Lucius Cypher

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

A very solid 22.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Well naturally she'd be doing typical knight errant stuff, but in order to best make use of her skills and talents most efficiently, here's what I propose:

One thing Fran would endorse is making sure folks can take care of themselves. Wouldn't do Fran any good if people are too reliant on her help. To that end what she does best is fight, and thus she would spend a considerable out t of her time training folks in basic combat and drills. She'd use a combination of her noble status to ensure folks understand she's no shame, as well as her persuasion to convi ce more timid folks into giving it a try. But in particular she won't just rely on her charms: she is more than willing to train alongside these men and women and show them her strength, and typically will get them started some something easy such as quarter staves.

So in short, how about a persuasion check using strength to train folks?

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Good to know, good to know. Fairly understandable throughout, I thi j I'll buy some minor like the healer kit and drum. A bit shame about the horses but that's expected. Ought to save for armor but tbh I have no clue if/when we'd be back at the castle to buy it, and frankly there's probably good odds of Fran looting armor piecemeal from her enemies, especially if we go after bandits and the like.

With shopping done, is there anything in particular someone like Fran could do in the next few days? She unfortunately has no craft skills so nothing she can make, and I don't imagine there's much she can do as a barbarian that isn't basically regular guard work. She does however have animal handling, land vehicle prof, and prof in drums, if she can somehow use those for work or labor. I'm thinking something along the lines of just playing music to lift people's spirits and generally helping the folks out in the city, for whatever money or favor they can afford to give her.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Btw you mentioned the econ being a bit jank, so how much would equipment be? I think I'll have Fran buy some gear during the down time so just wanted to know what's available. Things in particular she wants to buy:

Some medium armor (either breastplate or even half-plate)
A drum
Healers kit
A horse (riding horse or war horse if possible)
Traveling supplies
Any potential upgrades to her weapons.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Works for me. I like to think the mysterious and unknown nature of their homelands is why the Varangian as a whole are both strong but paranoid warriors: they have had to fight many strange things and strange people and thus are used to axe first, ask questions later.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Glad to see you like her backstory! Personally I've always been a fan of seeing humanity's difference when you got actual fantastic races to compete against. I imagine one of the reasons for the Varangian current decline isn't necessarily out of decedence, but warfare: without a king to unite them and point them towards an enemy, the Varangian have been warring with their rival tribes and may be even considering invading other nations in order to amass more wealth and resources.

It hasn't been easy if course, but their overall goal certainly conflicts with the interests of the Dale and threatens other nations, only kept in check by the violent nature of their native homelands keeping them from growing too powerful. But with the weaken authority of the royal family enabling chais to seep in, things could take a turn for the worse if the Varangian actually manage to unite their homelands and sought scouting out their next area of conquest.

It would certainly put Francesca in between two worlds. On one hand she's proud of her warrior heritage of the Varangian but as such people are, unsurprisingly, violent and prone to attacking their neighbors. On the other she was born and raised in the Dale and has learned culture and lived there her whole life, but it's on a steep decline and needs strong leadership right now. And that's not even including how she sees the other nations and their potential to save or threaten her people.

You got a good thing going here and I'm interested in seeing how it all unravels. In any case, I'll read up on the IC and figure out where to insert myself.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Posted my CS. I changed the game proficiency from the Noble background to an instrument.

Here's my stat roll too:
11 14 13 11 16 11

Not the best stats, but not the worse either. Kinda wished that I could play around with the stats better, humans were never meant to be generalists, but I'll just have to make up for the lack of talent with better skills.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Francesca Varangian

Character Sheet

Francesca Varangian
Human Barbarian 4 LN

AC 14 HP 41 Speed 30ft

Str 18 (4) Dex 14 (2) Con 15 (2) Wis 12 (1) Int 11 (0) Cha 12 (1)

Skills
Athletics +6
History +2
Animal Handling +3
Insight +3
Perception +3
Persuasion +3
Vehicle (Land)
Dulcimer

Attacks
Halberd 6 1d10+4
Quarter Staff 1hd 6 1d6+4
Quarter Staff 2hd 6 1d8+4
Javelin 6 1d6+4


Versatile Skills - Proficiency with three skills or tools of choice.

Inner Strength (2/day) - Humans are not the most powerful of race in the land, but they have a tenacity that astounds those who travel with them. A number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency modifier, a Human may expend a hit die and give themselves advantage on any D20 roll.

Conduit of the Gods - Humans may attune to 5 magical items instead of the normal 3.

Position of Privilege - Thanks to your noble birth, people are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, and other people of high birth treat you as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to.

Polearm Master - You can keep your enemies at bay with reach weapons. You gain the following benefits:

When you take the Attack action and attack with only a glaive, halberd, quarterstaff, or spear, you can use a bonus action to make a melee attack with the opposite end of the weapon; this attack uses the same ability modifier as the primary attack. The weapon's damage die for this attack is a d4, and the attack deals bludgeoning damage.
While you are wielding a glaive, halberd, pike, quarterstaff, or spear, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter the reach you have with that weapon.

Rage (3/day) - In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action.

While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren't wearing heavy armor:

You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
When you make a melee weapon attack using Strength, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll. This bonus increases as you level.
You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

If you are able to cast spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging.

Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action.

Once you have raged the maximum number of times for your barbarian level, you must finish a long rest before you can rage again. You may rage 2 times at 1st level, 3 at 3rd, 4 at 6th, 5 at 12th, and 6 at 17th.

Unarmored Defense - While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Danger Sense - At 2nd level, you gain an uncanny sense of when things nearby aren't as they should be, giving you an edge when you dodge away from danger. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, you can't be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

Reckless Attack - Starting at 2nd level, you can throw aside all concern for defense to attack with fierce desperation. When you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.

Ancestral Protectors - Starting when you choose this path at 3rd level, spectral warriors appear when you enter your rage. While you're raging, the first creature you hit with an attack on your turn becomes the target of the warriors, which hinder its attacks. Until the start of your next turn, that target has disadvantage on any attack roll that isn't against you, and when the target hits a creature other than you with an attack, that creature has resistance to the damage dealt by the attack. The effect on the target ends early if your rage ends.

Primal Knowledge - When you reach 3rd level and again at 10th level, you gain proficiency in one skill of your choice from the list of skills available to barbarians at 1st level.

Great Weapon Master - You've learned to put the weight of a weapon to your advantage, letting its momentum empower your strikes. You gain the following benefits:

On your turn, when you score a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with one, you can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action.
Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.

History

Francesca Varangian comes from a long line of warriors who had faithfully serve the royal family of the Dale. Her lineage dates back to the days of Prince Braedan himself, where her great ancestor Sir Angon Varangian had distinguished himself by leading his clan against the Lord of Shadow and his minions, specifically by assigning the best of his warriors to protect important people and locations threaten by the Lord of Shadow. The Varangian's success has lead to a long lineage of warriors who continue their service protecting the royal family and serving their interests. Despite coming from a land outside of the Dales itself, they continue to send their strongest warriors to serve the Dale and bring back fortune and riches, and many choose to stay within the Dale to call it home.

Francesca is one of the many who's parent was a Varangian who choose to settle in the Dales, having settled with a native sword maiden and raised a family who continues to serve nobility. While many of her cousins and relatives ultimately served the royal family of the Dales, Francesca herself served as a Squire under a knight of House Archon, Sir Astrea Archon, a Sword Maiden renown for her chivalry and use of a chariot in battle. It was through Astrea that Francesca gained much of her skills in battle, as well as her general education and beliefs. Despite being her lesser, Astrea treated Francesca kindly, encouraging her to learn more about her history and to uphold herself to a code to live by. As she explains it, a code is what separates a knight from a mere murderer. For anyone can fight, but to kill without a code to live by makes you more a monster than a man. And knights are expected to be better than those who kill out of panic or passion.

It wasn't an easy lesson for Francesca to learn. The Varangians have a long reputation as mighty warriors, but they were no noble house because of their ferocity and love for battle. They were not like knights who fought for king and country. And Francesca herself had a hard time learning how to control her rage, often lashing out at those who would pester and bully her, but also shouted and threaten peasants and servants who simply were in the wrong place in the wrong time. There were many times that Francesca feared her rage would bring her dishonor. But Astrea opened her eyes by showing Francesca what true fury was.

Astrea brought Francesca across the Dales to see the horrors and hardships the people lived in. How the squalor turned virtues into sin. Women selling their bodies to feed their children, men using their strength to rob their neighbors instead of protecting their families. Children forced to become adults to survive, and adults reduced to groveling and begging due to starvation and sickness. Francesca would see these people suffering only to visit lavish castles with well-fed nobility and knights, feasting off the labor of their serfs. But these were in a minority compared to even more lords and ladies who were barely a step above the peasants: their homes were being robbed by raiders and rivals, unable to protect or provide for those they serve. Astrea showed Francesca these tragedies to make the young squire understand that her rage against her fellow squires and servants were nothing compared to the bleak and desperate lives of the common folk, and how her directionless anger only serves to make things worse.

It was then that Francesca had to learn how to control her rage, not to let it control her. Over time the young woman would become a warrior, mastering her emotions it like a true warrior should. While any knight or paladin can feel anger, Francesca learned how to harness rage as a weapon. Together with her lady Astrea, Francesca would continue her training as a knight. Always willing to use negotiations and reason first, but striking with certainty when all other options are exhausted. To be able to withstand many pain, be they cruel words or sharp swords, and controlling herself. This gave Francesca a new appreciation of battle. No longer a frantic affair of flight-or-fight reflexes, but an avenue of expression, and art of war. The fruits of her training culminated during the Pretender Uprising.

Sir Astrea and Francesca were at the Palace investigating a kidnapping. Many nobles were gathered there and the duo intended to ask around and gather information. Francesca wasn't able to find much, but began to realize that tensions were unusually high for what she thought was a typical feast held in the kingdom. Investigating her hunch, Francesca warned her mistress and prepared themselves to leave when the attack happened. They were fortunate to have been armed and armored in time to fight against the usurpers, though many palace guards and fellow nobles still died in the violence. Still Francesca earned her nobility that day when she choose to stay behind to allow Astrea to reach the royal family and protect them, while Francesca held back many rebels. She was able to buy enough time for the palace guard to rally and defeat the pretenders. After the battle was won, Francesca was knighted for her strength and honor.

The first of her family, Francesca took up her knighthood with pride. Though she was without land to call her own, she was still given the privileges of her station. Besides that, Francesca would never had settled down anyways. She choose to become a Knight Errant and travel around the Dale, to direct her rage against wrong doers and help those who needed her help the most. She sought to travel the Storied Road like Prince Braedan had, as well as battle against various monsters and men who would threaten the people. But she also wanted to see the world and learn why these creatures fight. She would seek out suffering and learn their stories. To understand why and how such tragedies occur.

Francesca was helping a village with an epidemic when she received the summons. Despite her reputation, Francesca was still honor bound to assist Princess Mildred and would leave to answer the summon for heroes.

Aesithas (D&D 5e Homebrew) - On Hiatus

Got an idea for a character, likely will make em a human barbarian. Question though, for character creation I assume standard rules for items and such? Or do we get any extra items? I understand that I'll be coming in after everyone has already gone through some stuff, so I imagine that they are a bit ahead of me in terms of equipment and probably aren't expected to provide me any items.

Aesithas, a D&D 5e Experiment by Fading Memory

I don't mind playing a human. Reading through your rules atm, might take me a bit but I can adapt easily enough. Anything in particular we need party wise? I'm thinking Human barbarian, but I can adapt to pretty much anything.