Hey guys! Doing some unexpected overnight shifts for work. Posting is going to be a bit sporadic and at odd hours, but I'm going to try to get one in *about* every 24 hours. Everything should be back to normal by Thursday. If I'm not dead, anyways, hahaha. :-P
Regarding treasure, how are we going to divide it? I've always preferred keeping a tally of items sale values and ensuring everyone gets an even cut.
So say we had found a chainshirt and a MW dagger, with a total value of 402gp, that's a sale value of 201gp. So each player is entitled to 50.25gp. But since it is much better value to keep loot than sell lets assume that 2 characters each take one item, call them player A and Player B.
Player A takes the dagger sale value 151gp, and "owes" the group 100.75gp
Player B takes the chainshirt sale value 50gp and is owed .25gp
Player C takes nothing and is owed 50.25gp
Player C takes nothing and is owed 50.25gp
Just a suggestion, but I've found its typically the fairest way - sometimes its better to put in an extra split for party items like wands of cure light, etc. In which case everyones share would be 40.2gp.
Thoughts? Its pretty flexible, since people don't usually mind you owing the pot if something comes up thats perfect for you, etc. And its particularly good for classes, like the druid, that don't run into equipment for them as often - though I doubt thats relevant here.
If two people want the same item, you simply roll off - or you can bid for it, but I think rolling is simpler and easier.
Turning to address the voice that questioned her, Rista Stoutbarrow's initial expression at the sight of Raven is initially one of confusion. After a moment confusion gives way to recognition and then quickly to fear. She adopts a distinctly guarded stance but makes no sudden movement.
"'An what, pray tell, gives me the... eh, pleasure... of meeting one of the viciou-... *ahem*... winged folk?" She says, louder than necessary.
Haaken's approach is quckly noticed by Rista's sharp eyes.
"Ah! A witne- er... Another customer! Please be patient, sir, as I finish helping our *friend* here. *Don't* go anywhere!"
Haaken, with your lack of exposure to the outside world and no formal studies in anything beyond the common races, you have no knowledge of the existence of the Strix, and know nothing of their reputation. However, you can clearly tell that Rista is quite shaken. Raven, it is apparent to you that Rista is afraid of you.
"Erastil's antlers, but we've got a bunch of weird ones in here today." Ingrit mutters under her breath at the bar. Then, louder "Is anyone going to order anything? Or are ye all just going to stand there agog at the rodent's piece of paper?"
As Ingrit asked her question the tavern door swung open again and a young human man, dressed in a simple gray robe and a traveler's cloak. A small flurry of snowflakes follows him as the door swings closed again.
Hey everyone! Something a bit urgent cropped up for me today and I'm in the middle of taking care of it at the moment. It won't be any real impediment to the game but I won't be able to do a proper in-game post until later this evening, around 6 - 7pm Pacific time. Feel free to continue getting to know one another in the tavern. Thanks!
Ok, everybody, the campaign thread is up. You can find it here. We don't officially start until tomorrow (Sunday) so don't worry, no penalties for not getting a post in today. :-)
For the most part everybody's sheets look good and I've got a good bit of the first part of the module adjusted the way I want it so go ahead and have at it. Just keep an eye on this discussion thread in case I have any nuts and bolts matters to take care of.
A couple of points:
I think it'd be easiest if I rolled everyone's initiative for them when combat breaks out. If anyone is opposed to this, please let me know.
I'll be making any passive rolls for your characters.
Combat is going to be done very loosely. I'm not going to use maps or anything. As such, please remember to clearly state where you intend your character to be whenever moving about. Whenever combat breaks out, I'll give you guys a detailed description of the lay of the land and your approximate distance from various enemies. If it becomes clear this isn't working out we'll have a discussion here on what we'd like to do instead.
It is early afternoon in the quiet Ulfen village of Frostbark. Snow falls regularly but lightly; extremely mild weather for a village so close to the border with Irrisen.
Due to the nice weather, a few villagers are outside their homes going about whatever business needed doing. It is, for Frostbark, a boisterous day. Friends converse outside of homes, carts of various necessities are pushed to and fro, and Rista Stoutbarrow stands atop a crate outside the general store as she calls out details of her newest shipment in the hopes of attracting some customers.
Additionally, a single cloaked figure moves hurriedly towards the local tavern The Linnorm's end..
For your first posts, state where you are in Frostbark (the tavern, just arriving in town, etc.) and what your character is up to. We'll take it from there. While the quickest way to get things going is for everyone to just be in the tavern, do not feel obligated to do so. I greatly enjoy rp and it's not necessary to jump right into the meat of things.
Hey guys! Just popping in to let you know I'm still here.
Still auditing character sheets and doing some slight retooling of the module for the party size. I'm pretty busy this weekend, but everything is coming along well.
I'm in the process of auditing everyone's character sheets. I thought I would have the day off today but some errands cropped up and I'm going to have to pop in to work for a few hours in the afternoon so I may not finish the audit until some time tomorrow. Ideally I'd like to get started by Sunday. Earlier than that might happen, but I'm making some adjustments to the module based on experiences in the other playthrough and to accommodate having five PCs so I will probably need Saturday to get it all up to snuff.
For today, a couple of points:
Posting frequency once the game is up should be once a day on weekdays minimum and at least one post on the weekend. If two consecutive weekdays pass without a post and you have not contacted me in any other way, you'll be dropped and replaced. More intermittent "attendance" problems will be handled on a case by case basis. I will be the first to state real life takes vast precedence of a PbP, but it only takes a minute or two to send me a brief PM. If things ever get chaotic on my end, I will notify all of you with a post here in the discussion thread with all possible haste.
Secondly, our very own Vedic Boreal has written a truly excellent guide on playing in a PbP. You can find it Here. I'd like all of you to look over the third section on how to post. Additionally, as this is my first time running a PbP I will be making every effort to be a good, evocative DM that communicates clearly. While I definitely have my own preferred style, if I am ever communicating something poorly or unclearly please engage me here in the discussion thread and we can work to rectify the issue. Similarly, any disputes or other issues anyone has should be brought to attention in this thread in a *mature* manner and I will do my best to address and solve the problem and, if necessary, provide moderation. We may be running around pretending to be wizards, but we can do it like fully grown adults! ;-)
I'll be chiming in with questions and possible requests as I comb over everyone's sheets but please, in the meantime, feel free to fine-tune your backgrounds and ask me questions. Also, if any of you want to establish previous acquaintances with one another before the adventure starts, now is a good time to do so.
That would be you. Since you are the only one with access to healing spells that is.
You should be able to handle healing Thordan, especially since you can use scrolls of healing spells at your actual caster level. In one of my in-the-flesh groups running through this their only healer is a Sandman Bard and they're managing all right on potions and scrolls. There *is* a place in town to purchase some of these sorts of resources.
Hello everyone! Please check in below. Once everyone has piped in, I'll go over expectations for post etiquette and posting frequency. Then we'll do final character tweaks and establish were everyone's character is "at" (both literally and metaphorically!).
Ok, everyone here it is. This was a tough choice, do much so I upped the party to 5 and still had to pass on two submissions I really liked (more on that after the roster). Without further ado, congratulations to:
Thorgar the Childeater
Haaken
Thordan Silentail
Raven Wildflower
Vedic Boreal
Honorable Mention:
Dorian
Melima
Vonzara and Tirq: You guys both had great characters, but I just couldn't quite fit them in. You guys will be the first I contact if anyone drops. Also, if this goes well and I decide to run another PbP in the future I will contact both of you first and offer spots in the game before opening recruitment. I really appreciate the effort you put in.
Everyone who was selected: I'm a bit busy at the moment, but watch this thread for a link to the discussion thread by tomorrow.
I'll be making my final selection some time around 5pm west coast time tomorrow, so please make any final changes or submissions by then. You're crunch doesn't have to be 100%, but it should at least be around 85%.
Still working on writing the background down for you. Works been crazy and it's my birthday today. I will make the time though, and have it to you late tonight. In short he's been sent to deliver a parcel of rare mountain herbs to Rista Stoutbarrow, with some cryptic instructions from the Abbot about his return.
Haaken will be an Aasimar(Angelkin) Monk (Ki Mystic/Weapon Adept). I'll need DM approval on a few things, though. Looking at the alternate racial traits from the table in "Blood of Angels". Leaning towards asking for an additional attribute bonus to either STR or WIS. Trying to relieve some of the MAD, required for a monk.
In my experience, making a monk on 20 point buy isn't too tough. Also, as an angelkin you'll have access to alter self 1/day for a strength buff. If you'd like to roll randomly on the replacement ability, you can do so. Show me your build as is and, if I feel like it's really having a hard time coming together I'll considering letting you select a replacement ability of your choice.
Okay, I've got a concept I'm enamored with. I'm working on a short narrative to introduce the character and explain her origin, nature of powers, etc. I'll post it as soon as I'm done.
Since I have no familiarity with the 3E rules and no access to them, I'm hoping what I come up with translates well. I appreciate your assistance.
Orannis, you can use this website -- http://www.d20herosrd.com to see most of the 3e rules for M&M. I have been using it myself as I only own the 2e rulebook.
Thanks! That's been a huge help, and I'm working on my character now.
Okay, I've got a concept I'm enamored with. I'm working on a short narrative to introduce the character and explain her origin, nature of powers, etc. I'll post it as soon as I'm done.
Since I have no familiarity with the 3E rules and no access to them, I'm hoping what I come up with translates well. I appreciate your assistance.
Hey everybody! Since I'll be selecting the party on Wednesday I wanted to post a short description on how I plan for things to go from then on so whoever gets selected knows what to expect.
Once the party is determined, I'll create the discussion thread for the campaign. We'll spend a couple of days in that going over some basic elements before getting started. This will include:
1. Going over what sort of PbP etiquette I expect and the style of posting I'd prefer to use. There's a really great "Guide to Playing In a PbP" a user posted on the boards a little while ago that, if you're not familiar with, I will link to at that time. You don't have to invest the time reading it until you get selected, so don't sweat about it at the moment.
2. I'll audit character sheets one last time. This is also when we'll handle any mechanical tweaks or houserules (these should be very few) for characters that I have agreed upon ahead of time. We'll also work on getting everyone's character sheets formatted to the same general style.
I expect to start playing sometime this weekend, and will notify you all immediately if this changes. Saturday is likely, but I might need a day to adjust some aspects of the module based on how large the party ends up being.
Man, I always thought that PbP DM's were being polite when saying things like "There's just too many good character ideas to choose from, this will be hard", but I see now how sincere that is. So many creative ideas flying around out there! You guys are doing a really good job of egging me into going with five players.
I submit Tamashii Koboshi, kitsune sorcerer of the Starsoul bloodline and Pathfinder initiate. If his background has caught your attention I will post the Crunch tomorrow :)
** spoiler omitted **...
Ah, this is good. I like the flavor, and I feel the Starsoul bloodline dovetails nicely with Koboshi's impetus to explore out into the world. There are a couple other things that I actually *really* like for how they could tie in to some of the "beyond the first adventure" ideas I have, but I can't say exactly what. ;-)
Will be out of the mix till Thursday due to a field training exercise. Hope to see you guys soon.
While I'm making my decisions on Wednesday we won't start playing until probably the weekend, so no sweat. If you get picked, you won't miss out on anything. I hope your training exercise thingie goes well!
Thorgar the Childeater - Male Ulfen Barbarian(Invuln. Rager)
Haaken - Male Ulfen (Aasimar?) Monk
Fenris Stoutanvil - Male (Ulfen?) Inquisitor(Witch Hunter or Spellbreaker)
Melima Johnson - Female Half-Elf Summoner
Thordan Silentail - Male Ratfolk Bard(Dawnflower Dervish/Songhealer)
Dorian Filleal - Male Half-Elf Oracle (Life)
Vindolfus - Male Aasimar Bard
Raven Wildflower - Female Strix Ranger
All of these are good work, and while a couple of you have really "wowed" me it is going to be difficult only picking four (or five!) of you.
That said, I am still happy to see more applicants!
Especially if anyone want's to play a full arcane caster, or even a Magus. Not much in the way of wizardly types so far. (Not that that is a huge deal, if there's any one of the "classic four" that I don't feel too bad about leaving out, it's the wizard.)
Also, on the rogue-y side of things we've got a couple Bards but still no one that can do traps and the like, so future submissions may want to consider that as well.
Vindolfus was the son of a former nun,named Varella, who was impregnated by a celestial. Never knowing his father has made it very difficult for him to understand his own identity. He began wandering to find his place in the world. He became a bard because he lacks a true desire to study anything for a prolonged period of time, and so he has become a jack of all trades sort.
Vindolfus has just started his journey and is still young. All he knows of his father is that he was a great singer and musician. Vindolfus has inherited his father's voice and appearance, and as a result is very appealing to women (and some men, Vindolfus doesn't judge, but tries to turn them down politely). This is often awkward for him as he is very shy and unaware of his own attractiveness.
Vindolfus is very protective of his mother as she is the only parent he has ever known, and left her only after much prodding. To insult him is something he will shake off, to insult his mother, is to start a fight.
Vindolfus' greatest desire is to find a place in the world for himself, but he knows he is meant for greatness, not because he is descended from a celestial but because of his mother.
There's some good stuff here. I like that his motivations for pursuing bardic study is a combination of his natural gifts and his inability to stick on one subject for long. Gives him a nice "adventurer's adventurer" feel. Very classic.
Maybe add a bit on exactly how he feels about his celestial blood? Other than that, you've got a solid concept.
I slept on it, and though this game sounds really fun I'm just not coming up with anything interesting for the dwarf idea. Must be my brain telling me that it's out of creative juice for the moment. So I will withdraw from this and wish you all the best of luck!
I'm not making any final decisions 'till Wednesday, so if inspiration strikes you between then and now, then please feel welcome to submit. If not, I appreciate your interest!
DM Orannis, I have a backstory for the strix. I ended up deciding that she will have the clipped wings trait until she can buy off the penalty. It makes the most sense and doesn't give me such a huge advantage over the rest of the party.
Here she is, Raven Wildflower. I am not sure that I like the surname. It fits, but I don't want a name that is too comical, stupid, cute or anything that detracts from the game. If you feel it would be good please let me know.
I have not posted any crunch. I want your opinion before I do that, although flavor wise I did set her up for the clipped wings trait.
Another concern is the hatred that the strix have. Her story starts her without such bias. Is there something we can replace it with that mechanically would work for her?
Anyways, let me know how you like everything. I will make any needed changes to make her fit better.
You did a great job with this. You gave the character a reason to be divorced from the traditional Strix xenophobia and replaced it with a much more positive "outsider" feel for the character. Being raised by a half-orc and half-drow couple was a nice touch. On top of that, if this expands out into a full campaign, you've given me lots of nice plot seeds for your character. What happens if her biological father finds her? Dramatic conflict ahoy!
As for the Hatred trait, I see what you mean and unfortunately the printed material doesn't offer an alternate. I try to keep these things to a minimum but, for such wonderful work on the back story, if your character is selected I would be happy to work with you in order to either replace it with something equivalent from the Race Builder in the ARG or come up with something original.
Will update his story to explain how he arrived here.
Long Live Furry Things!!....At least for those that do not eat me up...
This is a good example of the sort of high-concept idea that I like. Your crunch needs some editing but that can get handled if you get selected: there's more than enough there for me to get the gist.
As for the back story, love it. It's got a lot of classic fantasy elements to it, it's fun, and it's even got a bit sadness and loss. I do have a *minor* nitpick though, and it ties to my admittedly slavish devotion to working within world continuity: I have no problem with there being an offshoot clan of ratfolk living hidden away in Andoran because it allows this really fun 'Mouseguard' flavored character to work.
But I need a why. The vast majority of ratfolk on Golarion live in Tian Xia (or on other planets). How did ratfolk end up in Avistan? What drove them there? Doesn't have to have a lot of detail, two or three sentences should do, really. I'd also like a little bit of fleshing out on the devotion to Sarenrae, since from what I understand the Dawnflower Dervishes are rather devout.
Quick question: Can you describe the "small Ulfen village near the border with Irrisen"? Rough location, or anything else that might help me interweave any background elements?
EVERYONE SHOULD READ:
I'd add this to the OP, but I can't edit it any longer. Here's the village:
Frostbark
The population of Frostbark hovers at just around an even hundred, however loggers from Losthome often stay in the town for months at a time when assigned to regions of the Grungir Forest closest to the border with Irrisen.
Frostbark's primary purpose is to serve as a stopover on the way to Losthome for refugees from Irrisen. Being the closest civilian settlement to the border with Irrisen, the mood in Frostbark is suitably glum and superstition runs high, sometimes to the point of outright paranoia. Outsiders most often take the form of periodic bands of adventurers who's frequently suicidal forays into Irrisen have become the primary source of black humor for the locals.
There is little of note in Frostbark beyond the humble shacks and cabins of it's residents.
The local tavern, Linnorm's End, is owned and operated by Ingrit Blueaxe, an aged and retired adventurer. Her trademark frost-enchanted
cobalt greataxe hangs about the bar, the only remaining possession of her adventuring days.
The only nonhuman resident of Frostbark is Rista Stoutbarrow, a halfing wizard. Though she's lived in Frostbark for a little over a decade, she's still considered somewhat of an outsider. However, she purchased the general store in town once it's owner passed away bereft of family. Supplementing it's mundane stock with a sampling of useful poultices and even the occasional magical trinket has helped her to at least make a place for herself.
Hey everyone! Just the DM checking in. Sorry I haven't been more active today: there were some festivities last night and I found myself taking care of a handful of hangover sufferers this morning, haha.
Moving things along though, I'll be making two or three posts after this one addressing various questions and commenting on some of the more recent submissions.
Not gonna lie, I'm in love with this. The background is deep, and involves lore outside of the character himself. There's also a creative use of established Golarion canon with the Runelords.
Also, Nordic Shaolin hit's the sweet spot on the spectrum of preposterous and awesome.
Please, polish it up. I'm eager to see the details.
Can you give at least a general overview that campaign might take? I would greatly affect the kind of character I would submit if it is to be mostly an underground journey against drow as opposed to a march into Irrisen against a witch queen.
Err, well, the adventure as planned is not going to be *either* of those things. It's an exploration of a mysterious adamantine cave near Irrisen's border with The Land of the Linnorm Kings. Interactions with the Witch Queen's forces, if they occur at all, should be minimal as the whole idea of the venture is to explore and excavate the cave undetected. I have zero plans to involve the Drow, other than PCs interested in selecting that for their race.
The adventure *is* a dungeon delve, and should take you to about level 3. I have options for moving into a larger campaign after that, but if we do go into that part of the point is that it will be something you're not particularly prepared for.
So I've been working on my backstory, which ties in with Tirq's backstory.
Tirq wrote:
Orannis: Is that alright with you? I can change it to suit whatever you want.
Connected pasts between characters is great, and I encourage it.
However, it will be a few days before I decide who is in and who is not and I would encourage any background connections between characters to be non-vital to their background as a whole as one of them may be accepted and the other not.
For the first concept, how do you feel about a strix? I have had my eye on one for a while and am looking to make a very detailed backstory for why I would be one. I am looking at a rogue or a ranger in this concept.
I was wondering, GMV, if you would be interested in taking the Wing Clipped alternate racial feature? It would mitigate the issues that can come up with significant flight capabilities at low levels and also help build in a reason to have left Strix society. You can also take a feat later that restores your full flight capabilities while you retain the skill bonuses from taking the reduced flight earlier.
Not trying to tell you what to play, and I haven't seen your back story yet, but it was just something that had occurred to me.
I was a name once. Killed me a gods cursed troll, gutted Iljnor Thunderlust at the battle of Breyd Fell, only survivor of the siege at Frosthaven. They used to soil their breeches at the sound of my name!
Now what am I? Some old drunk? That failed farmer, old Thori too s!@*ting stupid to keep his herd alive. Not stupid, just uncaring, he gave up the bloody life for love - no stupid was right afterall - and then she died giving birth to a tiny bundle of lifeless blood and bones. Maybe he deserved it, that is what they all thought, damned. Thorgar the Childeater hardly deserved to be happy.
When the serving girl passed near he asked her what there was to eat, of course it was pork. Anything but pork, too many memories, too close, too pale, too weak to stop his great hands snapping their necks like...
He laughed, eliciting a few strange looks from his fellow patrons which he stared down with bloodshot eyes, fingers caressing his axe. Only wife a man needed, a steel wife wasn't like to die.
He had sold the remenants of his pitiful herd, his hands were made for killing not milking. He bought a greataxe, solid and plain, heavy as a blackened soul and waited, pissing away his coin until someone needed something made dead.
I like a lot of what I'm reading here, and there are some details I'm inferring I'd like to ask you about.
It seems like Thorgar used to be a not-so-nice guy and is now perhaps a bit repentant, or at least regretful. Was there and alignment change in his past?
I like the idea of him being a bitter old man. How old? Are you considering going with an advanced enough age for stat modifications? I like the idea of an old warrior perhaps not as fast and tough as he once was but a little smarter and grounded due to the scars, both physical and psychological, of a violent past.
How long do you plan to have recruitment open? I am making a really good backstory and I want enough time to get it done perfectly so every part meshes.
For a while. At least through 'till Wednesday. Possibly 'till next weekend depending on how nutty my week gets.
I'll enter in with a Half-Elf named Dorian. He's an Oracle of Life going Barbarian going Rage Prophet.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
His two traits are Ghost Sight and Strenght of the Sun. He is otherwise a normal Half-Elf. If you want to have a little more information in the backstory, let me know.
I like the nuts and bolts you've got there, but you should flesh it out a lot. I want to *know* Dorian!
I'm thinking about an acolyte priest of nethys, (possibly an oracle or religious themed archeologist bard) the assistant of the priest who discovered the cave. Would that work?
My background would need a lot of help to fill in
Actually, the Priest already *has* an assistant. I didn't mention it in the synopsis because it's not immediately important but it *is* part of how I'm setting up the beginning of the adventure.
That doesn't stop you from being a follower of Nethys, though. It certainly helps motivate your character's interest in the adventure, as helping out the efforts of the faith is a pretty solid impetus.
For the first concept, how do you feel about a strix? I have had my eye on one for a while and am looking to make a very detailed backstory for why I would be one. I am looking at a rogue or a ranger in this concept.
For a second concept, the class I am leaning in favor of a charisma caster. Either a sorcerer or an oracle of lore. The race I have not determined yet.
Setting up a convincing Strix is definitely going to take some serious work, but I believe you when you say you've got some good ideas to put into it. The backup character is a good idea, as I will likely judge a Strix PC with a lot of scrutiny.
I'm eager to see how you'd like to make it work! :-D
Interested, I think I would like to go with a fighter of some sort, just listening to The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie and a Northern named man is too tempting. I will likely be going either barbarian or fighter, probably world weary and bitter, yay! Need to research the area a bit for appropriateness. Probably a rather vanilla two hander build.
Maybe a retired fighter who tried his hand at farming and has just lost his farm, spending his last few coin on drink and caressing his axe, when a man comes offering gold...
That's a good start, Byden. I'm interested in hearing the more fleshed out version of his past, sounds like a lot of opportunity for some good pathos.
EDIT: I'll go Half-Elf to keep things simpler. I can still use the story arch I wanted.
Okie doke. I don't know how attached you are to the Drow thing, but there are alternate racial features in the Advanced Race Guide to re-flavor the typical Half-Elf as a Half-Drow which are pretty neat.
No there isnt. I do know that I take penalties in sunlight and I understand this. I've read up on Drow/Drow Nobles and know that it is very rare for a Drow to even leave the underworld.
Yeah, I'm going to have to say "no" on the Drow Noble, sorry. Nothing personal. Feel free to go with a regular Drow, however.
Thank you again for reminding me about the whole Drow Noble thing. Editing original post now.
Dotting for interest. I've a few ideas but before I decide. I need to know if a Drow Noble is acceptable. Yes I do have a good back story.
Ehhhh... That's already setting off a few alarm bells for me. (Though, thank you for reminding me about the Drow Noble. I always forget about them). Is there anything, mechanically speaking, about your idea that doesn't work if they're just a regular Drow?
I have a homebrew module I've cooked up that I'm rather proud of, so I'm putting it through it's paces. I'm running two in-person groups through it and would also like to try a Play By Post. It should take you through level 3, and it's possible for it to expand into a full campaign if there's interest on your part.
I am looking for 4 players, I *may* go up to five if you guys really wow me with your characters and I'm having a hard time settling. My schedule is erratic, but I expect to be able to post at least once a day and I expect the same availability from players.
The details!
Overview:
The PC's are all neophyte adventurers who's paths have all brought them two a small Ulfen village near the border with Irrisen. A priest of Nethys recently made a wondrous discovery a few miles outside of the village, within the Irrisen border: a cave buried under the snow, which appears to be made entirely of adamantine!
Knowing Irrisen's witch-queen would surely covet the discovery herself if she learned of it, he quickly traveled to the nearby Ulfen village in order to recruit able hands to help him explore and excavate the sit. Finding little more than fearful refusal to get any closer to Irrisen than they already were from the village inhabitants, he posted an offer for adventurers in the local tavern and sent missives to other nearby towns: 500 gold apiece to any who could help him secure the site.
A tidy sum for a group of rookie adventurers. But at what risk?
Character Guidelines:
Right off the bat, let me tell you that unique and interesting characters with a *good back story* will impress me. Generally speaking, optimization does little to blow my hair back unless you managed to find some really kooky, typically suboptimal gimmick that you've figured out how to make sing (assuming you've got good fluff to back it up), things like . I cannot emphasize this enough. I like to run games for characters I'd want to read stories about.
Starting at Level 1.
20 point buy. Maximum starting gold. 2 Traits. Traits from specific campaigns are allowed, but it needs to be a clear reflection of your background (not just "I wanted Acrobatics as a class skill) and must be vetted by me. I *am* willing to consider custom traits in order to make *very good* concepts work.
As a general courtesy, please refrain from builds that summon huge swarms of creatures. Summon spells in general are fine, but I'm running this PbP for fun and I just have no interest in keeping track of 8 fiendish dire mongooses in a fight.
Races:
No Drow Nobles.
Otherwise, any Paizo published material. If you're playing one of the weirder races, that needs to be an integral part of their background. If you're playing a Dragon Empires race then a convincing reason for you to be in Avistan is a must. Being in LotL should help justify DE races with the (dangerous) trade route and all, but I'm still going to need a good reason why your Nagaji is mucking about with vikings.
*Houserule: Player races with the outsider type do NOT get proficiency with all Martial weapons. You're already immune to all the "X-Person" spells. Be happy with that.
Classes:
I'd love to say "everything goes". However, I'm going to have to impose a couple restrictions.
No Master Summoners or Synthesists. I don't think Synthesists are overpowered at all, but I have no interest in dealing with everyone and their mother's different opinions on how they actually work.
No archetypes with multiple Animal Companions. Again, I just don't feel like managing a small army in combat.
Feats:
No Antagonize. I like it in theory but it's still just sort of a mess, mechanically speaking.
Leadership may be an issue if we keep this going past the initial adventure. I actually like cohorts a *lot* but again, that's a lot more to manage. We'll cross this bridge if/when we come to it.
Skills:
HAVE SOME SOCIAL SKILLS. It's not necessary for every single player to have potent interaction statistics, and there's going to be plenty of good old fashioned combat, but there will be plenty to reward those with strong social capabilities from time to time.
Alignment
For the most part, no Evil.
However, if you have a *really good* (and I mean REALLY) concept for a Lawful Evil character that *is not going to be a significant threat to party cohesion* I will consider it. A Lex Luthor on a team of heroes can be a lot of fun.
Concept:
Lots of freedom here, but there needs to be a solid, feasible reason your character is in the Land of the Linnorm Kings. They could have heard about the call to adventure from either the missives sent to nearby settlements, or they may have been in the As-Yet-Unnamed border village when the priest posted his offer.
If someone wants to play an *actual* Ulfen resident of the village who has some sort of (very compelling) reason to want to leave the village and travel into the terrifying land of Irrisen, that would be fantastic but not necessary. If you go this route a character that incorporates skills and other elements suiting some sort of guide would be gravy.
All right folks! Have at it with those submissions!
Is everybody still on board? I need you all to post here and have your character sheets up on your profiles before I can get started.
To give you an idea of a nice, organized way to have your sheet presented on your profile, here's my PbP character Roland Red-Hand as an example. Yours does not *have* to look exactly like his, but something along those lines is what I'll need to be able to access your characters easily while out of my house.
All set, can't wait to get started! Darn, my background didn't save last time I updated :P.
Yeah, from what I've been seeing there's been a bit of an issue with that on the boards lately. It might be best to type up profile stuff in Word and then copy-paste it onto the profile so you don't lose anything.
Hey friends, this will be the thread for discussing the game. Occasionally some OOC talk will be necessary or urgent enough to be included in one of the in-game thread posts, but for the large part it should go here.
Once each of you chimes in on here and gets their character sheet up on their Alias' profile, we'll start up the game thread.
