Ruins of Pathfinder: The Quest for Arcadia (Inactive)

Game Master Robert Brookes

 
 
  “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is
foreign.”

                              ― Robert Louis Stevenson

 
 
RUINS OF PATHFINDER: THE QUEST FOR ARCADIA
 
 
Welcome, one and all, to the recruitment for The Quest for Arcadia, a Pathfinder adventure set in the post-apocalyptic Ruins of Pathfinder alternate reality. In this variant of the Pathfinder setting, numerous apocalyptic events have ocurred due to the failure of heroes to stave off disaster as presented in Pathfinder's published adventure paths, up to (but not including) Shattered Star.

For full information on the Ruins of Pathfinder alternate reality, please follow this link.

The Quest for Arcadia focuses on a band of dwarven explorers gathered in the Five Kings mountains by the heroic stonelord of Torag Vigar Skuldafn and his bankroller, a kalistocrat by the name of Halsiig Halfhammer, who venture out away from Avistan in the hopes of settling a dwarven colony in the distant land of Arcadia to serve as a fallback point for the entirety of dwarven civilization should the unthinkable happen and the last of the Sky Citadels fall.

You are among the crew of experienced dwarves aboard the Destiny's Hand, a massive galleon owned by the Prophecies of Kalistrade that has been sold to Vigar for his journey. Beginning with a crew of 200 dwarves the journey to Arcadia and the settling of a dwarven colony will take place in a setting of survival and exploration in a foreign land of intrigue, mystery and unspeakable danger.

WHERE IN THE APOCALYPSE ARE WE?

Those familiar with the Ruins of Pathfinder alternate reality will know that it is currently 4715 AR in the Reign of Winter campaign, a full two years ahead of Quest for Arcadia. In the current timeline, the dwarven Sky Citadel of Janderhoff has gone silent and many in Highhelm believe that the runelord Karzoug and his servants are to blame, though no information has come to light.

The meteor that destroyed Kyonin has left hundreds of elven refugees in the hospitality of dwarven keepers who are eager to prove their worth and seek revenge for the destruction of their homes by aiding the dwarves in defense of Highhelm against incursions of drow armies from the Darklands below. The endless winter has not yet begun worldwide and is only a concern for the people of Taldor at present and the march of the Whispering Tyrant is but a terror for more northern minds to concern themselves with.

FOR HIGHHELM, FOR TORAG, FOR HONOR AND GLORY!

Please pay close attention to the character creation guidelines below.

CHARACTER CREATION

Your character in the Quest for Arcadia will belong to the Skuldafn Expeditionary League, a troupe of 200 dwarven men and women who have agreed to work with Vigar Skuldafn to found a dwarven settlement in the newfound lands across the Arcadian ocean. You will need to not only be capable at defending yourself and others from the dangers of this unknown land, but also bring worthwhile skills for city and community building to the table.

This campaign will begin during the last leg of the long sea voyage to Arcadia aboard the Destiny's Hand.

Characters in Ruins of Pathfinder come from a harder, more cut-throat world than normal. Character creation options help outline this:

Starting Level: PCs will start at 2nd level.
Alignment: Any
Ability Scores: 25 point buy.
HP: Max HP rolls at 1st and 2nd level. Players will roll for HP from level 3 onward.
Traits: 2 traits
Story Feats: One free Story feat at 1st level
Base Starting Money: 1,000gp
Races: Dwarf only, however the variant dwarven racial traits from the Advenced Race Guide are available.
Classes: All classes from Paizo products.
Firearms: Firearms operate under the "commonplace guns" rule
(see Ultimate Combat for more details).

When you create a submission, please create a character alias and include your character information in the form of a bestiary stat block like Liette's profile.

Also, include the following information in your profile:

1) Appearance
2) Personality
3) Background

CAMPAIGN THEME
The Quest for Arcadia is an exploration/kingdom building campaign that will also feature mass combat. I will be using the exploration, kingdom building and mass combat rules released by Paizo in Ultimate Campaign.

I will also be using the Story Feats from Ultimate Campaign. If you wish to devise a personalized story feat based on a pre-existing one, please speak with me.

POSTING CONSIDERATIONS

When the campaign begins in earnest (not during the prelude/recruitment period) you will be expected to post at least once every 48 hours. If you are going on a vacation, very busy, or otherwise unable to post just let me know and I will consider you on "standby" for the amount of time specified.

If anyone disappears for 7 straight days without posting or leaving notice you will be killed off without hope of resurrection. This is extremely generous in terms of time span, so please don't let it get to that level of uninvolvement.

DRINK, SING, SHOW YOUR DWARVEN PRIDE!

Once you have created and submitted a character (and only one) for consideration, please head over to the gameplay thread and participate in the funeral of Hraggir Skuldafn. This scene within the meadhall of the Skuldafn clan in Highhelm takes place two years prior to the start of the campaign and is designed to showcase your roleplaying skills, ability to interact with others, posting frequency and any other merits you may wish to include.

Please refrain from rolling dice or otherwise making any sort of mechanical check during this prelude period, it is unnecessary.

SELECTION

I will be selecting 8 dwarves from the submitted characters who participate in the gameplay prologue at the funeral. Recruitment ends on July 19th 2013 at 11:00pm -5GMT. Late submissions will not be considered.

STRIKE THE EARTH!

Just because I'm not sure how clear it is in the character generation section, I am allowing content from all Paizo published books. This includes the variant "words of power" magic system from Ultimate Magic, but does not include any other variant system introduced such as Hero Points, Armor as DR or the like.

If you have a question about something's availability, just ask.

Dot. I'm leaning toward some kind of Earth themed character using the Living Monolith mechanics. I may (with DM permission) reskin to be more earth based and less egyptian. Ranger most likely will be the base. WIll post a build when I have time to build one.

Throwing a dot up here Rob, I'd certainly love to get in on another of your games, I'll see what sort of Dwarf I can come up with.

I will be submitting Kal'Tos, a dwarven tranmuter wizard, interested in exploring new lands in search of new wonders.

Dot. I'm leaning toward some kind of Earth themed character using the Living Monolith mechanics. I may (with DM permission) reskin to be more earth based and less egyptian. Ranger most likely will be the base. WIll post a build when I have time to build one.

I could easily see that working. Replace the Sphinx ties with earth elementals and it pretty much writes itself and change one aspect of the capstone ability from speak with dead to stone tell.

I'll get working on my Dwarf right now. :)

I imagine I'll be making a Stonelord paladin, a guardian for his people.

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

Dot. I'm leaning toward some kind of Earth themed character using the Living Monolith mechanics. I may (with DM permission) reskin to be more earth based and less egyptian. Ranger most likely will be the base. WIll post a build when I have time to build one.

I could easily see that working. Replace the Sphinx ties with earth elementals and it pretty much writes itself and change one aspect of the capstone ability from speak with dead to stone tell.

Basically yes. ;-)

considering a druid of some sort perhaps, maybe headed towards nature warden.

Any terrain in particular we'll be encountering?

Temperate terrain equivalent to the northeastern United States/Canada. Forests and Mountains will be highly prevalent, with swamps and plains also. Underground terrain would be likely to see action as well. Aquatic and desert terrain and arctic environments will not feature largely if at all.

Hmmm I am having trouble choosing a god for my inquisitor any suggestions folks?

Kols, the Oathkeeper

For an inquisitor? Kols, hands-down.

Kols, known to his faithful as "Oath-Keeper", is the dwarven demigod of duty. His personal duties are following and serving his father Torag and protecting his brother Grundinnar. He is also the deity tasked with exacting punishment on those poor souls who shirk their responsibilities or break sworn oaths and solemn promises. Some believe that Dranngvit, the dwarven goddess of vengeance, is Kols' true mother.

Angrin's going to be a mostly underground sort of dwarf. Should I change that? I was planning on having him take Minesight and whatnot...

EDIT: This is Winwaar, by the way.

However, the way the dwarven deities were introduced originally only have them two domains, something that has since been retconned to oblivion. "Major" deities have five domains, anything below has four (this includes demon lords and the like). Given that the brood of Torag have always been considered to be low-totem pole deities, I'm assigning them four domains.

I don't think any official errata on their domains has been published anywhere, or within any of the "Ask so-and-so" threads.

For Kols I'd revise his domains to be Law (Judgment, Loyalty), Nobility, Protection, and Strength (Resolve).

Angrin's going to be a mostly underground sort of dwarf. Should I change that? I was planning on having him take Minesight and whatnot...

EDIT: This is Winwaar, by the way.

There will be plenty of options for subterranean adventure. The campaign by nature is a sandbox experience, so whether or not you decide to delve into the darklands of Arcadia or not will ultimately be up to the PCs, but there are at least a few "planned" underground encounters.

Having a spelunking specialist may well increase the number of forays into the darklands that the team chooses to go on ;)

Okay thanks not super familiar with the nonhuman deities in pf. Also it says his favored weapon is a hammer ..... What kind warhammer, great hammer, dwarven long hammer, or perhaps a great big rock vaguely shaped like a hammer? I ask because my weapon proficiencys depend on this.

Excellent, excellent. I figure Torag, despite the stereotypical choice, to be the most likely dwarven deity for my Stonelord.

Yup, forgemaster time. Sounds like we'll have plenty of downtime between adventures for crafting, and there's nothing like a master smith to get a new civilization up and running, eh?

Thanks for the message. Looks like Winwaar has created something very similar to the character I have in mind. A Stone-Lord Paladin.

My Paladin started off as a miner and then progressed into a Paladin. He is also a worshiper of Kols and always keeps his word as a result. I will make the character up now and will post him up in about 30 minutes.

Would there be a problem with having 2 Stone-Lord Paladins and if we are both allowed in, is there a chance we could know each other already?

Also ... are you allowing the Dwarves of Golorian book?

Will get to work on somebody today.

Faelar, if you want, they could have known each other. Perhaps they have different roles in the group? Mine's a very defensive sort. Keep the home fires burning, and whatnot... Except against drow. Damned drow. But his stats reflect that. Very much a "tank", as it were. Perhaps yours goes about it differently? Focusing on damage or crowd control?

EDIT: Dammit, just lost all the typing I just did for the profile. I'll get back on it sometime tomorrow or Tuesday. *Grumbles*

Thanks for the message. Looks like Winwaar has created something very similar to the character I have in mind. A Stone-Lord Paladin.

My Paladin started off as a miner and then progressed into a Paladin. He is also a worshiper of Kols and always keeps his word as a result. I will make the character up now and will post him up in about 30 minutes.

Would there be a problem with having 2 Stone-Lord Paladins and if we are both allowed in, is there a chance we could know each other already?

Also ... are you allowing the Dwarves of Golorian book?

There's no problem at all with two stonelord paladins, in fact it might be an interesting party dynamic. Feel free to submit one, definitely and of course there is plenty of opportunity for the interweaving of backgrounds. After all, you'll all be at the funeral together ;)

I had also considered defensive apart from against Goblins and Orcs (as you would expect). I was considering going down the Leadership route as I have never done it before.

Thinking on what I have just written, maybe I should make him a little offensive too? Obviously the Stone-Lord has the Defensive Stance ability too that I would be taking a lot of use of :) Imagine the 2 of us blocking the enemy from attacking our comrades :P

Rob, any idea's on whether the other book will be allowed?

Right? xD

Okay thanks not super familiar with the nonhuman deities in pf. Also it says his favored weapon is a hammer ..... What kind warhammer, great hammer, dwarven long hammer, or perhaps a great big rock vaguely shaped like a hammer? I ask because my weapon proficiencys depend on this.

Given that "hammer" is extremely vague, I will allow you to choose a hammer-like weapon (including the lucerne-hammer polearm).

Dwarves of Golarion is definitely allowed, and is almost required reading ;)

Brilliant :D Thanks :D

Anything published by Paizo publishing for the Pathfinder line is available, as stated in the OP.

In further consideration, I'll also allow content from Wayfinder Magazine (available for free on the site here) on a case-by-case basis.

Crustypeanut signing on as Dr. Logem, Ph.Dwarf!

Although I need to work on getting his story built into Pathfinder and Ruins of Pathfinder lore, a general idea of his story can be found Here at SpecialSurprise. This fortress I made in Dwarf Fortress was focused entirely around Dr. Logem becoming legendary in all medical skills by using migrants - fellow dwarves - as test subjects, dropping them varied heights. By doing so, he could train himself on different treatment practices while seeing the effects of Gravity on the Dwarven Body. Eventually, he would add in things like upright spikes, Bridge-apults, and magma.

As a result, Dr. Logem in Rob's Campaign will be a Vivisectionist/Chirurgeon Alchemist/Rogue and will opt to be one of the main healers of the expedition, if not the Chief Medical Officer himself. Rather than rely on magic to heal, Dr. Logem will focus more on traditional medicine and surgery, believing that Magic and Faith can fail - Knowledge cannot.

However, Dr. Logem has a more sinister side - although he seeks knowledge to better the Dwarven people, he's more than willing to use methods that are less than socially acceptable. In fact, he's killed more than his fair share of people (Innocent Blood Story Feat), all for the sake of knowledge. His study and use of poisons, diseases, and narcotic drugs prove that he's willing to use anything to further his knowledge.

Outwardly, however, he's quite friendly and outgoing. He's beefy and muscular, despite only using small surgical weapons in combat. (Obsidian Daggers)

In addition, here is a rough drawing of him from one of the fans of my story: Picture - Don't mind the two women

This is all just a rough draft of Logem, but this is also the base that I am using to design him for Pathfinder use. What do you think, Rob?

This is Faelar reporting in. I have just created the profile and will get to filling it all in now.

Rob, I have another question. The Stone-Lord gets an Elemental familiar which replaces the Divine Bond :

A stonelord may call a

Small earth elemental to her side, as a paladin calls her
mount.

The Paladin says :

Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may

magically call her mount to her side. This ability is
the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third
the paladin’s level.

So would that mean this would affect it?

Stonesinger: Some dwarves’ affinity for the earth

grants them greater powers. Dwarves with this racial trait
are treated as one level higher when casting spells with
the earth descriptor or using granted powers of the Earth
domain, the bloodline powers of the earth elemental
bloodline, and revelations of the oracle’s stone mystery.
This ability does not give them early access to level-based
powers; it only affects the powers they could use without
this ability. This racial trait replaces stonecunning.

Also Rob, I have a question. Since I'm going Chirurgeon/Vivisectionist, may I switch out the Skill Focus (Heal) from Chirurgeon for Skill Focus (Knowledge[Nature]), since Vivisectionists eventually use Knowledge(Nature) in place of Heal?

In addition, will those with Craft Skills and Feats be allowed to craft items to start with at a reduced price? And may we take a Drawback for a 3rd trait?

Also Rob, I have a question. Since I'm going Chirurgeon/Vivisectionist, may I switch out the Skill Focus (Heal) from Chirurgeon for Skill Focus (Knowledge[Nature]), since Vivisectionists eventually use Knowledge(Nature) in place of Heal?

In addition, will those with Craft Skills and Feats be allowed to craft items to start with at a reduced price? And may we take a Drawback for a 3rd trait?

1) I'd rather not tweak the archetypes, so we'll have to say the Heal skill focus winds up being a somewhat bygone area of specialization. Consider it a good fallback in case you take some Int damage and want to fallback on using Heal, which works off of a different stat.

2) Yes, I will definitely allow those with craft feats to start with items at a reduced price (provided that you can successfully make the craft DC when taking a 20).

3) Drawbacks are allowed.

This is Faelar reporting in. I have just created the profile and will get to filling it all in now.

Rob, I have another question. The Stone-Lord gets an Elemental familiar which replaces the Divine Bond :

Ultimate Races wrote:

A stonelord may call a

Small earth elemental to her side, as a paladin calls her
mount.

The Paladin says :

CoreRule Book wrote:

Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may

magically call her mount to her side. This ability is
the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third
the paladin’s level.

So would that mean this would affect it?

Ultimate Races wrote:

Stonesinger: Some dwarves’ affinity for the earth

grants them greater powers. Dwarves with this racial trait
are treated as one level higher when casting spells with
the earth descriptor or using granted powers of the Earth
domain, the bloodline powers of the earth elemental
bloodline, and revelations of the oracle’s stone mystery.
This ability does not give them early access to level-based
powers; it only affects the powers they could use without
this ability. This racial trait replaces stonecunning.

I will certainly allow stonesinger to affect their elemental companion ability, yes.

Thank-you :)

Dr. Logem, Ph.Dwarf wrote:

Also Rob, I have a question. Since I'm going Chirurgeon/Vivisectionist, may I switch out the Skill Focus (Heal) from Chirurgeon for Skill Focus (Knowledge[Nature]), since Vivisectionists eventually use Knowledge(Nature) in place of Heal?

In addition, will those with Craft Skills and Feats be allowed to craft items to start with at a reduced price? And may we take a Drawback for a 3rd trait?

1) I'd rather not tweak the archetypes, so we'll have to say the Heal skill focus winds up being a somewhat bygone area of specialization. Consider it a good fallback in case you take some Int damage and want to fallback on using Heal, which works off of a different stat.

2) Yes, I will definitely allow those with craft feats to start with items at a reduced price (provided that you can successfully make the craft DC when taking a 20).

3) Drawbacks are allowed.

Honestly I can't say Dr. Logem's wisdom will be all that good, nor did I plan on taking ranks in Heal, so I'll just drop that archetype :P Means I won't lose Poison Use, at least.. and I do love me some poisons.

Plus, who needs to infused curatives if I'm going to be just healing them with scissors and duct-tape anyways! >:)

Since the inquisitor seems popular... and I'm running two, I'm looking at a Druid Menhir Savant with the Feather domain. Besides specializing in place magic, he should be better than the average dwarf with animals.

Rob, please PM any ideas you have to fit him into your alternate story.

cheers

Huh... You know what, I just realized. We don't have any skill-experts, do we? I can change from a stonelord, since we have one already, into a rogue of some shape or color.

EDIT: Trapsmith rogue sound good to everyone? I mean, you've got to have traps in a Dwarf Fortress, right?

Since the inquisitor seems popular... and I'm running two, I'm looking at a Druid Menhir Savant with the Feather domain. Besides specializing in place magic, he should be better than the average dwarf with animals.

Rob, please PM any ideas you have to fit him into your alternate story.

cheers

No ideas off the top of my head, but I do like the idea of a menhir savant.

Dotting for now. This'n will be a Fighter of some variety. Some questions pertaining to backstory before I overly commit (I'm familiar with Kingmaker and what has happened to the Stolen Lands already, thankfully). . .

1.) Anything decidedly horrible that has happened to Iobaria? It won't factor largely into his backstory, just don't want to make false presumptions or take incorrect liberties.

2.) Would there be anything resembling a "Call to all Dwarves!" being sent to kingdoms beyond? Current ambitions are trending towards Dwunderbran being abroad when all the horrible things go down (specifically, Highhelm being overrun and the subsequent decision to sail into the West), but I will adjust if this needs to be an insular expedition.

(And hurray for Drawbacks. Been hoping they would officially adopt an "Edges/Hindrances" system for ages, and am glad to see if finally make an appearance.)

Dotting for now. This'n will be a Fighter of some variety. Some questions pertaining to backstory before I overly commit (I'm familiar with Kingmaker and what has happened to the Stolen Lands already, thankfully). . .

1.) Anything decidedly horrible that has happened to Iobaria? It won't factor largely into his backstory, just don't want to make false presumptions or take incorrect liberties.

2.) Would there be anything resembling a "Call to all Dwarves!" being sent to kingdoms beyond? Current ambitions are trending towards Dwunderbran being abroad when all the horrible things go down (specifically, Highhelm being overrun and the subsequent decision to sail into the West), but I will adjust if this needs to be an insular expedition.

(And hurray for Drawbacks. Been hoping they would officially adopt an "Edges/Hindrances" system for ages, and am glad to see if finally make an appearance.)

1) I haven't detailed anything directly relating to Iobaria yet for the "Ruins" alternate reality, specifically because my Reign of Winter campaign is heading there eventually. I feel it would largely be unchanged, for the most part.

2) This is entirely likely, yes. A lot of dwarves have started to return to their home Sky Citadels given all of the calamities so as to reinforce their society's backbones.

Rob, I am thinking of having Angrin be part of the dwarves who lived in the deeper levels of the Five Kings Mountains, where his family held back the drow for generations. I'm thinking that he'll have a Nemesis that's a drow, who might follow the expedition? Is that okay by you?

Rob, I am thinking of having Angrin be part of the dwarves who lived in the deeper levels of the Five Kings Mountains, where his family held back the drow for generations. I'm thinking that he'll have a Nemesis that's a drow, who might follow the expedition? Is that okay by you?

That is an interesting idea! Those who dwelled down in Varrok's Deep would make for great and hardy explorers, though particular harrowed ones from having faced incursions of the drow and their fleshwarped minions/demons time and again, only to lose whole levels of the undercity.

Profile is done, Just have some things to buy. But there is no hurry for that. Please let me know what you think and if you can think of any questions, just let me know.

I have a general question that may apply to more than my own character. May we use any selected craft skills to craft any of our "starting" gear at craft price? This would apply to anyone with alchemy, weaponsmithing, etc. which are one focus of my upcoming Forgemaster.

I have a general question that may apply to more than my own character. May we use any selected craft skills to craft any of our "starting" gear at craft price? This would apply to anyone with alchemy, weaponsmithing, etc. which are one focus of my upcoming Forgemaster.

I answered that a little upthread, but it bears repeating: I will allow it, yes, though you have to be able to make the Craft DC on the roll of a 20. This is mostly important for alchemical items that can have high craft DCs.

Angrin can't really take any of what he crafts with him, unless one counts a bear trap... He doesn't, really. xD

EDIT: Would I need anything specific to make things with Profession (Brewer)? I never really understood why it was a profession, rather than a craft... x_x

Bear Traps could be really useful on the road.. plus Ultimate Equipment shows a small easy to make trap using twine. I'd check it out! :D

Ah, I see the previous post there. Now to make myself look foolish one last time (hopefully.) Having trouble tracking down the "backgrounds" mentioned by the story feats. Are those simply not in the PRD/SRD? Or am I completely missing a chapter that is obviously not labeled "backgrounds?"

Angrin can't really take any of what he crafts with him, unless one counts a bear trap... He doesn't, really. xD

EDIT: Would I need anything specific to make things with Profession (Brewer)? I never really understood why it was a profession, rather than a craft... x_x

Both are technically extant skills. Craft (brewing) would be about personal brewing and the maintenance of distilling equipment of various sizes. Profession (brewer) would be about running a brewery and turning a profit off of the business. If you're interested in being every dwarf's friend I'd say take a rank in both and level them up as you see fit.

Also I second the point about bear traps, they're wonderfully useful.