Harmony Dawnchorus, Pixie Bard

This character is the first that I've ever submitted who did NOT make the cut into the game.  It's been almost a year since I started playing at RPG Crossing (formerly Dungeons & Dragons Online games), so I guess that I was due!  But it probably isn't my best effort...or, at least, not my most compelling hero.  The application was for a Pixie-only game, and pushed whimsy and charm.  I'm sad not to get in..but at the same time, I'll readily admit that I was going to have a hard time executing this character.  She plays pretty far from my strengths.

Character Name: Harmony Dawnchorus
Class: Bard
Role: Leader
Theme and/or Background (if any): Fey Beast Tamer (for both!)

Appearance/Personality: With flaming red hair, pointy ears, glimmering wings, and a radiant voice, Harmony is the definition of charming. Strangely, she seems more or less oblivious to this, content to linger on the periphery of crowds, and rarely taking center stage. She's not shy, really, just blissfully unaware of her gifts and skills--even incredulous of those who would try to convince her otherwise. When she begins to sing, however, all eyes and ears turn to her.


Background:
Born the daughter of the renowned pixie minstrel, Sagegrass Dawnchorus, Harmony grew up in the shadow of her two older sisters, Melody and Cadence, who were five and seven years to her senior, respectively. Both were heralded as prodigy musicians, and her father had spent most of her life touring pixie communities and performing, leaving Harmony with extended family.

Her aunt Appleblossom lived near the edge of an enchanted pond, where, among the dragonflies, young faerie dragons darted through the sky, chasing after little bugs, small birds, and each another. Disenchanted with formal musical training, she spent the years prior to this adventure playing among the faerie dragons, and eventually befriended one: a beautiful creature with wings that, when the light passed through them, shone like emeralds. Together, they spent much of a season darting among cattails and sneaking up on frogs. Inspired by her companion, she would often sing nonsensical songs as they played.

As the years went on, she spent more and more of her time with Emeraldwing. At the same time, the ties to her family became more distant, as her father and sisters hadn't returned to visit her since leaving on tour a year before. As she came of age, she began to feel a sense of wanderlust. Time spent exploring the pond and nearby environs with her faerie dragon friend had given her a taste for the adventure that might lie in the world beyond, and she had just begun to seriously consider leaving on a journey of exploration when King Sunfire spread word of his impending proclamation.


RP sample:
Flushed from their race across the waterlilies and glistening in the warm sun, Harmony alighted on a large toadstool. Emeraldwing, her faerie dragon companion, landed next to her with a coo. She laughed merrily as she rubbed the dragon's snout. "Some day I'll beat ya, you cheat!" she teased the dragon, who seemed to chuckle, unfurling the crest behind its head before it shook its head in the negative. She sat back, folding her wings down under her back and resting on her elbows as she gazed into the blue skies above. She sighed. It wasn't really a sigh of contentment, as much as she enjoyed their games on the shores of this pond where she'd grown up.

"You know..." she cooed, as she turned to her companion. "There's some kind of big announcement happening tonight. King Sunfire himself will be speaking. Everyone's talking about it, and rumor has it that it's something to do with the Murkendraw." The dragon shorted derisively as she uttered the name of the cursed swamp. "Yeah, I know. But I think we should go! Who knows? It might be exciting to hear what's going on! Maybe they figured out some way to stop that Rotten Ethel!"

The dragon looked nonplussed at the idea. "Oh, come on you old stodgey-stodge! I hear all the cool pixies and dragons will be there..." The dragon snorted again. Harmony responded by singing a frolicking, playful tune. "Pixies and dragons, fur-balls and wagons, drunkards and flagons, to miss would be an...infraction!" Harmony giggled. "Oh, I know it doesn't work! I'm just playin'" The dragon seemed to chuckle a bit, before lowering it's head, almost in a shrug. "So you'll come with me? Oh great! We haven't been to town in AGES!" With that, she pulled grabbed hold of the dragon's front legs, flapping rapidly up and pulling the beast along with her. "Let's go!" she called, letting go of her friend and taking off for town.

Why you want to play this game: I've wanted to experience this adventure ever since I saw it in Dungeon. I really only gave it an overview, and don't remember specifics. I don't think that I know anything that would spoil it for me or for anyone else. I'm pretty good about avoiding metagaming.


Notes on the build:
* I've built her as a "Cunning Bard," and as such there is some off-turn movement stuff that we'd need to talk about during combat. Virtue of Cunning, in particular, is a power that lets me slide an ally 1 square when they are missed by an enemy attack. I think we can coordinate that to keep it from being disruptive--maybe even let you make the decision about where they shift if you feel that you can do that--but it is something that could potentially slow the game down. Similarly, Majestic Word allows me to slide an ally 1 square with a heal. If they are going to have input on where they slide to, it could slow things down...so we might have to all make some decisions in advance to try to coordinate this.

I could potentially go a different route with her build, but I don't see her as a weapon user unless she has to be. But singing songs and shooting some kind of pixie/bard magic with her wand? Yep, that fits.

* She's a fey beast tamer, but I'd like to reflavor the displacer beast as the faerie dragon. It can work exactly the same way as written, mechanically. But my preference would be to make two changes if you're up for it. 1) make it tiny instead of medium sized, and 2) allow it to fly (same height restrictions as pixie flight). But if you're not comfortable with that, I can run it exactly as described in the rules. Maybe the dragon hurts its wing or something so that it can't fly.

Joined a Play-By-Post Group

I got the good news today that I made it into a play by post group over at DnD Online Games.  I had gotten the impression some time ago that these kinds of games were almost entirely narrative-based.  But upon investigating, I found that the games that folks play over there can include combat, complete with grids, etc!  Given that I have essentially given up on injecting actual tabletop games into my life for the time being, this is probably my best alternative (in addition to video games).  I'm pretty excited to give it a try.

The game I joined is called The New World and designed by a guy who calls himself Enthusiast.  It's a neat concept: a well-established, culturally developed Empire discovers and colonizes a new continent, and we're playing just 30 years after the first settlement was founded.  The continent is populated by shifters, an indigenous people who possess primal magic.  The game is essentially the story of how this empire attempts to take hold in this New World.  Mine was one of 29(!!) different character applications submitted by 24 different people, so I feel incredibly fortunate to have been in the group of 7 that made it in...especially given that this was my first try!

Here is my character application:

Name: Erethil 

Race: Elf 

Class: Ranger (Hunter) 

Role: Controller 

Alignment: Good 

Deity: None 

Appearance and Personality:Erethil is smaller than a typical Elf, and is slightly built. Yet even by elven standards, he is unusually graceful. He moves about in smooth, quiet steps that allows him to go unnoticed in both the wilderness and urban settings. He has black hair that is often tied back, and sharp eyes that he uses to pan about the room. It is as if he sees everything. 

Erethil can come across as a bit gruff; he's generally quiet, but quick and to the point when he has something to say. He prefers to avoid long conversations and chit-chat, and has no qualms about walking for miles with a companion and not saying a word. That said, he has learned to work amicably in a team via his experience as a wildness guide, and is a reliable, generous companion to those he trusts. 

Background:Erethil was among the first Erathic children born in Medrona. His mother was a dignitary of some importance in Amarin, where her father was a sergeant in the local militia. When Erethil was just 10 years old, however, both of his parents went missing while traveling to Port Calia shortly after its founding. His parents were not wealthy, but left him with sufficient resources to survive until he had completed his education, while his mother's colleagues were available to help him on his way. 

Nevertheless, Erethil spent much of his teenaged years roaming the wilderness between towns. At first, it may have been in a desperate attempt to learn what happened to his parents. But the long months spent in solitude also brought Erethil solice. He found himself in awe of the combination of beauty and brutality in the natural world, and in time began to feel intimately connected to it. Through careful observation of the cunning fox, he learned how to deftly maneuver to avoid threats while in danger. By watching the wolf spider, he learned the power and efficiency of stealth and a sudden, deadly attack. 

Erethil became an accomplished hunter, renowned for his accuracy with the bow and uncanny ability to down his quarry with a single strike. His preferred hunting grounds are in the Oliddian Wood, the lush coastal forests between Olid and Amarin. Able to make a modest living selling game, he also has found employment as a guide. Wealthy Imperial citizens, recently arrived in Medrona, take comfort in hiring him as a guide as they travel between settlements along the coast of Medrona. 

While comfortable, Erethil continues to be drawn to the wilderness. He has rarely interacted with the nomadic clans of shifters that live on the continent. But what little he has seen of them hints at their deep connections with the natural world, which manifest in powerful primal energies and powers. When the Baron of Olid sent an appeal for adventurers to procure a mysterious artifact, Erethil jumped at the chance. Perhaps this artifact might hold some secret that would allow him to grow more in tune with the wilds. 

RP Sample:From his perch in the treetop, bow drawn, Erethil watches his prey. The deer has been milling about on the other side of the brush. While he could hit it now, the cover might keep him from targeting it precisely at the base of the neck. Such a strike would kill the deer instantly, preventing both pain for the animal and noise that could attract unwanted attention. With a bit of patience, soon he will have a perfect shot.

Suddenly, from within the brush, something stirs: the doe has a fawn! Lowering his bow, a small, contented smile forms on his lips. Erethil might not sell a deer today, but the snares he set up nearby were sure to provide dinner. For now, he could simply watch the beauty of a mother caring for her offspring.

 That RP sample took a long time to write, so I'm hoping I get faster at this kind of thing!!

My character sheet is currently hosted on DnDOG's character sheet system, though I'm looking at Character Distiller as an alternative...But that's a post for another day.