Okay. To business then.

I don't like the limited skills in D&D. I have houserules that allow generous extra skills. If no-one minds, I would like to open up the floodgates and use my homerules for skills to make this game a bit more open.

These diverge quite a bit from normal D&D. For a pseudo-historical game, they give players a bit more elbow room to express their personalities.

Here goes. Skills for this PBP
We will use pathfinder Alpha skills. I like the consolidations.

Cross class skills keep the maximum rank rule, but only cost one point for one rank.

Every character can choose two background skills as class skills. You choose what you think is appropriate.

The characters in play can have skills as follows:

Barbarians:
As per PHB. survival and athletics are free skills, maxed.

Rogues:
As per PHB. Theft and Stealth are free skills, maxed. Rogues get ALL skills that are usable untrained as class skills, in addition to the normal skill list. This preserves the concept of rogues as the masters of skills in a game where everyone has more of them.

Fighters(Soldier):
Fighters have class skills as fighter and ranger.
4+int skills/level
Spot and Listen are free, maxed. Soldiers in my game have all done guard duty.
Soldiers may also have one of the following maxed, free:
Survival or intimidate or know:tactics.

Adepts:
6+int skillpoints/level. Class skills of Adept and wizard.
Knowledge skills cost one point for two ranks for adepts.
Adepts gain Spellcraft free, maxed.

Taliesin (or anyone else) - can you take a look. I've completely bewildered myself now, and I could use another pair of eyes to check things.

EDIT - must have been posting at the same time. Now need to check out skills again...

Looks good. You will have a lot more skills, as you just saw.

Sleep is easy to cover up as an attack with powder or a flask of astringent liquid.

Ghost sound is ventriloquistic. You can make any sound appear wherever you want, but it must be a sound that you make where you are and send to a target area. You can do this while hidden, as you make no sound at the source.

I would like you to prep a spell list. What you can cast.

I will start up the PBP again tomorrow, 07th April at 22:00 Beijing time. That will give everyone a chance to make any changes they want.
If anyone has a query or issue about my skill system, feel free to call me on it here. I need to go cuddle my wife and get some sleep for school tomorrow.

I am a very relaxed D.M. If you think something makes sense for your character or the campaign, sling it out there. I can roll with it.

I am not used to running PBPs, but I see that empowering you to make your own decisions will make things less dependant on a central authority.

For your first post on the game thread, let me know what you do in the two hours after you enter Paper's villa. There is a small meal of kidney bean stew with chicken and peppers. Any who wish to get clean can take advantage of the downpour outside. Feel free to have any in character discussions you want to. I will set up the scene in the thread now.

Think I'm sorted on mechanics. Fluff to follow on how spells work. Need to do some quick checking on sympathetic magic and Persian medicine. If anyone wants to cast an eye, I'd be grateful.

That is more like it. Did you remember to take two extra skills as class skills?

A solid character, and one who fills a good niche in the game to come.

See you all tommorow. It is 1 am on a school night for me here. I have set up the scene for you all on the game thread. Feel free to get to know each other in character.

See you all tomorrow.

I did indeed. They are marked. Need one more feat. Do you want it to come from Herald's original background list or are you happy for me to go with PHB or Alpha?

Realise you're probably offline by now, in which case, see you tomorrow.

I will start up the PBP again tomorrow, 07th April at 22:00 Beijing time. That will give everyone a chance to make any changes they want.

I am just coming off vacation tomorrow so I may not have a lot of tweak time either but I will try to get everything in order before we go into combat. :)

Isat is not going anywhere near any combat. He will however stitch all you butch types back together later.

I hope rob is OK. We just couldn't wait on him. Thanks all for letting me take over. I will enjoy this.

Taliesin,

Other than the skill changes, characters and races are standard 3.5 builds?

Standard or Pathfinder. You can choose.

Here goes. Skills for this PBP
We will use pathfinder Alpha skills. I like the consolidations.

Cross class skills keep the maximum rank rule, but only cost one point for one rank.

Standard or Pathfinder. You can choose.

I've done a vile hybrid.

Can't see the Taliesin post you're quoting either. Hating these boards very much indeed.

Working on updating Paper after unwisely encouraging my group in my new game to split up. Arrgh!

Taliesin Hoyle wrote:

Here goes. Skills for this PBP
We will use pathfinder Alpha skills. I like the consolidations.

Cross class skills keep the maximum rank rule, but only cost one point for one rank.

So we use the Pathfinder consolidation but 3.5 skill points.... or just import the whole pathfinder skill buy wholesale?

Modius's skills are fixed. Looks good. I didn't need one of the extra class skills though, not enough points.

Kruelaid. xie xie ni. dui bu qi in wei ma fan. You are quite right. I meant use the consolidated skills of the Pathfinder Alpha release with the skill point system of 3.5 and my own homebrew package. Sorry for any confusion.

To clear up something else. You may use any 3.5 class you want, but may use the Pathfinder rules for a class if you wish to. Whatever would be most fun for you to play.

feel free to use this thread to ask questions about the game world out of character.

I am happy with how things are working out. You guys are making this easy for me.

My style is very improvisational, so you can roll with your ideas and I will incorporate them. You don't need to ask permissions or check things with me first. I trust your sense of your own characters. You can add longer or meatier posts and get the most out of your time here.

About Modius Larci
Full Name: Modius Larci Salvius Galeria Hispanus
Male Rogue 1
XP: 250
AL: N
Religeon: Christian

Abilities (30 pt. build):
STR 10
DEX 16
CON 10
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 12

Stats:
Init +3
Spd 30
HP: 6
AC:15 (Flatfooted:12 Touch:13)
Atk +0 base melee, +3 base ranged
+1 (1d6, Sword, short)
+0 (1d4, Dagger)

Saves:
Fort +0
Ref +5
Will +0

Skills:
Acrobatics +7*
Appraise +4
Climb +4*
Deception +5
Diplomacy +5
Disable Device +7
Escape Artist +7*
Intimidate +5
Knowledge (nobility) +7
Stealth (free) +7*
Survival +4
Swim +7*
Theft +7*

Feats (Bonuses are not yet added into skills): Urban Tracking replaces Trapfinding, Investigator, Part of the Crowd, Weapon Focus: Short Sword, Armor Proficiency: light, and Simple Weapon Proficiency, (+1 more)

Possessions (starting 100 bp):
Sword, short (10 bp)
Dagger (2 bp)
Leather (10 bp)
Thieves Tools (30 bp)
Coin: bp 48

I really like this layout of character sheet. I wonder if I may impose on you all and ask that you post your character sheets here in this thread.

It will make it easy for me to reference without constant clicking on profiles.

You may. Apologies for the delay in Isat's fluff. I had a couple of ideas about him - one of which was Kabbalah by pure coincidence. The other was that somehow he's got hold of some Eleusian mystery stuff (still going at that date but very underground and by then starting to get tangled up with Christianity). Will get it to you as soon as I've sorted it myself. Eleusis would be chaotic in feel, Kabbalah lawful, we'll see.

As far as spells go, the list in the profile is what he's got. If it's OK with you, I'd like to limit what he can do and develop his range as we go on. Then it's more of a surprise to him.

About Isat Vastra
Male Adept 1
AL: LN
Religon: Zoroastrian

STR 10
DEX 10
CON 9
INT 16
WIS 15
CHA 15

Stats:
Init +0
Spd 30
HP: 6
AC:10 (Flatfooted:10 Touch:10)
Atk +0 base melee, +0 base ranged
+0 (1d4, Dagger)

Saves:
Fort +0
Ref +0
Will +5

Skills (skills in bold are class skills)
Acrobatics
Appraise +3
Climb -1
Craft (Alchemy)+3
Deception +2, +2 feat, +4r (+8)(optional class skill)
Diplomacy +2, +2r (+4)
Disguise +2
Escape Artist
Fly
Heal +2, +3 feat, +4r (+9)
Intimidate +2
Know(arc) +3, +4r (+7)
Know(eng) +3,
Know(geo) +3
Know(his) +3
Know(nat) +3
Know(nob) +3
Know(pla) +3
Know(rel) +3, +4 (+7)
Linguistics +3, +4r (+7)
Perception +2, +4r (+6)(optional class skill)
Perform +2
Profession(Doctor) +2, +4r (+6)
Ride
Spellcraft +3, +4r (+7)
Stealth
Survival +2
Swim
Use Magic Device ? - check if class skill

Feats - Persuasive(+2 Deception and Intimidate)
- Skill Focus (Healing)
- to be determined probably another skill focus

Spells
0 level - Touch of Fatigue, Ghost sound, Cure Minor Wounds

1 level - CLW, Sleep

Great stuff. I am off to surprise my wife with a movie. Will be back in about five hours.

Now is probably a good time to mention that I will not be using xp in this game. You will all level up at a story appropriate time.

HP are max for every level.

There are not going to be any easy sources for magic items. If the game carries on to the point where that affects the balance, we can discuss it then. Even basic stuff like potions of cure light wounds or wands are not very likely to appear. Isat's single jar of ointment is like a lesser artifact in Mythic Constantinople.

That said, this is not going to be a real world game. People know of witches and sorcerors. Few have met them. The Gauls and Goths have tribes of pagans and there are druids among them. Some churchmen have been known to heal by touch or make water wholesome by faith.

There are werewolves and vampires by rumour, and as recently as 200 A.D a wyvern was seen in the skies above Lyons.

The dead are properly buried, but sometimes they rise.

Faery stories are not told lightly.

Some places have thinner realities than others.

I am generally going for an onion world. These things do not affect most people, but those who know what to look for and where to look can gat themselves in a whole heap of trouble.

The church has started to burn heretics and witches a few centuries early.

Taliesin, see if you think this works.

I am going to rule that he may use the ointment seven times. It is obviously not called Keoghtum's. It

Your mentor was forced to flee to Athens and you have lost contact with him. One of the fellow acolytes of the rite mentioned having family in Constantinople, but you were unable to find them.

I'll faff about and call it something different when I need to use it:D

Again. Sorry everyone, but this is for Rev Rosey only.

The mentor was an old greek pythagorean, zoroastrian and elusian nut. He was trying to make a synthesis of geometry and music when last you saw him. He is old now, and made sure you knew that he was not going to teach you again. His name was Nico Karageorgio

He said the one in constantinople who you were to look for was called Stratos Kopteros and is a lawyer or notary. No one knew him by that name, but it is highly likely that he chose a roman name that you would have no way of knowing.

Good with all of that.

Taliesin - sorry folks, we're nearly sorted here I think.

Radavel. This one is for you.

For Kruelaid:

Wow, that's awesome. And it just so happens that I know a little bit about heretical scriptures....

Glad you can use it.

Gremlins on game thread. Taliesin's been devoured again.
Edit: And now he's back. I give up.

It's frustrating with these missing posts. Playing hell with my game as well. Going to take some time today to get poor Paper reconfigured. Seems like my responsibilities at work have increased at the same time as my posting responsibilities have! As is always the way

Gremlins on game thread. Taliesin's been devoured again.
Edit: And now he's back. I give up.

In a parallel universe, my post about Rufinus has gone up and you all know how long breaking through the wall will take. In this one, no such luck.

Schrodinger's Threads.

Tough fight. Isat's going to be a busy bunny. Hope there's a source of twine or he'll be reduced to picking bits of his horribly bedragged robe. My own fault for making him a vain so and so.

The only problem with numbering is that if we can't see a post our numbering will be wrong....

But then maybe you already figured that out.

signing off for work in a few minutes. Once again, feel free to coordinate Paper's actions, I don't want to be a drag to the party. I left 5 rolls to get things started. I have a quiet day at work and I am dragging my Pathfinder Alpha and PHB along with me to update Paper's skills. I apologize for the tardiness on this.

Hrothgar and Paper just ran back to Isat and the others.

I think this is a good cliffhanger moment. I need to go and do some shopping. It was good to get a consecutive string of posts going like that, considering we are scattered all over the globe. I would like to invite you all to take a bit of a break, and figure out what you are going to do as a group. this could turn into a TPK if you are not careful.

Get out alive and a shiny new level is yours. :)

I notice my post about not needing the numbering because posts weren't disappearing has disappeared.

Tactical retreat.

In other words, run away.

Someone has to convince Hrothgar to do that tactical manuever.

EDIT: Hrothgar just went through the hole.

Berlimey. I had a meeting this morning, got back just now and all hell has broken loose. Stuff the ghost sounds for now. Legging it sounds good.

Hey Taliesin, we want to keep Rufinus around. I think you'll find DMing a pbp is easier with a good NPC, too.

Seconded. Just read that he's heading back to certain death. Don't let him do that.