To Revise:

Having been awakened to the horrors of "fear of girls" once again, I now realize why the name doug is no longer appropriate. So I choose Oruboros, just as foolish, but with less baggage. hope this works better for most of you.

And no I have no Goddamn clue what that means in Druidic

[Book]MARK MY WORDS

Tonight we got everyone pretty squared away. Jen can't make it next Tuesday, but I think we might have a short meeting anyway, starting at 9pm, just to get everyone grounded and ready for the game.

A short stint in-game would help everyone, I feel, and otherwise, we won't get to play until November 7th.

Each game will last from 9pm until 1am. I don't want them longer than that, or too much shorter. Please think of your character's backstory, personality, family history (if any), or goals.
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You'll be starting in the gray burg of Castleton, in the region of Dundalk, home to Castle Anisunsed. The region has been adjusting to the freedom of post-feudal life for 2 generations since the line of Anisunsed fell. Castleton has seen better days; a general mist of desperation and decay lies among the inhabitants.

Most in Dundalk have a hazy knowledge of why the monarchy fell; A prophecy made years ago spelled the doom of the monarchy. When it came into effect, no one who took the throne lasted more than a year or two at the most. The line ended, and the castle's inhabitants fled. Those few nobles and knights who are still alive today enjoy relative prosperity and fame in their hometowns.

You're in town for the census, and it seems like everyone else is, too. The city elders, operating a small bureaucracy out of a local church, have decreed to call for a compilation of demographics from all over the region, and have promised to follow the whole ordeal with a traveling festival. The council of elders has taken note of how other kingdoms keep order, and decided a census is the modern thing to do. Every corner of Dundalk seems to have emptied into the sprawling city. Representatives have come to speak for individuals, families, and in some cases whole tribes or villages. Humans, gnomes, elves, dwarves and orcs are finding themselves rubbing elbows in ways they never imagined. People from cities and towns, forests and swamps and deserts are all coming to count their own.

As adventurers, you have no one to speak for you, so you have to be there to make sure you're counted and receive proper identification. Otherwise, taxes and nationality can get a little difficult.

For the first time, Castleton is not being overlooked because of Anisunsed. In fact, in some ways they wish it would go away. The looming presence of the abandoned castle is not helping tourism, merchant traffic or news via word-of-mouth. It also doesn't help that locals either insist it's haunted, which the city elders have conclusively disproven with their own investigation, or that people occasionally go missing, or that the new crops just won't seem to take.

But the elders are pretty sure the festival will take care of all their problems.

BACKSTORY 1; DOUG THE DRUID (Beep)

Written to me, regarding his character...

"He's a Druid who just wants to get outside. Badly. Level 3.

"In order to leave a Druid commune, you have to have an 'exit visa' from the elder counsel. And you only get those through one of two ways; you are either on a mission which directly benefits the order (and even then there's a time constraint), or you're exiled. In which case the visa then sets you and anyone around you on fire after you leave.

"However, there is a loophole in Druidic law [ED: this Drudic society, anyway~Jack] that states if an outsider has aided you, you are then directed to aid them in the best way possible, until things are in balance. Quid pro quo at its finest. All he needed was a problem.

"Enter a highly contagious and somewhat invasive tree fungus which he can't easily deal with. All thats left is for Doug to do is hire a Wizard from a nearby town, then say he can only offer his services as payment. Get Out Of Forest Free Card. Luckily for Doug, [Elmer's Wizard] could in fact deal with the fungus.

"So now it's vacation time for Doug.

"Personality-wise, the Druids operate on a very Machiavellian basis [the ends justify the means]. He is a bit more blunt about it. A bit of a good streak, slightly naive but competent. Competely baffled by life outside. His 'visa' allows him to come and go as he pleases from the commune, but not allow others in."

Beep's PC [Doug] has a familiar; a wolf named Oodem. According to Beep, this is Druidic for "free."

I'll post more backstories up here as they come.

YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST

Seeing as our group is going to be constrained by time, classes, and the fact that one of us lives in Manhattan, I think the creation of this blog is an easy way for all of us to keep up to date. I've sent invitations for everyone in the group, so we can all add things.

Tuesday nights are best, from 9pm-1am. I'd like to meet up next Tuesday for character creation, and hopefully we'll be starting the game by November.

The player cast is as follows (tell me if it needs editing):

~ELMER is Schiff, a middle-aged Human Wizard. He's a walking spellbook who owns a shop devoted to alchemy in the heart of Castleton. His youthful Adept assistant, Howid, looks after it for him while he travels.
~BEEP is Doug, a wise young Human Druid who wanted nothing more than to get away from his humdrum forest, and is indebted to Elmer for giving him that out. His favored weapon is his new sledgehammer.
~STEPH is Myaarg Overtherr, a Half-Orc Paladin. She's intelligent, strong, and fearsomely wields an Orc Double Axe. She's devoted to the cause of the God of the Hunt, and travels to further the spread of good.
~JEN is Nora, an Elven Fighter who travels with Myaarg. Evenly matched in almost every way to the paladin, the two form a solid fighting team. Her knack for personal skills make her invaluable as an asset when it comes to finding work for their next adventure.
~KRIS is Malcom Neue, a Half-Elven Rogue. He took an early shine to Leah's character, and they've been together for some time. He acts as her worldly-wise protector and partner, being skilled in deceitful artifice.
~LEAH is a Human Wizard with an aberration; feathery wings sprout from her back. She has struggled with her wings all her life, as they cause others to treat her with fear and derision. She is new to magic, but her intelligence, wits and heritage make her a natural.

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Grant is my right-hand man, so don't ask him for help. And Mark Robinson will be our mascot this year.