, its aristocracy is mostly elven. The elven natives there allied themselves with the colonists in their independence efforts against Vanicia.
Aveiro: where you are! Aveiro is a giant area of land in the middle of the continent and while its east coast is pretty firmly under the control of Daelesa, its other borders are... flexible. Its exports mainly head back to Daelesa but go everywhere as it is a great environment to grow the food that the Old World's big cities need, cheaply. Much of Aveiro's labor is native "servants" and poor refugees, so it is not as technologically advanced or as organized as any of the above. Aveiro has a ruling council of Landowners that has a lot of power over local affairs but hasn't ever gone against Daelesa. And since most of the settlements are a long ways away from each other, local mayors have a lot of power too, at their level, almost like regional governors or lords.
Minas Gerais: The halfling nation to Aveiro's north. They were here first, but were happy to just live off the land in their little burrows before everybody else showed up.

Aveiro's factions:

Spoiler: Milk and Tea

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Milk: the ranchers that currently control much of the colony's power. They're loyal to Daelesa since Daelesan soldiers enforce their policies on who they can trade with and what products leave on which ships. The ranchers get priority over the farmers, often, and have less tax on their goods leaving the colony. They also tend to get first dibs on new land around settlements that has been conquered in the west.
Tea: the farmers who grow tea (among other things). The leaders of the faction are mostly plantation owners but Tea includes many villages and family farms or homesteaders, too. They tend to favor more progressive policies and want independence from Daelesa, since they don't get to keep much of their profits.

Apologies for the wall of text. They are a side-effect of campaigns with some intrigue. And I haven't yet made an official map for this campaign, lol. Soon... I know my intent was to start tomorrow but I may give it another day or two for Earth Traveler to check in and to keep chatting about character stuff for a minute.

[JNAProductions]

I'm thinking...

Spoiler: Origin Story

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Forge awoke in an overgrown basement. Vines creeping in from the roof above, moss covering the floor, and the faintest rays of sunlight beaming in from where a tree root cracked the flooring above. She was surrounded by discarded scraps of metal and old gizmos long since faded in potency.

There was a book on the ground near her, where it had fallen from a table with its legs rotted away. But when she went to examine it, it crumpled to dust, time having taken its toll.

She gathered what she could from the room, and left.

[Ridai]

I was thinking Bota spent most of his life in Aveiro, partially building reputation (whether that is mostly good or bad remains to be seen). But he could have started years back as a young ship's cat who was very lazy and eventually got charged by Chauntea (or a Chauntea-worshipping sea witch?).

My initial build idea was a broom-riding magical gunslinger Hexblade, but then I rolled and had to go Moon Druid. (But to be fair, it would have been basically an Eldritch Blast thing instead of actually using guns, since EB just seems better)

I don't yet have a good sense of what Ara does in Aveiro and what sort of problems she might have run into, but the backstory seems to still be in progress, so I am waiting with that.

Also, how are we handling Wild Shape HP? Are the wild shapes' hit dice also maximized, or should I use the average given in the monster entries?

[animorte]

More interaction!

Spoiler: Forge

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Kamp retains information well, but even then Forge is a difficult one to forget. He recalls a specific time in which she was in need of a repair or an upgrade. Not out of the ordinary for a construct, but she sought to use it for the benefit of others. Now that was something special, she played her part well. Naturally he had a lead on the matter and was able to delve deeper and acquire further what she needed. They went their separate ways, but he left having learned an interesting type of lesson. No excuse is good enough to ignore those in need.

Spoiler: Bota

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Kamp is very familiar with areas of poverty and it's rarely as simple as a bad year for crops. Thievery draws more attention in places of need. He appreciated the effort of a certain catfolk, making an extended effort to fill in the gaps and help others. A collected effort on both of their parts made the ordeal a simple one, and he was glad to be reminded those playing their part even in the most dire of times.

Spoiler: Aranarei

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Kamp would never have traveled as far north as Ara lives, but she's traveled a lot. He's definitely crossed the paths of soldiers through town. Perhaps she needed some business investment detail or military positioning to avoid ambush. If she's aligned with Tea, then he's likely helped her acquire intel on others. If she's aligned with Milk, then he probably has something on her.

Spoiler: Daniela

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Kamp has been near areas of poverty a bit more than in those of higher class. They probably didn't meet until after she had been established, but they could easily have been on a shared mission (knowingly or not). He could have even been her contact at some point.

Spoiler: A bit more info developed on Kamp

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If pressed by somebody worth mentioning it to, Kamp would claim the side of Tea. To a potential client he is a friend of coin, favors, and information. Of course, the more desperate folk are, the more they're willing to pay to discover the truth in many different ways (including food supply and blackmail). This could be anywhere from the darkest alley to the brightest peak.

While he prefers to spend his time in the shade, other informants have difficulty placing a bet against him. Anybody who learns of his trade expects him to be seen anywhere with just about anybody.

Kamp consistently spends time back and forth anywhere between Belo Campo and Minas Gerais. He certainly feels more at comfort in the presence of fey, as they tend to have a greater appreciation for nature and the flow of life, in which everything is its own little piece of the bigger puzzle.

He's probably helped to organize trade structure on a very small scale. While he tends to avoid politics, his ulterior motive of a greater good can be encountered when he's not at the mercy of dangerous patrons.

Spoiler: One with the Swarm?

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My plan for Kamp is a great deal of reliance on his swarm-keeping. I'm wanting to basically flavor most of his abilities as the swarm he is so closely attuned with, if that's acceptable.

Mage Hand: obvious, comes with the subclass description
Alarm: a perimeter of cicadas or crickets
Entangle/Web: ant hills and spider webs that corrupt the battlefield
Faerie Fire: fireflies that latch onto every surface
Mending: worker bees/ants as pseudo-nanites coming together to reconstruct the target
Thieve's tools: see where I'm going with this, haha.

[Earth Traveler]

Hey everybody! Sorry for the late response... I work nights and I've been a little preoccupied today.

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snip

I think this is going to depend on what faction your family is aligned with. If you end up picking the ranchers, then Daniela probably knows something about you, at least, and maybe robbed her at some point. :p

snip

LOL... that was pretty good. Probably the most they've interacted so far, though.

How "visible" is your fey-ness? Just the ears?

I was thinking the ears and her having some of the angular features of fey. Enough that she might pass as human at just a brief glance, but anything more wouldn't have that mistake happens. +1 to the capital city point.

snip

Yeah, I like this idea. I'll flesh it out a little more.

Link to Daniela's character sheet before I forget.

Interactions with other characters:

Spoiler: Aranarei

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With Ara's family owning a large amount of land and not using it to grow tea, they naturally drew some ire from the Tea guild. However, some basic investigation revealed they were trying to remain neutral on the Milk-Tea feud, and thus began a carousel of sabotage attempts, which included Daniela, in an effort to drive them into selling their land for cheap. Daniela also has a personal dislike of Ara and her family for their role in conquering and oppressing the native fey.

Spoiler: Forge

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Probably never met. Daniela was only living on the streets for about ten or twelve years.

Spoiler: Bota Secreta

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Outside of one comical interaction, these two have probably not interacted much, outside of maybe seeing each other slink around.

Spoiler: Kamp

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Fellow outcasts have likely at least seen each other, and Daniela has definitely met with Kamp to make use of his information-brokering services. She probably doesn't quite trust him knowing that he's only in it for the money, but she knows that he's reliable (even if she doesn't like all the creepy-crawlies he keeps around).

Almost forgot, Daniela will be using this color.

[Lentrax]

An attempt at a synthesized backstory:

Spoiler: Aranarei

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Aranarei Kaylthross is the youngest child in the House of Kalythross. Her status, and her minor abilities with magic made her ideal to perform her duties as an officer in Her Royal Majesties army to gain some prestige for the family. So her father, Chalcei, Duke of the House of Kalythross, purchased her commission as an Ensign at the age of 14. She was able to purchase her way up to Lieutenant and during one of the wars on the Subcontinent, she purchased her Captaincy, but before she had served long enough to purchase her Majority, she received a letter from home.

An outbreak of disease had ravaged the family, and in the chaos that came after, her family’s holdings were threatened. So she sold her commission, and on the voyage home, she began studying her arcane texts in earnest, knowing that every scrap of power would be needed to restore her House’s position in the gentry. Upon her return to Oural, she found her family in disarray. Her eldest surviving brother had taken over the title of Duke, but his health was rapidly declining. With no one else healthy enough to do so, Aranarei made the decision to make another voyage to try and increase her House’s holdings in Aveiro, hopefully to stabilize the family’s position in court.

GM notes: The trip to your home country takes about two weeks, a week or so longer than the trip to Daelesa. Options (your choice) for your "holdings" in Aveiro: Tea plantations, a mid-sized Ranch (Milk faction), or "untamed" land granted to you by your king on the far border with Belo Campo. Your military service likely involved some conflict with native fey and the founding of an outpost on the Belo Campo border called San João, which is a possible place you could have met Forge or Kamp.

I would imagine that most Otralans would have made claims to 'untamed lands' to avoid getting themselves (overtly) involved in the political dealings of other colonial powers. I would say that the Kaylthross's holdings are small, perhaps only a couple hundred acres of jungle and mountain which everyone thought useless. Of course, such an environment is very suitable to the growing of some types of coffee, which makes the family holdings slightly more valuable, but also sets the Tea faction against them, even though the family has tried to stay out of their politics.

This sort of addition, makes it more likely that Forge would likely have been hired by the family to help with the constructing of metalworks on the grounds, probably a mill of some kind? No, wait. Repairs. her family hires out to anyone who will help them repair damage done by attempted sabotage of the family's machinery.

Because of the natural rivalry in the beverage markets, this would make her family a target for espionage and possibly sabotage from Tea faction agents, which could provide opportunities to have interacted with Daniela (gathering intelligence on the Kalythross estate?) and possibly Kamp.

And I can definitely see Daniela having nothing but contempt for Ara, since Ara was part of the military campaigns against the Fey. Which might make it more likely that she sees Ara and her family as against the Tea faction, even though Ara considers herself neutral in the whole thing. And if Daniela and Bota end up having been partners in the past, that would make it likely that Bota or Daniela gathered intelligence on her and her family and it ended up getting into Kamp's possession.

And as for Kamp, I could definitely see Ara having paid for information during her years of campaigning against the fey. He probably does keep information on her, just because of the natural rivalry between the competing hot beverages.

[Archemist]

Only fair for you folks to respond in kind - I appreciate the enthusiasm and ideas! Consider everything GM-approved that you've mentioned, about the holdings and Faerie Fire flavor and such.

Ridai, I hadn't considered Wild Shape hp... Max does seem slightly OP potentially so let's still go with the listed values. This may seem like a downgrade instead, I know, but I'm willing to reevaluate if it seems like an issue in the first couple encounters.

Since everyone's here now I will go ahead and post an IC thread tomorrow morning if that sounds good. Also, I do realize California isn't the actual center of the universe, so apologies in advance for when I say things like "tomorrow morning" when it's already tomorrow in Germany.

Anyhow, last chances to tweak those character sheets and think about those allegiances. It feels like most folks are coming down on the side of Tea, which is fine by me. And in a tumultuous political landscape, who knows what might happen.

[JNAProductions]

Looking forward to the IC! :)

[Ridai]

Only fair for you folks to respond in kind - I appreciate the enthusiasm and ideas! Consider everything GM-approved that you've mentioned, about the holdings and Faerie Fire flavor and such.

Ridai, I hadn't considered Wild Shape hp... Max does seem slightly OP potentially so let's still go with the listed values. This may seem like a downgrade instead, I know, but I'm willing to reevaluate if it seems like an issue in the first couple encounters.

Since everyone's here now I will go ahead and post an IC thread tomorrow morning if that sounds good. Also, I do realize California isn't the actual center of the universe, so apologies in advance for when I say things like "tomorrow morning" when it's already tomorrow in Germany.

Anyhow, last chances to tweak those character sheets and think about those allegiances. It feels like most folks are coming down on the side of Tea, which is fine by me. And in a tumultuous political landscape, who knows what might happen.

Using standard wild shape HP seems like the standard behavior. I couldn't tell you whether going with that or maxed HP is better or not. Really, I am more worried about how to use Wild Shape, since that eliminates talking, and ending it burns the use, and Bota really doesn't have any meaningful offense outside of wild shape.

I'm not sure if Bota has much allegiance to one side or another. He is more annoyed and confused at what both sides are getting into and all the politics over something simple like milk and tea.

[animorte]

Only fair for you folks to respond in kind - I appreciate the enthusiasm and ideas!

Quite excited myself! I already genuinely appreciate the layout of interaction, world included. I'll spend some time second-guessing my decisions, but I'm ready to go!

[Archemist]

IC Thread is up!

Go ahead and let me know your reactions, do a little character description if you like, but roll initiative if you do anything... spicy.

[animorte]

Ah, and just before I head into work for the evening. I'll get to it soon as I can!

[JNAProductions]

(1d20-1)[16]
Init check, just so we don't have to roll it later.

If it ends up not being a fight... Then I hope this isn't a nat 20. :P

[Archemist]

You're hoping they'll stop - they're hoping you'll keep moving. Not quite to initiative just yet but I'll keep the roll for reference, sure.

[animorte]

Laughed at that entire Bota post, I did.

[Archemist]

Laughed at that entire Bota post, I did.

Yep, same! Now the hard part is trying to figure out how to respond, hehe. Is that much mayo enough of a health risk to start initiative? Hard to say.

Since everybody's had a chance to weigh in on the IC now (yay!) and is examining the scene, everyone should go ahead and roll Perception, at least.

[JNAProductions]

(1d20+6)[26]

Perception!

[animorte]

My passive perception is wonderful (22). I should hope so, being Kamp's specialty.

Perception: (1d20+7)[11]

[Ridai]

Perception - (1d20+3)[16]

What it says on the alchemy jug tin.

[Lentrax]

Perception: (1d20+3)[9]

[Archemist]

I'll try to put a little map together on Roll20 today and send out a link, see if that works out for folks. But we won't rely on that - this first little fight may not need it depending on how badly it goes for them, haha.

We'll do a group-Initiative of sorts so feel free to post IC before the enemies will act again. I don't require players to post in order of Initiative results but I may use it to resolve the order things happen in, if there's conflict with what people are trying to do.

The Command DC is 12, also, fwiw. Apologies if you spend your first turn bravely running away.

[animorte]

Hey, worse things could happen!

Initiative: (1d20+3)[9]

Wisdom save: (1d20+3)[10]