DM Talomyr's Serpent's Skull (Inactive)

Game Master Talomyr

Hello All,

As this campaign is by invitation only, we will not be bothering with a recruitment thread.

The intention is to start gameplay around July 8th, after I return from a short family vacation.

With that, on to the important stuff:

Character Creation Guidelines:

Point Buy: 20 Point Build with a minimum stat of 8 after racial adjustments

Races Allowed: Core. Featured Races from the ARG may be allowed if the character background makes sense for the game.

Classes: All Paizo classes, noting that Unchained Rules for the Rogue, Summoner, and Barbarian apply. Monks may choose either rule set for the build.

Traits: Pick two, one should be from the Serpent's Skull Player's guide.

Starting Gold: Maximum as per class

Starting HP: Maximum as per class at level 1, Pathfinder Society Rule (1/2 die type + 1) for subsequent levels.

Additional Rules: We will be using background skills from Unchained, along with Skill Unlocks. Stamina pool rules are something that I am willing to discuss if there is interest.

I'm not a big stickler on character sheet format and is open for debate. As long as I can find the information that is needed relatively quickly, we should be fine.

Please provide a short background on your character (a paragraph or two is sufficient), along with general personalty and appearance.

Posting Expectations: At least once daily during the week. Weekends can be a bit spotty for a lot of folks, so we will forgo that requirement on weekends.

If you are going to be away for a few days, no big deal, just let us know and you will be DM PC'ed as needed until you return.

Maps for Combat: I'm fairly certain that I will be using Roll20 for maps. Please make sure that you have an account and can access the site.

I think that covers most of it. If not do not hesitate to ask if you have questions.

Welcome to the game.

Hi all! I'm looking to try out Mizu no Hana, an undine samurai (sword saint) - basically a spirit-folk woman who was found as a baby floating on a leaf in the river and raised by humble peasant folk yadda yadda.

I've played for a while in a couple games with our illustrious GM.

I am amenable to changing character types if someone else is really set on doing fightin'. :)

Illustrious may be a bit much, especially since it has been about 3 1/2 years since the last time I ran a PbP.

You've been a great RPer in Kingmaker so far and a solid party member in Runelords, so just take the compliment. :P

Yo! Glad to see you two. Thanks for the invite. I happen to be a Pathfinder material junkie, so I own everything Paizo has published. My obsession also ran into digital space, so I have a fully staffed HeroLab with the 2016 material subscription already dropping the new stuff in.

If you're uncomfortable with any of the sources (Player Companions, Campaign Settings, APs, Ultimates, "—" Adventures) please speak now as I will otherwise assume anything is available when I fire up HeroLab. :-)

Hey you! Don't forget to check in on the Kingmaker game too. We've been all chatty. :D

I'm generally fine with everything Paizo, as noted in my first post, as far as character options go. (My collection is similar to yours when it comes to Paizo material. Fairly extensive in other game lines too, but that's neither here nor there.)

Optional rule sets like Hero Points, Stamina Pool, Words of Power, etc. will likely be a bit more sticky. That being said, if there is something that you really want to try, it doesn't hurt to ask.

Hey you! Don't forget to check in on the Kingmaker game too. We've been all chatty. :D

Quiet down! Some of us are trying to sleep. ;)

Quiet down! Some of us are trying to sleep. ;)

You're not supposed to be listening!

Hello Talomyr, thanks for the invite!

And of course, thanks to pinvendor for putting in a good word for me. :)

Still brainstorming character ideas, might do a collaboration of some kind with pin.

No worries, take your time. I do not intend to start until around July 8th, so you have just over 3 weeks to decide.

Three weeks! I'll have made seven different characters and already be thinking maybe I'd rather start a new one by then! :O

...

>_>

<_<

I'm just kidding...maybe.

Great, we can make and discard a bunch of linked characters! ;)

A few other things from Unchained that I intend to use

- Variant Multi-Classing will be available should someone desire to do that.

- Fractional Advancement, as it makes multi-classing less painful from a BAB standpoint and keeps saving throws from getting too out-of-wack from multi-class.

I'd always found it a bit wonky to have characters above 1st level with a +0 BAB.

Any opinions on Automatic Bonus Progression?

I'm fine with or without it, but I'm personally a fan of it.

I think I could work with that if everyone else is wanting to do that.

It would create the need to significantly modify treasures handed out in the AP, but I think I'm okay with that too.

Automatic Bonus Progression

What do the rest of you think?

I'm not a fan of automatic bonus progression because it undercuts the history and novelty of finding unusual treasures.

I'm not a fan of automatic bonus progression because it undercuts the history and novelty of finding unusual treasures.

I've always felt like the default rules already undercut the more interesting magic items since you tend to be better off wearing a cloak of resistance or a belt of giant's strength than a cloak of elvenkind or blinkback belt.

*watches the debate on ABP with interest*

To me the problem is, if your magical item repertoire comes from stuff that you find while adventuring, then your items are more than just a stack of bonuses. They are a log of your adventures. They are a record of your character's history and a memoir of the challenges you've faced. When you get whispering shrike in Jade Regent, it is more than just a +1 sword with a weird and often not very useful power. It's a way to memorialize the encounters you've faced and what you've achieved.

Going to ABP means that your solution to players chasing the Big Six is to just throw out magic items completely, which doesn't address the problem that characters should be acquiring unique and interesting items that showcase the history of their adventures. :D

That's just the thing though, isn't it? You're not throwing out magic items completely.

In ABP Whispering Shrike wouldn't be a +1 wakizashi by default, but a magical wakizashi with a unique special ability... that you can still use as your signature weapon if you wanted to, if you attune your bonuses to it. All of the novelty and history is still there; all ABP does is attach the (frankly boring) enhancement bonuses to the character rather than to the items, while leaving the truly interesting effects intact.

That being said, it isn't something that I was gonna really push for unless everyone wanted it, so I'm perfectly fine without it. :)

This is not me saying that we are going to use ABP as of yet, nor am I taking it off the table just yet...

If I were to use ABP, I wouldn't throw out magic items at all. The items that fall under the auspices of the "Big Six" in the AP would be replaced with "interesting" items.

For example if the AP called for a +1 longsword, it would be replaced with something along the lines of a MW longsword made of a specific material or something like a flaming longsword with no enhancement bonus, a ring of protection +1 would be replaced by a ring of jumping or something similar, and so on and so forth.

I am interested in seeing what our other players (Hopefully we will see DM BG and mellogoth check in) think as well.

Helloo all.

Regarding ABP. I've never really used it.. made a couple character submissions with it. Seems alright. I'm fine either way.

I have a few ideas for a character, but I'll wait to see what others are thinking.

That's four players that have checked in. One to go.

Pinvendor, would you like weigh in on the ABP debate?

Any opinion I start to make will result in my going on and on about the virtues of a lower availability of magic items and how unhappy I am that 3.X was built on a foundation of expectation for ever escalating acquisition of magic items v. the current CR total of the party.

In short, I will refrain from comment as I understand the benefits of both sides, but feel it really depends on how you as the GM perceive how magic items are utilized within the setting. That's somewhat subjective to each GM, so my opinion would only really matter if I was the one in control of how magic items would operate. ;-)

Okay, I'm going to think about the possibility of using ABP for a bit yet.

One side note: The AP as written doesn't seem to have a lot of opportunity to sell off unwanted treasures and pursuit of the Big Six can be problematic. Like I said above, if we do go that route, items would be switched out to still provide magic items, just not basic +X weapons, armor, or rings and such.

Hello, all, and thanks for the invite.

I have not used much of unchained as of yet, but, looking over the ABP rules, it seems like a good fit for what I would guess to be a wilderness - based campaign. I'm willing to give it a try.

My home games tend to be very low-availability in terms of items, and I need to do a lot of adjustment in terms of CR/ encounter survivability. I'm interested to see if ABP may simplify my life in the future.

IN terms of characters, I've seen a samurai proposed. Anyone else have anything that they are thinking about?

Any final thoughts on ABP before I make a decision one way or the other?

Jesse, you seem to be the one with the biggest objection. Having heard how I would intend to use it, if I use it, does that make it more palatable?

Typically my thoughts on alternate rules systems that change the fundamental structure of the game are unless we have an understanding as a group as a whole, I will not move forward with the change.

Since I kind of answered while claiming not to be answering, let me just add this:

If you feel using this would actually reduce stress on you as GM since now you won't have to worry about players succeeding on Perception and Disarm Device checks in order to find that +1 armor which will allow us not to get destroyed in the next encounter, then I would say go for it. As Mahorfeus pointed out there are a lot of unusual magic items that rarely get used simply because the "required" survival magic items generally get priority when equipping oneself. If seeing how that can be leveraged is intriguing to everyone, let's do it.

Maybe we can all consider this our own playtest to see how it feels. I doubt it would be too hard to convert our in game treasures if one or more of us end up hating it. :)

I'm not going to cry and run away home if you use ABP. It's just not to my usual tastes, is all. I expect that with a team of solid players like this the role-playing elements of the game will be far more interesting than any mechanical fiddling. :)

Also, I'm not married to playing a samurai, that was just the character concept I had already made for this AP back when DM Talomyr first mentioned possibly running it. I am flexible.

Okay. Let's, as pinvendor suggests, use ABP as a playtest. If we find it not to our likely in the game, we can adjust from there.

Since they weren't called out specifically, should I assume that you would be okay with firearms, DM? Alkenstar is relatively close by, so I thought I'd take advantage of that to make a holy gun paladin of Abadar. Focused on bringing down the law in Sargava, finding new trade routes for Alkenstar city, and of course, preaching the good word about glorious technology and civilization.

I had been thinking of repurposing a character I had made for someone's RoW campaign which vanished as so many do. But she is a Suli Oracle of Fire. Problem one: Suli is Uncommon race and not greenlit for this campaign. Problem two: Yes, another Oracle...I seem to like that class, but I have also been itching to try some Occult related classes or archetypes.

A straight Occultist has been on my mind, and I statted one up on my HeroLab. Basically "mystical" archaeologist concept.

Mahorfeus and I batted around an idea of an outcast Tiefling helping a Halfling escape slavery from Cheliax...classes to be determined.

We also had possible Sczarni carnie (ha!) runaways...possibly fugitives?

I wouldn't be opposed to going full Eastern if people thought it might be fun. Maybe some oracle hands out a prophecy to a group from Tian Xia region, and we all head off to find this super faraway place of Sargava. One or two could be a Garundi guide that was hired in the Shackles or something. But that might be a bit much. Though that would probably be more doable with ABP since no one would have to give up their family gifted katanas or whatever since the magic power is in us instead of the weapon itself.

Another idea for me is to stay more in the martial classes. I don't play those characters too often, so it might be a change of pace for me. Even then, I would probably have some archetype that makes the class supernatural knowing me. XP

EDIT: And I guess Mahorfeus already tossed away all our other ideas. Lol.

Nonsense. :P

I just wanted clarification on the firearm thing.

And some of those ideas of yours are news to me, so there's always room to reconsider.

Well, I had to start coming up with my own since you were talking Garundi summoner! Which I noticed didn't get a mention at all. :D

Well, if you're both thinking of doing martial characters, the samurai may not get much traction on my end.

Well, since you went and splurged all your ideas here... ;P

@Mahorfeus - Firearms are okay. Assume "Emerging Firearms" for the tech level. One watch out for any firearms dependent character is the cost/availability of gunpowder and the need for ammunition. The first book of the AP you are on island away from civilization and much of the rest of the AP is jungle and lost city exploration. The other character concepts you have listed look solid as well.

@pinvendor - okay, obviously you have some thoughts on the matter. I'm not enamored with the "Full Eastern" concept, but the rest sound okay to me. I could be persuaded to allow a Suli if you really wanted to play another Oracle. Just sell it in your background.

@Jesse - I know you said you were willing to do something other than the samurai, but as you were the first to have a character concept fully fleshed out, I wouldn't feel compelled to do something else.

To be honest, the chances of my being fully martial always seems to be slim. So feel free to keep thinking on your samurai.

If you're commited to doing a martial I could perhaps whip up a lizardfolk shaman (if our DM is ok with that kind of weirdness), or... something else? I have a few unused concepts from games that never got off the ground, like an armored battlemage (magus) or um... an elf cleric of some sort (possibly fodder for a mystic theurge).

I was amused enough by Thessk in the Kingmaker game that most of us fled from to buy into a Lizardfolk Shaman. I have no doubts that you would come up with a good reason for a lizardfolk to on the ship.

I personally really like the samurai, and it's not like we can't have two or three martial characters on the party. :)

@pinvendor:

Hm. Perhaps the oracle or occultist would have some kind of bodyguard around? Either a recent hire or longtime companion.

I'd do a Garundi guide, but I don't really want to double-dip into the survivalist-type character... even though you could be double-dipping into oracle. ;P

So, I am thinking about a druid. Specifically, a Kellid druid from one of the lost-world areas of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords - with a tiny T-rex animal companion. Something is wrong with the local dinosaur population (illness, strange behavior, open to suggestions...) and the Bloodspeakers have sent the new kid off to one of the OTHER places with dinosaurs to figure out what is going wrong. Thus, a Kellid druid from the hinter-est of hinterlands is on ship headed for Sargova...

Thoughts? Suggestions? I've whipped up a straight, no-archetype druid for starters.

A druid could be quite handy in this AP. I like the base concept.

I'm always a fan of druids with dinos! This generally fits well with the saurian shaman archetype or maybe the jungle druid.

I was looking at the saurian shaman, and I think I am leaning that way now.

I think the two major influences on this concept are a)the inter-reptile enmity in the later Fiest Krynn novels and b)I just played PFS "Where Mammoths Dare Not Tread" at Origins last weekend.

I haven't read or played this AP, but from the blurbs, I think we can safely assume some snakey kind of enemies...

(CUe Duran Duran's Union of the Snake in the background...)

Oh 80s, you so apocalyptic.

Just great, thanks a lot mellowgoth, now I can't get that dammed song out of head.

Just great, thanks a lot mellowgoth, now I can't get that dammed song out of head.

It was then that they realized mellowgoth was playing a mesmerist, and everyone just THOUGHT he was running a druid...