Carnival in Pathfinder

[Mortavius]

I haven't done him yet; I'm sort of going through the book in order. But if you're requesting him, then I can certainly do him up next!

[Mortavius]

As requested, the Barker of the Hall of Horrors,

Professor Pacali

Timeline
702 BC: Pacali born in Il Aluk, Darkon.
725 BC: Pacali gets hired on as an Assistant Professor with the University of Il Aluk, the most prestigious institution in the area in his opinion.
731 BC: Pacali is promoted to Associate Professor, but he feels this is a snub against his intellect and begins to look elsewhere for employment in a twisted form of revenge against the University.
745 BC: Pacali finds work and attains the title of Professor at the Brautslava Institute outside Viaki.
747 BC: The Carnival stops near Viaki in Darkon. Professor Pacali decides to travel with Carnival for a time to research the biological abnormalities therein.
760 BC: Present Day.

Twisting: All of Pacali’s twisted schemes, self-loathing, and foul fantasies are made manifest in the form of Pickled Punks (stats are as presented in Bestiary 4, page 214 with the addition of the following: fire weakness; a gaze attack that can be resisted with a Will save DC 12 that if failed will cause the victim to act out their innermost desires (often changing alignment to NE) for 1d8+2 hours; and they go comatose when submerged in alcohol).

Base Stats
Str 11, Dex 9, Con 14, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 15
Racial: Int +2
Aging: Old (-3 Str, Dex, Con; +2 Int, Wis, Cha)
Leveling: +2 Dex, +1 Int
Favored Class: + Skill Ranks

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 14; XP 38,400
Human, Expert 6/Wizard (Arcanist) 9
NE Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3; Senses Low-Light Vision (with Eyes of Keen Sight), Perception +1 (+3 with Eyes of Keen Sight)

Defense
AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 11 (-1 Dex, +2 Deflection)
HP 62 (6d8+9d6)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +14

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Demon-Bane Dagger +8/+3 (+10/+5 vs. Demons) (1d4, 19-20; +2d6 vs. Demons)

Spells Known (CL 9th; Concentration +15; Divination & Necromancy Specialist; Opposition schools: Enchantment, Evocation, & Transmutation; DC 16 + spell level, DC 18 + spell level vs. Divination & Necromancy)
5th – (2/day +1 Divination or Necromancy) Dismissal, Symbol of Pain, Telepathic Bond
4th – (3/day +1 Divination or Necromancy) Dimensional Anchor, Enervation, Fear, Fleshworm Infestation, Scrying
3rd – (4/day +1 Divination or Necromancy) Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Halt Undead, Howling Agony, Magic Circle against Evil, Ray of Exhaustion
2nd – (6/day +1 Divination or Necromancy) Detect Thoughts, Command Undead, False Life, Fog Cloud, Locate Object, Scare, Summon Swarm
1st – (6/day +1 Divination or Necromancy) Cause Fear, Comprehend Languages, Decompose Corpse, Detect Undead, Identify, Interrogation, Mage Armor, Protection from Evil, Ray of Enfeeblement, Sculpt Corpse, Vanish
0th – (4/day +1 Divination or Necromancy) Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Bleed, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Ghost Sound, Haunted Fey Aspect, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue

Statistics
Str 8, Dex 8, Con 11, Int 22, Wis 12, Cha 17
Base Atk +8, CMB +7, CMD 16
Feats Eschew Materials, Greater Spell Focus (Divination, Necromancy), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Skill Focus (Knowledge (Arcana), Spell Focus (Divination, Necromancy), Turn Undead (9/day, DC 17)
Skills Bluff +21, Craft (Alchemy) +24, Diplomacy +21, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (Arcana) +30, Knowledge (Geography) +15, Knowledge (Local) +15, Knowledge (Nature) +24, Knowledge (Planes) +24, Preform (Oratory) +21, Profession (Teacher) +10, Spellcraft +24
Languages Darkonese, Mordentish, Lamordian, Draconic
SQ Arcane Bond (Professor’s Amulet from Brautslava Institute), Life Sight (9 rounds/day), Prescience (9/day)

Equipment
Spellbook, Demon-Bane Dagger +1, Ring of Protection +2, Eyes of Keen Sight, Arcane Scrolls (Animate Dead, Command Undead x2, Magic Jar)


Often when I make these NPCs, I have no idea what I'm going to end up with. I tend to go in with the barest idea of the character, and then very closely read all the information about them to glean what I can from between the lines. Pacali is another example of this.

I knew that Pacali was going to be an Arcanist (and that I'd use Ryan's rules for them in his thread). What I didn't realize, is that Pacali actually didn't start studying wizardry till AFTER he joined Carnival. This led me to researching things like how old the average Professor is (in real life) to try and figure out an age for Pacali as well as what level of Expert he should be (since that seemed to fit best with being a teacher). My original draft of Pacali ended up with him being Venerable age. I didn't like this, because the penalties for ageing would have given him a Dexterity of 3, which I felt was just too frail. I fiddled with the years a bit more, and ended up with him being just Old age and not having such severe penalties. It means he became a Professor at a younger age than the median, but you can explain that by saying he is either gifted (I don't think so) or there was just younger Professors back then, what with mortality rates being higher. End result is Pacali is more powerful than he was originally presented, but I think it fits his character better.

It's also interesting; he's probably one of the few Troupers who has actively pursued a PC class since joining Carnival. That's really the only way to explain how he gained 9 PC levels in only 13 years.

[Nemesio]

Well done Mortavius!

[Mortavius]

The Blade Brothers

Timeline
736 BC: The Brothers are born, allegedly under a Bad Star.
752 BC: The Brothers are cast out of their tribe, becoming Mortu.
755 BC: The Brothers come upon Carnival and join, becoming Skurra.
760 BC: Present Day.

Base Stats
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 9, Cha 9
Racial: +4 Wis, +2 Cha
Aging: Young
Leveling: +1 Str, +1 Dex
Favored Class: +HP

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 8; XP 4,800
Vistani Fighter (Weapon Master) 5/Rogue (Knifemaster) 3
CG Medium Humanoid (Vistani, Kaldresh)
Init +4; Senses Perception +1

Defense
AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +1 Armor, +1 Deflection)
HP 65 (5d10+3d8+20)
Fort +7, Ref +8 (Evasion), Will +3

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee MW Dagger +14/+9 (1d4+2, 19-20)
Ranged MW Dagger +14/+9 (1d4+2, 19-20)
Special Attacks Sneak Attack (+2d8 with Daggers, +2d4 with anything else)
Spell-Like Abilities (DC 10 + spell level)
Constant – Detect Magic
At Will – Cause Fear, Hold Person, Ill Omen, Spark (touch only)
1/day – Bestow Curse, Burning Gaze (nonlethal only), Charm Person, Suggestion

Statistics
Str 13, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +7, CMB +9, CMD 23 (24 vs. Disarm & Sunder)
Feats: Bullseye Shot, Dazzling Display, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Skill Focus (Craft), Voice of Wrath, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Dagger)
Skills Acrobatics +15, Climb +9, Craft (Weapons) +18, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (Local) +8, Perform (Act) +11, Sleight of Hand +15 (+16 involving Daggers), Survival +11
Languages Patterna, Balok, Vassi, Skurra
SQ Blade Sense +1 (+1 to AC vs. light blades), Mist Navigation, Moon Madness, Reliable Strike (1/day), Weapon Guard +1, Weapon Training +1 (Dagger)
Rogue Talents: Finesse Rogue

Equipment
MW Daggers (As many as they need since they make them, cold iron and mithral among them), Headband of Protection (as Bracers) +1, Ring of Protection +1, Scabbard of Honing



In doing up these two (one?) I found a bunch of errors in Madame Fortuna that I went back and corrected. Nothing huge, just some stuff I didn't account for the first time. Goes to show that just because I think I'm done with someone, they aren't done with me.

I changed my mind a few times doing the Blade Brothers. First, I thought to make them slightly different; vary up their class levels and such. But then I thought it was better to leave them completely identical. It plays up their eeriness, I think; most twins are different in some ways, but not these two. Why is that?

I scoured the Ravenloft Timeline for awhile, trying to find a good time to have them be born. I know I wanted them young, so I was looking for a year that had notable bad things happen in it to tie into the "bad star." There are a lot of bad things happening all the time in Ravenloft (as one would expect) but most are very localized. Finally, I settled on 736 because of a specific event. As a bit of trivia (and to see if anyone's still reading this), can anyone guess what event I chose?

The Blade Brothers are fighters in their original incarnation, but I felt that the Knife Master archetype was too good to pass up, so I split the difference between Fighter and Rogue. Also, the Kamii do not make magical weapons, and the Blade Brothers craft all their own daggers. So I figured giving them almost an endless supply and allowing them to use special materials makes up for that.

[The Giamarga]

Madame Fortuna

Vistani Rogue (Charlatan) 9

[...]

I imagine that Madame Fortuna was something very different in her youth. Perhaps she was a heartless Vistana, one who thought nothing of using her looks and charm to get whatever she could from the Giorgios. With her focus on charisma skills, I imagine her something of a con artist. What did she do to get cast out of her tribe? Did she anger the wrong person, and that anger threatened the tribe? It would have to be pretty great anger (and go against her elders) to get her kicked out. Normally the Vistani would just close ranks together against outsiders, even if they didn't agree with an individual's choices.

As can be seen her stats above, she's not much of a fighter, but she still carries that dagger around, probably as much as habit as anything nowadays. I thought that the Handy Haversack is a great item for her; she just has to think of what she wants when she reaches in and it's right on top, helping her overcome her blindness.

Good work. I really like her. I also quite like the items.

You missed noting the charlatan abilities Natural Born Liar, and Grand Hoax to her statblock,though i see you incorporated their effects. I like the equipment too.

In 3.5 I had her pegged for the Charlatan prc from CoD. I wasn't quite sure how to cover her Twisting abilities then, and leaning to a few levels of psion/seer, but i like your method, simple and elegant.

[The Giamarga]

The Blade Brothers

[...]

In doing up these two (one?) I found a bunch of errors in Madame Fortuna that I went back and corrected. Nothing huge, just some stuff I didn't account for the first time. Goes to show that just because I think I'm done with someone, they aren't done with me.

I changed my mind a few times doing the Blade Brothers. First, I thought to make them slightly different; vary up their class levels and such. But then I thought it was better to leave them completely identical. It plays up their eeriness, I think; most twins are different in some ways, but not these two. Why is that?

I scoured the Ravenloft Timeline for awhile, trying to find a good time to have them be born. I know I wanted them young, so I was looking for a year that had notable bad things happen in it to tie into the "bad star." There are a lot of bad things happening all the time in Ravenloft (as one would expect) but most are very localized. Finally, I settled on 736 because of a specific event. As a bit of trivia (and to see if anyone's still reading this), can anyone guess what event I chose?

The Blade Brothers are fighters in their original incarnation, but I felt that the Knife Master archetype was too good to pass up, so I split the difference between Fighter and Rogue. Also, the Kamii do not make magical weapons, and the Blade Brothers craft all their own daggers. So I figured giving them almost an endless supply and allowing them to use special materials makes up for that.

I like the design notes on each entry. Keep them coming!

These two I had also pegged as Knife Masters in PF. For the fighter levels did you consider weapon master? It would switch out armour training I for weapon training I (applied to daggers of course) and give them weapon guard instead of bravery. I was also considering adapting the Archer archetype for a Thrower archetype giving them access to Trick Shot (Ex). I quite liked my 3.5 version of them with Master Thrower.

As you're doing Skurra now, how would you make the Skurra Vera masks function? My Blade Brothers 3.5 writeup has some ideas on this.

Scabbard of honing should be scabbard of keen edge for easier reference.

As for the event my guess would be "In the house of Daegon the sorcerer born, Though life, unlife, unliving shall scorn."

[Mortavius]

For the fighter levels did you consider weapon master? It would switch out armour training I for weapon training I (applied to daggers of course) and give them weapon guard instead of bravery.

As you're doing Skurra now, how would you make the Skurra Vera masks function? My Blade Brothers 3.5 writeup has some ideas on this.

Scabbard of honing should be scabbard of keen edge for easier reference.

As for the event my guess would be "In the house of Daegon the sorcerer born, Though life, unlife, unliving shall scorn."

I haven't looked at Weapon Master; I'll take a peek at that tonight, thanks for the suggestion!

I didn't think anything special needed to be done with the Skurra-vera. I thought it was just facepaint that made you immune to the Twisting as long as you didn't speak?

What's your reasoning about the Scabbard of Honing? It's not the same as the Scabbard of Keen Edges; it's essentially a weaker version, found in Ultimate Equipment.

And while a good guess, that's not the event I was looking at for the year the Brothers were born.

[Mortavius]

Madame Fortuna

Good work. I really like her. I also quite like the items.

You missed noting the charlatan abilities Natural Born Liar, and Grand Hoax to her statblock,though i see you incorporated their effects. I like the equipment too.

In 3.5 I had her pegged for the Charlatan prc from CoD. I wasn't quite sure how to cover her Twisting abilities then, and leaning to a few levels of psion/seer, but i like your method, simple and elegant.

Thanks!

I often don't note the abilities that just grant a static ability that I can incorporate directly into the stat blocks, just to avoid clutter. Do you think that I should be noting them anyways?

I actually resisted giving Fortuna any supernatural abilities to tell fortunes (other than her Tarroka deck, which she says she doesn't use much). She's much more like the traditional fortune tellers; she asks leading questions and makes guesses to bilk the Georges out of their coin. That's why she has such high ranks in Sense Motive, to aid her act. She *can* use her deck if she ever needs to know for sure, but I imagine most of the time she gets by on her own abilities, and that probably serves her well for her role in Carnival.

[The Giamarga]

What's your reasoning about the Scabbard of Honing? It's not the same as the Scabbard of Keen Edges; it's essentially a weaker version, found in Ultimate Equipment.

Ah, really? I didn't find it as an entry in d20pfsrd, only in one of the tables with a question mark, so I thought it a typo.


BTW for weapon master, a split of Ftr5/Rog3 might also be interesting: losing +1 on Ref, gaining +1 Fort, and switching Reliable Strike for Befuddling Strike. I was leaning to the selfmade/adapted Thrower archetype though for trick shots...

As for the Skurra Vera Mask, since they effectively lose access to Voice of Wrath I figured I'd give them a little something extra:

Skurra-vera mask (Su): This protects a vistani or half-vistani from the effects of the Twisting. They can't speak (and thus can't use the Voice of Wrath) though or they'll loose this ability. They use the Bluff and Sense Motive skills to communicate among themselves. As they loose the use of the Voice of Wrath feat I suggest giving them the benefits of the Secret Society feat from Heroes of Light as long as they wear the mask. The feat gives (+2?) bonuses to Bluff and Sense Motive when communicating secretly.

[Mortavius]

As for the Skurra Vera Mask, since they effectively lose access to Voice of Wrath I figured I'd give them a little something extra:

Skurra-vera mask (Su): This protects a vistani or half-vistani from the effects of the Twisting. They can't speak (and thus can't use the Voice of Wrath) though or they'll loose this ability. They use the Bluff and Sense Motive skills to communicate among themselves. As they loose the use of the Voice of Wrath feat I suggest giving them the benefits of the Secret Society feat from Heroes of Light as long as they wear the mask. The feat gives (+2?) bonuses to Bluff and Sense Motive when communicating secretly.

I did read that yesterday, but I don't know if I agree with it.

See, the Skurra-Vera protects them from the Twisting. They don't lose their skills at cursing, they just choose not to speak to maintain the protection. They could use Voice of Wrath if they wanted to, but then they would lose the protection of the Skurra-Vera.

It's kind of like making a Half-Orc Wizard. As such a PC, you probably will not use your Strength very much. But you still get a +2 to Str for being a Half-Orc. It's just the choice you make. You don't get compensated just because you chose to be a Wizard, a class which will probably not use Strength very much.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, all Vistani get Voice of Wrath. Just because the Skurra choose not to use the feat, doesn't mean they should get a new one, in my mind. After all, they presumably may have used it before they become Skurra.

I've also re-looked at the Brothers, and I incorporated some of your suggestions Giamarga. I like the extra level of Fighter (since they were originally Fighters for a reason), and I like the Weapon Master archetype. Not because of the bonuses it gives to daggers, but because I don't see the Brothers focusing on armour.

[Mortavius]

The Crimson Rose

Timeline
725 BC: The Vistana who will be come to known as the Crimson Rose is born.
742 BC: The Crimson Rose is assaulted by the Gentleman Caller; the vicious attack snaps part of her mind.
743 BC: The Crimson Rose is taken in by Carnival and gives birth to her son soon after.
760 BC: Present Day.

Base Stats
Str 14, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 15
Racial: +4 Wis, +2 Cha
Aging: Middle-aged
Leveling: +1 Cha
Favored Class: +HP

760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 4; XP 1,200
Vistani Rogue (Cutpurse) 4
Neutral Medium Humanoid (Vistani, Naiat)
Init +3; Senses Perception +1

Defense
Aura Boem Calm (30 ft., Will DC 15)
AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (Uncanny Dodge, +3 Dex, +1 Armor; -2 if raging)
HP 33 (4d8+12), +8 HP when raging
Fort +3, Ref +7 (Evasion), Will +2 (+4 when raging)
Weakness Alternate Personality (comes out when a male tries to force himself on her; alignment changes to CE and the Rose gains the benefits of a Barbarian’s rage that lasts until she is removed from the male’s presence, then regular exhaustion sets in)

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee MW Mithral Dagger +4 (1d4+1, 19-20) or MW Mithral Dagger +6 (1d4+3, 19-20) when raging
Ranged MW Mithral Dagger +6 (1d4+1, 19-20)
Special Attacks Evil Eye (DC 18, 3/day), Sneak Attack +2d6, Stab and Grab
Spell-Like Abilities (DC 14 + spell level unless otherwise noted)
Constant – Detect Magic
At Will – Cause Fear, Hold Person, Ill Omen, Spark (touch only)
1/day – Bestow Curse, Burning Gaze (nonlethal only), Charm Person, Suggestion
3/day – Daze (DC 12)

Statistics
Str 13 (17 when raging), Dex 16, Con 14 (18 when raging), Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 19
Base Atk +3, CMB +4, CMD 17
Feats Persuasive, Skill Focus (Perform (Dance)), Voice of Wrath
Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +11, Diplomacy +13, Escape Artist +10, Heal +5, Knowledge (Local) +9, Perception +8, Perform (Dance) +16, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +10
Languages Patterna, Vassi, Balok, Skurra
SQ Measure the Mark, Mist Navigation, Moon Madness, The Sight
Rogue Talents Minor Magic, Surprise Attack

Equipment
MW Mithral Dagger x2, Bracelets of Protection +1 (as Bracers), Potion of Sleep x3



The Crimson Rose was fun to write-up. I was originally going to ignore her Charm Person ability and just give her high ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, and Perform (Dance). But then I realized that by giving her the Minor & Major Magic talents, I could replicate that spell-like ability, which I am happy with. It did mean I had to increase her level (using her age, level 3 is the right level), but it's easily explained by saying that she spent some time training as a Rogue before Carnival.

There isn't really an archetype for the Rose, but looking at her thief abilities in 2E, she had high ranks in Pick Pockets, so I think Cutpurse fits. It also eliminates skills like Trapfinding and Trap Sense, which don't fit her character.

Finally, I adopted the (canon?) idea that the Rose was attacked by the Gentleman Caller, and the Familiar is his child. I found it created the great excuse to say that the Rose was assaulted by him and part of her mind broke, creating the alternate personality by which she can tap into. Basically, she seems to have a form of shell shock from the experience. As an aside, I imagine a scene where a young naive Rose tried to pick pocket the Gentleman Caller. He catches her and says something like "Try to steal from me, now I'll steal from you..."

As a last note, I like that I gave her the Heal skill. I was scratching my head for a 10th skill to give her when I though, what mother, especially a travelling one, wouldn't try and learn medicine and healing for her child?

[The Giamarga]

I'm charmed. Great conversion. Daze is not a bad choice for a cutpurse. I can just imagine her marking the GC and trying to cut his purse.

Weakness Alternate Personality (comes out when a male tries to force himself on her; alignment changes to CE and the Rose gains the benefits of a Barbarian’s rage that lasts until she is removed from the male’s presence, then regular exhaustion sets in)

I noted this down as a permanent Rage horror effect (or the Horrified madness effect).

She's missing Voice of Wrath btw...

[The Giamarga]

I'm eagerly awaiting the Familiar.

Half fiend vistani rogue 1 with Ryans new Minor Magic feat for access to Vanish ? Dimension Hop or False Blink ? Blink instead of Darkness from half-fiend template?

I'd give him the acrobat archetype and make him into a future acrobat/contortionist.

[Nemesio]

Nemesio you should draw some Carnival NPCs for Mortavius upcoming pdf supplement!

Also get in touch with the FoS guys, they'll gladly take more art for the next netbook...

Carnival! That was another great Ravenloft product with some good art...

I'd be happy to draw a few Carnival NPCs... Just give me the word and a few specifications, and I'll get started...

[The Giamarga]

And while a good guess, that's not the event I was looking at for the year the Brothers were born.

It's a dark dark year that one. It's also the year of Gundar's death and the birth of Inza Magda Kulchevic.