So years and years ago I ran a PbP game of Greg A. Vaughan's "Istivin Trilogy" (from Dungeon 117-119) on a different forum. I really loved it, and really loved the folks who played with me, but sadly it went the way of many forums and never concluded.
I'd like to finish what I started.
This time, of course, we'd be using the Pathfinder rules, but it would still be set in the world of Greyhawk, which was my first love.
Here was my introduction back then. Luckily it still serves with minor adjustments:
I am pressganging for a new medium-level mini-campaign set in the World of Greyhawk, specifically the March of Sterich. The time is CY 592, eight years after the invasion of the March and its neighbors by the humanoid and giant forces from the Crystalmists and Jotens. While the Grand Duchy of Geoff is still under non-human control, Sterich was able to drive off most of its occupiers four years ago, although much of the country still lies in ruin and it is a far-from-stable realm.
In order to muster support against the invading forces, King Skotti of Keoland promised titles and land to anyone who could provide soldiers to come to Sterich’s and Geoff’s defense. In the aftermath of the war, the March is now overrun by petty nobles, many of whom lay claim to the same land, and some whose titles are shaky at best.
Sterich’s capitol, Istivin, is at the center of their squabbling, but something else is amiss in the city. When the liberating forces first fought their way back there in CY 586, no trace remained of King Galmoor of the giants, or indeed of any destruction after the initial raids of 584. In striking contrast to other liberated towns that had been destroyed, most buildings in Istivin remained in perfect repair. Though most of the returning citizens noticed few differences, the city’s buildings seemed to cast longer shadows than before the war. Men in taverns seemed more likely to raise a fist in anger. A rash of mysterious fires consumed the homes of several important clerics.
Nights now find the streets of Istivin nearly empty, even of city guards. Those brave souls who dare the darkness do so in great haste, running from place to place with weapons drawn. Many have disappeared in the city at night.
It is to this that the PCs now return.
BASICS:
Players will take the part of warriors (in the general and not the NPC-class-specific sense of the word) who have been battling the humanoid and giant forces through most of their adventuring careers. Having served the people of Sterich, Geoff, Keoland and the Yeomanry well and dutifully they now come to Istivin to claim their rewards at court. In order to tell this story, I will use the mini-campaign “Istivin: City of Shadows” from Dungeon magazines #117, 118, and 119 as a backdrop.
CHARACTER CREATION:
LEVEL: 11 (at 155,000 XP Medium Track)
RACE: Any of the common races from the Core Rulebook and in addition: Gray Elves, Wood Elves, Mountain Dwarves, Deep (Stout) Halflings, and Tallfellow Halflings (we can figure these out using the rules in "Advanced Race Guide").
ATTRIBUTES: 20-pt. Point buy (plus don’t forget stat adjustments at 4th and 8th level).
BOOKS/RULES ALLOWED: Core Rulebook, APG. No UM; check with me for others, but I will probably say no. The main point is that they make sense within the campaign setting of the “Reconquista.” In addition, you can use the Greyhawk Regional Feats presented in Dragon magazine issues #315, and #319. If you don’t have access to these, let me know, and I’ll tell you what is available to you, depending on your home region. No Leadership feat, don't even ask. Also no summoners, they don't fit into Greyhawk and they drive me crazy.
HIT POINTS: Max at first level, after that average using same rules as PFS.
MONEY/EQUIPMENT: Standard amount for 11th level PCs from the Core Rulebook (82,000 gp, with no single item worth more than half. )
HOME REGION: Everyone needs to be from somewhere, with citizens of the Sheldomar Valley preferred. You can be from other areas of the Flanaess, but it should be the exception, not the rule.
CAVEAT: I’m sure I’ve forgotten some aspect of character creation, so please feel free to ask.
INTRODUCTORY SESSION:
Before we start the first adventure, I’d like to try something a little different. Since we’re starting at a fairly advanced stage, there is probably a lot of shared history between the PCs. Well, actually, I’m saying that there is a lot of shared history. Period.
In order to create this backstory, I am planning on posting a few short adventure synopses, those adventures which brought the PCs (as a group) from 1st to their current level. After each synopsis, players can make short comments as to what they learned from that adventure, outstanding monsters or traps overcome, magic items they acquired/made, friends lost or found, mortal enemies made, new classes begun, etc; everything that normally happens during the course of an adventure. These descriptions don’t have to be long, a short paragraph will suffice. In addition, players can add more normal life events which occurred between adventures, such as marriages, births, deaths, training with a wise, old man, travel, enlightening experiences, etc.
The reason I think this will be interesting, is that not only will it create tons of material for role-playing (“This reminds me of the time you polymorphed me into at otyugh for three days!”), but it will ground the players within the setting, giving everything a context. That +2 keen kukri that the rogue owns will be the one that he nicked off the high priest of Vecna while they were battling the gnoll iconoclasts in the Vevse Forest.
So what classes/races are people interested in playing? Also remember that the more backstory we create for these folks, the better the RP will be IMO.
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Hey guys, I'm super stoked about this.
I'll be playing a front-line combatant. He's a Suel Warrior-Priest of Kord with a monstrous bear as a companion/mount.
I don't want to go into too much detail about his history. I'd rather hash that out as we do our pseudo adventure synopsis's.
This is of course sans gear. I'll post another version with gear plus whatever updates I've made.
CG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +0; Senses Perception +9
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DEFENSE
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AC 23, touch 11, flat-footed 23. . (+11 armor, +1 natural, +1 deflection)
hp 114 (2d12+7d10+2d8+44)
Fort +18, Ref +6, Will +9
DR Resolute 2
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OFFENSE
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Spd 30 ft.
Melee Challenger +17/+12 (2d6+11/19-20/x2) and
. . Gauntlet (from Armor) +16/+11 (1d3+7/20/x2) and
. . Unarmed Strike +16/+11 (1d6+7/20/x2)
Ranged +1 Longbow, Composite (Str +8) +8/+3 (1d8+8/20/x3)
Special Attacks Cavalier's Charge, Flurry of Blows -1/-1, Shield's Challenge +7 (3/day)
Spell-Like Abilities Bit of Luck (4/day), Strength Surge (4/day)
Cleric Spells Known (CL 1, 16 melee touch, 9 ranged touch):
1 (2/day) Divine Favor (DC 12), Enlarge Person (DC 12), Unbreakable Heart
0 (at will) Create Water, Enhanced Diplomacy, Guidance
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STATISTICS
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Str 20/24, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 12/14
Base Atk +9; CMB +16 (+18 Grappling); CMD 27 (29 vs. Grapple)
Feats Boon Companion: Cavalier (Beast Rider), Coordinated Maneuvers, Extra Rage, Improved Grapple, Improved Share Spells, Improved Unarmed Strike, Intimidating Prowess, Monk Weapon Proficiencies, Power Attack -3/+6, Skill Focus: Intimidate, Skill Focus: Perception, Stunning Fist (3/day) (DC 16), Toughness +11
Traits Birthmark, Resilient
Skills Acrobatics -3, Bluff +6, Climb +8, Diplomacy +13, Escape Artist -3, Fly -3, Handle Animal +11, Heal +5, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (Religion) +5, Perception +9, Profession (Gladiator) +5, Ride +8, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +11, Stealth -3, Survival +5, Swim +8 Modifiers +3 Ride while riding your bonded mount., Shield's Skills
Languages Common
SQ Animal Companion Link (Ex), Aura (Ex), Banner +2/+1 (Ex), Cleric Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (5/day) (DC 12) (Su), Cleric Domain: Luck, Cleric Domain: Strength, Fast Movement +10 (Ex), Ferocious Mount (Ex), Rage (15 rounds/day) (Ex), Savage Grapple (Ex), Spontaneous Casting, Stunning Fist (Stun) (Ex), Tactician (Coordinated Maneuvers) 6r (2/day) (Ex), Unarmed Strike (1d6)
Combat Gear +1 Longbow, Composite (Str +8), +2 Champion Mithral Full Plate, Challenger (+1 Furious Merciful Greatsword); Other Gear Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Backpack (empty), Belt of Giant Strength, +4, Cloak of Resistance, +2, Headband of Alluring Charisma, +2, Pearl of Power, 1st Level, Potion of Cure Serious Wounds, Potion of Reduce Animal, Ring of Protection, +1, Rope, hempen (50 ft.), Wand of Cure Light Wounds
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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+3 Ride while riding your bonded mount. (Ex) Cancel your armor check penalty of -3 while riding your mount.
Animal Companion Link (Ex) You have a link with your Animal Companion.
Aura (Ex) The Cleric has an aura corresponding to his deity's alignment.
Banner +2/+1 (Ex) Allies who can see your banner gain +2 save vs. fear & +1 to hit while charging.
Birthmark +2 save vs. charm & compulsion
Bit of Luck (4/day) (Sp) Target takes the higher of 2d20 for a d20 roll.
Boon Companion: Cavalier (Beast Rider) +4 levels to calc familiar/animal comp abilities (max of your HD).
Cavalier's Charge (Ex) Mounted charge grants +4 to hit and -0 AC rather than +2/-2.
Cleric Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (5/day) (DC 12) (Su) A good cleric can channel positive energy to heal the living and injure the undead; an evil cleric can channel negative energy to injure the living and heal the undead.
Cleric Domain: Luck Granted Powers: You are infused with luck, and your mere presence can spread good fortune.
Cleric Domain: Strength Granted Powers: In strength and brawn there is truth–your faith gives you incredible might and power.
Coordinated Maneuvers +2 CMB if you are adjacent to an ally with this feat.
Fast Movement +10 (Ex) +10 feet to speed, unless heavily loaded.
Ferocious Mount (Ex) Your mount rages, too.
Flurry of Blows -1/-1 (Ex) Make Flurry of Blows attack as a full action.
Improved Grapple You grapple at +2, with no attacks of opportunity allowed.
Improved Share Spells If your bonded creature is within 5' of you when you cast a spell, you can split the duration 50/50 between the two of you.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Power Attack -3/+6 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Rage (15 rounds/day) (Ex) +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 to Will saves, -2 to AC when enraged.
Resolute 2 (Ex) Convert 2 point of damage per attack from lethal to non-lethal.
Savage Grapple (Ex) Grapples always provoke AoO from you, halve grapple penalties.
Shield's Challenge +7 (3/day) (Ex) +7 to damage target, -2 AC vs. others when used, +2 to hit your target if the target attacked someone other than you.
Shield's Skills +3 (Ex) +3 to Heal checks for others.
Spontaneous Casting The Cleric can convert stored spells into Cure or Inflict spells.
Strength Surge (4/day) (Sp) Grant +1 to a melee atack or strength check.
Stunning Fist (3/day) (DC 16) You can stun an opponent with an unarmed attack.
Stunning Fist (Stun) (Ex) At 1st level, the monk gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the monk gains the ability to apply a new condition to the target of his Stunning Fist. This conditio
Tactician (Coordinated Maneuvers) 6r (2/day) (Ex) Grant the use of your Tactical feats to your allies within 30'.
Unarmed Strike (1d6) The Monk does lethal damage with his unarmed strikes.
Gold 897
NN Large Animal
Init +2; Senses Low-Light Vision, Scent; Perception +11
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DEFENSE
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AC 25, touch 11, flat-footed 23. . (+5 armor, +2 Dex, -1 size, +8 natural)
hp 90 (+45)
Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +4
Defensive Abilities Evasion
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OFFENSE
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Spd 40 ft.
Melee Bite (Bear) +13 (1d8+8/20/x2) and
. . Claw x2 (Bear) +13 x2 (1d6+8/20/x2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
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STATISTICS
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Str 22/24, Dex 16/14, Con 18, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +6; CMB +14 (+18 Grappling); CMD 26 (28 vs. Grapple, 30 vs. Trip)
Feats Endurance, Greater Grapple, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Multiattack (Multiattack / Extra Attack), Power Attack -2/+4, Toughness +9
Tricks Attack [Trick], Attack [Trick], Attack Any Target [Trick], Combat Riding [Trick], Come [Trick], Defend [Trick], Down [Trick], Guard [Trick], Heel [Trick], Perform [Trick], Track [Trick], Work [Trick]
Skills Climb +10, Fly -1, Perception +11, Stealth -3, Swim +10
Languages
SQ Attack Any Target [Trick], Combat Riding [Trick], Devotion +4 (Ex), Multiattack / Extra Attack, Perform [Trick], Track [Trick], Work [Trick]
Combat Gear +1 Chain Shirt barding; Other Gear Amulet of Mighty Fists +1
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Attack Any Target [Trick] The animal will attack any creature on command.
Combat Riding [Trick] The animal has been trained to bear a rider into combat.
Devotion +4 (Ex) +4 Morale bonus on Will Saves vs. Enchantments.
Endurance +4 to a variety of skill checks. Sleep in L/M armor with no fatigue.
Evasion (Ex) No damage on successful reflex save.
Greater Grapple +2 to grapple, maintaining a grapple is a move action.
Improved Grapple You grapple at +2, with no attacks of opportunity allowed.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Multiattack / Extra Attack Multiattack or second attack with primary weapon at a -5 penalty.
Perform [Trick] The animal will perform tricks.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.
Track [Trick] The animal will track a scent.
Work [Trick] The animal pulls or pushes a medium or heavy load.
Me too. I will be playing an Rhenee archer ranger(falconer if thats ok). I'll post stats in the morning.
Okay, so we have two fighter types already. Anyone want to be a face/skill monkey or caster?
As you're figuring out your PCs, start thinking about their backgrounds as well. Are they originally from Sterich? If so, what did they do there before the war? Do they have family there? If they are from abroad, what brought them to Sterich at the beginning of the war? A lot of this campaign will have you in non-combat situations. Unless you have a well-developed character and backstory, these situations will be boring.
Peter, Ranger (falconer) is okay, but just to let you know, there's a fair amount of indoor activity in this adventure.
I've updated the "Campaign Info" section.
Nick, remember the FAQ in regards to animal and barding. Also remember that Large barding costs X4 (so 100 X 4 + 300 (MW) + 1000 enchantment = 1,700 gp).
Well, I think people might be a little more concerned with Boris than with Tobias, but good to know in any case.
I was seriously considering playing a human barbarian, but it sounds like we've got that niche filled already.
I may wind up doing a half-orc battle oracle instead.
Yeah I knew.
Actually it's 1550. Armor is only 150 to masterwork.
D'oh!
BTW, we have four players now. Do we want to add a fifth?
I don't mind four person tables at all.
Also, alias created with updated character sheet.
I would ideally like to have a fifth. Though I was wanting to recreate my elven rogue from Living Greyhawk, this party desperately needs some arcane, which I would do if no one else does.
-Matt
Tanith is an adaptation of my favorite LG character.
Go with the rogue!
I'm okay with 4 person tables and with original unrehashed characters.
This is Amazing Red's completely original ranger. Will update with fluff after work.
I'm kicking around two PCs right now: a recreation of my elven rogue, and a recreation of my grey elf bard/wizard. Both of them are looking pretty solid, and I'm starting to lean towards the wizard knowing that we've got Tanith and Flynt.
The wizard would have Craft Wondrous Item, by the way.
-Matt
Everyone loves craft wondrous.
Everyone loves craft wondrous.
Ha, and I just found some Paizo weirdness while I was working out items.
The Circlet of Persuasion in the Core book is a head-slot item.
The Moon Circlet from the Advanced Player's Guide is a headband-slot item.
Weird, ain't it?
-Matt
Yeah, Pathfinder really exploded the number of magic item slots.
Pretty much.
Alex: Half-orcs have an alternate Favored Class ability for the Oracle that's identical to that of the human's (+1 spell known/level) but it didn't show up until the Advanced Race Guide. WOuld it still be okay to take that?
Alex: Half-orcs have an alternate Favored Class ability for the Oracle that's identical to that of the human's (+1 spell known/level) but it didn't show up until the Advanced Race Guide. WOuld it still be okay to take that?
It's still there.
Oracle: Add one spell known from the oracle spell list.
This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the oracle can cast.
So what's it going to be Matt? You're our last holdout. Once everyone submits a basic background bio we can get started! Stats aren't actually that important right now, as long as you have a good idea of where you're going with this PC.
I think he was asking because you didn't explicitly allow the ARG and that option was not available for half-orcs until then.
I think he was asking because you didn't explicitly allow the ARG and that option was not available for half-orcs until then.
Oh ...
I think he was asking because you didn't explicitly allow the ARG and that option was not available for half-orcs until then.Oh ...
I'm building a recreation of my grey elf Wizard/Virtuoso. He's going to be a Bard1/Wizard6/Loremaster4. The Core book elf is pretty much a 3.5 grey elf, so there really aren't any changes to the race that need to be made.
Since I'm going arcane, a four-man party is OK with me.
-Matt
Mortifice - Half-orc oracle 11
How do we post statblocks using the "show" button?
I have plenty of backstory worked out for this guy and will certainly be building a lot more into him when we start our background scenarios. I'm looking forward to this.
The stat block I'm using is done in hero lab.
I'm sure you can find a template of some sort somewhere online. Alternatively if you give the info to me (or maybe Alex) I can run it through Herolab and give you a pretty formatted stat block.
Edit:
Also, I made some changes to Tanith to help shoulder the healing burden. Tanith now has a pretty respectable channel energy (but no selective channel).
Hurry up and get your stuff together guys. I want to start this!
Oh, I have it all done and formatted (I just copied your statblock and replaced the info).
What I don't know how to do is use these forums to post it in the same way. I can copy/paste it into this reply box, but I like how you had it available to click "Show" so you can show/hide the statblock and it doesn't take up too much space.
These forums use fairly limited HTML formatting.
To do spoiler blocks like I have you want use the spoiler tag.
[ spoiler]Text goes here.[/spoiler]
So it'll look something like this (minus the space in the first tag).
Are you on gmail? Add me and we can chat quicker.
Feralascendant at gmail dot com
This is Sol's portrait. Say hi.
Sweet!
Now you just need... information.
Well, I've updated with my backstory and decided to also be a trapper to make up for the lack of a rogue.
...aaaaand the board just ate Sol's history and appearance. Great.
-Matt
Sol's history, appearance, and personality are up. The build details will come Sunday.
-Matt
Nice.
We should come up with a system for Sol's crafting. It seems kind of silly to assume that all of our wealth gets processed through him, especially since we're in the middle of wartime.
That said, take that wealth-by-level assumptions!
Nice.
We should come up with a system for Sol's crafting. It seems kind of silly to assume that all of our wealth gets processed through him, especially since we're in the middle of wartime.
That said, take that wealth-by-level assumptions!
Speaking of... Mortifice the oracle is taking Craft Arms and Armor. So we've got both "sides" covered. I figure we'll work out crafting "history" during the co-adventuring history we come up with.
-Matt
Sounds good.
Do you have easy access to him? Poke him to add me on gmail.
Done.
Background, appearance, and statblock are on my profile page.
Sol's statblock is up, or at least a working draft of it.
Awesome.
Unfortunately, Alex is sick today. =(
You know what else is awesome? We're all good!
Except Mortifice is lawful. He'll have to be the straight-man to our party of freedom loving hippies.
It'll be nice to play a party of heroes doing heroic stuff, not murderous mercenary Pathfinders....
I'm back and feeling better today. Will post something substantial later today.
Glad to hear it!
So the way I've decided to work the "Craft" issue, is that the people with the feats can craft all the items they own that they have the feat for. All others in the group have to pick 3 items that one of the other PCs has crafted, and that they can therefore "buy" at crafting cost. Since Mortifice has Magic Arms and Armor, and Ithilnelle has Wondrous Items, that means that everyone can pick up to 3 items from those two categories. You can have any number of each (from 0 to 3). Remember that each magic item has a crafting check (either a Spellcraft of other skill check). If you can't take 10 on this check, you'll have to make the roll here on the boards. Remember that not having a prereq for the item increases the DC.
Any questions?
So the way I've decided to work the "Craft" issue, is that the people with the feats can craft all the items they own that they have the feat for. All others in the group have to pick 3 items that one of the other PCs has crafted, and that they can therefore "buy" at crafting cost. Since Mortifice has Magic Arms and Armor, and Ithilnelle has Wondrous Items, that means that everyone can pick up to 3 items from those two categories. You can have any number of each (from 0 to 3). Remember that each magic item has a crafting check (either a Spellcraft of other skill check). If you can't take 10 on this check, you'll have to make the roll here on the boards. Remember that not having a prereq for the item increases the DC.
Any questions?
Sounds good.
I'm going to assume that Sol and Mort handle all the upgrades past the initial +1. I like the idea that Tanith found the initial item and they enhanced the magic beyond that.
Do you want us to post our choices here or just do the math and include it in our character sheets?
Okay, I think I am ready to start the "background" section of this adventure. What I will do is post the basic outlines of the first adventure: where and when it took place, what you encountered, what obstacles you overcame, what obstacles you did not overcome, and generally how it ended. These descriptions will be intentionally vague, as I would like you to fill in the rest.
After I post them, you will fill in the rest from the perspective of your character. You can focus on the entire adventure, or just pick out a dramatic scene and work on that. The only rule is that anything that has been written before you immediately becomes canon and cannot be changed, although different characters might obviously see things differently. You can post more than once on a given story, but try to let others get out their first post before posting again (unless someone is out of town and won't be posting for a while). This will give us all a chance to flesh out the PCs personalities and create backstory that we can draw on later.
We'll evaluate how many more of these we want to do after your "1st level adventure".
Any questions before we get started?
P.S.: Always copy all text before hitting "submit post", that way you won't lose stuff to the postmonster.