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Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

http://fraternityofshadows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10782

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Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:31 am
by Rock of the Fraternity
Mesdames et messieurs, it is with a sad heart that I announce the death of explorer, entrepeneur, scholar and grand personality Alain Lemarchand.
Born in Dementlieu, Monsieur Lemarchand became famous for his explorations of far and uncivilized lands, for the treasures he retrieved and wrote about, for the grand triumphs he achieved in the world of business, and not least for Lemarchand Manor, that eccentric house built an hour's carriage-ride outside Port-a-Lucine. Alas, Monsieur Lemarchand has gone the way of all flesh after a long and illustrious life, leaving behind his collection of mementos, his garden and menagerie of foreign oddities, and... his vast wealth.

Monsieur Lemarchand's will is to be read at Lemarchand Manor this very weekend, and you, yes, you are invited to attend!
Alas, the great man has left no children behind, but you have some connection to him, some claim to a morsel of his fortune. If you are very fortunate, you may be set for life!
But be warned; there is a secret lurking in Lemarchand Manor, one that may upend the whole evening. A killer stalks the halls of Alain Lemarchand's home, and there are such items among his treasures as cast a long shadow...

Character creation:
The setting is D&D 3.5.
Feel free to draw material from the Player Handbook, Player Handbook II, Ravenloft Player Handbook, Expanded Psionic Handbook, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Psion, Complete Warrior, Heroes of Horror, and of course the Gazetteers.
Your ECL should be 5.
One absolute requirement is that you must be able to speak Mordentish.


Special:
If you so choose to join this game, roll 1d6 and open the appropriate caption. But be warned: doing so grants you greater power than your peers, but it also sets an obligation upon your character creation. Dare you roll the dice?
(First come, first served. If you want to join and rolled a number, say so in a reply. If anyone else rolls a claimed number, re-roll.)
If you roll a number, DON'T TELL ANYONE WHAT IT SAYS!
1.
VIEW CONTENT:
The old man left no children behind? Lies! Alain Lemarchand had a free hand with his maids and other female employees, and an even freer hand in kicking them out without a penny if they should fall pregnant! You are an illegitimate child of Alain Lemarchand... and his killer. You managed to get close enough to the Manor that you got the old bastard in your sights, and you shot him through a window. You were greatly surprised when the lawyers wrote to your late mother, informing her she -- or her offspring -- had a stake in the inheritance, but no one has tried to track you down, and you surely deserve something after all the years of suffering?
Restriction: human heritage.
Boon: Select a bonus feat from Exotic weapon proficiency (firearms), Far shot, Point blank shot and Precise shot.
2.
VIEW CONTENT:
Great man. What great man? Alain Lemarchand was a thief, a tomb-raider, a despoiler and a murderer! He came to your home when you were a child, raided the temple and murdered anyone who tried to stop him! It's taken you years to track the bastard, years spent in harsh training, self-deprivation and study, but you stalked him without ever losing hope, and finally found him. You got him, too. He was walking in his garden one night, and you crept up behind him and stabbed him in his black heart.
Yes, you executed Alain Lemarchand for his crimes... But you did not have time to search for the treasure he stole. The eye of the goddess, a blessed emerald, lies somewhere in Lemarchand Manor. You were considering a way to get at it when the letter came. Remorse late in life, desire to make reparations for the sins of youth, an invitation to you as your village's last survivor to attend the reading of the will... Surely the goddess is smiling on you now.
Boon: Select one bonus feat from among Redhead, Skill focus (Hide) and Skill focus (Move silently).
Restriction: you must be from outside the Core and have a goddess as your patron.
3.
VIEW CONTENT:
You were not invited to the reading of the will; you saw a bunch of envelopes when you first crept out of Lemarchand Manor and took one. It just happened to contain an invitation. No, you are not someone to whom Alain Lemarchand would have entrusted his goods and chattel; you were part of it! Captured at a young age, you were trapped in Lemarchand's menagerie until the day you managed to escape from your cage, and crept into the old bastard's bedroom while he slept. You did for him, too, but that quick and frenzied murder was just not enough!
You want more, more opportunity to wreak havoc on the sick old man that warped your life. You want to kill his followers, burn his home, ruin his amassed treasures. Honestly, the old man was a greater monster than you ever were. You deserve revenge!
Boon: You are a shapeshifter of some kind. A Red Widow or a Dread Doppelganger, perhaps. Your ECL can be 6 instead of 5.
Restriction: You are not properly socialised and awkward in company. Take a permant -2 modifier to all Bluff-, Diplomacy- and Intimidate-checks.
4.
VIEW CONTENT:
The old man is dead at last; you were beginning to worry that the poison you slipped him at the University function had been neutralised somehow! But now he is dead; and not before time! The elders of the Fraternity of Shadows were beginning to lose faith with you. Now, with Lemarchand dead and your invitation to the reading of the will secured, you can hunt for the books and scrolls he brought back from his latest archaeological raid into distant lands, then refused to share with the rest of the Fraternity.
Oh yes, Alain Lemarchand was a Brother in Shadow, but a treasonous one. And you, you were given the task of quietly snuffing him out, which you finally succeeded in doing. Now, you just need to get those books, before the night of the reading is ended and the old man's belongings can be scattered among his heirs!
Boon: gain one bonus feat from among Skill focus (Bluff), Skill focus (Craft:alchemy) and Skill focus (Craft: poisonmaking)
Restriction: you are an arcane spellcaster of some sort, allied to the Fraternity of Shadows. Maybe you hope to fully enter their ranks with the achievement of procuring the books Alain Lemarchand hid.
5.
VIEW CONTENT:
He's finally gone, the old liar. When he found you in the Barovian Asylum, desperate to get out, he promised to help you find your way home once you had discharged your debt to him, the debt of him buying your freedom. But it was never enough, was it? None of the things you did for him, the things that smote your heart and spirit; the thefts, the character assassinations, the other things.
Still, he's gone. Alain Lemarchand is dead, though it came as a surprise; the old man was hale and healthy, after all, and had more than a few magical tricks in his home to keep him that way. It is almost as if your words were heard, when you cursed him. But...
No matter. If he really did know a way to get you back home, away from this wretched land of Mists and evil, then it will be in his private study. So you will attend the reading of the will - you were invited, after all - and you will try to sneak into his study. Maybe you can finally escape, finally see the sun rise over your homeland again?
Boon: Select one bonus feat from among Courage, Jaded and Voice of Wrath.
Restriction: You are an Outlander, who was once locked up in a Barovian asylum because you spoke of your home world and people thought you mad. Lemarchand exploited you mercilessly, and you have cursed him many times - and now you worry that it may have finally come true.
6.
VIEW CONTENT:
Alain Lemarchand is dead, and it has ruffled some very serious feathers. No matter his crimes, the old man was supposed to live long enough to testify, to incriminate his co-conspirators. But you blew it. The Council of Brilliance ordered that Lemarchand be pressured most carefully, only you - blew - it. At least you managed to hush up the fact that he hung himself after your last visit, but the investigation may founder unless you can find written evidence - or forge it.
In either case, you need to get into Lemarchand's study. As a secret agent of Dementlieu, with the trust of the Council of Brilliance, you can do no less than your utmost best.
Boon: Choose one bonus feat from among Skill focus (Bluff), Skill focus (Forgery) and Skill focus (Sense motive).
Restriction: human heritage, Dementlieuse nationality; you are a spy for the Council of Brilliance.

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:22 am
by Mephisto of the FoS
I 'm in!
I rolled a 4.
Sorry for asking but it is my first time playing online since real-time MUD likeText-based RPG in 1997. How is it played here?

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:24 am
by Wolfglide of the Fraternity
Absolutely interested!
1d6
Hmm... I don't know why the dice aren't working. I rolled a 3 on a physical die.

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:25 am
by Gonzoron of the FoS
Yeah, the dice roller is only enabled in the RP boards. Don't recall why I did it that way. Could change it if I find time.... sorry.

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:38 pm
by SkiBird
I would love to join this tale as well. Currently at work but can get a character pitch put together this evening.

Tossed a d4 to select from the four remaining options. Got a one.

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 6:25 am
by Rock of the Fraternity
Special notice: I'm adding PHB II to the list of sourcebooks.

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:07 pm
by Gautsu
Are there any hard details about like time/place/logistics of playing? I am super interested but my work schedule conflicts with a lot of different groups

Re: Recruitment: Dead Man's Will

Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:00 am
by Rock of the Fraternity
There are not. We'll be using play by post, in the Café de Nuit subforum, right here on the site.
All times are UTC-05:00
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