TOPIC: R4 Odyssey of the Dragonlords

MellyMel wrote:
No probs mate. Understood.

Just a heads up, I’ll be missing weeks 5 and 6 due to holiday

Sarge wrote:
Appreciate the heads up. Thanks.

CHARACTER CREATION

ABILITY SCORES
If you want to roll up for your base stats, that’s fine.
Otherwise use: 16, 14, 13, 12, 10, 10 for base stats; which is better than standard array.

RACE
There will be some restriction on choice of race, due to (a) the setting and (b) making life easier for the GM.

Yes Please
Primarily please, I encourage human, elf, half-elf or dwarf. I would like most of the party to be comprised of these fair folk of the settler races. It’ll make it so much easier to access places and engage in social interactions.

I’m okay with
I will allow one or two characters to be a little more exotic if you wish, to choose from: half-orc, tiefling, medusa, minotaur, nymph or satyr. Some of these are specific to this setting. There is a Player’s Guide available that explains them. Folk in Thylea will consider these monstrous races to be cursed or associate them with having allegiances to the Titans. Many people will treat these races with fear, prejudice and distrust.

Not allowed
I’m not allowing any other races, including centaurs and sirens.

PLAYER’S GUIDE
An Odyssey of the Dragonlords Player’s Guide is available as a free download in pdf format from the publishers and other sources. If you can’t find a download I can email you a copy if you want one.

CLASS
Any 5e core class you like. Each class has a new archetype/path available in the Odyssey of the Dragonlords Player’s Guide if you want to take a look

BACKGROUND
Take any background you want from those available in the 5e core rules. In addition to this I will be offering an epic background (tied to the setting) too. There are benefits for taking one and no drawbacks, so there’s good reason to consider taking one.

P.S.
As a thought—there are no orcs or goblins in this setting. So don’t choose their language or list them as a favoured enemy. Also, this means there are no half-orcs. If you’ve chosen to play as a half-orc, then you have either washed up on Thylea’s shores from a distant land, or else have been born as a ‘deformed human’ due to a curse.

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EPIC PATHS
A quick summary of the available epic paths follows. Each epic path is meant to be unique, therefore only one player can choose any given epic path. The Lost One path may be an exception to this. We’ll discuss this on first night. There are benefits and revelations to each path not explained here; such things will unravel during game play. These paths are elaborated upon further in the Player’s Guide.


The Cursed One
Whatever the nature of your curse, the stigma has haunted you all your life. You are shunned by the ignorant and the superstitious. This background will work well for anybody playing a monstrous race; such as a half-orc, medusa or whatever, in which case you were born into this body because your family was cursed. Your heroic task is to end your curse.

The Demi-God
You are a mortal child of Pythor, God of War. You’ve never known your father and you lost your mother at a young age. Your mother, Ophea (you can change the name if you wish), was snatched away by a green dragon. As a youth, the Oracle predicted great destiny for you. Your heroic task is to find your long-lost mother; if she still lives.

The Doomed One
All your life you’ve been plagued by ill-luck. Your parents died soon after you were born. Fortune tellers make signs against evil when they see you. You are doomed to die at the hand of some unnamed peril. The Temple of the Oracle has promised that your doom may yet be avoided. The Oracle alone knows how to protect you. Your heroic task is to defeat the creature that has been fated to kill you. If you save yourself, you may save the world.

The Dragonslayer
You have a tragic past. A dragon is responsible for destroying your world as a child. Perhaps it destroyed your village or, in polymorphic human form, carried out some insidious plot against your family. Whatever the circumstance, you are committed to discovering the identity and location of the dragon and to exact your vengeance upon it. Your heroic task is to destroy the dragon. It occurs to you that The Oracle may be able to help you find it.

The Gifted One
Ever since you were a child you have displayed remarkable talent. Some believe you have divine blood in your veins. You are from a poor background and draw the envy of more privileged peers. You therefore have spent much of your life trying to prove to the doubters and the envious that you are worthy of your natural gifts. Your greatest ambition is to become a Dragonlord (five centuries have passed since they existed). The Oracle’s call for heroes may just be the opportunity you need to prove yourself. Your heroic task is to found a new order of Dragonlords.

The Haunted One
You were once truly happy. You were born to a noble family and were destined to one day rule the city of Mytros. You resided in the city with your loving partner and children. But it all went to shit. One day you came home to find your house cold and empty. Your family was gone. Your friends and neighbours had no memory of you. It was like you never existed. Everyone you tried to tell your story to just thought you were crazy. You struggled against heartbreak and insanity for (months/years). But now you are resolved to find your family whatever the cost, even if you have to challenge the gods themselves. Your heroic task is to be reunited with your family and reclaim your name and legacy.

The Vanished One
Your are one of the legendary Dragonlords. You came to this world and fought the Titans five hundred years ago. You were present when the tiny settlement of Mytros was founded (today one of Thylea’s three great cities). However, during an expedition into the Cerulean Gulf you fell victim to the irresistible charms of a nymph named Versi. Your life has since been preserved, trapped in a waking dream with no knowledge of the passage of time. Versi is in love with you and would not let you die nor release you from her company—until now. Versi is the Oracle. And she knows you are fated to be a hero. And Thylea needs heroes. She has released you from her love spell and the hold she has over you. But she made you promise, that once your coming quest is complete, and the world is safe once more, you will return to her loving arms. Your heroic task is to find if you have any descendants and to reclaim your title as a Dragonlord.

The Lost One
You hail from a distant land. You were shipwrecked by a violent storm and awoke on the shores of a land unknown to your own world. In the city of Mytros your arrival is treated with more than a little wonderment, for did not the Oracle prophesise that a stranger would come, a chosen one whose fate it would be to save Thylea. Only an explorer who is not native to Thylea can take this background. Your heroic task (apart from apparently saving the world) is to search for any other surviving members of your crew.

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That should be all the information needed before we get started.

If you have any questions, want to lay claim to an epic path or have a character concept to share, please post below.