Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky

Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
#1
Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
ANCIENT TIDES
A Tale of Sea and Sky


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The gods are dead. They left a lot behind - a functioning cycle of life and death, a heap of divine servants, corpses magical enough to become worlds in their own right - but they’re not coming back. In the eons since, countless mortal civilizations have risen on these many worlds, and over time, a few have even managed to reach beyond. They crossed the threshold, one by one, into the oldest realm of all. The realm of the gods. The birthplace of souls. The Astral Sea.

For thousands of years now, mortals have spread across the nine known seas, building towns and fledgling nations, constructing great ships, and moving further and further afield from the worlds they knew. On these seas, anything is possible, and even the lowliest of mortals can accomplish wonders - or die trying. It’s time to set sail.


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Welcome to Ancient Tides, a solo-adventure-focused game based on Pathfinder 2nd Edition, which is assuredly not inspired by any similar games in any way. In this game, you will take the role of powerful characters, living upon the seas of the Astral Plane, pursuing any number of lofty goals, and making their mark upon the grand and ancient realm of the gods. In mechanical terms, all characters will begin at level 10 (or attain that level of power soon after the start) - more than enough to start making a real impact. Beyond that, the game is largely a sandbox - your character’s goals are entirely up to you, and there is no “main plot” other than the plot your character follows.

As it would make for a very complicated game, I will not be constantly adhering to all of the mechanics of Pathfinder. Most things will take place on a more narrative layer, with rolls largely made by me in the background. Characters will have complete character sheets, which I am more than happy to collaborate with anyone on when the time comes to keep things simple.

Gameplay will be text-based and one-on-one for the most part - the primary medium will be PMs on this very forum, but if anyone would especially prefer, I can set things up to do it via Discord instead. I won’t rule out voiced solo sessions either, should anyone be particularly interested. “Crossovers” are also a distinct possibility, where your characters may meet each other for any number of adventures - but I won’t force those on anyone who isn’t remotely interested.

Finally, with regards to character options, all published options are allowed, in addition to playtest material (the Summoner and Magus classes) and approved homebrew options. Lore may differ, sometimes greatly, in this setting, but I won’t close off any specific options (for example, I’ve renamed lizardfolk to Solans and given them more of a Solarpunk Astronaut aesthetic). Feel free to ask me more via Discord if you want to know about some of the extra options or lore in this setting. I’m also allowing more over-the-top character ideas if you have them - if you had a really good idea for literally just playing a dragon, for instance, I wouldn’t rule it out.

Lore on the Seas
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Everyone applying should fill out the following character bio first - you can either post it here or just send it to me. I won’t be able to let too many people in, but if I don’t get an excess of submissions I’ll try to accommodate as many people as I can (eight will be my absolute maximum). Once I’ve approved people to play, I’ll help with character creation - but of course, feel free to think about what you want to play as you fill this out.

Name: Your character’s name.
Description: A description of your character, both in terms of appearance and personality.
Place of Origin: The place your character comes from. Town, nation, sea, plane, whichever. Feel free to ask me about more specific options for this.
Bio: You may ask yourself, “How did I get here?” This should explain how your character reached level 10 - or if you want to start at a lower level, give an idea of how you will get there near the game’s start.
Ambition: What do you want to accomplish? This can be general or specific, but this is the section most likely to determine what your character’s story is about, so make sure it’s something interesting.
Contacts: Who do you know? Relatives, friends, business contacts, mortal enemies, etc. Define as many or as few as you want here.
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#2
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Isolde Ceryar

Description: Isolde is around twenty years old, with dark brown hair, green eyes, and fair-yet-tanned skin. Strong and hardy, she stands at around 5'11", and wears typical lower class clothing (basic trousers, boots, and shirts). Notably, she still wears her shabby dark grey longcoat, a sign of her old gang affiliation. As a street brawling gang member become sailor, she also has a number of tattoos, including a rather large tattoo of the three sea goddesses on her right forearm and a lifelike tattoo of her parents on her right forearm (done so that she'd never forget their faces). A stylized tattoo of the various gang leaders she took down in her youth is across her back.

Place of Origin: Blackhaven, Nereiian Empire

Bio:
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Ambition: She wants to rescue her stupid idiot asshole of a brother, avoid the executioner's block, and maybe get her old gang out of prison someday. That'd be nice.

Contacts:

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#3
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name:
Vargrim of Clan Magthurdam, aka Old Ironfoot

Description:
Vargrim is an old dwarf. He wears his white hair pulled back and his equally-white beard in a single braid. Though he has many more years before he is truly wizened, anyone can tell from looking at him - by his hair, his wrinkles, the slight hunch to his gait - that he is past his prime.

Place of Origin:
Vargrim's home city is named Mount Drakum, or more formally in dwarven, the Royal Mountainhome of the Eighty-Two Clans of Drakum-Unghar. Mount Drakum is also known to outsiders and travellers as the Red Peak, while Drakum-Unghar is referred to as the Kingdom of the Nomadic Mountains.
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Bio:
Vargrim was originally a jeweler with a talent for magic, though he has expanded his craft far beyond jewelry. After spending years serving the king, he has earned the right to lead an expedition to found a new city.
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Ambition:
Vargrim wants to build a grand city that will stand the test of time. He dreams of his name and legacy living forever.

Contacts:
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#4
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Illio na Devella/Ashae Lys/Emeric duc Sened

Description: Illio is a half-elf around 130 years old, marked by years of adventure and hardship. They are a little shorter than the average human at 5'8", and have a lithe figure from their elven ancestry. Their hair is long and auburn, which they usually let flow freely. Illio's eyes are a piercing violet, standing out in their lined and tired face. Illio likes to wear simple, old-fashioned traveling clothes, and has no jewelry but a brass pendant inlaid with semi-precious stones, shaped like a double circle (twelve stones outside, one inside) in the palm of a hand.

Having lived a while, Illio has a few alter-egos. The first is Ashae Lys, a woman of some renown among the Aphaean refugees. She braids her hair and likes colorful dresses and music. A bawdy type, she entertains people with her hurdy-gurdy and is never without alcohol, hidden in the many, many folds of her clothes. She is known for preserving the Aphaean recipe for Skull-and-Crossbones, a liquor described as the "distilled essence of alcoholism". From her belt hangs a beaten-up old tankard engraved with the likeness of an orc called Zugard Skulkrusha, whom she claims was an old friend.

Illio's main other alter-ego is Emeric duc Syned, a noble of one of the many isles of the sea. Emeric is a serious and studious character, saying very little, and yet with the keen sense of someone who's always paying attention to what's going on. He wears all-black robes with little ornamentation save a signet ring.

Place of Origin: Karynites, Aphaea - A hidden island on a doomed, forgotten world, Karynites was the hope of Illio's people, last of the humans. Or so they thought, anyway. While they stayed hidden in their refuge, the world around them moved on, recovering from the first cataclysm that wrecked Aphaea and moving into a more modern era. But when the world was under threat once more, they produced a hero - Illio na Devella, touched by the goddess of adventure, who went out into the wide world to understand it and do what was right.

When disaster struck once more, Illio returned to his people, and they joined the evacuees from Aphaea. Their legacy lives on across the Black Ocean and beyond; sometimes one encounters the board game Tur-bu-la, once popular among them, and other times small communities of humans and part-humans with strange beliefs, such as an insistence that physical objects tie the divine essence of the gods to the material plane, and that if someone were to find the physical essence of the Old Gods, they could commune with those long-dead creators.

Bio: Illio na Devella was an adventurer, once. Long ago, born under the protection of the Goddess Rockhopper and marked by Henet, Illio sailed the seas with his companions in a desperate attempt to prevent catastrophe. Along the way, Illio learned of the modern world and had a lot of his ideas questioned and challenged. He had a particularly complicated relationship with Zugard Skulkrusha, an orc of dubious moral character but great strength. Eventually, Illio and his companions joined the Benthic Order, a group serving the goddesses of the sea.

The Order uncovered a conspiracy to harness the divine essence of a dead goddess, who turned out to be the one who had flooded the world (though they did not know it at the time). This essence began corrupting the seas, and despite their best efforts, the Order failed to contain the corruption. The greed of capitalists such as the Deepfathom corporation won out over the good sense of the people, as they dug deeply for power. As things got more desperate, the Benthic Order allied with the Cult of Henet to try and fight, but it wasn't enough. They launched a desperate raid on a Deepfathom facility and destroyed it, but that wasn't enough either. In the raid, Zugard and Illio had their final falling out, over money of all things, and in a fight that left Illio bleeding out on the floor, Zugard died.

With mixed feelings, Illio and the others returned to the Benthic Order's base. A few days later, the corruption attacked. The Order's base was destroyed and its members scattered. In the weeks after, Illio and the rest tried to figure out what to do to stop the corruption, but their efforts were for naught. A huge amount of corrupted divine essence, locked in a vault, came free and it was too much to stop. Under so much pressure, the group fell apart. Illio, in fear for his people, fled back to Karynites to try and save them.

Thankfully, Rockhopper was there for Illio. Through him, she guided the people to the Great Gates. The Karynite humans would live on, even if they had lost their home. But Illio paid a terrible price. With Aphaea becoming ever more corrupted, Illio had to fight to protect his people so that they could escape, and in the height of battle his magic surged for the last time, going wildly out of control. It took all he had to stay conscious as his power burned its way out of his body. As Aphaea faded around him, Illio lost all connection to Rockhopper, and with it his powers.


In the weeks following the evacuation, Illio realized that his actions with the Benthic Order had not gone unnoticed. Unfortunately, that attention was not positive, especially since the Order had failed to save the world. And Illio, stripped of his magic as he was, was vulnerable. After nearly dying several times to the anger of other refugees, Illio decided enough was enough. Using the magical knowledge that he had left, as well as his trusty Roulette wand and a large amount of spell components, Illio fashioned a disguise far from anything that he had ever been before. And thus, was born Ashae Lys.

At first, Ashae was just a disguise for Illio, but as it became clear that it was working, Illio inhabited his old persona less and less. Partially inspired by Illio's old companions, and partially by the guilt of failure, Ashae became known as a wild partier. Acquiring the recipes for such wonderful drinks as "Skull and Crossbones", "Shark Tranquilizer", "Mindbender", "Gut Punch", "Dragon's Breath", "Aboleth's Gaze", "Leviathan", and "Liverfucker", Ashae drank her way across the Astral Seas. She brawled, seduced, sang, and told stories of increasingly dubious veracity, and soon her reputation was far bigger than Illio's ever was. The years passed, and Ashae grew comfortable in herself. Aphaea was naught but a distant memory.

But Ashae's simple life was not to last. As she grew older and traveled across the Astral Seas, she made many friends, but also many enemies. She had learned a little about fighting in her endless bar crawls, and she had made money off of the alcohol recipes, and some people started taking notice. Drunks and rowdy bar patrons, she could handle. Even the occasional rival. The life she made for herself was too good to be true, and some powerful people managed to connect her back to the cataclysm on Aphaea. She became hounded by spies and agents, trying to discover the secrets of the corruption and gods' blood. Asahe had to close her traveling tavern-ship. The heat got too much, even for her, and she ran away again. But this time, she couldn't run away from herself.

The seas were quiet for a while.

Months later, a nobleman named Emeric started showing up to repositories of arcane knowledge, hunting for treasure. He was a quiet, reserved, and studious person, clearly of elven heritage but of uncertain origin. He claimed to be fifth in line to succeed some forgotten duchy somewhere, when people asked. But mostly he didn't speak of himself. The only thing that was clear is that he was looking for something. He joined expeditions for several magic artifacts, and despite his reserved nature, acquired a reputation as a collector and treasure-hunter.

Around the same time, several Karynite and Aphaean exile communities were visited by a figure from their distant past. A half-elf named Illio would visit them and offer help, either in the form of magic or gold, and then leave. Accounts of Illio's appearance varied - some claimed they were an elven princess, others swore that they were a swashbuckling gentleman. Most said simply that they were visited by an elf of indeterminate gender, wearing strange clothes that were often decades out of fashion, yet still looked good, and offered help, asking for little in return but information.

Of course, Emeric and Illio were one and the same. Illio had learned from the many years they lived as Ashae, and their identity and sense of self had become more fluid than it once was. Illio had realized something; it's impossible to hide forever. Only the powerful can truly ensure their safety. And so, they searched, learning magic once more, coming less easily now that it was not innate in their blood, but studying carefully nonetheless. Illio could defend themself, having kept up physical conditioning from their years of tavern brawls, and was determined to amass power and knowledge quietly.

They felt guilty, still, about their failure all those years ago, and so they turned to the question of the nature of the Gods. On Karynites, Illio was taught that the gods had two natures, divine and material, and that when the link between the two was severed the gods could affect the mortal world no longer. They knew that wasn't quite true, seeing as the goddesses of the sea had no need for a single physical link, and they had surreptitiously visited Eschatos and observed the domains of the new gods. But the Old Gods, the ones who created the seas...  They were dead, but left behind bodies. And that was interesting. Could it be that their divine essence was severed, but their material forms remained? Was there any truth to the Karynite myth? They were determined to find out.


Ambition: Seeking more powerful and ancient artifacts, Illio learned of the legend of the Giant Thalambath. Said to be one of the first creations of the Old Gods, and the last being to see them alive, Thalambath was more a figure of myth than reality. But then they heard of a crystal known as Thalambath's Heart - a huge, heart-shaped device of pure magic that was rumored to contain boundless knowledge and magical power. Illio wondered whether the Heart, if it was linked to the old legend, could contain some of the memory of the ancient Giant. And so, they set off in search of Thalambath's Heart.

After that? Illio isn't sure. But perhaps with such power, they too could ascend among the gods? They'll figure it out when they get there.

Contacts:

Illio:

Yanimir na Devella: Illio's elven father - perhaps still alive?
Delmar Danger Leviathan: A dwarf, and one of Illio's old adventuring companions.
Sehesh Akhenatta: An undead spellcaster whose path briefly intersected with theirs
The Janitor: Not seen in a long time
Callysta Maelstrom: An old member of the Benthic Order
Ælfþryð: Same as above
Aleamiqa: A deathless Leviathan who used to be the patron of the Order

Ashae:


Burdock Rose: On again, off again lover/rival who at first had a competing bar before the two shacked up together in wacky circumstances. They are a chaotic being, a very fitting match for Ashae. Disappeared after their bar blew up.

Dukas: A big buff half-orc and Ashae's former bouncer

Kim Dahlia: A merchant who supplied Ashae with what she needed to brew her knockout liquors, and also had a big cut of the distribution money.

Monika the Red: Another onetime lover of Ashae and a famous duelist, has since retired and started a sword school as she's getting too old to be getting in petty fights.

Firkin Ippleswitch: Ashae's gnomish lawyer, very tired of her shit.

Emeric:

Borward of Kitte: A student of elven philosophy and a fellow scholar to Emeric, perhaps the only person who's actually close to him.

Tamitha Rugen: A treasure-hunter who's run into Emeric in the past and often seems to be looking for the same artifacts, much to their mutual dismay.

Wali Nuer: An information broker who works with Emeric at times.
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Human space is at war, and we're all caught up in it - Scattered Stars

A woman chases another through the snow, but where will their path lead them? - Footprints in the snow
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#5
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Iris D'Amato

Description: Iris is a fairly inconspicuous-looking mercenary. She's kinda tall, tan, and decently buff- but that fits the bill for a very large number of people in her line of work. She's got the scars from having done this for some time, she's got green hair she dyes herself, and her armor and weapons aren't really anything to gawk at. What this conceals is that Iris is incredibly proficient and the strongest person in town. And Iris hides this because she is extremely averse to anything one might consider 'adventure.' She does her absolute best to avoid anything that might lead to a grand, complex plot. She likes to keep it simple, and she likes her life to not be easy per se, but straightforward. Ancient artifacts? Evil wizards? Rebirthed gods? Iris is fine over here. Send someone else. It's not that she's hiding it on purpose, either, she just does not act in a manner that conveys her aptitude. And this distaste for adventure often extends to adventurers as well, because the thing that all adventurers are best at is dragging other people into their bullshit. Additionally, Iris does not appreciate being offered help when she is not explicitly seeking it out.

Place of Origin: Sugar Falls, a moderately large city in the Black Ocean. It has trade, culture, a relatively moderate government, and many adventurers begin their careers in its numerous taverns. Sugar Falls also has two rival newspapers, the Black Ocean's largest amount of rum exports, and a thriving mercenary industry. It gets its name from the sugarcane farms and the waterfalls that comprise most of the outlying area. Iris herself lives on a small island about ten minutes' sail away from Aspiration Bay, which Sugar Falls is located on. She built a small house, a dock, and a doghouse on it.

Bio: Iris was born in Sugar Falls. Her parents are general working class folk- one mother is a lead farmer at one of the sugarcane farms, and the other mother works for one of the rum distilleries. She talks to them about as much as any late 20s working professional who still lives in the same city, which is to say every now and then on the weekends. When Iris was growing up, there was a period of a few years where monster attacks in the vicinity of Sugar Falls were increasing in both quantity and severity. And although it was a group of ragtag adventurers that found the source of the creatures' agitation and destroyed it, it was honest, hardworking people who ensured it didn't happen again. She worked on the sugarcane farm with her mother and began to train in combat, and by the age of 18 registered as a mercenary with the city. Iris has taken a high volume of jobs throughout her career, having fought against truly dangerous foes, but has yet to involve herself in any proper adventuring. She got where she is through pragmatism, grunt work, and rigorous training.

Ambition: Iris wants to keep Sugar Falls safe, keep the mercenary industry stable and independent, and live a relatively quiet life where she's not bothered any more than she wants to be.

Contacts: 
Angelina D'Amato, Iris' mother. Works on a sugarcane farm and taught Iris everything she knows about crops and the harvest. Strong, tall, charismatic.
Dawnya D'Amato, Iris' mother. Works for a rum distillery and taught Iris about craftsmanship. Intelligent, kind, witty.
Graves McGillicuddy, adventuring mercenary. A polearm specialist who Iris has worked with on several jobs, who Iris tolerates because she's really good on a fundamental combat level. ...Iris is just far better. Graves and Iris may have had feelings for one another at one point, but that is not the case now. Still, there is trust here. Courageous, tactical, loud.
Kailurathiain Riluaneth, adventuring mercenary. An elven assassin who uses a shortbow. Only Iris and her other friends can call her Kiley. Iris tolerates her because brooding edgy loners are usually quiet, which Iris appreciates. Has a ton of stories about cool shit she's done to pass the time with. Reflexive, perceptive, somewhat rude.
Declan Kirstenvales, adventuring mercenary. A cleric to a god of revelry and merriment who parties with the best of them. Iris has the hardest time tolerating them, but does so because of a dependability in battle and the fact that Declan stops other adventurers from bothering Iris because to harsh someone's vibe like that is a total party foul. Sagelike, charitable, louder.
Ives Almade-Ross, local papergirl. Delivers the more respectable of the two newspapers in town to Iris' island each morning, and is looking to become a full-fledged reporter. She has had two stories published, little fluff pieces people skim over- but she's sure that means she's got her foot in the door. Iris thinks she's cute.  Energetic, inspiring, reckless.
Ronan McGillicuddy, registration office worker and Graves' brother. Ronan mans the desk that manages the quest board and new adventurer registration, and Iris comes to him to ask for details on jobs she takes. Additionally, when someone asks for Iris' services directly, it's Ronan that sends the letter of request to her island. Beleaguered, well-meaning, organized.
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#6
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Jumbles Jimothy Jubilant (in formal documentation, he will be Jumbles Jimothy of the Jubilant House)

Description: Jumbles is a kobold, an anthropomorphic lizard-like creature (comparable to a crested gecko) with big floppy ears. Glasses decorate the tip of his snout and he dresses academically, if shabbily -- although always, always neatly. He is agreeable, inquisitive, and eternally (almost infuriatingly) optimistic – nothing really seems to bring him down no matter how dire the circumstances are. Like a good majority of kobolds, he has a vested interest in dragons and would like to encounter dragon-y phenomenon one day. He is starting to change his mind though.

Place of Origin: St. Adastra, Serkath Theocracy, Midnight Sea.

Bio: Jumbles is a kobold from an old-money family of bankers, connected to the Celestial Hoard, one of the most premium banks among the Nine Seas. As his elder siblings (for which there are many) inherited the business, Jumbles had a lot of money and free time. So he decided to become an musician as he marveled at how more “intense” the tone sounds when all the other senses are muted or deprived, a commonality in the Midnight Sea despite the prevalence of Darkvision.

His family did not approve of this esoteric interest, and so unceremoniously disowned him. However, Jumbles continued to eek out his existence as a brave-and-ever-dashing hireling!

(Near city-borders of course.)

He had his fair share of good and bad co-adventurers. However, his favorite person to work along side is a dragonborn named Alrakis. Alrakis and Jumbles worked together in great frequency, which was fun and lucrative. However, Jumbles sensed building stress from the taller humanoid, which increased with each subsequent hire. At first, Jumbles though it to be a consequence of adventuring-to-adventuring. However, Alrakis came less frequently, from once a week to two weeks, and then a month. One day, Alrakis did not came back.

However, Alrakis left something bloody in Jumble’s mailbox.

Unwrapping the package, revealed a tooth, the length of his arm, so freshly harvested that the pulp still clung to its roots. Investigation, with the help of his archives, revealed that this tooth was of draconic nature. Of what particular dragon, it was ambiguous – it came neither from kobold, wyvaran, dragonborn, or even dragon-adjacent creatures like wyverns, basilisks, and others. One night, he mustered enough courage to ask a contact at the local university (his aunt) to see if it originated from a dragon.

It wasn’t.

There laid one conclusion by elimination for poor Jumbles, the tooth was that of a True Dragon. Apparently, others caught wind of it. His apartment was broken into, his belongings rummaged, and the walls defiled with occult graffiti. Death threats were sent in the form of anonymous letters and calls. Considering these threats were becoming more frequent, Jumbles need to figure a way out before his hidden foes decided to their support their threats with direct action.

Perhaps, his aunt can help him?

Ambition: Jumbles would like to return this tooth to whatever decaying true-dragon remnants it originates from -- in the impossible, inconclusive hope it can solve all his problems and he can go back to teaching. However, he would like it to do in a way that less-than-benevolent people could come across it again and use it for their nefarious purposes. Such a simple goal with so many GODDAMN STEPS.

Contacts: Adastra. The muse of Jumbles. A True Dragon whose legendary swansong was to turn her death into a masterpiece. While Jumbles had not and will not ever meet her in person, her influence lingers in his songs and sorcery. Adastra compositions tend to be joyous and bombastic, followed by tragic, tear-wringing lingering – an aural encapsulation of a supernova.

Jubilant House. Old-money kobold bankers. Not exactly nice people, but not exactly evil. Jumbles has difficulties with his father (Marmite Manuel), but at least on talking terms with his mother (Rarebit Rory) and siblings (of which there are many).

Sausage-Roll Stephens. Aunt of Jumbles. Works as a professor at the local-university, teaching general-educuation Arcana. Stephens is a rotund kobold with a love for the finer things in life. While she is perpetually busy (and Jumbles does not want to bother her that much, she is a pretty cool lady!), she can occasionally do small favors for her favorite nephew.

Alrakis. Dragonborn (human ancestry) and adventurer who hired Jumbles frequently. Nonbinary. Alrakis is ghost-like pale with shock-white hair, almost vampire-like. Only the subtle gold scales on their cheeks and slit-pupil eyes betray their draconic heritage. Jumbles suspects they have cultist tiles, but even then…he hopes they are alright.

Rising Scales. A dragon-cult who is harassing Jumbles. The cult has strict membership, with only dragon-blooded or empowered people joining their ranks. Their idealogy is esoteric and potentially apocalyptic, trying to bring together enough corpse-pieces to resurrect a True Dragon. Their leader is a gold-dragon named Aurifex. Jumbles hadn’t seen her in-person – and doesn’t want to – but heard rumors she is somewhat of an unhinged scholarly sort.
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#7
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Aurora Ambrosia

Description: A dark red-headed/coppery hair and bleach pale skin. Once perhaps, you used to be smaller, slimmer. But decades of training and wayfare have pushed her to a taller, threatening mass and an intimidating build. About 6 foot 3, she has almost pure, piercing white eyes and an unnatural stillness to her. Despite years of fighting and violence, no scars remain on her and is quite classically beautiful, looking to be in her mid-20s and of only slightly muscular physique. The most unnatural and revealing feature to her nature are the long fangs when she rarely smiles, and obvious when she talks unmasked, which is rare. She doesn't look as strong as she is, undead fortitude boosting her might more than it appears.

She's a serious sort, not prone to laughter or levity. A lifetime of hard living and growing up in a world where the undead not only thrive but rule in many places, has hurt any chance to recover from her own experiences. Instead, she has simply focused herself towards her cause, resolving to the fact that she'll die before she succeeds but hopes she can make a small change to better this dark realm.

Place of Origin: The midnight sea. Near the city of Marbhog, a port capital to challenge and border the theocracy of Serkath. Marbhog is something of a "best foot forward" city for those visiting the Midnight sea and deals with trade amongst the other travellers of the realms for the undead islands and lands. It's somewhat more welcoming towards non-undead, you may not get just picked off the street and eaten, but it remains a very dangerous place regardless as after all, even though it's duties are to somewhat placate the nation of Serkath and keep an eye on them and trade with them, it needs to be able to defend itself as one of the more open and valuable city states. Aurora grew up in a smaller village community within the back borders of Marbhog's influence.

Bio: 
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You may ask yourself, “How did I get here?” This should explain how your character reached level 10 - or if you want to start at a lower level, give an idea of how you will get there near the game’s start.

Ambition: Free the city of Marbhog from undead rule and fight the undead forces of the Midnight Sea

Contacts: Who do you know? Relatives, friends, business contacts, mortal enemies, etc. Define as many or as few as you want here.
"Don't get me started on Henchmen."
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#8
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Wundor
Description: Wundor is tall and robust by the standards of most Goblins. He wears colourful and practical clothing, and an especially bright tophat. Knowing that there can be more friends around the corner, Wunder tries his best to smile an encouraging smile. Wunder does not like to use his experiments for violent purposes. However, he will defend himself, displaying his scientific superiority against anyone who would dare to harm a fellow scientist. Wundor is also a painter, although very sloppy.

Place of Origin: The Mindflame goblin community near the Beating Sun. This tribe has the idea that cultivating a deep (and maybe accurate) knowledge of the world around you will ignite your inner fire - your mindfire - , and a goblin should constantly work on improving themselves. And by improving themselves, they too can stoke the bonfires of the Goblin culture. The community is kind of nomadic, as they tend to burn down their towns by accident. But they bounce back, smarter.

Bio: Wundor was part of a merchant expedition to the great city of Zenith: they traded away rock samples, gained through hard goblin work, gaining books and scientific instruments in return. Some of the goblins were awestruck by the mighty city, and decided to stay. Wundor's family took up residence, working in various smithies and Natural Remedy Shoppes. But Wundor aimed higher: he snuck into the university. He was thrown out the moment he jumped over the campus walls, so he tried later, after many years, by taking the entrance exam, along with several of his relatives that he managed to persuade. He was accepted, and thanks to a scholarship gained mostly by being smart, and also in part because of a diversity program.

Joining the field of alchemy, Wundor was surprised to learn about all kinds of fire: cold fire, zapping fire and the like. He devoured books quickly, learning about how these wonders work, and how to replicate them. Teaming up with fellow goblin prodigies from his clan, he replicated the experiments of his tribe, and used this knowledge to improve the concotations. Soon, he and his siblings and cousins became semi respected alchemist researchers, eventually outnumbering the rest of the explosives faculty.

Getting actual funding for their experiments increased them a lot on scope. Soon, their university wing was rocked by enthusiastic explosions, as they were researching Applied Alternative Alchemical Elements Used For Excavations Of Minerals. Sadly, both rebuilding their test chambers, and their equipment started to spiral out of control. However, the Chair Of Alchemy could not fire them. For one, Wundor's people slowly became the majority in all three sub-departments. And two, Wundor's experiments increased the safety of miners.

So they came up with a new plan: Hey Wundor, what if you travelled all the seas, and performed experiments everywhere? We would really appreciate it! And Wundor accepted. He shall fill his room in the ship with samples of all kind!

Ambition: Travel around the known, and several unknown reagions of the astral sea, expanding upon alchemical and elemental knowledge, and return with a complete Wundor Kammer.

Contacts:
Jonathan Malieri: arcanist rival researcher, human
Salad: a goblin mutagenist, cousin of Wundor, half vegetable
Sutur: a goblin medical alchemist, she is more careful, due to the importance of her job
Norm: the "evil" twin of Wundor who hates explosions, and works as a fireman
Borleo The Wide: the bursar of the academy, very frightening, dwarf, arch enemy
Wun: the father of Wundor, who hoped he would surprass him one day
Nornor: the mother of Wundor and Norm, who approves of both of them, and sends them goblin lunches
Aurealos Boniface: elven teacher of history and archeology, disliked alchemy of course because of the noise they make
Butterscoth Bob: Kobold Janitor, strikes fear into the hearts of the faculty, otherwise a very nice guy
Hildegaard Hildegaard: Halfling master chef of the university kitchens, has a soft spot for goblins and gnomes
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#9
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Jarden Springwater (Leshy - current name) / Granbwa 'Gran' Louquo (Eidolon)

Description:
Jarden Springwater is rather 'normal' for a Leshy; his appearance is that of a small, humanoid-shaped tree, covered in vines. The largest have intertwined to form woody limbs, while others sway with the breeze. He doesn't generally wear clothing and doesn't feel like he needs to, but does carry some rather flexible outfits with himself if the need arises for satisfying some strange fleshperson cultural norm. His 'crown' of broad fig leaves overlap into a green 'hair' of sorts, while the rest of his facial features are a bark-carved mimicry to allow for limited facial expression.

Gran appears as one might expect for the ancient, rueful spirit of a long-deceased druid. Her body manifests as a harrowed, elderly female half-elf with ice-blue eyes and auburn-grey hair, held together by sickly foliage and amber-black sap. She appears dressed in green robes and bark-soled sandals, with some trinkets of her living self visible on occasion.

Place of Origin:
Jarden originates from a garden island that was engulfed by The Sun, but their nature spirit resided in the Sea for millennia before its binding. Gran's heritage and past prior to his creation are unknown to him, other than she was one of the adventurous mortal souls that entered the Astral Plane.

Bio:

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Ambition:
Jarden lacks much ambition on their own, other than a boundless curiosity for the worlds and peoples beyond the small island their spirit once called home. He has gradually learned some things about the world on his travels, but such mortal concerns as greed are something he has only seen second-hand, or felt through his connection to Gran. Instead, he often finds fulfilment via helping friends or beings similar to himself either in form or origin. The closest thing he has to a true desire is a hope to one day find and bring together the other fragments of the Gardens of his dead godly masters, wherever these fragments might be.

Contacts:

Druids of the Most Noble and Ancient Green Circle - An order of Druids that Granbwa once belonged to, but later split from. They are internally split between Traditionalists (focused on revering and preserving nature in its present forms) and two Radical movements; Revivalists (pushing for the recovery of Nature where it has been extinguished or diminished) and Resurrectionists (pursuit of various means of bringing Goodhood to nature, either via bringing back dead Gods, helping Nature Spirits rise to Godhood, or the creation of a New God).
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#10
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Miriam Arabella Cornswallop/Srylixamiril aka “Miri”

Description: Despite looking almost exactly like a kobold, Miri is not, in fact, a kobold. She is a Halfling dragonborn, leaning more heavily into the draconic ancestry than the majority of her family. Her usual clothing is fairly comfortable and practical, nothing that she wouldn’t mind getting messy as she does her hands-on artisan work. She’s often splattered over with dried pieces of candle wax, speckles of color that show up easily on her soft grey scales. Miri does, of course, have a tail as well as a pair of weak gossamer wings that are usually kept safely tucked out of the way.

She’s in her early to mid twenties, and smiles with an easy pleasantness that makes her shop even more popular to visit. Miri’s the kind of person who would gaze longingly out a window imagining entire stories where she’s the brave protagonist, but in reality memorizes, prints out, and has the fantasy GPS set so she doesn’t get lost on the way to a new place that’s twenty minutes from her own home. And then leaves with ten minutes to spare anyway. Just in case.

Place of Origin: Miri has spent her entire life in the capital city of Serkarth within the Midnight Sea.

Bio:
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Ambition:
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Contacts:
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#11
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
Name: Abyllona Bloemhus

Description: A tall human-descended Tiefling with blue skin, green eyes and a nubby pair of horns curving ever so slightly upward. Wears her wavy black hair short, somewhat messy. She's almost always wearing a serious expression, her short, stubby eyebrows usually knit in thought. She once had her appearance compared to a young actor known primarily for playing socially awkward teenage boys, leaving her feeling confused and sort of insulted.

Place of Origin: Dawnwatch, a little port town, a safe haven amidst rocky shores. Originally a cove for buccaneers seeking safe passage in their journey toward freedom, time and economic stability turned its inhabitants toward more legitimate businesses - trade, farming on the lush, rainy outskirts, and fishing. The town now serves as a sleepy, safe little corner of the Black Ocean - the sort of place one might decide to retire to in their old age. There is not much wealth, but there is enough for all to make a happy life, and to share in what prosperity can be eked out of the world.

Bio: Shipwrecks aren't particularly uncommon near Dawnwatch. In spite of the town's earnest safety efforts, the treacherous nature of the seas around the port make it dangerous territory for those not familiar with the lay of the land. So when a ship's remains washed up, the village was quick to search for survivors; and when a baby was found among those survivors, a pair of honest folks were ready to take up the role of that child's parents.

Her fathers, a pair of newly-retired adventurers, were eager to try their hands at parenting. This child (who they dubbed Abyllona) was raised on the little plot of land they'd decided to work, raised on tales of their feats of derring-do. She decided at an early age that she would follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a wanderer-at-large, solving problems and bringing joy wherever she may go! She would study the books on magic her fathers brought home from market 'til her mind was numb and her fingers were littered with papercuts. She studied and prepared and trained, and finally she found herself standing on the pier with her fathers waving her goodbye. It was time to see the world.

Except her dreams of being some stunning wizard who'd bring calm wherever she went didn't find themselves realized in reality. She found herself doing manual labor more often than not, being paid a pittance, and being sent on her way with little to show for it. Soon enough, she found herself accruing debt, all the jobs an island would offer hardly even paying her way to the next one over.  It didn't take Abyllona long to realize it was more economical to stab creatures big and small with the rapier she'd brought with her than to waste valuable components on spells -- even for the components that were readily available, she was better off spending time working than gathering up moss and pig's breath.

Just as she began to get the rhythm of the job down, though, and just as she started to get real work under her belt, she found herself despairing more and more. Even as the jobs grew larger, she had to face the fact that she simply hadn't lived up to her own expectations. There were no two ways about it, far as she could tell: she'd put years of her life into barely making enough to live, barely helping anyone, and barely even knowing how to start solving the biggest problems she'd encountered - corruption, oppression, poverty, despair. Things were so much more complicated in this big, wide world than on her island home, or in her dreams...

Ambition: To travel the world, bring freedom and justice wherever it is not, and make lives better wherever she can! If only she knew how...

Contacts:
Khanitar and Torgan: Her fathers! A pair of adventurers who traveled the world doing good before turning toward a life of farming. Khanitar is an Orcish knight; Torgan is a Kenku bowman.
Various Village Patrons: The people she's helped so far! DM discretion.
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#12
RE: Ancient Tides: A Tale of Sea and Sky
After significant deliberation, I have decided to accept the following eight players/characters:

Vargrim of Clan Magthurdam - Demonsul
Illio na Devella - Vancho1
Iris D’Amato - livilovey
Jumbles Jimothy Jubilant - Pharmacy
Aurora Ambrosia - MQuinny1234
Wundor - ProfessorLizzard
Miriam Arabella Cornswallop - keylimebi
Abyllona Bloemhus - Protoman

To those that didn’t get in, I’m sorry - it wasn't because of the quality of your characters, but because I can’t possibly run this game for, like, ten people without literally dying and had to make some cuts (with dice rolls, no less). If circumstances shake out that players become inactive/drop or I feel like I can take on additional players, I may admit another person or two later on.

To those that did get in, if you haven’t already made a character sheet, I’ll get you documents for those and help with the character creation process as much (or as little) as you like. Once characters are made (and Contacts sections are filled out to some degree), the game will begin.
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