Random Roll 62 - The Randomness

When most people think on an aasimar they see a beacon of all that is good. The celestial blood that flows through their veins can be just as warped as any one else's, and we see that in this week's random rolls. Quick, tough, and observant our aasimar has  a lot going for him, except he's either ugly or unpersonable. Of Mwangi heritage he resides in the Vudrani enclave of Jalmeray and the blood in his veins comes from the Garuda, an outsider with ties to the Vudrani gods. With a lot of interesting pieces of information we'll have to wait till Friday to see what we shall make of this thoroughly evil creature.

Gender: Male

Race:Garuda-Blooded Aasimar (Plumekith)

Human Heritage:Mwangi (Mauxi)

Nationality: Jalmeray

Age:  16
Height: 5’ 4”
Weight: 145 lbs

Alignment:Chaotic Evil

Str: 10

Dex: 16

Con:  16

Int: 11

Wis: 16

Cha: 9

Homeland: Town or Village

Parents: Both of your parents are alive.

Siblings: You have 2 biological siblings and 1 half-sibling.

- biological younger sister

- biological younger sister

- younger half-elf sister

Circumstance of Birth: [Lower-Class Birth] You were born among peasants or slum denizens. You grew up working the land around a village or manor, practicing a rudimentary trade, or begging in a settlement.

Parent's Profession: Soldiers

Major Childhood Event: [Competition Champion] You distinguished yourself at an early age when you won a competition. This might have been a martial contest of arms, a showing of apprentice magicians, high stakes gambling, or something mundane like an eating championship.

Influential Associate:[Well-Connected Friend] In your circle of disparate associates, there was someone everyone knew. This person collected friends like trophies, and she had contacts in every social or professional circle. Through this connection, you continue to meet and associate with a wide variety of people in every walk of life.

Conflict: [Mass Murder] You killed several sentient beings.

Conflict Subject: Leader.

Conflict Motivation: Love.

Conflict Resolution: [Denial] You feel little if any regret, and deny the event mostly so others won’t judge you. Few if any know of your part in the conflict, and your constant denials are meant to keep it that way.

Deity/Religious Philosophy:Yog-Sothoth

Romantic Relationship(s): [Several Significant Relationships] You’ve engaged in a number of partnerships, but for some reason or another your relationships always fail.

Drawback: [Self-Doubt] No matter what you do, it’s never good enough. You cannot help but see in your victories many little defeats and failures. If you were stronger, smarter, faster, or more powerful, maybe you could be better. However, stuck in the body and mind you have, you feel you’re destined to fail.

(Trait) Influence

(Trait) Kin Guardian

(Trait) Militia Veteran

(Trait) Poverty-Stricken

(Trait) Tactician

(Trait) Well-Informed

(Story Feat) Champion

(Drawback) Doubt

In the comments please tell us what character you would make with these disparate pieces information? What class would this Aasimar naturally gravitate towards? How did a Mwangi family end up in JalmerayWho was the love he killed for? Why has he chosen an outer god as a patron? And don’t forget to stay tuned Friday when my background hits the CRB.

The CRB not only brings you the creative content you desire but makes you look inside for your own creativity. If you feel both inspired and pushed to created please consider supporting your favorite content provider (that’s me) by pledging as little as $1 on my Patreon. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to get the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle

Subscriptions through Amazon. And to keep up with my other musings and thoughts you can follow the CRB on Google+, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Rising From the Fall

Affirmed of Iaozrael

Illustration by Luis Perez

In the strict hierarchy of Hell the Infernal Dukes serve under the Archdevils. Their respect for the authority of their betters, however, doesn’t mean that they stop trying to move up the ranks themselves. Iaozrael is the Infernal Duke of authority, hubris, and lies. Little is known about him or his followers, but today we are going to explore three possible sects.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game that we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Iaozrael. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of The Untarnished Angel. What character do you make?

For more information on Iaozrael

Iaozrael’s Pathfinder Wiki Page

Iaozrael’s Archives of Nethys Page

Marred Beauty

This sect of Iaozrael worshipers have taken to the Infernal Duke’s teaching as one who has survived and made himself stronger after disfigurement. Every member of this sect has been scarred or maimed in some way. Each was considered beautiful before whatever accident occurred to disfigure them. They come together to rebuild their lives and use The Untarnished Angel as a role model.

The members of this sect all come from a place of social status. Nobles, aristocrats, and merchant princes make up a majority of the faithful. Although few were adventures beforehand, almost all have taken up some form of magic as a means to hide their deformities. Alchemists using strange concoctions to alter their shape, transmuters doing the same, and illusionists both of the wizard and bardic variety are some of the many paths the membership follows to regain their lost beauty.

The Unbound

To the followers of Iaozrael the truth is like a pair of shackles. Being bound by what is slows the process of getting what one wants. It is therefore much easier to resort to making one’s own truth. To many of the Infernal Dukes followers the proper use of a lie is an art form; but to The Unbound it is a game.

Members of the Unbound tell lies – beyond their normal use of personal gain – as a grand competition. Who can tell the biggest lie and have the most people believe it? Who can have their falsehood spread as truth so much so as it muddies the reality of things? The Unbound is full of silver-tongued con artists from all walks of life, but for them the only truth is the competition. 

Company of the Burning Wings

This sect is more a band of mercenaries who follow the teachings of The Untarnished Angel. Each man is a proud man of action. Many have served time in one military or another either by enlistment or conscription. They each understand their own place in the hierarchy and respect the authority of the man above them, as they also try and maneuver themselves into a more advantageous position.

Currently the Company is working alongside the Imperial Molthune Army. None of these men have had a place they can call home and a few years of services will make them citizens of the expansionist nation. They have managed to install a few key agents within the military structure itself as they continue to work as independent contractors.   

The authority of Hell is all that the followers of this Infernal Duke need. Who is your disciple of Iaozrael? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to The Untarnished Angel? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

If the CRB has inspired your next character please consider showing support and become one of my patrons by donating to my Patreon or making a donation to my Paypal. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter all have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

The opening illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart. 

Character Exploration 61 - Erbreror Kalish

Another week gone by and another character background has taken form from random rolls. This week we had a very interesting tiefling with an incredibly low charisma who follows a deity of lies. His chosen patron also has authority in his wheel house and living in the land of Molthune to me that meant military authority. A decent strength and exceedingly high constitution and wisdom sold me on a melee fighter but also with a divine twist. I eventually chose inquisitor as this character’s class, with the Heresy inquisition. Adding his wisdom to bluff and intimidate really spoke to following the Infernal Duke of authority, hubris, and lies.

Erbreror Kalish

Illustration by Luis Perez

Being born into poverty was never the worst part of Erbreor’s life. Being serfs—tending the land of a Molthuni noble’s vineyard— meant that his family needed all the able bodied hands they could get. If he had been born in a city or to a more well-to-do family then they might have killed him at birth when they first saw his vestigial tail and red tinted skin. No being born poor is probably what allowed Erbreror to grow into a man of his own.

His childhood wasn’t easy. Being a tiefling was seen as a curse of some kind. He was bullied mercilessly by not only the other local kids but by his older brothers and sister as well. As his skin color took on a more devilish red and his tail began to become more than just a stump the bullying moved up from verbal to physical attacks. In one such attack from his own siblings part of the flesh of his cheek was torn away. And although he survived, the lack of a proper healer left him with a large open scar on his face.

When his younger brother was born he had hoped that some of his older siblings wrath would fall upon him but such was not the case. Well into his teens he was the butt of every joke, and a pin cushion for siblings physical jabs. It all came to a head on his fifteenth birthday when—having grown bigger and stronger—he tried to kill his eldest brother. Sadly though, he burned down the house killing his parents and his younger sibling in the process.

Erbreror ran from his childhood home, fleeing out into the badlands. He spent weeks living off the land, poorly. If it weren’t for his incredible health and will he wouldn’t have lasted a day let alone a week. When the mercenary group found him he was malnourished and near death. The red and black clad warriors fought for the Molthune in their war against Nirmathas.

Erbreror was fed and taken in. When asked about his life he lied. Although he was always able to get one over on the locals, the Mercenary leader could see right through him. But he smiled anyway. That was the beginning of Erbreror’s training. He learned lessons in both martial prowess and theological studies.

The company were defectors from Cheliax looking to earn their citizenship in Molthune. Like most of the diabolists they believed in a strict hierarchy and order. Unlike most of Cheliax Asmodeus was not their patron deity. The company of the burning wings in their red and black attire took the Infernal Duke Iaozrael as guiding light.

The young tiefling took the lessons of Iaozrael to heart and during an evening prayer with the troupe he was touched by the Infernal Duke. Erbreror’s new mission was to advance the growth of Iaozrael through the lands of Molthune and to hunt down those who have fallen away from the devil. He was also tasked with ingratiating himself into the actual army of Molthune and to offer his services to root out those who would work against the nation from within.

The one thing Erbreror was always good at was rooting out lies. So finding a way to make himself useful was pretty easy. He slowly worked his way up the ranks in the Imperial Army of Molthune. He even managed to dig up dirt on one of the regional commanders. He used this to settle himself into a position of quiet ease from which he could work his masters will. Although the commander was technically a traitor, giving information to a whore who was a spy for Nirmathas, allowing him to hold his position helped Erbreror root out other traitors.

Now Erbreror lives out his days as a ranking special agent in the Imperial Army of Molthune. He hunts those who would betray his home country and he seeks to further the small but growing church of Iaozrael. He revels in his auhtority and in his continued mastery of his silver tongue.

With an aura of command and a silver tongue comes Erbreor. But is this the character you would have made? What class would you have chosen? How did his parents die? Who were his childhood bullies? How did he come to worship Iaozrael? It’s never too late to let us know in the comments.

Erbreror came to life from a handful of random information, just like your games come to life aided by the content of providers like me.  Contributions to my Patreon or Paypal help me be able to invest more of that time into creation instead of worrying about keeping the lights on. If you’d like to support your favorite content provider – come on, that’s me, admit it – please consider contributing.

If you’re enjoying the blog, why not join the rest of the fans of the CRB on our social media hangouts? Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter all have a CRB presence and my inbox is open on all forums for questions, comments, and discussion.

The character illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart. 

The Path To Hell

When Good Falls

Illustration by Luis Perez

There are many stories that we like to see over and over again. They may get retold in different fashion but the same basic principles of archetypal stories have been enjoyed for years. Fitting into one of those many archetypes includes the fall of good, their rise as evil, and usually their ultimate redemption. This makes for some great storytelling, although it can sometimes be iffy in gaming and I’ll get to that as well.

The fall story works best the when the character is near the pinnacle of what it means to be good. When it’s a shock that the person who becomes evil does so, the whole story keeps your interest longer. In star wars I didn’t care so much that Anakin fell — and not because I knew it was coming — when the entire second and third movies he was kind of an over confident jerk. The fall didn’t see that big of a deal.

Reasons for falling are very important to the story. Characters who fall because they see so much atrocity that in fighting against it they become the evil they once sought to destroy is one great way to have a character fall. Characters who fall to protect the ones they love make the evil character more relatable. The necromancer who went to the dark arts because his family was savagely murdered and he just wants to find a way to bring them back can be an excellent foil to your protagonists.

There are even epic falls on a cosmic level. Lucifer’s fall from the kingdom of heaven is an excellent example. Depending on who is telling the story, the devil isn’t such a bad guy. In Pathfinder Asmodeus, the king of hell who saw the destruction that chaos — specifically mortal’s free will — wrought and so he tried to impose order and in doing so became totalitarian, and thus his slide into being evil.

So a character has fallen, the rise is the time to really get into the meat of the tale. How do his former friends or family members bring him around? How many vile acts does he perform in the meantime? What is the catalyst for his eventual eye-opening to what he’s done? Maybe the necromancer finally retrieves the souls of his family but they don't wish to come back. They confront him with the evil he’s done and he cracks. You can always be very cliche and have him yell, “what have I done,” but it's up to you.

As much as I love these stories — and so do many others, as we retell it so often — they do not always work in a gaming setting. Some of the worst games I was ever a part of were when a GM literally went out of his way to put the paladin in situations where he would have to fall no matter how he tried to get out of a situation. Some players don’t want the fall from grace story. It also doesn’t work very well in a game with a group dynamic because now what does the good aligned party do with their villainous member?

Unless it's an agreed upon part of the story, a fall should probably happen to NPCs. The childhood friend who rose to greatness with the party members who has now turned to evil is an excellent adventure. How do they both stop and hopefully redeem their long time friend? Can he be redeemed in the first place? This allows you to tell the tale while not driving one of the PCs away from the party. Unless, of course, the whole party falls.

Have you used the fall from grace story in your campaign? Have you additionally added the redemption story? Have you worked it in with a PC? And if so how? Tell us your experiences in the comments.

Stories are the central crux of any good RPG. If the CRB sparks ideas for the tales you are going to tell please consider contributing to my Patreon. or donating directly to my Paypal. Your support of content providers allows us to focus on providing you the content you love without dealing with life’s little difficulties, in this case replacing the cracked monitor on my laptop. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to get the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle Subscriptions.

The CRB is also spreading across the social media sphere. There is a presence on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, and Twitter. Join the other storytellers and let us hear from you. My inbox is always open for questions, comments, or discussions.

The opening illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart. 

Random Roll 61 - The Randomness

It's Monday so its time to flex out creative muscle. This week's randomly generated character is a tiefling from the war torn country of Molthune. A hell-spawn who follows the Infernal Duke of Authority, Hubris, and Lies. He's tough as nails and incredibly perceptive on both a physical and social level but between his hideous appearance and his attitude he lacks what anyone would call charisma. Bullied as a child, and both his parents now dead, social acceptance is the one thing he looks for. But will he ever find it?

Gender: Male

Race: Hell-Spawn Tiefling

Human Heritage: Chelaxian

Nationality: Molthune

Age:  16
Height: 5’ 4”
Weight: 145 lbs

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Str: 14

Dex: 10

Con:  18

Int: 9

Wis: 18

Cha: 5

Homeland: Town or Village

Parents: Both of your parents are dead.

Siblings: You have 4 biological siblings.

- biological older sister

- biological younger brother

- biological older brother

- biological older brother

Circumstance of Birth: [Lower-Class Birth] You were born among peasants or slum denizens. You grew up working the land around a village or manor, practicing a rudimentary trade, or begging in a settlement.

Parent's Profession: Serfs/Peasants

Major Childhood Event: [Bullied] In your early life, you were a victim— easy prey for those stronger or cleverer than yourself. They beat you when they could, using you for their sport. This abuse nursed a powerful flame of vengeance.

Influential Associate: [The Mercenary] With this person, there was always a cost. No deed was done making a trade for something of equal or greater value. Whether this individual's actions tended toward good, evil, or pure balance, he was always fair in his dealings. You respected this trait and it influenced your own philosophy.

Conflict: [Blackmailed] You used sensitive knowledge or threats to force someone’s cooperation.

Conflict Subject: Civic or military official.

Conflict Motivation: Pleasure.

Conflict Resolution: [Denial] You feel little if any regret, and deny the event mostly so others won’t judge you. Few if any know of your part in the conflict, and your constant denials are meant to keep it that way.

Deity/Religious Philosophy: Iaozrael

Romantic Relationship(s): [Several Significant Relationships] You’ve engaged in a number of partnerships, but for some reason or another your relationships always fail.

Drawback: [Social Acceptance] You want others to accept you, to believe you’re special and worthy of merit. You are self-conscious about your social flaws and breaches of etiquette. Rejection is among your greatest fears. You might go to extraordinary lengths to be accepted by or seek favor from your peers.

(Trait) Bullied

(Trait) Kin Guardian

(Trait) Mercenary

(Trait) Militia Veteran

(Trait) Orphaned

(Trait) Poverty-Stricken

(Trait) Tireless Logic

(Drawback) Dependent

In the comments please tell us what character you would make with these disparate pieces information? What class would this Tiefling naturally gravitate towards? Why did he blackmail an official? Who was his mercenary mentor? And don’t forget to stay tuned Friday when my background hits the CRB.

The CRB not only brings you the creative content you desire but makes you look inside for your own creativity. If you feel both inspired and pushed to created please consider supporting your favorite content provider (that’s me) by pledging as little as $1 on my Patreon. If you don’t want to miss a beat make sure you sign up to get the CRB pushed directly to your e-reading device with Kindle

Subscriptions through Amazon. And to keep up with my other musings and thoughts you can follow the CRB on Google+, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter.