Sandpoint town map
Catacombs under Sandpoint map
Campaign Rules:
The Main Ones
- Have fun (both the players and the GM), and keep the game flowing.
- No backstabbing other players, and no intentional player deaths by other players will be tolerated. Swift and immediate stoppage of the game will happen, including ejection of the player. (We are here to have fun, and that is not any fun for the person receiving the harm. If you like that kind of thing, go out into the desert and strap M-80s to a cabbage patch kid or something…) I’m fine with your PC having secrets, and subplots from the other PCs, but always remember that this is a team game, so let’s keep things in that spirit.
- There is no such thing as “winning” or “losing” when it comes to RP. If you are RP’ing, and enjoying time with friends, you are already winning. We are creating a story together. Have you ever seen a story where the characters absolutely ran through everything they every came across, didn’t have adversity, and had zero character growth? Most of the best stories have adversity, intense struggle, and – yes - even deaths that need to be avenged. (If you are looking for something to “win” every single time, head to your nearest game console and start twiddling thumbs.)
Everything from the CRB and APG are a blanket "yes." Anything from UM, UC and other Paizo stuff on an approval basis. Most 3rd party stuff won't be accepted.
The Other Rules
Player Related Stuff
- All players are required to have a DETAILED backstory, (that makes sense w skills and traits selected…) or they will not be cleared to play. All players are required to have backstory and character sheet posted online at all times.
- All PCs are required to read any material the GM decides is pertinent to the main portion of the campaign. (Normally just the players guide, but sometimes it may be a little more). There will be an opportunity for the PCs to prove they have read the material before play starts.
- Keep combat (and decisions) as fluid as possible. Bonuses and the occasional hero point will be rewarded for fluid action and decision making.
- I will be rewarding XP for responsive posts in combat. I do not want combat to span months and months of the PBP, so the faster we get out of combat in real time, the more XP you get for getting out of the situation.
- Excessive player antagonism will not be tolerated. Bickering is fine, but having it out for another pc intentionally and repeatedly will not be tolerated.
- I will hold you to your character’s “flaws.” What an absolutely flat game we would have if everyone was 18 and above at everything. Your character “weakness” is just as important as your “strength.” I will award good RP of your char flaws, and am readily available for you to pass ideas by me for “approval.”
- We are going to RP out any “bluffs,” “intimidates,” or “diplomacy” attempts (in non-combat). The exchange will be done using words, logic, debate tactics, whatever. Based on our exchange and the overall attitude of the character to your PCs, I will set a DC in my head that you need to meet. I’ll ask you to roll a d20, then you will apply your charisma ability score modifier (the +2, -1, or whatever it is) and that will also factor into your die roll.
- INSTEAD OF USING CHARISMA, YOU MAY attempt to use a logic based attempt to above average intelligence creatures (8 INT or above), and use your INT and/or WIS modifier(s) to influence said creatures. (GM discretion on what “kind” of argument you made, and which modifiers to use based on your position and the situation)
- Negative and Positive modifiers to be scored as follows: Anything above a plus or minus 1 modifier counts as 1 and ½ of that score, rounded down. So for example, +2 would actually give your roll a (+3), +4 modifier would give you a (+6) score to your roll, and so on. Same applies with minuses: a -2 will give you a (-3) to the roll, a -4 modifier gives you a (-6) to the roll, and so on.
- If there is an “incident” where a discussion breaks out about a certain rule or situation the GM may (and in most cases will) make a temporary judgment for the duration of that battle or series of battles. This will come in to play if no universally agreed upon rule can be found in a “proper” time. Proper being defined in a matter of a few short minutes. This can break flow of the game, and tension can heat up quite a bit during these “incidents.” We will write down the rule and get down to the bottom of it away from the table.
Combat Related Rules
- Many other Houses have a house rule to do “critical fumbles” on a “1” attack roll. That is not going to happen here. You will still get critical hits, and you have the option to choose the critical hit deck if you want. (Rolling a “1” and auto-failing an attack sucks bad enough, I’m not a fan of snapping your weapon in half to make you feel worse about it.)
- We will be using Hero Points from the APG. They will be given upon leveling, and in “heroic” moments during the game (up to the gm’s discretion). You can augment your ability to get and use Hero Points by taking Hero Point feats. Be advised that villains and BBEG’s will have their share of these to use against you.
- In the interest of fluidity and time conservation, I will roll your initiatives the majority of the time, that way I don’t have to wait for you to “report back” with your numbers. Then I will display it so you can plan ahead. I will add a +2 to whatever I roll (for the extreme displeasure of me doing it for you.) 6 consecutive hours at your turn in combat will result in a delay til the end of the round.
- All saves will be handled by the PC, with a vivid description of what is happening, and most times, the save I am expecting you to hit with the explanation of why. EX: “You feel kind of a sickness in the pit of your stomach. I’m going to need you to make a DC 15 Fort…” The reason for this: this knowledge will give you the opportunity to cash in some Hero Points to land that DC if you think you need to.
