Brady, the orange armor is dead. Do not attack it.

(Of course that technically occurs after your turn, but ummmm)

Balls. I was just following Garr. Sorry guys.

Would you guys stop apologizing for taking your turn

I don't think anybody has a problem with you posting your actions "out of order". I'd much rather get your post 3 hours early as opposed to 27 hours late, and I'm quite capable of checking my own initiative sequence to determine which order in which to resolve said posts.

Anyway I've stuck all the PHB2 races/classes in the OP and tidied it up a bit for the peanut-gallery sorts who concern themselves with that sort of thing.

... but you got rid of the alt-text. How am I supposed to hover and read a description extremely quickly?

While we're on that topic, where did the extra classes come from, Pang? I didn't see a few of those in the 4th edition manual. (Avenger, Invoker, Shaman, Warden)

I'm guessing they're from the Player's Handbook 2 . . . which makes me wonder if he's just waiting until it's uploaded to share.

But of course.

Also, PHB2 brings in Background support. This gives the players a minor skill bonus generally and gives the DM helpful plot hooks. You can have as many as three background elements but only one of them grants a mechanical bonus.

If you don't pick anything I'll just assign you some background as appropriate to your playstyle so far to make sure nobody falls behind the curve.

GEOGRAPHY: Desert, Forest, Mountains, Urban, Wetlands

SOCIETY: Poor, Wealthy, Noble

BIRTH: Among Another Race, Blessed, Cursed, Omen, On Another Plane, Prophecy

OCCUPATION: Archaeologist, Artisan, Bounty Hunter,Criminal, Entertainer, Executioner, Farmer, Hired Killer, Hunter, Mariner, Merchant, Military, Scholar

DWARF: Outcast, Dedicated to an Ancestor, Ancestral Home Lost

ELF: Fey Ally, Wild Elf, Urban Elf

HUMAN: Ancestral Holdings, Heir of the Forgotten Gods

HISTORY: Accursed Lineage, Adventurer's Scion, Foe Killer, Guerrilla, Infiltator, Lost Kin, Mystic Slayer, Necromancer's Chattel, Poison Master, Punisher, Restless Dead, Revolutionary, Thief, Thug, Touched By Darkness, Zealous Slayer

I may be mistaken, but weren't there already some backgrounds in some other books? Or perhaps those were only ones specific to an area, like Faerun. I just remembered seeing them when I was looking at making a Bard with the Wizards toolset.

Strictly speaking the campaign is in Faerun but asking the players to research all these different regions to decide which one they're from is a little much. "I lived in a city" is much more flexible than "I lived in Baldur's Gate".

So rather than saying "PHB2 adds backgrounds" I should have said "PHB2 adds backgrounds that aren't absurdly overspecific".

Barbarian... :( *sigh*

Oh well, I'll look over the backgrounds and get back to you.

Additional Spam:
Geography: Urban

Being raised by the sisters in the school for special childrens added more terrible sounds and smells to the background of an already bleak urban environment. Everywhere he goes, Argumentus carries with him the stink of civilization.


Birth: Blessed

On the occasion of Argumentus's birth, a Disciple of Pelor witnessed his life-giving underneath the bar of a dock tavern. With a cringe he proclaimed, "Gods bless him."


Occupation: Military

Shortly after graduating from the school, Argumentus found employ in the service of a backwater militia protecting a trading town. The militia training gave him skill and discipline but did little to improve his mental capacities. That town no longer exists, destroyed in some kind of fire. The less said about it the better.


Background Ability: +2 to Endurance Checks

Gimme til tomorrow on the backgrounds and I'll hit you up.

Does this mean I can play Undead Brigid?

No, that's more of an OH WOE IS ME MY SHITTY VILLAGE IS OVERRUN BY DEADS kind of thing. While there are provisions for vampire PCs it is so far impossible to be a zombie. :(

Especially when your mortal body is taken by the gods.

Yeah, but who knows where they took it to

Maybe they just stuffed it in a closet somewhere

you can't rule these things out!

Oh god the possibilities

Now I really don't know what I want to do. I mean, granted I'll have a year or two to think it over, but.

Well, your corpse got vahporized bah tha lord, but you might be able to hammer something out as a third party possessed. I'm sure that'd make for some comedy gold

You can always leave it up to fate.

I'm pretty sure that three fifths of our party are currently zombies actually.

Additional Spam:
Background

Society - Wealthy

Bob's mother owned a large area of woodland and his father was the heir to a logging empire. Bob's unwillingness to take on the family business however led to him being outcast and ultimately led to the death of both his parents and the estate being destroyed by fire.

Birth - Cursed

Bob's parents had a loveless marriage and his father hated him from birth. "That boy will never amount to anything" was all his father had said to his mother the day Bob was born. Whether his father was prescient or just a bit of a bastard nobody will ever know.

Occupation - Scholar

After leaving the logging business, Bob enroled at an Arcane University in the hopes of becoming a necromancer. He was a bit shit and spent more time getting drunk and going to the theatre with people with names like Tarquin than he did studying and was fairly despised by most of his fellow students. Being naturally rather clever though, some of what he was taught sunk in and he often knows things without really knowing how he knows them.

+2 to Arcana skill checks.

Background:

Society - Noble

Motsognir is the eighteenth cousin of the fourth-in-line to the throne of a small series of caves near the coast. He used to get invited to a lot of parties, you know.

Dwarf - Outcast

Motsognir's quest for social advancement ended at a now somewhat infamous party celebrating the 47th birthday of the King's nephew, Goldquat. In front of all of high society, Motsognir tripped over his own decorative boots, pushing the yong Goldquat into the royal axe rack. They would have killed him had Motsognir not saved himself by accidentally tumbling into a well. He escaped through a small tunnel leading to the coastline.

Occupation - Mariner

Motsognir became ol' Soggy after his escape. Arriving at the ocean, he came upon the ship of the dreaded ghost-pirate Reverend Stang. The dwarf's bloated, pale complexion and the smell he acquired from standing in a well for three days convinced the ghost-pirates he was one of their own, and by the time he had dried out, they were too fond of his charming incompetence to throw him overboard. He stayed on the ship for fifteen years before it finally sailed off while he was passed out in a whorehouse.


+2 to Acrobatics

Might also wanna add Garr to the active roster as well.

Barbarian... :( *sigh*

I find it so endlessly NEAT that there are rules in place for stuff I was going to add in anyway. I already pretty much have the character sketched out, so yeah. I've just gotta choose some backgrounds that fit with what I've already written.

I feel your pain. I really want to play a minotaur bard now.

Oh well, there's always Deni's Shadowrun campaign. :tpg: