Alignment: CG
Domains: Community, Fire, and Healing
Portfolio: Cooking Hearths, Kitchens, Recipes, and anywhere meals are enjoyed with others.
Holy Symbol: A small spoon heaped with salt. Many clerics of Ganny Elda use their tasting spoons as holy symbols.
Holy Weapon: a frying pan
Epithets: The Divine Cook, The Celestial Chef, The Heavenly Hostess
Ganny Elda loves to cook and all those that make and enjoy food cooked with love and pride. She delights in young children making messes while they learn at their mother's side and in skilled chefs showing their prowess with culinary masterpieces. She enjoys simple comfort food and dishes that require a high degree of skill to create. There are few that know her true form or where she came from, though all who have been contacted by Ganny Elda say she acts like a kindly grandmother that is quick to offer a hot meal or snack to those that treat her with respect and her wickedly sharp tongue to those that forget their manners. Most of all, she disdains complex, exacting recipes and pedantic terms. Kobolds, however, claim without any doubts that Ganny Elda was once a kobold herself before becoming an Empyreal Lord. It's not something the normally proud race seem to enjoy either.
Her teachings are passed through recipe cards, cookbooks, and oral instruction. Many of her followers are cooks and chefs, but just as many are gourmets and connoisseurs of various dishes. Meetings of her cult are called "tastings" where members share their latest culinary adventures and sample new dishes. Many of her clerics are cooks and chefs, using their culinary skills in worship to the Divine Cook, every dish a prayer and an offering and the sounds of the kitchen a hymn.
Ganny Elda, despite her occasional bouts of mischief, gets along well with Cayden Cailean, Erastil, and Shelyn. She despises Urgathoa and her gluttonous hedonism, however, and there are tales of Ganny Elda whacking the undead goddess on the wrist when she tried to sneak some snacks from her kitchen.
Prelude - The Greedy Servant
The stone giant looked down the starlit-valley from the spire that loomed over the long dead city. The face craved-- no, not carved-- sculpted, shaped, and formed by magic in the mountain side sneered down the length of the valley where the city lay. He'd seen that visage many times in his journey to this place. He wondered who it had been. Whoever it was, the owner of that impressive look of disdain and contempt was long dead.
The wind bit at him, and despite his impressive fortitude, the thin air was making him feel dizzy. Being as hardy as stone and rock did not make him invincible, and the chill this high into the mountains could kill even him. He would not die here, not so close to his goal. The power he sought was close. The power and the vindication that would come with it. He would make those that cast him out pay dearly for not recognizing his genius, his talent.
He turned back to the doorway and went back inside the spire. The air here was comfortable, even warm, and more than enough to rid him of the lightheadedness from earlier. His goal was close, he reminded himself. His strides were already long, but his pace was quickened by the anticipation and excite he felt. So close, only a few more steps and it would be his, his vindication, his ascension to the mightiest of his kind.
He walked into the chamber at the pinnacle of the spire, a large well dominated the center. It was filled with a cold liquid that smoked and steamed, covering the floor in a thin layer of fog. Beyond it was an arcane contraption that exuded power. Even if his mind had not been attuned to those energies, he was certain that he'd have felt the power radiating off of it. Greed for power, greed for vindication, greed for everything he felt due to him drove him on. He would have what was rightfully his!
He touched the contraption, and time froze around him. Gracefully arcing arms and sections of the contraption's shell began to move, and the stone giant realized his folly. This thing was a doorway, and he'd just opened it. He could not move. He could not even scream as he felt his doom coming to meet him with the same meticulousness that this complex door between planes had been designed and constructed with.
An ancient and powerful presence bore down on him as the door finished opening. He could feel it stirring even as he felt his heart thundering in his chest. Despite his lack of martial prowess, he was not the coward he'd been named, but he could only feel terror as he gazed into the stygian abyss this waking power had languished in for only the gods know how long.
The stone giant heard a sigh, then an inquisitive hum. The silence that followed was deafening, The laughter that came next was even more so.
"Oh what a delicious greed you have," the laughing voice said in a tongue that had not been spoken for almost ten thousand years, yet the stone giant could understand it. He fell to his knees as he looked on in horrified awe. A tiny voice in the back of his mind gibbered that the stories his mother and grandmother had told him as a young boy were true, and he'd awakened one of the monsters from his kind's oldest and most frightening legends.
"Tell me, giant, Who is it that you serve?" The voice was amused, but behind the affability was a threat that the giant was certain the owner of that voice could easily carry out.
It all clicked into place for the giant in that moment. He now realized how wrong he'd been to assume that the man whose face he'd seen on the mountainside was dead. He felt as if his skull would be crushed as he frantically worked some moisture back into his suddenly stone dry mouth.
"Y-you, M-my Master," he stammered, his normally booming voice a hoarse croak.
"And my name?"
"L-lord Karzoug!" Sweat poured from the giant's brow as he prostrated himself.
"Good," Karzoug purred. "Now tell me of what has happened during my slumber, my greedy servant." As the ancient and powerful wizard spoke, the well behind the stone giant began to glow. "Then we can discuss how you can help me claim what is mine."
===
Far away, in a small coastal town, everyone suddenly woke from frightening nightmares, that none seemed to remember, in a rage. For most, the rage faded quickly. For three of the townspeople, it found root, and festered.
Please post to dot the thread and add this game to your campaign tab then delete the post. Don't worry, it won't go away when you delete the post.
As the autumnal equinox approaches, Sandpoint's residents ready themselves for the Swallowtail festival. Five years after the Late Unpleasantness and the fire that claimed the old church and several lives, including those of Father Tobyn and his adopted daughter Nualia, the new Sandpoint Cathedral has been completed and is ready for its consecration. There are dark things lurking on the horizon, however. Sandpoint is in need of heroes! Will you answer the call?
Hi! I've been itching to try running this again for a while, and with things going pretty well in my other game, I think I can manage GMing one more. This AP is what got me interested in them in the first place.
House Rules:
- Elves mature at the same rate as Half-elves until they hit adulthood.
- Drawing a weapon and a shield or two weapons can be done as one move action
Banned Items, Classes, Archetypes, Etc. - No Gunslinger, No Archetypes that use guns, No Guns, No technologic items.
Races - Core Races, Aaismar, Changeling, Ifrit, Oread, Sylph, Tiefling, Undine are allowed. Other races will require GM approval.
Starting Level - 1st
Starting Wealth - Average for your class
Attributes - 20 point buy.
Hit Points - Max at 1st level, higher of average (rounded up) or roll from 2nd on
Traits - 3, 1 trait must be a campaign trait from the Player's Guide or the Heroes of Varisia book. Players can gain another trait by taking a drawback.
Alignment - Non-evil alignments only
Submission Requirements
Character Sheet - At a bare minimum, needs to have race, class, and attributes. Would prefer a complete sheet
Character Background - Doesn't need to be a novel, but I would appreciate at least a few paragraphs explaining who your character is, where they came from, where they are going, and how they wound up in Sandpoint if they aren't from there originally.
If you need some help fleshing this out, here are a few things that might help.
What is your character's name?
How old is your character?
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Where was your character born?
Where were you raised?
By who?
Who are your parents?
Are they alive?
What do they do for a living?
Do you have any other family or friends?
What is your character's marital status?
Kids?
What is your character's alignment?
What is your character's moral code?
Does your character have goals?
Is your character religious?
What are your character's personal beliefs?
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Why does your character adventure?
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
How does your character get along with others?
Is there anything that your character hates?
Is there anything that your character fears?
20 Questions for Deep Character Creation:
Sadly, the page I found this on has since been zapped from the internet. Thankfully I had copied the questions.
Concept
These are the fundamentals, the broadest strokes. Every character should have answers to these five, including NPCs. It's the quickest way to give the sense of a full individual instead of a cardboard stereotype.
1. What emotion best describes your character? Find one primary emotion your character expresses. Try to use a colorful, specific word to describe it. For instance, instead of "angry" you might say "vengeful" or "raging," or instead of happy you might say "cheerful" or "exalting."
2. What emotion does your character evoke in others? How do others react to you? Do you impress, scare, calm, excite, or perhaps annoy? Again try to find the most specific term you can. Is this reaction different between friends and enemies?
3. What does your character need most? If your character had everything he or she needed, why go on an adventure? Most people's needs are fairly universal, although they can change over time. Common needs are survival, security, companionship, esteem, romance, family, or wisdom. Consider what your character's starting needs are, and where you want them to be by the end of the adventure or campaign. It helps to establish this need with the GM, to ensure it fits with the themes of the game.
4. What is your character's goal in life? This should be the principle, underlying motivation for everything your character thinks, says, and does. If your character were lying on the brink of death, what makes him or her cling to life? What could your character lose that he or she would consider worse than death? This goal is often broad, and sometimes unachievable. Whatever the nature of the goal, it should be something your character can strive for his or her entire life. The best goals are ones that can be threatened, as they will help create more compelling adventures. Ideas include justice, revenge, protecting loved ones, redeeming one's self, or gaining some kind of power. When you think of something, ask yourself "why?" to make sure it isn't because of some larger, more important goal.
5. How does your character believe this goal can be accomplished? Because the goal can often be ideological, the method to achieving it is sometimes equally insubstantial. Your character's methods should be strongly tied to beliefs (or lack of beliefs), and primarily be a decision of lifestyle. A character bent on revenge might consider perfecting a fighting discipline, while a character devoted to a cause might consider a religious or philosophical doctrine.
Background
For any campaign, a character should have come from somewhere. Spend any length of time with someone and their history is bound to come up. These questions give your character history, and therefore dramatic and emotional weight.
6. Where did your character come from? Consider your character's initial roots, before he or she was a teenager. These times are what shape your character the most. Who were your parents? Where did you live? What was your family's economic and social status? How were you educated? What were the three most important lessons you learned?
7. When did you grow up? Everyone begins taking responsability for their own lives at different times and in different ways. Describe the events related to when your character started taking care of him- or herself.
8. What values does your character hold? Name three things your character considers sacred, and three things he or she is idealogically opposed to. These things will usually stem from a combination of your goals and your personal history. Consider especially where the values came from. Was your character taught these values? Did they develop as a reaction to something your character considered noble or diabolical? Establish lines that your character will not cross in pursuit of his or her goal to add challenge to playing your character.
9. How does your character dress? Start generally with an overall statement of the quality of your character's appearance, such as projected social status, trade, common activities, or how groomed or slovenly your character is. Begin to hone in on telling details, especially those things that most people take for granted. How exactly does your character style his or her hair? What decorative articles does your character wear, such as jewelry, decorated buttons or buckles, a belt, gloves, etc.?One especially telling detail is footwear. Describe in detail what your character wears on his or her feet, including cut, tightness or looseness, heel height, sole hardness or softness, lacing/buckling/tying or lack thereof, toe shape (square, round, pointed…?), color, material, shininess, cleanliness, repair or disrepair, and any other details you can think of.
10. What are your character's means? Consider all the resources your character has. This should include material resources such as money and property, social resources such as friends and allies, and personal resources such as skill, courage, strength, wits, etc. It might help to make a list of all your character's resources that he or she might use to overcome adversity. Consider challenges like fights, puzzles, traveling, persuading (and being persuaded), and any others.
Details
Now we're picking nits. These five are all about texture and color. These answers take your character beyond an adventure serial persona and into reality. Answers to these make your characters memorable for years.
11. What are your character's personal tastes? Name at least three things your character enjoys for no reason other than personal preference. A good place to start is with each of the five senses. Consider a sound, smell, taste, feeling, or sight that is uniquely pleasing to your character. Also consider activities such as hobbies or habits. Name three things your character dislikes, as well.
12. What are your character's opinions? Decide upon at least three major aspects of local society and your character's opinion on them. This could be generalizations such as rich or poor people, more specific areas like a particular political or religious group, or very specific things like a prominent individual or an aspect of the character's job. Check with your GM for relevant things in the campaign to have opinions about.
13. What is your character's comfort zone? What environment, activity, or mindset puts your character at ease? This can add a lot of color to your character during stressful moments, as he or she will have a place to go or a thing to do at these times. It helps to have a comfort zone broken up into the above parts so at least some of it is portable.
14. Who has had the biggest impact on your character's life? Name and briefly describe at least one person who had a significant impact on how your character perceives the world today. You can name more than one, but they should each reflect different aspects of your character's beliefs. Use this as a reference point when your character has to make difficult decisions (i.e., "What would so-and-so do?").
15. What are some of your character's unexpected quirks? Name three things that are unexpected about the way your character behaves, such as things that go against his or her normal social status, age, or trade. How about three unexpected talents or abilities like being able to sing, or knowing some trivial knowledge, or being good at math? Three things your character can't do that most other people can such as whistling, swimming, or reading well? How about three things your character fears, such as heights, dogs, or insects?
Player
These five questions direct your play experience itself rather than your character. What do you want out of your game? If a group answers these together, they can expect dramatically rewarding game sessions, and the GM will know clearly what's expected to give everyone a good time.
16. What kind of story does your character belong in? Who are the characters your character interacts with? What settings does he or she inhabit? What themes are important? What conflicts does your character face? These things are important to understand so your GM can create adventures that will engage your character, and so you will have a better chance at getting along with your fellow players' characters.
17. What role does your character fill? Roleplaying is all about the ensemble cast. Make sure you fill a unique role in the party, and you aren't stepping on anyone else's toes. Consider your role in the interpersonal relations of the party, your role in combat, what skills your character is best at, and what thematic note your character hits.
18. What should the other players know about your character? These should be major thematic points, your character's general emotion (if it isn't secret), potential surprises or areas that might be difficult, and any other pertinent information. Also start sketching out potential interactions, such as another character you might go to for help (or who might go to you for help), or someone you'll probably butt heads with. Getting these things out in the open is important to ensure there aren't unpleasant surprises.
19. What is your play style? Do you like heavy character immersion, or attention to detail in the rules, or perhaps you're especially goal-oriented? Maybe you're a bit competitive. Do you prefer lots of colorful descriptions, or a quicker framework understanding of situations? Do you speak in your character's voice? You may not even be aware of your own play style. Keep this in mind as you play so you can better communicate with your fellow players about the direction of the party as a whole, and the course of the adventure. This also helps your GM understand your personal needs at the gaming table.
20. How do you want your character to die? Your character won't live forever, although you might not play him or her to the end. If you had your choice of deaths for your character, what would it be? Death of old age, having survived through all his or her trials? Perhaps a bloody, violent death? A noble sacrifice? Happenstance? It can also provide an unusual layer of texture to your roleplaying, as you have a better understanding of your character's fate. It will also tell you if your character is a tragic or heroic one. Finally, it can help your GM in resolving conflicts in-game if he or she has an idea of your comfort zone with threats to your character's life.
Character Personality and Appearance - Doesn't need to be detailed, a few sentences will do. I would like to know character height, build, age, and distinguishing characteristics.
Roleplaying Sample - Links to other characters you've played or, if you don't have any or want to showcase this character, write a short scene involving them.
Player Questionnaire - Fill out the questionnaire below. It's mostly to help me know where redlines are, where you'd like the story to go, and what you are expecting from me, though I do like getting to know people.
1. What time zone are you in?
2. How long have you been playing TTRPGs?
3. What's your favorite part about playing TTRPGs?
4. What do you expect from this game?
5. What do you expect out of your fellow players?
6. What do you expect out of me?
7. (If you don't want this to be public, PM me the answer to this one and just note that you did so.) Beyond the obvious (generally stuff already prohibited by Paizo's forum rules,) what are your redlines? Are there any topics, themes, or imagery that you absolutely do not want to see in the game?
For the sake of everyone's sanity, be sure to put the original, english text in a spoiler and mark it as the language being used. In general, it's best to go in order and use a separate spoiler for each one. Especially if you're using the Zalgo generator.
For example wrote:
"میں بیوقوفوں سے گھرا ہوا ہوں۔," The Dread Lord of the Crypts sighed in Abyssal. He picked up his staff and settled into his throne. "Iltqajt sew! X'nista 'nagħmel għalik," he says in the goblin tongue, his voice cheery.
Abyssal
Spoiler:
"I am surrounded by idiots."
Goblin
Spoiler:
"Well met! What may I do for you?"
Tokens and Character Art
If you'd like to make life on your GM a little easier, here are some tools and resources that you can use to create tokens for the battlemap or pick out art for your character. While AI artbots are an option, I'd ask that you not use them due to ethical concerns about how they were/are developed. If you grab something online, please link back to the original artist in your character's profile.
Contact Information
If you need to contact me or would like to chat outside of the boards, here's my email and Discord username.
Email: salsa.the.geek@gmail.com
Discord: salsathegeek
Male Probably human Computer Scientist 1/ Character Synthesizer 20/ Crazy 99
This isn't a typical game. I'm working on a tabletop roleplaying game system and wanted to keep a record of the tests I do. You can find the rules being tested here. You can view the current working document here.
The goal of this project of mine is to make a game that is easy to pick up, flexible, and provides options and easy expandability for more experienced players and GMs. I realize this is a tall order, especially for someone who has never designed a system from whole cloth before. Well, at least not one that wasn't stupidly simple.
For the curious:
I called it the Really Simple Roleplaying Game, or RSRPG. The rules were:
- Pick 1 thing you are really good at. You get a +2 when rolling to do this thing.
- Pick 2 things you are good at, You get a +1 when rolling to do these things.
- Pick 2 things you are bad at. You get a -1 when rolling to do these things.
- Pick 1 thing you are really bad at. You get a -2 when rolling to do this thing.
- While playing, tell the GM what you want to do. The GM will tell you if you need to roll and what you roll.
- If a roll is needed, roll 2d6 and add any bonuses or penalties you may get for being good or bad at the thing the GM asked you to roll.
-- A 6 or lower is a failure.
-- A 7-9 is a partial success.
-- A 10 or more is a total success.
-- Double 6's are a critical success.
As you can see, it really is simple. and not very good at keeping players from choosing things that are overly broad or overly narrow for the things they are good or bad at. It pretty much runs on Rule 0, whatever the GM says goes.
The system this game will run on, called 20 Ways to Die or 20WTD for short, is intended to be quick to pick up, fast to play, flexible, and extensible. The core mechanic is to roll 1d20, add modifiers, and compare your result to the results chart. The difficulty of the task modifies the chart. The modifiers for the roll will always be an attribute with a skill added in if applicable. Abilities, backgrounds, ancestries, and traits all add advantages and drawbacks that your character has. At least, that's the idea. At the moment, there's only attributes and skills.
Feedback is welcome. You may leave comments on the documents or in the discussion thread. And please, feel free to give it a try yourself.
I owe Black Dow a massive thanks for helping me get the ball rolling, however slowly, on this.
Pretty much what's on the tin. I absolutely do not have the bandwidth to run a GURPS game, but I'd love to play in one again. I figured I'd see if there's any interest or not.
For those that don't know, Infinite Worlds is a setting that Steve Jackson Games has developed and is the de facto setting for GURPS. It's based on what I think is called the Multiverse Theory of the universe, basically there's multiple timelines that have diverged from a common point and you can travel up and down those timelines by visiting echos. The setting book focuses on the police force that goes flitting about looking for troublemakers, rescuing teams that get into trouble, and looking for agents. There's more to it than that, but I haven't looked at the book in a while so I'm going off what I can remember.
Basically, you're playing interdimensional, time-travelling cops and peace keepers that are also trying to gather intelligence and get new technologies to help advance the prime civilization where/when this group is headquartered.
The stout halfling with beady eyes looks at you as you enter. Next to the door is a large, slobbering dogman with a squashed looking face and bugged-out eyes that look in different directions. A be-fezzed gnome, a shifty knight, and an unassuming chair are your companions in the taproom of the Proverbial Hook.
Shamelessly stolen from Rusty and Co.
This is not your normal game. This is a hangout where players can get into character and figure out their PCs and how they interact while waiting for recruitment threads to end.
Hey all! Please introduce yourselves and get to know each other. Don't forget to dot the gameplay thread as well.
I wanted to give y'all some time to collaborate and form some connections between each other. I'll be sending PMs out with some of my thoughts and suggestions. Don't feel you have to do whatever I suggest, these are your characters, after all.
Anyway, thanks for applying and I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes.
The first breath of winter is on the wind. The folk of Kassen ready for the coming cold and hurry to bring in the last harvest. Throughout the town, eight of its youth prepare for their role in the coming festivities. They've been chosen to do a quest, to bring back the Everflame that lights their way though winter.
The town of Kassen lies within the Fangwood on the bank of the Tourondel River. After the death of its founder, Ekat Kassen, the townsfolk began a tradition of lighting a lantern from the Everflame that burns over his resting place and keeping it lit through the winter. Every few years, the townsfolk send a group of those coming of age in town, giving them a taste of adventure before they settle down to find a spouse and practice their craft. This year, it is you, young, would-be-heroes that have been chosen to take up this quest. Bring back the Everflame and light Kassen's way through another winter. This year, you have been chosen as one of those young people who are coming of age to participate in the Quest for the Everflame.
===
Welcome brave adventurers to this recruitment for The Crypt of the Everflame. I've modified some things, specifically the layout of the main dungeon, so even if you've played this module before, it'll hopefully have some surprises for you. While the hope is to continue on to the other two adventures in this trilogy, my main goal is to finish Crypt of the Everflame and see where we stand as far as momentum and desire to continue.
I've (badly) made a wiki using World Anvil. You can find the page that links to most of the relevant stuff here. I'm still learning how to use the tool, and to be honest, it's a lot to get used to, and I was at the point of chop bait or fish. I chose to fish. It's a mess, it's probably a pain to navigate, but you should be able to find what you need as far as the game goes. If you can't, let me know and I'll track down a link straight to it.
House Rules and Systems in Use - Hero Points, Elves mature at the same rate as Half-elves until they hit adulthood.
Banned Items, Classes, Archetypes, Etc. - I don't think any of this is available in the allowed books, but just in case: No Gunslinger, No Archetypes that use guns, No Guns, No technologic items.
Races - Core Races Only.
Starting Level - 1st
Starting Wealth - Average for your class
Attributes - 20 point buy or Roll 4d6 drop lowest six times.
Hit Points - Max at 1st level, higher of average (rounded up) or roll from 2nd on
Traits - 2
Alignment - Non-evil alignments only
Submission Requirements
Character Sheet - At a bare minimum, needs to have race, class, and attributes. Would prefer a complete sheet
Character Background - Doesn’t need to be a novel, but I would appreciate at least a few paragraphs explaining who your character is, where they came from, where they are going, and why they got picked as one of the youngsters to be a hero for this year's Quest of the Everflame.
If you need some help fleshing this out, here are a few things that might help.
What is your character’s name?
How old is your character?
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Where was your character born?
Where were you raised?
By who?
Who are your parents?
Are they alive?
What do they do for a living?
Do you have any other family or friends?
What is your character’s marital status?
Kids?
What is your character’s alignment?
What is your character’s moral code?
Does your character have goals?
Is your character religious?
What are your character’s personal beliefs?
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Why does your character adventure?
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
How does your character get along with others?
Is there anything that your character hates?
Is there anything that your character fears?
20 Questions for Deep Character Creation:
Sadly, the page I found this on has since been zapped from the internet. Thankfully I had copied the questions.
Concept
These are the fundamentals, the broadest strokes. Every character should have answers to these five, including NPCs. It’s the quickest way to give the sense of a full individual instead of a cardboard stereotype.
1. What emotion best describes your character? Find one primary emotion your character expresses. Try to use a colorful, specific word to describe it. For instance, instead of “angry” you might say “vengeful” or “raging,” or instead of happy you might say “cheerful” or “exalting.”
2. What emotion does your character evoke in others? How do others react to you? Do you impress, scare, calm, excite, or perhaps annoy? Again try to find the most specific term you can. Is this reaction different between friends and enemies?
3. What does your character need most? If your character had everything he or she needed, why go on an adventure? Most people’s needs are fairly universal, although they can change over time. Common needs are survival, security, companionship, esteem, romance, family, or wisdom. Consider what your character’s starting needs are, and where you want them to be by the end of the adventure or campaign. It helps to establish this need with the GM, to ensure it fits with the themes of the game.
4. What is your character’s goal in life? This should be the principle, underlying motivation for everything your character thinks, says, and does. If your character were lying on the brink of death, what makes him or her cling to life? What could your character lose that he or she would consider worse than death? This goal is often broad, and sometimes unachievable. Whatever the nature of the goal, it should be something your character can strive for his or her entire life. The best goals are ones that can be threatened, as they will help create more compelling adventures. Ideas include justice, revenge, protecting loved ones, redeeming one’s self, or gaining some kind of power. When you think of something, ask yourself “why?” to make sure it isn’t because of some larger, more important goal.
5. How does your character believe this goal can be accomplished? Because the goal can often be ideological, the method to achieving it is sometimes equally insubstantial. Your character’s methods should be strongly tied to beliefs (or lack of beliefs), and primarily be a decision of lifestyle. A character bent on revenge might consider perfecting a fighting discipline, while a character devoted to a cause might consider a religious or philosophical doctrine.
Background
For any campaign, a character should have come from somewhere. Spend any length of time with someone and their history is bound to come up. These questions give your character history, and therefore dramatic and emotional weight.
6. Where did your character come from? Consider your character’s initial roots, before he or she was a teenager. These times are what shape your character the most. Who were your parents? Where did you live? What was your family’s economic and social status? How were you educated? What were the three most important lessons you learned?
7. When did you grow up? Everyone begins taking responsability for their own lives at different times and in different ways. Describe the events related to when your character started taking care of him- or herself.
8. What values does your character hold? Name three things your character considers sacred, and three things he or she is idealogically opposed to. These things will usually stem from a combination of your goals and your personal history. Consider especially where the values came from. Was your character taught these values? Did they develop as a reaction to something your character considered noble or diabolical? Establish lines that your character will not cross in pursuit of his or her goal to add challenge to playing your character.
9. How does your character dress? Start generally with an overall statement of the quality of your character’s appearance, such as projected social status, trade, common activities, or how groomed or slovenly your character is. Begin to hone in on telling details, especially those things that most people take for granted. How exactly does your character style his or her hair? What decorative articles does your character wear, such as jewelry, decorated buttons or buckles, a belt, gloves, etc.?One especially telling detail is footwear. Describe in detail what your character wears on his or her feet, including cut, tightness or looseness, heel height, sole hardness or softness, lacing/buckling/tying or lack thereof, toe shape (square, round, pointed…?), color, material, shininess, cleanliness, repair or disrepair, and any other details you can think of.
10. What are your character’s means? Consider all the resources your character has. This should include material resources such as money and property, social resources such as friends and allies, and personal resources such as skill, courage, strength, wits, etc. It might help to make a list of all your character’s resources that he or she might use to overcome adversity. Consider challenges like fights, puzzles, traveling, persuading (and being persuaded), and any others.
Details
Now we’re picking nits. These five are all about texture and color. These answers take your character beyond an adventure serial persona and into reality. Answers to these make your characters memorable for years.
11. What are your character’s personal tastes? Name at least three things your character enjoys for no reason other than personal preference. A good place to start is with each of the five senses. Consider a sound, smell, taste, feeling, or sight that is uniquely pleasing to your character. Also consider activities such as hobbies or habits. Name three things your character dislikes, as well.
12. What are your character’s opinions? Decide upon at least three major aspects of local society and your character’s opinion on them. This could be generalizations such as rich or poor people, more specific areas like a particular political or religious group, or very specific things like a prominent individual or an aspect of the character’s job. Check with your GM for relevant things in the campaign to have opinions about.
13. What is your character’s comfort zone? What environment, activity, or mindset puts your character at ease? This can add a lot of color to your character during stressful moments, as he or she will have a place to go or a thing to do at these times. It helps to have a comfort zone broken up into the above parts so at least some of it is portable.
14. Who has had the biggest impact on your character’s life? Name and briefly describe at least one person who had a significant impact on how your character perceives the world today. You can name more than one, but they should each reflect different aspects of your character’s beliefs. Use this as a reference point when your character has to make difficult decisions (i.e., “What would so-and-so do?”).
15. What are some of your character’s unexpected quirks? Name three things that are unexpected about the way your character behaves, such as things that go against his or her normal social status, age, or trade. How about three unexpected talents or abilities like being able to sing, or knowing some trivial knowledge, or being good at math? Three things your character can’t do that most other people can such as whistling, swimming, or reading well? How about three things your character fears, such as heights, dogs, or insects?
Player
These five questions direct your play experience itself rather than your character. What do you want out of your game? If a group answers these together, they can expect dramatically rewarding game sessions, and the GM will know clearly what’s expected to give everyone a good time.
16. What kind of story does your character belong in? Who are the characters your character interacts with? What settings does he or she inhabit? What themes are important? What conflicts does your character face? These things are important to understand so your GM can create adventures that will engage your character, and so you will have a better chance at getting along with your fellow players’ characters.
17. What role does your character fill? Roleplaying is all about the ensemble cast. Make sure you fill a unique role in the party, and you aren’t stepping on anyone else’s toes. Consider your role in the interpersonal relations of the party, your role in combat, what skills your character is best at, and what thematic note your character hits.
18. What should the other players know about your character? These should be major thematic points, your character’s general emotion (if it isn’t secret), potential surprises or areas that might be difficult, and any other pertinent information. Also start sketching out potential interactions, such as another character you might go to for help (or who might go to you for help), or someone you’ll probably butt heads with. Getting these things out in the open is important to ensure there aren’t unpleasant surprises.
19. What is your play style? Do you like heavy character immersion, or attention to detail in the rules, or perhaps you’re especially goal-oriented? Maybe you’re a bit competitive. Do you prefer lots of colorful descriptions, or a quicker framework understanding of situations? Do you speak in your character’s voice? You may not even be aware of your own play style. Keep this in mind as you play so you can better communicate with your fellow players about the direction of the party as a whole, and the course of the adventure. This also helps your GM understand your personal needs at the gaming table.
20. How do you want your character to die? Your character won’t live forever, although you might not play him or her to the end. If you had your choice of deaths for your character, what would it be? Death of old age, having survived through all his or her trials? Perhaps a bloody, violent death? A noble sacrifice? Happenstance? It can also provide an unusual layer of texture to your roleplaying, as you have a better understanding of your character’s fate. It will also tell you if your character is a tragic or heroic one. Finally, it can help your GM in resolving conflicts in-game if he or she has an idea of your comfort zone with threats to your character’s life.
Character Personality and Appearance - Doesn’t need to be detailed, a few sentences will do. I would like to know character height, build, age, and distinguishing characteristics.
Roleplaying Sample - Links to other characters you’ve played or, if you don’t have any or want to showcase this character, write a short scene involving them.
Player Questionnaire - Fill out the questionnaire below. It’s mostly to help me know where redlines are, where you’d like the story to go, and what you are expecting from me, though I do like getting to know people.
1. What time zone are you in?
2. How long have you been playing TTRPGs?
3. What’s your favorite part about playing TTRPGs?
4. What do you expect from this game?
5. What do you expect out of your fellow players?
6. What do you expect out of me?
7. (If you don't want this to be public, PM me the answer to this one and just note that you did so.) Beyond the obvious (generally stuff already prohibited by Paizo's forum rules,) what are your redlines? Are there any topics, themes, or imagery that you absolutely do not want to see in the game?
For the sake of everyone's sanity, be sure to put the original, english text in a spoiler and mark it as the language being used. In general, it's best to go in order and use a separate spoiler for each one. Especially if you're using the Zalgo generator.
For example wrote:
"میں بیوقوفوں سے گھرا ہوا ہوں۔," The Dread Lord of the Crypts sighed in Abyssal. He picked up his staff and settled into his throne. "Iltqajt sew! X’nista ’nagħmel għalik," he says in the goblin tongue, his voice cheery.
Abyssal
Spoiler:
"I am surrounded by idiots."
Goblin
Spoiler:
"Well met! What may I do for you?"
Tokens and Character Art
If you'd like to make life on your GM a little easier, here are some tools and resources that you can use to create tokens for the battlemap or pick out art for your character. While AI artbots are an option, I'd ask that you not use them due to ethical concerns about how they were/are developed. If you grab something online, please link back to the original artist in your character's profile.
Contact Information
If you need to contact me or would like to chat outside of the boards, here's my email and Discord username.
Email: salsa.the.geek@gmail.com
Discord: salsathegeek
Hey y'all, hope you're having a fine day/evening/night wherever you are. I'm working on an adventure that I'm planning on running in a Play By Post (PBP) game here on the forums and while I have a beginning and an end, I'm kinda lost on what to do about the bits in the middle.
The set up is this: The PCs are the more adventurous sorts in the small town the adventure centers around. The big secret is that the town's Lord and the families on the council that helps run the place have a deal with the undead priests in the ruined temple the town is built over. In exchange for not trying to depopulate the town and the occasional spell, the leaders of the town send down regular sacrifices, and every year one or two of the townsfolk go missing, because they were the ones that got picked when the time came.
The secret the council doesn't know is that the Lord, who's desperate for an heir, has struck a deal with the priests behind their backs. He'll get them more sacrifices for their dark god if they'll help him by doing a fertility ritual so he can finally have an heir.
What the Lord doesn't know is the undead priests are losing the power they need to stave off death. A lot of the sacrifices are being used in an attempt to strengthen their slumbering god and extend their own existences while also trying to keep the bargains they made.
As a result of all of this, over a dozen townsfolk have gone missing in the last six months and rumors about who's behind it are starting to flow around town. Some of them implicate the council and the lord of the town, which makes the lord nervous that someone is going to find out about the big secret he and the council have helped keep from the townsfolk since the town's founding a few centuries ago.
While all of this is going on, the Fey in the woods to the north of town are growing more restless as they feel something foul going on in the ruined temple. The two courts, the Summer and Winter courts, have been divided about what to do, but have slowly come to agree that they need to keep the townsfolk out. recently several woodsmen and huntsmen that maintain the forest and gather wood for the town's needs have been chased out by fey hunts. The latest incident before the start of the game
The adventure starts when the lord sees an opportunity to direct suspicions to the fey and summons the PCs to give them a quest to find out what is happening to the fey. In secret, he's sent out his knights to set up a trap for the PCs that will trick the fey into attacking, and possibly killing them. The knights have captured a fey, tortured them, and left them for the PCs to find, hopefully about the same time a fey Hunt happens upon them.
In the end, the plan is to have the PCs fight the lord, his knights, and the undead priests in the ruined temple below the town. Along the way, I want them to find clues and discover the big secrets of the town's council and the lord. The problem is that I don't know how to go about doing that.
I understand that one of the philosophies of some GMs is to plan less and let the players dictate the path of the adventure. If you've been here any length of time and looked at the online campaign section of the site, I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but the thing with PBP is that it's not like a regular game where you meet, play for a few hours, then have a week or two to plan for the next session. The game's always going in a sense. It's harder to run in a lot of ways, but as a reward you can get some really deep and meaningful stories out the games you run or play in with PBP. A lot of PBP games die because the GM burns out from having to constantly prepare and run the game. One of the ways to avoid that is to plan out and get everything ready before you ever make a post looking for a group. So to that end, I need some help figuring out how to plan out the paths that my players can take get from where the lord calls them into his great hall to send them on a quest to where they are fighting him and his minions and the undead priest behind this whole mess in the unholy temple of an evil, slumbering god.
Any and all help is appreciated. I'm looking for some help brainstorming and hashing this out and I look forward to seeing what y'all have to say and what questions y'all ask.
A deep, mournful howl sounds from distant, tree-shrouded mountains to the north and west. Clouds glow with the light of a half-moon as they race across the sky on moaning winds. The trees whisper angrily at any fool who passes beneath their boughs this night. Sleep is hard to come by with so many ill omens in the air.
"Welcome and well met stranger," the short, exotic woman with black hair and a large grin says. "Pull up a chair and spin us a yarn. If it's good enough, first one's on the house!"
It's been a while since I've run something on the boards, and I've got the itch again. The only problem is, I'm not sure what I want to run, or rather, I've got too many ideas for what to run. I'm hoping that the good folks here can help me narrow things down. Basically, I'm fishing to see what gets a bite, hence the name of the thread. These are just ideas and may not be exactly like the game I wind up running. Mostly, it's me brainstorming and trying to get my thoughts in writing. Systems are the options I have to run the game in and are listed no particular order.
So, here's what I'm mulling over.
Urban Fantasy Monster Hunting
You're a group of people that have been touched by the strange, the fantastic, and the dark. You solve mysteries, protect that and those which need it, and put down monsters. Adventures would be a mix of exploration, social interactions, combat, and mystery. You could all be part of a larger organization, an independent company, freelance, or some combination of any of these. Inspiration would be from the Dresden Files, The Ancient Magus' Bride, and various bits of myth, legend, and folklore.
Systems:
- Fate Core
- Monster of the Week
- Savage Worlds - Adventurer's Edition (SWADE)
=======
The Imperial Academy
You're students, faculty, or staff at the Imperial Academy. Between classes you'll have to deal with bureaucrats building vest-pocket empires, nobles seeking advantages in court or just trying to get you kicked out, Mad scholars who've spent too long looking at forbidden tomes, and lab accidents that produce sentient slimes, just to name a few of the challenges you can expect. Inspiration would be from Harry Potter, various shows and comics that feature magic schools, and some things that I've learned over the years about how universities and schools function.
Systems:
- Pathfinder 1e
- Dungeons and Dragons 5e
- Fate Core
- Savage Worlds - Adventurer's Edition (SWADE)
======
Dungeon Crawl, Classic
The OG, the granddaddy of 'em all, the one, the only Dungeon Crawl! You're adventurers seeking fame, fortune, and perhaps some lost and currently single royalty. Fair warning, I tend to be silly running these. Inspiration would be from various adventures, shows, novels, and whatever wild hair I get from looking over character backstories.
Systems:
- Pathfinder 1e
- Dungeons and Dragons 5e
- Fate Core
- Savage Worlds - Adventurer's Edition (SWADE)
- Dungeon World
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Games in SPAAAACE!
You're a band of mercenaries, bounty hunters, outlaws, or perhaps some other form of rapscallion. You're looking for fame, fortune, and enough credits to pay off that slugman you botched one job for. Inspiration would be from Star Wars, Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, with some stuff I've had banging around in my head since middle school.
Systems:
- Fate Core
- Mindjammer
- Savage Worlds - Adventurer's Edition (SWADE)
- Dungeon Planet/Dungeon World
======
Something Completely Different
This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you've got a character looking for that perfect game, or you've got ideas for a setting you've always wanted to play in, lay them out here. I'm brainstorming here, trying to settle on an idea. If you have something you're interested in, let me know. Sometimes things just spark and ideas combine and flow to make something that's better than what I would have come up with on my own.
Systems:
- Pretty much everything listed above.
======
A note on length. At the moment, I'm planning on running an adventure and seeing where it goes after that. While I can't promise anything beyond that, I can promise we will reach a good conclusion before I end the game.
So, with all of that said, I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you. I'll leave this open for at least two weeks. Any longer than that depends on how things go.
I'm a player in a Curse of the Crimson Throne game that just got past the first adventure. Unfortunately our GM had to bow out and we now find our merry band of do-gooders listless and floundering just out of the docks.
We just finished Lamm off and we're at the Sanctuary of Shelyn in the Five Corners district where one of the PCs has ties and where we sent the Lamm's Lambs that didn't run off into the night. Everything is currently going sideways.
The last thing any of you remember before waking up with a splitting headache is ordering a drink in the Pressgang Pub. Sure it's located in the seediest of the seedy parts of town and has beggars that will as soon as knife you as look at you, but the ale is good and cheap and the dragon wings are to die for. You find yourselves blindfolded and tided at the wrists and ankles. The rough rope is sure to leave marks and the smell of death that is ever pervasive in this what you can only assume to be a cold, stone room from the feeling of the floor has surely permeated your clothing. Strangely, you feel that you are not alone as you hear others breathing and shuffling around as you wake up, and it appears that you are not gagged.
Feel free to start introducing your characters. No one can see, so no visual descriptions just yet.
Welcome one and all! I'm happy that all of you showed interest and submitted some interesting characters. I hope you'll enjoy this silly adventure while it lasts.
You should have all received a link to the DnD Beyond campaign in the PM I sent. Please go ahead and create your characters there. If you need some assistance, I'll help however I can. Once everyone's ready I'll get the game rolling, but in the meantime, we can get everyone introduced and get the banter going.
Lemme know if you have any questions. I'll post a little bit more about myself in a bit.
Welcome one and all! I'm happy that all of you showed interest and submitted some interesting characters. I hope you'll enjoy this silly adventure while it lasts.
You should have all received a link to the DnD Beyond campaign in the PM I sent. Please go ahead and create your characters there. If you need some assistance, I'll help however I can. Once everyone's ready I'll get the game rolling, but in the meantime, we can get everyone introduced and get the banter going.
Lemme know if you have any questions. I'll post a little bit more about myself in a bit.
You all gather in the Pressgang Pub of Whaddamacallit to drink and swap tales while counting out the treasure of your latest haul and playing cards and dice. It's a lovely evening, what you can remember of it when you wake up at least. Speaking of, what exactly was in that last drink you had?
Welcome! I've got the itch to run something again and instead of overcommitting, I thought I'd aim much lower and run with a short, silly adventure that should scratch it and have a decent chance of seeing completion. As you might guess from the blurb up top, the premise is that you've been shang-hai'd into helping with dinner. This is also supposed to be a silly adventure, so this is a time to try out those weird and oddball builds that you'd never get to play otherwise.
I'm posting the Character Creation rules below, but this is more about personalities and characters than stats. We will be using DnD Beyond to create and keep track of characters, but I won't be giving out the campaign link until after recruitment, so for this, you'll just need your ability scores and an idea of what you'll be building. In addition to this concept, you'll need to give a brief overview of your character's personality and background, as well as answering a questionnaire towards the bottom of this post. If I did no make something clear or if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
Also, be sure to check out the requirements checklist at the bottom of the post. If this is not followed, I will not be considering your character.
So, the TL;DR for all of this is:
- What?: Silly adventure with wacky characters
- System: Dungeons and Dragons 5e
- Where?: Posts here on the Paizo boards with character tracking in DnD Beyond.
- Who?: Some dork in Alabama who thinks he's funny. :P
- When?: Recruitment is open until 00:00 CST on March 1, 2020.
- How Many?: I'll only be taking five.
Character Creation
- 5th level
- Any player options or equipment from the following is allowed
-- Player's Handbook
-- Dungeon Master's Guide
-- Eberron: Rising from the Last War
-- Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
-- Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
-- Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
-- The Tortle Package
-- Volo's Guide to Monsters
-- Xanathar's Guide to Everything
- Roll HP
- Roll 4d6 drop lowest for stats. Rerolls will be considered in extreme cases.
- Evil characters must be capable of working with a team.
- Pick two uncommon magic items
- 500 gp for other gear.
- We are using feats, and all characters get a free feat at first level.
Questionnaire
- What does your character look like? What do they wear?
- What is your character's biggest fear?
- What is their favorite food?
- Can you or your character cook? How good are you/they?
- What do you expect from me as the DM?
- What kinds of humor do you like?
Requirements Checklist
- All requirements must be posted in a single post together and clearly labeled.
- Character concept and ability scores. You may post a full build if you wish, but it will need to be ported to DnD Beyond if you are selected.
- Brief description of your character's personality
- Brief description of your character's background
- Questionnaire
Personality
Schneez is a brilliant gnomish wizard that was wrongfully deprived of his proper place as an Archmage of the Ninth Circle in the city of Aranioxis, in his own mind. He is an arcanist of some skill, but has gone mad over the years, probably from the fumes of his own potions. He has a quick temper and is easily angered by mentions of his height being less than three feet. He is three feet tall, thank you! If your measurements have him pegged as two feet eight and 5/32 inches, then you must have calibrated them wrong!
He has a love of dauschunds and waffles. His manic tendencies are only exacerbated by his seconds long attention span. He's easily distracted by any and everything and has no sense of personal boundaries, often asking highly personal and inappropriate questions.
Background
Schneez was born to a couple of assistants to Doomfoodle the Boned. In time Schneez showed talent for the arcane and found himself Doomfoodle's apprentice. After Doomfoodle's defeat, Schneez left for Aranioxis where he was rejected time and again by the archmages there, claiming he was too unstable and foolhardy for them to teach. He persisted, brewing potions to make a living in the meantime. Finally, he was jailed and tried for harassment, only to be acquitted on a technicality. He's made his way from town to town since then, selling potions and plotting his revenge, which often involve childish pranks and hopelessly optimistic assumptions.
Questionnaire - What does your character look like? What do they wear?
Schneez is a short, wiry gnome with pasty white skin and a shock of pink hair that stands out from his head and face like dandelion fuzz. His fingers are stained with a dozen different colors from his potion making and his middle makes him look like he ate a melon whole. He wears robes that have been stained and frayed by the years, preferring the one that is purple and blue with gold trim. His low-cut boots are too big for his feet and he often runs out of them when in a hurry. He wears a golden rope as a belt that he hangs his spellbook from, or tries to. More often than not, the book and rope wind up around his ankles.
- What is your character's biggest fear?
Schneez fears nothing more than cats. He believes they steal souls.
- What is their favorite food?
Cabbage and bean soup with a healthy dollop of sweetened and whipped cream.
- Can you or your character cook? How good are you/they?
I can cook. Schneez... well he's wanted for poisoning his last party a few counties over the last time he tried. I at least haven't made anyone die of food poisoning. :P
- What do you expect from me as the DM?
I hope I make this a fun and memorable adventure for all of you. Please put what you really want out of me here. I'll do my best to live up to those expectations.
- What kinds of humor do you like?
I like puns and wordplay and things that are slightly absurd. I have a tendency to rely on situational humor for my characters. i'm not a big fan of toilet humor or most of the jokes and gags I've found in Family Guy, the Simpsons, Southpark, etc. I like a lot of the humor in Calvin and Hobbes, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Dragon Prince.
Ah yes! Welcome! Welcome! Come and have a seat by the fire. Are you here for the tales or just my company? I have many of the former and many have said I'm good for the latter.
So, my friend, what tales have you come seeking this evening?
As you may have seen, I'm checking to see who out there would be interested in playing in a game run by yours truly. I'm new to D&D 5e, but I do have a fair bit of experience with Pathfinder and a few other games. I am still learning the rules, but I feel confident enough to run at least a low-level game.
So, without further ado, here's what I am currently mulling over.
Game Ideas
- Urban adventures taking place in Waterdeep, Balder's Gate, or some other city. I'm tempted to try and make this one more collaborative since I think it'll help people be more involved if they have a hand in building the city, but using an established city would make it easier for players to dive in.
- Exploration a la Keep on the Borderlands. I like the exploration aspect of Kingmaker, but I'm not really wanting to run a kingdom building adventure (at least not yet.) I think I could have some fun with this one. IF there is any building by the PCs, it'll be building their keep as they explore.
- Something Zany, perhaps? Blame this one on watching the Slayers and rereading Mr. Welch's list. Expect cornball jokes and lots of ham. This one would be one for the none-too-serious with tropes and stereotypes being played for laughs. This one would definitely be a seat of the pants deal.
So there you have it. Let me know what grabs your interest and comment below.
Hail and well met! I'm Talliree and those louts over there are the rest of the crew. I'll be honest, we're in need of work and you look like you're the right man? Woman? Er? Sorry Kinda hard to tell with all the shadow. Anyway! You look like the right person for the job! You see, we're doin' a heist, but our Dungeon Master seems to have slipped from this virtual coil, or fallen off the face of Faerun, not sure really. I tend to leave that kinda thinkin' to Ellena or Hob. Point is he's flown the coop and now we're stuck with no sense of direction, and that's just bad for business leaving a bunch of folk talented in the arts o' mayhem and chaos bored with nothin' ta do but drink ourselves stupid. So, are you up to the task?
Hey there. As you might have guessed we're a group that was just getting started (barely three encounters in) to the Waterdeep Dragon Heist when our DM was abducted by carnivorous bunnies and real life got in the way, we guess. We've gotten past the troll fight at the Yawning Portal and have managed to not start a fight at a much seedier joint and are now sitting on top of some Kenku prisoners after tracking the plot down to a warehouse owned by the Zhentarim. The party consists of:
Hello and welcome to the Kobalt Kobold. Feel free to kick back and relax. Have one on the house and spin a yarn or two.
So, feel free to post out of character discussions, rants, and random bits of silliness here. Feel free to make plans out of character as well and to explain any reasoning you may have for your character's actions.
But mostly, feel free to goof off here. It's supposed to be fun after all. :)
In the darkness it stirs, plotting and planning. It ponders the black between even as it covets the knowledge kept secret by others. It will be soon now. Soon enough. It can wait. It can wait just a little longer.
Dot and delete your post in this thread to add this to your campaigns.
The Short Version Genre: Super Heroes!
Setting: 2018-2019 Major Southern Metro area in Alabama or possibly Georgia or Florida.
Tone: Semi-silly. While I want to provide some room to explore more serious topics, I really want something that's just fun to run and play. Think more early 2000's Teen Titans, Guardians of the Galaxy (Vols. 1 & 2), Thor: Ragnarok and less current DC cinematic universe or 90's comics.
System: Savage Worlds, Fate Core, or something PbtA. I'd rather the first two options since the last one means I either have to buy something or build it myself. I'm open to ideas though especially if a bunch of people are really each for one particular system. D20 and GURPS are out though. The first isn't really want I want and the second takes way too much planning for me to run this in.
The Long Version
So, I'm thinking about running a supers game here that takes place in a fictional Chattahoochee City, located about where Columbus, GA and Phenix City, AL are. (Other options include cities based on Montgomery, AL; Mobile, AL; Atlanta, GA; and Pensacola, FL. Montgomery could be fun since I live just north of it in Prattville, AL) Meta-humans, also known as supers or capes after comic book super heroes, have been around since WWI, though it wasn't until the 50's and 60's that they began appearing in significant numbers. The game would take place in the modern day, but with some advances that were thought to have occurred by now back in the 50's and 40's, such as fusion reactors providing cheap power and some other sci-fi trappings, though I'm not sure what all I'll include. If anyone has a particular preference, let me know.
I'm mainly look for something fun and perhaps even a bit goofy, okay, really goofy. While I appreciate settings that go through and think about how having a bunch of super-powered beings running around would affect the world at large and what kinds of laws and institutions would have to be implemented and how all that affects daily life, I'm going to be doing enough to give a framework to work off of and give the players some suspenders for their disbelief. It's supposed to be the kind fo world where everything's awesome and villains are hammy. There's still room to explore and looking into deep themes, but mostly I want this to be fun and enjoyable. I'm looking for players who want to play a Spiderman expy that snarks his opponents while webbing them up in embarrassing ways or a Superman expy that's always the first one to throw himself in front of the monster of the week and suffers from stage-fright.
Finally, there's the systems. I have both Fate and Savage Worlds, and I'm not at all adverse to running a PbtA supers ruleset, though I'd have to find one or make my own. While I have GURPS and the companions that help with running a supers game, I'm not going to be using it. I like the system, but good grief does it take forever to set things up. Honestly, I'd prefer Savage Worlds, but I'm open to whatever system people want to play.
So, yeah, thanks for reading that rambling mess above if you've made it this far. I'd hand out cookies, but the Pastry Chef of Buckery Ridge animated them and is trying to get them to march in formation. I know things are vague, but mainly I want to run a Supers game in an area I know and live in. Everything else is negotiable and if there's no clear consensus, I'll just make a decision and move with it.
A cold wind howls over a savage land bathed in the wan light of a sun hanging low over the southern horizon. It's cry reaches out of the lands, a warning of the dangers here.
Deep below, in the twisting caves of the Dark Lands, a people twisted and warped hear the whispers of something calling them to act. To set something in motion. To reach out for the surface and cover the lands like a cloying shadow.
Okay, so you if you're here, thanks for accepting the invitation! I've been having an itch to run something and, I'll be honest, my recent listening choices have influenced my choice to run Rise of the Drow. I'm changing the background of the town you start off in somewhat, but the effect on how this goes is pretty much nil. Below is some information to get you started.
The Village of Iron Bay
Many years have passed since the Klavekian Kingdoms claimed a final, bloody victory over the barbarian tribes of the Vikmordere. Now, what was once the center of the Klavekian beachhead is nothing more than a distant outpost of the kingdoms, their foothold in the bitterly cold northlands. The village's original name has been forgotten, and the Klavekians have chosen to name the place Iron Bay after the two features that continue to make it a relevant concern for the leaders back in the capital.
The iron mines nearby provide honest work for those that wish to start anew, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. Their loss was the death knell of the Vikmorderean resistance to Klavekian rule and their ore provides the Klavekian Kingdoms with much needed iron for their legions.
The bay provides a safe harbor for the few ships plying the treacherous northern waters. It's main importance to the village is as a steady food source. Many of those who do not work the mines fish the bay to provide for their families.
To adventurers and treasure hunters, however, Iron Bay is the gateway to the northern wilds. Many of those that come seeking the ruins and tombs of long lost kingdoms and forgotten expeditions are never heard from again, but the lure of powerful magics and unplundered hoards continues to draw the brave, desperate, and foolish to the north, and those that stay slowly grow the small village.
The World Beyond
Other than the Klavekian Kingdoms, which is like the Roman Empire with more of a feudal spin to it and lie to the southeast of Iron Bay and the sea that makes sailing there more economical than trekking over the mountains that form the Northern border of the Klavekian Kingdoms, the map is pretty much blank. Even the Klavekian Kingdoms are just sketched in. Background in this game isn't going to be all that important for the PCs since you're not going to encounter anything while traipsing about the Dark Lands.
That said, if you want to detail your homeland, feel free to do so and I'll try to work it in somehow.
Character Build
Good news here is I'm going to leave this open for the most part. There are a few things that I am going to nail down now though.
- 20-point Attribute Buy
- Background Skills are in use.
- As are Artistry and Lore
- We are using Fractional Bonuses.
- Paizo Only, though this one's softer than the others.
- No Drow, At least not at first.
Things may be adjusted depending on how many players we have.
I think that's it for now. Be sure to dot the gameplay thread so this shows up in your campaign tabs.
A fire crackles in the hearth as many stare sullenly into their mugs. The keeper continues to wipe the same tankard out as a young woman makes a half-hearted attempt to lift the mood with a song. Which one of them will be next? Farmer Dalven over there in his customary hat and the scars over his blind, left from a near miss with a goblin? Kospin the cobbler hunched over the bar as he peers down into his still full mug of honeyed mead? Dalia the baker sat at a table in the corner, henpecking her husband?
A cold wind whistles over the chimney, a herald to the coming storm. Old Man Galen is complaining that it'll be a bad one, his hip tells him so. Something faint can be heard in the distance. A scream? No one moves to investigate. No one asks any questions. No one seems to care.
Welcome to the discussion thread. Rules discussions, extended commentary on the game, and just about everything else not related to playing the game goes here. I hope you guys have fun and I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes. :)
It is a cold and moonless night. The stars are covered by clouds, the vanguard of a coming storm. Autumn is fast turning to winter and soon the snows will make travel even more treacherous. A scream breaks the quiet before being cut frightfully short. Blood stains the dusty street as the first drops of rain begin to fall.
A Killer Stalks the Night
Black Barrow, a small, dull town out near the wilds that border a failing kingdom, where people live and work under the shadow of a mound covered in black grass and choked by thorny briars. There are as many stories about the Black Barrow as there are patrons of the taverns, each more fantastic and unbelievable than the last. Avoid the town lord's notice, don't anger the oft-drunk sheriff, and all will be well.
Or so the townspeople had thought.
The priest was found dead on the altar, his heart ripped from his chest and his blood staining the stone floor of his church. A farmer was hung in front of the inn he was staying at while selling his crops like a scarecrow, his throat opened from ear to ear. The city lord's mistress was strangled using the pearls he'd given her the night before in her rooms at the finest inn in the area. The murders have people near panic and distrustful.
Was it the young acolyte who moved here a few months ago?
There's always been rumors about Old Hald and his unnatural pursuits.
Could it have been some demon in the night trying to sow discord?
Someone has to stop the murder and bring him to justice before the town falls into riots and rips itself apart, but who?
To whom it may concern...
This is (supposed to be) a short adventure where the PCs try to solve the mystery surrounding the murders that have been occuring in Black Barrow over the recent months. Black Barrow is set in Aletheria, which is a homebrew setting. More specifically, it's in Sal-Kavun, in woodlands near the road to the Kingdom of Trinia. You don't need to know much about the setting, but it's there if you want to peruse and ask questions about. I would like the party to mostly be from Black Barrow, however, so keep that in mind.
This is a murder mystery, so skills that can help you gather information, suss out what is true and what are lies from those that you interrogate, and spot clues will be helpful. To help out fighters and barbarians, they can pick two skills as class skills that aren't already. In addition, All classes get an extra 2 skill points.
Black Barrow is a provincial town that lies far from the sophisticated and decadent cities. The townsfolk are superstitious and view magic not from priests or other clergy with suspicion. Arcane casters that openly display their magic take a -2 penalty to all Cha-based skills when dealing with the townsfolk of Black Barrow and the townsfolk will start as unfriendly to you. The DCs to improve their attitudes are also 5 higher than normal. There are some casters that wizards and magi can learn from, but anyone who openly associates with such people are also subject to the above penalties.
Clerics, inquisitors, oracles, paladins, and warpriests worship the Three Goddesses, also called the Three maidens. They can, however, be granted spells and powers by the Guardians as well, though these casters are also worshippers of the Three. If you choose a class that has access to domains, choose any of the domains that you want and I'll work with you to make sure that it makes sense and that any spells that aren't right for a goodly god to grant are swapped out for ones that are. Below is the religion section from the document above for your convenience.
Religion in Aletheria:
The Three Goddesses
The Three Goddesses, or the Three Maidens as they are also known, are the creators of Aletheria. One is the Maiden of Day, celebrating Valor and Honor. Another is the Maiden of Night, the keeper of secrets and wonders. The third is the Maiden of Dawn and the Maiden of Dusk, the herald of life and the warden of death. They created the celestials as their servants and the Guardians to ward their creations from harm.
They were born of the first gods, Aleth and Aeria. Together, they gave birth to the Three Maidens, and it was the gift of creation that was their greatest gift to their daughters. Sadly, Jealousy grew in their hearts as they watched their daughters work on the heavens. They turned the Three Maidens’ servants against them and did battle against their daughters.
In time, both Aleth and Aeria were slain and their corrupted servants scattered across the abyss. The Three Maidens crafted a new world from their parents’ remains and named it Aletheria, in thanks for their birth and in a hope that the world would be their legacy.
The Guardians
The divine servitors of the Three Maidens, these beings are gods in their own right and often find themselves at odds with one another where their interests meet.
The first of these guardians is the First Dragon, and the one who can control all of the elements. She asked for and was granted the power to create servitors of her own to aid her. She first created Alwyn and Caderyn, dragons with dominion over light, water, and sky and earth, fire, and shadow respectively. They grew arrogant and soon began razing the works of the mortals on Aletheria. It was only when the First Dragon and an army of mages and knights subdued, then cursed them, that their rampage ceased.
Since that time, the First Dragon has created six other servitors to aid her. One for each of the elements. The Three Maidens have also made new Guardians, most of them mortals who had proven themselves capable of great deeds, even at great personal cost.
The Fiends
The Fiends were once the servants of the Three Maidens. When Aleth and Aeria turned on them in jealousy, they corrupted some of the servants the Three Maidens had created. These became the fiends, and the chief among them still seek to subjugate the Three Maidens and rule the Heavens and Aletheria as they see fit.
Another thing to keep in mind is that nobles in this world (or at least in this kingdom) can do whatever they wish with practical impunity. Commoners who do not treat nobles respectfully can be jailed, or even killed if the offense is severe enough. I'm not going to open the slavery can of worms, but there is definitely a difference between the classes that you'll be running into. I hope that this will not be an issue since I'm also hoping that we're all people of reasonable maturity. If you feel this is going to be a problem for you, then please do not apply. We'll be coming face to face with class differences and the town lord's family are typical Kavuni nobles, which is to say spoiled, vain, and decadent.
Character creation rules: Materials Allowed
-Core, Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Advanced Race Guide, Advanced Class Guide, and Pathfinder Unchained only.
- Use the unchained versions of the Monk, Rogue, and Summoner. I like the original Barbarian better, but I'll allow either version.
-3rd party is not allowed.
-Races: Core Races + Tiefling, Aasimar, Changling, Ifrit, Udine, Oread, and Slyph
-If you want, you can roll for Aasimar and Tiefling variant abilities. Use the chart here for Aasimar abilities, and the chart here for Tiefling abilities. They are labeled Variant Aasimar/Tiefling Abilities. Please roll in the recruitment thread. Roll thrice and pick one. If you roll, you have to take one of the three options.
-Classes: No Gunslinger, or any archetype that uses guns
-Alignment: No evil
Character Build
-Starting at 1st level
-20 point buy, no stat can be higher than 18 or lower than 8 before racial modifiers.
-Average gold for your class
-Max HP at first, Roll half-HD + average, so d6 would roll 1d3+3, d8 would roll 1d4+4, and so on.
-Two Traits.
-We are using Background Skills From unchained
-We are using Artistry and Lore
-We are using Fractional bonuses, which isn't really going to matter unless you multi-class.
-We'll also be using Hero Points, your character starts with 1.
House Rules:
-All classes get 2 extra skill points per level.
-Fighters and Barbarians can pick two skills that are not already class skills as class skills.
Character Flavor
-Background: Needs to be at least a few sentences.
-Personality
-Appearance: Can be sparse on details, but I would like to know how tall they are and what their build is (are they squat, slender, a curvaceous bombshell, a studly studmuffin, a studly lego, etc.) If you can find a picture, link to it.
-[Optional] Complete one or both lists of questions. This won't necessarily increase your chances, but if it helps paint an interesting picture of your character, it certainly won't hurt.
Twenty questions to help you create a backstory for your character.:
Found here
What is your character’s name?
How old is your character?
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Where was your character born?
Where were you raised?
By who?
Who are your parents?
Are they alive?
What do they do for a living?
Do you have any other family or friends?
What is your character’s marital status?
Kids?
What is your character’s alignment?
What is your character’s moral code?
Does your character have goals?
Is your character religious?
What are your character’s personal beliefs?
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Why does your character adventure?
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
How does your character get along with others?
Is there anything that your character hates?
Is there anything that your character fears?
Concept
These are the fundamentals, the broadest strokes. Every character should have answers to these five, including NPCs. It’s the quickest way to give the sense of a full individual instead of a cardboard stereotype.
1. What emotion best describes your character? Find one primary emotion your character expresses. Try to use a colorful, specific word to describe it. For instance, instead of “angry” you might say “vengeful” or “raging,” or instead of happy you might say “cheerful” or “exalting.”
2. What emotion does your character evoke in others? How do others react to you? Do you impress, scare, calm, excite, or perhaps annoy? Again try to find the most specific term you can. Is this reaction different between friends and enemies?
3. What does your character need most? If your character had everything he or she needed, why go on an adventure? Most people’s needs are fairly universal, although they can change over time. Common needs are survival, security, companionship, esteem, romance, family, or wisdom. Consider what your character’s starting needs are, and where you want them to be by the end of the adventure or campaign. It helps to establish this need with the GM, to ensure it fits with the themes of the game.
4. What is your character’s goal in life? This should be the principle, underlying motivation for everything your character thinks, says, and does. If your character were lying on the brink of death, what makes him or her cling to life? What could your character lose that he or she would consider worse than death? This goal is often broad, and sometimes unachievable. Whatever the nature of the goal, it should be something your character can strive for his or her entire life. The best goals are ones that can be threatened, as they will help create more compelling adventures. Ideas include justice, revenge, protecting loved ones, redeeming one’s self, or gaining some kind of power. When you think of something, ask yourself “why?” to make sure it isn’t because of some larger, more important goal.
5. How does your character believe this goal can be accomplished? Because the goal can often be ideological, the method to achieving it is sometimes equally insubstantial. Your character’s methods should be strongly tied to beliefs (or lack of beliefs), and primarily be a decision of lifestyle. A character bent on revenge might consider perfecting a fighting discipline, while a character devoted to a cause might consider a religious or philosophical doctrine.
Background
For any campaign, a character should have come from somewhere. Spend any length of time with someone and their history is bound to come up. These questions give your character history, and therefore dramatic and emotional weight.
6. Where did your character come from? Consider your character’s initial roots, before he or she was a teenager. These times are what shape your character the most. Who were your parents? Where did you live? What was your family’s economic and social status? How were you educated? What were the three most important lessons you learned?
7. When did you grow up? Everyone begins taking responsability for their own lives at different times and in different ways. Describe the events related to when your character started taking care of him- or herself.
8. What values does your character hold? Name three things your character considers sacred, and three things he or she is idealogically opposed to. These things will usually stem from a combination of your goals and your personal history. Consider especially where the values came from. Was your character taught these values? Did they develop as a reaction to something your character considered noble or diabolical? Establish lines that your character will not cross in pursuit of his or her goal to add challenge to playing your character.
9. How does your character dress? Start generally with an overall statement of the quality of your character’s appearance, such as projected social status, trade, common activities, or how groomed or slovenly your character is. Begin to hone in on telling details, especially those things that most people take for granted. How exactly does your character style his or her hair? What decorative articles does your character wear, such as jewelry, decorated buttons or buckles, a belt, gloves, etc.?One especially telling detail is footwear. Describe in detail what your character wears on his or her feet, including cut, tightness or looseness, heel height, sole hardness or softness, lacing/buckling/tying or lack thereof, toe shape (square, round, pointed…?), color, material, shininess, cleanliness, repair or disrepair, and any other details you can think of.
10. What are your character’s means? Consider all the resources your character has. This should include material resources such as money and property, social resources such as friends and allies, and personal resources such as skill, courage, strength, wits, etc. It might help to make a list of all your character’s resources that he or she might use to overcome adversity. Consider challenges like fights, puzzles, traveling, persuading (and being persuaded), and any others.
Details
Now we’re picking nits. These five are all about texture and color. These answers take your character beyond an adventure serial persona and into reality. Answers to these make your characters memorable for years.
11. What are your character’s personal tastes? Name at least three things your character enjoys for no reason other than personal preference. A good place to start is with each of the five senses. Consider a sound, smell, taste, feeling, or sight that is uniquely pleasing to your character. Also consider activities such as hobbies or habits. Name three things your character dislikes, as well.
12. What are your character’s opinions? Decide upon at least three major aspects of local society and your character’s opinion on them. This could be generalizations such as rich or poor people, more specific areas like a particular political or religious group, or very specific things like a prominent individual or an aspect of the character’s job. Check with your GM for relevant things in the campaign to have opinions about.
13. What is your character’s comfort zone? What environment, activity, or mindset puts your character at ease? This can add a lot of color to your character during stressful moments, as he or she will have a place to go or a thing to do at these times. It helps to have a comfort zone broken up into the above parts so at least some of it is portable.
14. Who has had the biggest impact on your character’s life? Name and briefly describe at least one person who had a significant impact on how your character perceives the world today. You can name more than one, but they should each reflect different aspects of your character’s beliefs. Use this as a reference point when your character has to make difficult decisions (i.e., “What would so-and-so do?”).
15. What are some of your character’s unexpected quirks? Name three things that are unexpected about the way your character behaves, such as things that go against his or her normal social status, age, or trade. How about three unexpected talents or abilities like being able to sing, or knowing some trivial knowledge, or being good at math? Three things your character can’t do that most other people can such as whistling, swimming, or reading well? How about three things your character fears, such as heights, dogs, or insects?
Player
These five questions direct your play experience itself rather than your character. What do you want out of your game? If a group answers these together, they can expect dramatically rewarding game sessions, and the GM will know clearly what’s expected to give everyone a good time.
16. What kind of story does your character belong in? Who are the characters your character interacts with? What settings does he or she inhabit? What themes are important? What conflicts does your character face? These things are important to understand so your GM can create adventures that will engage your character, and so you will have a better chance at getting along with your fellow players’ characters.
17. What role does your character fill? Roleplaying is all about the ensemble cast. Make sure you fill a unique role in the party, and you aren’t stepping on anyone else’s toes. Consider your role in the interpersonal relations of the party, your role in combat, what skills your character is best at, and what thematic note your character hits.
18. What should the other players know about your character? These should be major thematic points, your character’s general emotion (if it isn’t secret), potential surprises or areas that might be difficult, and any other pertinent information. Also start sketching out potential interactions, such as another character you might go to for help (or who might go to you for help), or someone you’ll probably butt heads with. Getting these things out in the open is important to ensure there aren’t unpleasant surprises.
19. What is your play style? Do you like heavy character immersion, or attention to detail in the rules, or perhaps you’re especially goal-oriented? Maybe you’re a bit competitive. Do you prefer lots of colorful descriptions, or a quicker framework understanding of situations? Do you speak in your character’s voice? You may not even be aware of your own play style. Keep this in mind as you play so you can better communicate with your fellow players about the direction of the party as a whole, and the course of the adventure. This also helps your GM understand your personal needs at the gaming table.
20. How do you want your character to die? Your character won’t live forever, although you might not play him or her to the end. If you had your choice of deaths for your character, what would it be? Death of old age, having survived through all his or her trials? Perhaps a bloody, violent death? A noble sacrifice? Happenstance? It can also provide an unusual layer of texture to your roleplaying, as you have a better understanding of your character’s fate. It will also tell you if your character is a tragic or heroic one. Finally, it can help your GM in resolving conflicts in-game if he or she has an idea of your comfort zone with threats to your character’s life.
Miscellaneous Stuff regarding your submission
-Your submission won't be complete until you've posted the following in a single post or posted in your character's profile with a link to it. (in other words, Put all of it in one place so I can find it using both hands.)
-You'll need your character's stats, background, personality, appearance, and answers to the questions below.
Questions from your GM
-Who are you and how are you doing?
-How often do you tend to post?
-What kind of tone are you looking for in this game? (I'll be honest, this one's going to be on the dark side.)
-What do you expect out of your fellow players?
-What do you expect out of me (the GM)?
-What is your comfort zone? Where's the line for you in RP terms?
-How do you see your character progressing as a character?
So, if I haven't scared you off yet, you should have something like this when you're done:
sample submission wrote:
HI, this is my character Gazebo the Magnificent!
Stats:
Something like the official stat-blocks from Paizo here. You can see what I'm looking for with the example below with one of my characters:
Josephina Annabella Whitehall
Female human (Chelaxian) paladin 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +1
Aura courage (10 ft.)
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 21 (+7 armor, +1 deflection, +1 Dex, +3 shield)
hp 44 (5d10+10)
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +8
Immune disease, fear
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee +1 longsword +11 (1d8+5/19-20) or
. . dagger +9 (1d4+4/19-20) or
. . heavy shield bash +9 (1d4+4) or
. . unarmed strike +9 (1d3+4 nonlethal)
Ranged light crossbow +6 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 3/day (DC 14, 3d6), smite evil 2/day (+2 attack and AC, +5 damage)
Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +7)
. . At will—detect evil
Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
. . 1st—cure light wounds (2)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 21
Feats Extra Lay on Hands, Shield Focus, Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Versatility
Traits alabaster outcast, mediator, sacred touch
Skills Acrobatics -5 (-9 to jump), Appraise +1, Diplomacy +11, Handle Animal +6, Heal +7, Knowledge (nobility) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Linguistics +3, Perform (sing) +7, Ride -1, Sense Motive +6
Languages Celestial, Common, Thassilonian, Varisian
SQ divine bond (mount), lay on hands 6/day (2d6), mercy (shaken), sheltered
Other Gear breastplate, heavy wooden shield, +1 longsword, dagger, light crossbow, ring of feather falling, bedroll, blanket[APG], cleric's vestments, explorer's outfit (2), masterwork backpack[APG], noble's outfit, signet ring, silver holy symbol of Iomedae, waterskin, 14 gp, 4 sp
--------------------
Special Abilities
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Animal Companion Link (Ex) Handle or push Animal Companion faster, +4 to checks vs. them.
Aura of Courage +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. fear.
Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell).
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Fear (Ex) You are immune to all fear effects.
Lay on Hands (2d6 hit points, 6/day) (Su) As a standard action (swift on self), touch channels positive energy and applies mercies.
Mercy (Shaken) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the shaken condition.
Paladin Channel Positive Energy 3d6 (3/day, DC 14) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Can cast spells with a target of "you" on animal companion, as touch spells.
Sheltered You become shaken when you have less than half your maximum hit points.
Smite Evil (2/day) (Su) +2 to hit, +5 to damage, +2 deflection bonus to AC when used.
Weapon Versatility Weapon w/ Weapon Focus: shift grip to alter damage to B/P/S (free act.).
--------------------
Animal Companion
Wolf
CG Medium animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 17 (+1 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 enhancement, +5 natural)
hp 45 (5d8+20)
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +3
Defensive Abilities evasion
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 50 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +5 (1d3+2 nonlethal) or
. . bite +6 (1d6+4)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Improved Natural Armor, Toughness
Tricks Attack, Attack, Attack Any Target, Combat Riding, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel, Hunt
Skills Acrobatics +9 (+17 to jump), Perception +7, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +7; Racial Modifiers +4 to survival when tracking by scent
SQ attack any target, combat riding, hunt
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Special Abilities
--------------------
+4 to Survival when tracking by Scent +4 to Survival when tracking by Scent.
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.
Evasion (Ex) No damage on successful reflex save.
Hunt [Trick] Hunts or forages for food to bring to handler.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.
Trip (Ex) You can make a trip attempt on a successful attack.
Background:
Put your backstory here. I don't mind reading a novel if you bang one out by accident.
Appearance and Personality:
Can be separate or together, just so long as they are both there, and you put in how tall your character is. This is also where you put links to any images you may have found that your character looks like.
Don't worry. This isn't the actual game. This is more of a place for us to hash out the details of your characters and parts of the game world. The reason I say that isn't because I don't have some things thought out or that I can't do it, but because I want to do something more collaborative. The thing about GURPS is that there's more of a conversation between GM and players than there is in Pathfinder. I have a basic idea, but I want to cater this game to y'all.
That said, here's what I have in mind. I apologize if it's a bit messy, but that's just the nature of works in progress. :)
Your characters are what are called "operators." Operators are highly skilled individuals that come from a myriad of backgrounds, whether they be former military or police, ex-criminals, or even wealth and boredom. Whatever their background, operators are hired by corporations, individuals, and governments to handle sensitive tasks that require more finesse than muscle. There are mercenaries, and some skilled mercenaries do become operatives, but they are soldiers, while teams of operatives are more akin to a sawed off special operations, investigative, and intelligence agency, like the CIA or FBI.
In civilized areas of the galaxy, there isn't much call for operators beyond corporate espionage; guarding, or snatching, VIPs; and the odd bit of smuggling or courier work. In the places between, in the regions of space collectively known as the Void or the Space Between, however, the opportunities for work abound, and it's here that most operatives and mercenaries work. Life in the Void is violent, and there are many times where talented men and women are called in to pull some poor merchant spacers or diplomat out of harm's way, or to snatch some brutal warlord so that they can answer for their crimes.
Of course, what kinds of jobs you take is entirely in your hands, since, unless they are part of a guild that orders operators to take certain jobs, it's up to the operator. Some teams specialize for certain types of jobs while others are more generalists and accept a variety of jobs. This is one reason I wanted to work with everyone on this. I would rather focus on making something that's fun for all of us than just for me. For example, if everyone doesn't want to do anything like a special forces mission, then I know not to offer them to you, or waste time coming up with them.
Some of the kinds of jobs that operatives are offered include, but are not limited to:
- Smuggling/High-risk Courier (traveling through the rougher parts of the Void unarmed is asking to be robbed and killed)
- Espionage (of multiple flavors)
- Hostage rescue/hostile extraction
- Counterinsurgency (and other types of military special operations)
- and VIP security
So, that said, let's get on with what I'd like. When the game starts, I'm thinking that the PCs are a group of skilled individuals that are being put together as a potential team by the master of the Mercator Operative Guild. Mercator is a loosely regulated republic that lucked out and has hundreds of jump points and dozens of far jump points in the seven systems of its constellation. This has allowed it to flourish because of trade. This also gives the operators of the Mercator Guild unparalleled mobility and thus make them highly sought after for their quick response times and the talent that kind of connectivity attracts.
What I'd need from you is a rough idea for your character and what kinds of adventures you'd like me to come up with. I'd also like to know if you want aliens, cybernetics, bioengineered/genegineered beings, or anything else. Don't worry about stats. That will come later. Just focus on the fluff, because we can build a character using that.
This isn't an actual game, in case the thread title wasn't a give away. It's just a place to have mock combats and to get this in the campaign tabs of the people who want to play a GURPS Game that I'm GMing.
Welcome one and all! Pull up a chair, grab yourself a drink, and us a yarn!
Thanks to those of you who have stuck it out with me and a preemptive congratulations to those who will be joining us! I hope you are looking forward to this as much as I am. :D
Malicious chains and shackles clattered and clanked as behind the small ship full of black-clad figures and two silver-haired young girls the ancient temple burned a sullen crimson. It dyed the black clouds red with its light and embers shone briefly like yellow and orange stars amid the smoke. The leader of the raiders turned from the scene he'd wrought and smiled beneath the mask that hid his face.
"Well, we only managed to grab two of you," he said in a voice like rancid oil, smooth, but unpleasant. "but don't worry, we'll have your sister soon enough, and then," he reached up with both hands and squeezed the two sisters' face like some overbearing grandmother doting on them as his voice grew softer and more fervid with anticipation, "the real fun begins."
Please post your dots below. If you didn't know, deleting your dot post will not remove the dot and leave this game in your campaign tab. Please delete your dot post to keep this thread cleaned up.
They stole in like thieves in the night. Taking those they wanted and slaughtering the rest. They burned the temple to the foundation, an angry red beacon in the night. Only one was left. She watched as they sailed off, taking her sisters and the object she was sworn to guard with them.
Hello ladies and gents. I took over a game that hadn't even taxied to the runway and I find myself in need of some new players.
The Sundered Lands:
The world was once whole.
[i]That day has long passed. With the Sundering, the land itself was torn to pieces and flung into the sky like grains of sand into the wind. Now all that’s left are the islands that float in the sky and the wide ocean below. Brave men and women of all races brave the dangers of the unknown to find resources, fame, and riches. Most never return, but those that do become legend.[i]
A thousand years ago, the lands were torn apart by what everyone calls the Sundering. None know why it occurred, only that it did and it has left its mark on the lands. There are a few islands left rising above the vast ocean that now covers much of the surface of the world, but most of the land that survived the Sundering now fly amongst the clouds. This makes maps meaningless and long trips arduous.
Strangely, some of the islands seem connect to one another. Despite the constant study this phenomenon receives, the scholars of the Sundered Lands are no closer to explaining the how and why than when they began. This is partly due to the nature of whatever is causing it and partly because so few people pursue scholastic study when survival is a more paramount concern.
Few cities survived the Sundering. The three most well known are Akiheton, the City of Crossroads; Talismiera, the Jewel of the Drow; and Khazad Dur, the ancient home of the dwarves. Both Talismiera and Khazad Dur are the only large underground cities to have survived. Talismiera most likely survived thanks to being so close to the surface. Khazad Dur is more of a mystery, though some suspect the magic of the dwarven runes was the only reason the city managed to survive going from a quarter-mile underground to half a mile in the air.
Akiheton is an ancient city with many gates leading to various cities and towns around the world and even other planes of existence. The Magister Lord rules the city and none, not even the powerful fiends and celestials that visit the city, dare cross him. Thanks to those gates, Akiheton has thrived and its people have prospered.
Talismiera has become a refuge to those whose races were once under the earth and stone that was ripped apart in the Sundering. Though not as affluent as Akiheton, it is still a thriving city that has become a hub of culture and scholarship thanks to the ancient records that survived. Those that own those records, however, guard them jealously, and often make those seeking the knowledge held in their scrolls and tomes perform tasks to further their own ends.
Khazad Dur has also done well. The island it inhabits is the largest of the Sundered Lands and is rich in ore and coal. Craftsmen have flocked to it, hoping to make names for themselves and reduce their costs by cutting out the merchants. A thousand years of mining have not depleted the rich veins, and new ones are constantly being discovered.
Magic is not unheard of, but it is a rare thing indeed to meet someone who studies it. Most practitioners of the arcane and even the divine have been blessed with innate gifts by their gods and goddesses rather having obtained their powers through study. Magically enchanted items, such as weapons and armor imbued with power, are almost unheard of. The only common enchanted items to be found are the sky crystals that are used to make the ships that ply the clouds float as the islands do. The secrets of how they are made are closely guarded by the Guild Arcanum based in Akiheton who are the only ones who know how to make them.
Scrolls, potions, and even wands are still common enough to be easily found in most towns and villages. Those that make them are often taught by the wise men and wise women as part of their apprenticeship to take over in their roles as lore keepers and healers. Scrolls and potions are easy enough to buy. Wands often require a favor or some connection to the person who made them.
Your journey begins in the town of Spindle, named for the shape of the island it is carved into. Spindle is a prosperous trade town that has a gate leading directly to the massive city of Akiheton. The town has roughly 2,000 people of all races and walks of life. Many ships dock at it's piers everyday bringing trade for Akiheton and looking for a safe harbor in the dangerous skies.
Character Build Rules
- Stats: Use a 30 point buy for stats. I would raise the cap, but to have a 20 in a stat before racial modifiers, you'd have to spend 26 points (The difference in cost between two stats is equal to the bonus the higher stat gives. So it's 17 points for an 18, a 19 gives a +4 so that's a total of 17+4 which is 21. A 20 gives a +5, so that's a total of 26 points to buy.)
- Races: Any below 15 RP according to the ARG.
- Classes: We'll be going with a 4th level Gestalt Any classes and archetypes on the PFSRD site or the Archives of Nethys site are allowed as are Spheres of Power classes and archetypes.
-- Sphere Casters: Sphere casters get the Cantrip feat for free.
-- Learned Casters: Any class that obtains their magic through study, such as wizards, witches, and magi, need to have a background that explains who taught them and what the price of their learning was.
- Traits: Two traits are allowed. You may select 1 drawback and take 1 more trait.
- Skills: We will be using background skills as well as the Artistry and Lore skills.
- Wealth: No magic items except scrolls and potions. Wands are allowed, but as with being a learned caster, you need to explain how you obtained it. Wands also have a number of charges a day instead of a set of charges. Your starting wealth will be 3000 gp.
- Health: Max at 1st and half + roll HD/2 for every level after. This means that d6 => d3+3, d8 => d4+4, d10 => d5+5, and d12 => d6+6.
- Alignment: No evil, at least not to begin with. If everyone's okay with it, and you think it'd be fun to play a character that went this way, then we'll talk about it and see, but at the beginning of the adventure, you are (theoretically) decent people.
Submission Guidelines
- Character stats following the rules above.
- Your character's background and how he came to the town of Spindle.
- Your character's appearance and general personality.
- All of the above in one post.
I am only looking for 2 players, so if there's a lot of interest, then competition is going to get stiff. Currently, the party consists of:
- Egryzon, a male Kobold Gestalt(Bloodrager/Hydrokineticist)4
- Zaknador E'Ilansani, a male Drow Gestalt(Cleric/Wizard)4
- Drausk, a male Half-orc Gestalt(Sorcerer/Oracle)4
As you can see, we've got magic covered, so if you want a better shot, then characters that focus on martial abilities and skill monkeys would be the best bet. Other than that, make an interesting character that has some room to grow, and you'll be fine.
Expectations
I haven't done this before, but I think this might be a good idea and help set the bar I am looking to beat. I'm listing out what my expectations are, not only for you, but for this game. This will, hopefully, make sure that all of us are on the same page and that we all know what we're in for. I also want you guys to let me know what your expectations for me as the GM are. This is to make sure that I don't drop the ball and not know it.
- I expect players to post at least once a weekday, especially in combat situations. Weekends are appreciated, but I know that not everyone has no social life like I do. :P
- I expect players to be engaged. I try to include everyone and make sure than no one character hogs the spotlight, but this can get hard if players aren't paying attention or aren't participating. If I have an NPC come talk to you, it's because I want to spend some time focusing on you or developing the NPC more, and a lot of times, it's both!
- This is a semi-sandbox. Yes there's an overarching plot, but you are free to go where you wish and do what you wish. I expect the PCs to drive the plot, though. I can have something happen if you guys are stuck, but I'd much rather have you pick a direction and figure out what happens from there. It's a lot more fun for me and we'll both get a more interesting story out of it.
- I expect you guys to act in character. Don't worry about making more work for me or trying to follow some rule of dungeon delving. There is danger, yes, but if I kill your character, it's going to be in a dramatically apropos battle with the Demon-lich of Narlzohtep, Azk'thulon the Depraved, not to a lucky hit from kobold guard #42. If you're playing someone who's a lone wolf, then it'd make sense to go off on your own from time to time. Just be wary of picking fights. Not everything you run across will be easily beaten with a sword.
- As far as tone for the campaign goes. It is serious, but that doesn't exclude having some comedy happen to relieve some of the stress. I'm a silly person by nature, so expect some zaniness when it's not inappropriate. That said, when things get dark and gritty, I can get really dark and gritty.
- I expect you to tell me when I'm in danger of crossing a line. I don't know what your limits are, so I need you to tell me what you're comfortable with. I can deal with just about anything that is allowed on the boards here, so don't worry about me. If it's too much, though, I'll let you know.
- And lastly, no PvP. I would have thought that this goes without saying, but recent events have taught me otherwise and I'll spare you the gory details. I'm fine with friction. I'm fine with slapstick. I'm fine with PCs being suspicious of each other at first, but please don't introduce yourself by slugging a PC and then drawing a sword on them. There's better ways to show that your character is distrustful and prone to violence. If your character's first response to an insult is to turn his skull into a codpiece as painfully as possible, then please either pick a different character or don't apply. I don't have a ton of posting time and I'd rather not spend some of it trying to deal with the mess that results from PvP.
I know that's a lot of information, but don't worry, I'm leaving this open until July 7th. I know that the other players and I want to get started, but we can wait a little longer.
If you have any questions, because I'm almost positive I forgot something, feel free to ask.
So, this isn't a formal recruitment or anything of that nature. I'm not even sure when I'd run that, but I do want to get an idea of what you guys would like to play. I've got a few ideas, some of which are kinda similar and some that aren't. TL is short for Tech Level. For reference, Modern day is mid to late TL8. The Expanse would be TL10ish and Star Wars/Star Trek would be TL12 with some stuff stuck at TL8 or lower. If you see a ^ next to the TL, that means superscience is involved. This includes artificial gravity and plasma weapons.
- Tramp Freighter Crew (TL10^): You are the crew of a tramp freighter that ferries cargo around, but most tramps make ends meet by taking side jobs. You might have to do a heist or escort someone from point A to point B. You could even act as part-time mercenaries. What kinds of jobs are available really depends on the party's skillsets. This wouldn't be a serious campaign, with more of the focus being on situational humor.
- Mercenary Unit (TL9-TL10): The party is a special forces unit in a near future PMC. Again, the campaign wouldn't be very serious. There are two variants. The first is that you are all members of an elite PMC that are typically the last on list for any jobs. The second is you are the elite unit of a PMC that is full of oddballs and other "bottom of the barrel" types as far as operations are concerned. Either way, expect wackiness and explosions followed by more wackiness and yelling.
- Infinite Worlds (TL8^-TL9^): This would be a campaign in the Infinite Worlds setting. The party is a squad of explorers that go in to gather data and make contact with the locals after the initial explorations. This one I'm a little more hesitant to run because I'm not as familiar with the rules regarding powers like Magic and Psionics as I am with the rules regarding tech stuff. I will run it if people want. The tone would be moderately serious. There'd still opportunities for humor, but that wouldn't be as big of a factor as in the other games where "what would be funny," would be a legitimate question for what happens next.
- Spy Games (TL7-TL9): You're secret agents with either the government or some third party. You'd be tasked with finding information, infiltrating crime/spy rings, and anything else you mind find in the plot of a Bond movie or some other spy movie. Tone would honestly depend on what you wanted. It could be Bond. It could also be Despicable Me.
-Something else? (TL?): This isn't everything that I'd run, just what I'm most interested in running. If you have another idea, post it and we may wind up going with that.
Also, note, this would be my first time GMing a GURPS game. So while being a mercenary tramp freighter crew with psychic powers and magic might be cool, I think it might be too much for me.
This is a recruitment for an existing game that's going through a soft-reboot. If you want to give it a read, go here: Gameplay thread. We'll be picking up a few months after the events currently being played out in the gameplay thread, so enough time that your characters could have heard about some things that have happened in the gameplay thread, namely the orcs from the Rise raiding the lowlands.
I'm looking to recruit two more players to replace people that have dropped. The existing players are also making new characters (hence why it's a soft reboot.) The bad news is that I can't tell you what we need yet. The good news is that everything's an option on the table, so long as it meets the rules below.
Character Creation
- Attributes: 25 Point-buy
- HP: Max at 1st level, Half max +1 after that. (d6 => 4, d8 => 5, d10 => 6, d12 => 7)
- Starting Level: 4th
- Starting Gold: 3000 gp.
- Races: Aasimars, Changelings, Dwarves, Elves, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Humans, Ifrit, Orcs, Oreads, Skinwalkers, Sylphs, Tieflings, and Undine.
- Allowed Material: All Paizo and Spheres of Power with the following exceptions:
-- Spheres of Power replaces Pathfinder's normal magic system. This means that all casters are now spherecasters and will need to use their spherecasting archetype. You are free to pick a casting tradition if you want, and even encouraged to make one of your own if you feel like getting creative.
-- No Occult
-- No Firearms, Gunslinger, Tech items, or related archetypes and classes
-- No Summoner, Ninja, or Samurai
-- No Evil
- Using the Background Skills system, including Artistry and Lore
- Using Automatic Bonus Progression
Submission Requirements
- Read the document here: Nordholm Setting Document
- Character Stats
- Character's Background. The more this fleshes out your character the better. I love it when Player's give me some hooks to hang adventures off of, so if you're looking to improve your chances, that's how.
- Character's Personality
- Character's Appearance, including how tall they are.
Things to note
-The setting document is written in broad strokes for a reason. Don't be afraid to add things into your background that aren't in the setting document.
- Elves reach adulthood at 25 years of age.
- Changelings reach adulthood as per their father's race.
- Aasimars, Ifrits, Oreads, Sylphs, Tieflings, and Undines reach adulthood as whatever race they would have been if they hadn't been plane-touched.
- Elves that are from Nordholm (Arctic Elves, Dusk Elves, and Savage Elves) can elect to use the following attribute modifiers: +2 CON, +2 DEX, -2 INT. If you are using Hero Lab, just go to the personal tab and add two ability score (starting) adjustments under permanent adjustments. Use one to increase CON by 4 and the other to decrease INT by 4.
- The common tongue for Nordholm is Nordic. Characters from one of the families that stayed behind after the last Imperial Expedition fifty years ago start with the Imperial common tongue as a bonus language.
- If you see something here you have a question about, please ask. I probably have forgotten something despite my best efforts, however, if I say no, then please don't pester me about it. All it will do is annoy me and hurt your chances.
I hope this covers everything, if not, then I guess I'll be answering some questions. Speaking of questions, if you have them, feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to answer.
Malicious chains and shackles clattered and clanked as behind the small ship full of black-clad figures and two silver-haired young girls the ancient temple burned a sullen crimson. It dyed the black clouds red with its light and embers shone briefly like yellow and orange stars amid the smoke. The leader of the raiders turned from the scene he'd wrought and smiled beneath the mask that hid his face.
"Well, we only managed to grab two of you," he said in a voice like rancid oil, smooth, but unpleasant. "but don't worry, we'll have your sister soon enough, and then," he reached up with both hands and squeezed the two sisters' face like some overbearing grandmother doting on them as his voice grew softer and more fervid with anticipation, "the real fun begins."
Please post your dots below. If you didn't know, deleting your dot post will not remove the dot and leave this game in your campaign tab. Please delete your dot post to keep this thread cleaned up.
Malicious chains and shackles clattered and clanked as behind the small ship full of black-clad figures and two silver-haired young girls the ancient temple burned a sullen crimson. It dyed the black clouds red with its light and embers shone briefly like yellow and orange stars amid the smoke. The leader of the raiders turned from the scene he'd wrought and smiled beneath the mask that hid his face.
"Well, we only managed to grab two of you," he said in a voice like rancid oil, smooth, but unpleasant. "but don't worry, we'll have your sister soon enough, and then," he reached up with both hands and squeezed the two sisters' face like some overbearing grandmother doting on them as his voice grew softer and more fervid with anticipation, "the real fun begins."
Please post your dots below. If you didn't know, deleting your dot post will not remove the dot and leave this game in your campaign tab. Please delete your dot post to keep this thread cleaned up.
To begin, thank you all for being willing to give this a shot. I hope that we'll be able to hammer out this idea into something that we'll all enjoy playing. To that end let's get started.
First, I'd like to cover something that has bugged me a bit, the character creation rules. I want to normalize things so that things are a little more even, and better fit with the character concepts we have. So, these are the build rules I was thinking for adopting if you wanted to use them.
Proposed Character Build Rules
- Stats: Use a 30 point buy for stats. I would raise the cap, but to have a 20 in a stat before racial modifiers, you'd have to spend 26 points (The difference in cost between two stats is equal to the bonus the higher stat gives. So it's 17 points for an 18, a 19 gives a +4 so that's a total of 17+4 which is 21. A 20 gives a +5, so that's a total of 26 points to buy.)
- Races: Any below 15 RP according to the ARG.
- Classes: We'll be going with a 4th level Gestalt Any classes and archetypes on the PFSRD site or the Archives of Nethys site are allowed as are Spheres of Power classes and archetypes.
-- Sphere Casters: Sphere casters get the Cantrip feat for free.
- Traits: Two traits are allowed. You may select 1 drawback and take 1 more trait.
- Skills: We will be using background skills as well as the Artistry and Lore skills.
- Wealth: For now, we'll leave this at 6000 GP for the moment. Depending on what setting we go with, this may change.
- Health: Max at 1st and half + roll HD/2 for every level after. This means that d6 => d3+3, d8 => d4+4, d10 => d5+5, and d12 => d6+6.
- Alignment: No evil, at least not to begin with. If everyone's okay with it, and you think it'd be fun to play a character that went this way, then we'll talk about it and see, but at the beginning of the adventure, you are (theoretically) decent people.
Proposed Setting: The Sundered Lands
The setting I am proposing isn't fleshed out like Golarion or Greyhawk, or any other published setting you care to name. As a matter of fact, there are big swaths of it that blank and labeled "Here There be Dragons." That said though. I don't mind players coming up with stuff that fits into those places and adding their own mark to the setting. That isn't to say that you have to do all the work either. I have enough fleshed out that I am confident that we can have a good bit of fun even if you only stick to what I came up with. As we play in this setting, I'll be adding to it and fleshing it out more, so it's not required to come up with anything new. I was just pointing it out as an option to all of you.
That said, let's get on with it.
The world was once whole.
That day has long passed. With the Sundering, the land itself was torn to pieces and flung into the sky like grains of sand into the wind. Now all that’s left are the islands that float in the sky and the wide ocean below. Brave men and women of all races brave the dangers of the unknown to find resources, fame, and riches. Most never return, but those that do become legend.
A thousand years ago, the lands were torn apart by what everyone calls the Sundering. None know why it occurred, only that it did and it has left its mark on the lands. There are a few islands left rising above the vast ocean that now covers much of the surface of the world, but most of the land that survived the Sundering now fly amongst the clouds. This makes maps meaningless and long trips arduous.
Strangely, some of the islands seem connect to one another. Despite the constant study this phenomenon receives, the scholars of the Sundered Lands are no closer to explaining the how and why than when they began. This is partly due to the nature of whatever is causing it and partly because so few people pursue scholastic study when survival is a more paramount concern.
Few cities survived the Sundering. The three most well known are Akiheton, the City of Crossroads; Talismiera, the Jewel of the Drow; and Khazad Dur, the ancient home of the dwarves. Both Talismiera and Khazad Dur are the only large underground cities to have survived. Talismiera most likely survived thanks to being so close to the surface. Khazad Dur is more of a mystery, though some suspect the magic of the dwarven runes was the only reason the city managed to survive going from a quarter-mile underground to half a mile in the air.
Akiheton is an ancient city with many gates leading to various cities and towns around the world and even other planes of existence. The Magister Lord rules the city and none, not even the powerful fiends and celestials that visit the city, dare cross him. Thanks to those gates, Akiheton has thrived and its people have prospered.
Talismiera has become a refuge to those whose races were once under the earth and stone that was ripped apart in the Sundering. Though not as affluent as Akiheton, it is still a thriving city that has become a hub of culture and scholarship thanks to the ancient records that survived. Those that own those records, however, guard them jealously, and often make those seeking the knowledge held in their scrolls and tomes perform tasks to further their own ends.
Khazad Dur has also done well. The island it inhabits is the largest of the Sundered Lands and is rich in ore and coal. Craftsmen have flocked to it, hoping to make names for themselves and reduce their costs by cutting out the merchants. A thousand years of mining have not depleted the rich veins, and new ones are constantly being discovered.
Magic is not unheard of, but it is a rare thing indeed to meet someone who studies it. Most practitioners of the arcane and even the divine have been blessed with innate gifts by their gods and goddesses rather having obtained their powers through study. Magically enchanted items, such as weapons and armor imbued with power, are almost unheard of. The only common enchanted items to be found are the sky crystals that are used to make the ships that ply the clouds float as the islands do. The secrets of how they are made are closely guarded by the Guild Arcanum based in Akiheton who are the only ones who know how to make them.
Scrolls, potions, and even wands are still common enough to be easily found in most towns and villages. Those that make them are often taught by the wise men and wise women as part of their apprenticeship to take over in their roles as lore keepers and healers. Scrolls and potions are easy enough to buy. Wands often require a favor or some connection to the person who made them.
Changes to the Character Build rules above if both they and the setting are accepted:
- Classes: Any class that obtains their magic through study, such as wizards, witches, and magi, need to have a background that explains who taught them and what the price of their learning was.
- Wealth: No magic items except scrolls and potions. Wands are allowed, but as with being a learned caster, you need to explain how you obtained it. Wands also have a number of charges a day instead of a set of charges. Your starting wealth will be 3000 gp.
The Campaign Note: I'm writing this on the assumption that we'll be using the setting above, but if that's not the case, then it's fairly simple to adapt this to a different setting.
The campaign is basically the same, you will need to find the Guardians of the Grail and the Grail of the Phoenix itself. Both the Guardians and the Grail have been missing for almost nine months. You begin by arriving at the town of Spindle, a small town of about two thousand that is connected to Akiheton via a gate. The island that Spindle is built into is almost a half-mile tall and a quarter-mile wide at the middle. Most of the surface of the island is terraced to provide cropland. A couple of caverns under the town provide grazing nithog (nith-og). A cattle animal that was common underground and has been prized since the Sundering by ranchers since they do not take up valuable farmland for grazing and their hair is useful in making cloth. Most of the town, though, it carved out of a large cavern in the middle of the island. Tunnels lead out to the surface and to the piers built off the bottom of the island. The island itself floats about five hundred feet above the water.
I'll come up with reasons for each of you to be there that fits your characters. That isn't to say that I won't use anything you come up with, just that I'll have something if you don't. Like I said, I hope the beginning of this is going to be fun for all of you.
Expectations
I haven't done this before, but I think this might be a good idea and help set the bar I am looking to beat. I'm listing out what my expectations are, not only for you, but for this game. This will, hopefully, make sure that all of us are on the same page and that we all know what we're in for. I also want you guys to let me know what your expectations for me as the GM are. This is to make sure that I don't drop the ball and not know it.
- I expect players to post at least once a weekday, especially in combat situations. Weekends are appreciated, but I know that not everyone has no social life like I do. :P
- I expect players to be engaged. I try to include everyone and make sure than no one character hogs the spotlight, but this can get hard if players aren't paying attention or aren't participating. If I have an NPC come talk to you, it's because I want to spend some time focusing on you or developing the NPC more, and a lot of times, it's both!
- This is a semi-sandbox. Yes there's an overarching plot, but you are free to go where you wish and do what you wish. I expect the PCs to drive the plot, though. I can have something happen if you guys are stuck, but I'd much rather have you pick a direction and figure out what happens from there. It's a lot more fun for me and we'll both get a more interesting story out of it.
- I expect you guys to act in character. Don't worry about making more work for me or trying to follow some rule of dungeon delving. There is danger, yes, but if I kill your character, it's going to be in a dramatically apropos battle with the Demon-lich of Narlzohtep, Azk'thulon the Depraved, not to a lucky hit from kobold guard #42. If you're playing someone who's a lone wolf, then it'd make sense to go off on your own from time to time. Just be wary of picking fights. Not everything you run across will be easily beaten with a sword.
- As far as tone for the campaign goes. It is serious, but that doesn't exclude having some comedy happen to relieve some of the stress. I'm a silly person by nature, so expect some zaniness when it's not inappropriate. That said, when things get dark and gritty, I can get really dark and gritty.
- I expect you to tell me when I'm in danger of crossing a line. I don't know what your limits are, so I need you to tell me what you're comfortable with. I can deal with just about anything that is allowed on the boards here, so don't worry about me. If it's too much, though, I'll let you know.
I think that's everything for now. I know that's a lot of information, but hopefully I covered all of the bases. The most important things are the setting and character creation guidelines. This game is about collaborative storytelling, so let's get with teh collaborating. :)
Hello and congrats! Go ahead and make yourself at home and have a drink. Don't mind the dwarf, he's mostly harmless. ;)
So, first order of business is doing a little refining on how exactly y'all got into this mess. This is mainly so I can get the opening narrations right and have something solid to refer to if/when we head back to where you were "detained."
Daerdryn
If I recall correctly, it was a jealous neighbor that somehow rigged things to get you accused of being a witch. would you mind elaborating on that?
Sigurd
I've only got one question on yours, did you have a fate in mind for Freydis?
Kieran
Would you be interested in tying your story in with either Sigurd's or the three changeling sisters (Elyana, Idana, and Olyena)?
Elyana, Idana, and Olyena
Well, since Rysky didn't apply, did the three of you have anything in mind for your brother's fate?
Sorry for the somewhat discombobulated post. It's getting late here and I wanted to try getting this up tonight.
The wind howls over the impossibly tall mountain peaks of the Fangwall. Ice and snow whipped into a flurry by the bitter gale saps strength and warmth from anyone foolish enough to expose themselves to the winter storm. Lightning, as cold as the very wind howling through the mountains, flashes, revealing a single serpentine figure rearing up above the stone of a ledge jutting out over the deep, glacier-carved valley. For a moment, the world stands still, save for the lone figure silhouetted by lightning as it takes in a deep and mighty breath. All hangs in still silence before a bellowing, defiant roar cuts through the gale of the wind and the rolling thunder to echo through the valley.
A roar that heralded the dawn of a new age.
Hello! and welcome to a homebrewed, sandbox adventure inspired by Skyrim from The Elder Scrolls series. Before I get down to brass tacks, I want to say that while it is certainly inspired by Skyrim and the start will be similar, this is not The Elder Scrolls setting. There are no Khajit nor Argonians. It's also entirely possible, despite the name, that you never do anything dealing with dragons and it's all background to what your characters are doing. So, if you are looking for Skyrim: the RPG, this might satisfy that itch, but don't come in expecting it to.
That said, I've learned a few lessons from the last time I had a recruitment, so I hope things go a little more smoothly this time around.
Character Creation
- Attributes: 25 Point-buy
- HP: Max at 1st level, Half max +1 after that. (d6 => 4, d8 => 5, d10 => 6, d12 => 7)
- Starting Level: 3rd
- Starting Gold: 0 gp, you're starting off with no gear.
- Races: Aasimars, Changelings, Dwarves, Elves, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Humans, Ifrit, Orcs, Oreads, Skinwalkers, Sylphs, Tieflings, and Undine.
- Allowed Material: All Paizo and Spheres of Power with the following exceptions:
-- Spheres of Power replaces Pathfinder's normal magic system. This means that all casters are now spherecasters and will need to use their spherecasting archetype. You are free to pick a casting tradition if you want, and even encouraged to make one of your own if you feel like getting creative.
-- No Occult
-- No Firearms, Gunslinger, Tech items, or related archetypes and classes
-- No Summoner, Ninja, or Samurai
-- No Evil
- Using the Background Skills system, including Artistry and Lore
- Using Automatic Bonus Progression
Submission Requirements
- Read the document here: Nordholm Setting Document
- Character Stats
- Background explaining where you came from, and what you have done to wind up in a secret Imperial Garrison and slated for execution. Note that this doesn't have to be a criminal act. It could be refusing the advances of some officer or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like gathering firewood when a patrol happened to come by. If you have an animal companion or familiar, you'll need to explain what happened to them too.
- Character's Personality
- Character's Appearance, including how tall they are.
Things to note
-The setting document is written in broad strokes for a reason. Don't be afraid to add things into your background that aren't in the setting document.
- Elves reach adulthood at 25 years of age.
- Changelings reach adulthood as per their father's race.
- Aasimars, Ifrits, Oreads, Sylphs, Tieflings, and Undines reach adulthood as whatever race they would have been if they hadn't been plane-touched.
- Elves that are from Nordholm (Arctic Elves, Dusk Elves, and Savage Elves) can elect to use the following attribute modifiers: +2 CON, +2 DEX, -2 INT. If you are using Hero Lab, just go to the personal tab and add two ability score (starting) adjustments under permanent adjustments. Use one to increase CON by 4 and the other to decrease INT by 4.
- The common tongue for Nordholm is Nordic. Characters from one of the families that stayed behind after the last Imperial Expedition fifty years ago start with the Imperial common tongue as a bonus language.
- If you see something here you have a question about, please ask. I probably have forgotten something despite my best efforts, however, if I say no, then please don't pester me about it. All it will do is annoy me and hurt your chances.
Just testing the waters to see if people are interested. This is not a recruitment, so please don't submit any characters here.
The basic premise is that dragons (and possibly magic) have been gone for thousands of years, and even those that don't believe that dragons are a myth are certain they are all dead. The main arc would involve investigating mysterious incidents and strange happenings and eventually lead into discovering that something very big is happening.
There would also be opportunities to do your own thing, such as looking for long lost artefacts, overthrowing despotic lords/ladies, and joining secret societies. Whatever tickles your fancy. I'd be asking everyone what kinds of adventures they are interested in to make sure that everyone has a chance to do something they'd like.
I'd also like to see whether people are interested in starting off sans magic at first, and if they'd be interested in using Spheres of Power. I'm also open to any suggestions that any of you may have on what to allow, how to start, and what kinds of things you'd like to see.
I don't have a firm date for the start of recruitment, and it's possible that I may just pick those that are active in this thread and dive straight into making characters and getting the game going if only a few people are interested. I'm playing this by ear, so don't be asking me right off the bat when recruitment starts.
First, let me thank all of you for applying. You've all got really cool characters and I'm humbled that all of you want to play in this. I'm far from a perfect GM, and there may be times I do something stupid, but hopefully those will be few and far between.
That said, I have played with all of you except rdknight before, or in Lady Ladile's and Nate's case, I still am. Black Dow is the only one that's been in a game that I've GMed before, so I want you to know how I do combat, and if you have any concerns about it.
I don't do maps since they tend to be the point where I drag my heels. It takes time to make them and set them up, and honestly, I'm not that good at it. I'll do my best to paint a picture of what's happening and tell all of you where everyone and everything is. If it becomes necessary, I'll make a map, but I hope that we'll be able to get along fine without them. I also handle initiative a bit differently than most people. I do block initiative, but all of the PCs are in a block, and I do actions by the order you post in. This helps keep things moving in combat because you don't have to wait for me to post what the enemies are doing between say, Soliana and Vigny's actions and Jeruhk, Emi, and Reiko's actions. This does mean that if you guys lose initiative (I go by highest roll, so individual initiatives still matter, I think anyway) you'll be getting hammered by whatever group of enemies managed to get the drop on you. Still things have worked out well in my other games, so I don't think you'll have to worry.
So, now that is out of the way, let me go ahead and answer my questions, just so it's fair.
-Who are you and how are you doing?
I'm Adam and I'm doing pretty good!
-How often do you tend to post?
At least once on any given day. I live in Alabama, so that puts me at GMT-5 or GMT-6 depending on the time of year.
-What kind of tone are you looking for in this game?
I'd like for this game to be more on the upbeat side. I'm going to be shooting for a sense of wonder as you guys travel to and through the lands of Tian Xia and Minkai.
-What do you expect out of your fellow players?
I expect them to have fun, and to be respectful of each other, but mostly to have fun.
-What do you expect out of me (the GM)?
I expect myself to do m job, which is to make this fun for y'all. If I'm not doing that, I'm not doing my job.
-What is your comfort zone? Where's the line for you in RP terms?
About PG-13ish, though I've been known to get really dark in my Rise of the Runelords game. Dealing with the priestess of the goddess of monsters, madness, and nightmares gave me plenty of opportunity to do that. Fortunately, I don't see myself getting like that ever again. That was difficult to write and I screwed up a couple of times.
As for romantic encounters, I'm perfectly fine with the fade-to-black solution.
-How do you see your character progressing as a character?
Well, this is a little hard since I play all of the characters you don't. :P
I do look forward to seeing how all of your characters progress, though.
Speaking your characters, I'd like to take some time before we start the game to figure out who knows who and how well, and make some tweaks to Reiko's background. So that said, let's look at what traits all of you have.
Emiliana Vasilescu
- Best Friend: Ameiko
Reiko Mura
- Rescued: Shalelu
Vigny Olafursdottir
- Childhood Crush: Sandru
Soliana of the Rose
- Childhood Crush: Shalelu
Jerukh Hörnungr
- Foster Child: Koya
Jeruhk and Vigny would probably know each other given their backgrounds, though given Jeruhk's attitudes towards Ulfens, they are probably acquainted, but don't interact a lot. I think everyone else is going to depend on y'all, the players.
Before I have to skedaddle to work, I'd like to tackle some changes to Reiko's background. I've talked to stormraven and he's okay with changing things, so let's dive in.
I'm fine with most of it up to the point her master is killed. I think for Reiko to still be a relatively inexperienced fighter, she'd be just starting her training. Instead, her katana belonged to an older samurai who took Reiko and ran when her master was killed. he was the one that began teaching Reiko how to fight. The two of them traveled over the crown of the world with a caravan from Avistan heading back to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Reiko and the Samurai traveled further south into Varisia where they were ambushed outside of Sandpoint. Reiko was saved by Shalelu, but the samurai died of his wounds.
That's my idea, anyway. Do any of you have any thoughts on this? any suggestions?
The winds of destiny are blowing. They sing though the trees, and over the mountains. They come from a far away land, over the very farthest reaches of the world. They sing of only a few, though. They sing of heroes from a small, sleepy town that has seen the birth of heroes before. They sing of Sandpoint, and humble beginnings.
Welcome to the recruitment thread for DM Salsa Presents: The Jade Regent.
Before we get into character creation rules, I would like to let you guys know what you are getting into. I am very much a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants GM. I improvise things and change things to, hopefully be more fun. I also am lousy at keeping track of loot on both sides of the screen. I try to be generous with it, though, and you'll probably be a little over the Wealth by Level guidelines. That's fine with me, that jsut means I can through tougher beasties at you. :D
I also do not like making maps. It's a chore and it's the number one reason that I've dragged my feet in the past. I don't mind questions, and if in doubt, go ahead and post your actions. I can be a rules stickler, but Rule of Cool will trump rules if the result would be sufficiently awesome. I'm also going to be generous when determining who has flanking and not, so if you want to play a rogue or ninja, sneak attack is easier to get.
Short version: I'm here to have fun. My job is to make sure that you have fun.
Character creation rules are as follows: Materials Allowed
-Read the Player's Guide. it has plenty of tips and advice to get you started, and you'll need to pick a trait from the Campaign Traits section.
-All Paizo is allowed with exceptions listed below.
-Spheres of Power is allowed
-All other 3rd party is not allowed.
-Races: Core Races + Tiefling, Aasimar, Changling, Ifrit, Udine, Oread, Slyph, and Tengu
-Classes: No Gunslinger, or any archetype that uses guns
-Alignment: No evil
Character Build
-25 point buy, no stat can be higher than 18 or lower than 8 before racial modifiers.
-Max gold for your class
-Max HP at first, Roll half-HD + average, so d6 would roll 1d3+3, d8 would roll 1d4+4, and so on.
-Three Traits, one of which must be a campaign trait.
-We are using Background Skills From unchained
-We are using Artistry and Lore
-We are using Fractional bonuses, which isn't really going to matter unless you multi-class.
-We'll also be using Hero Points, your character starts with 1.
Character Flavor
-Background: Needs to be at least a few sentences.
-Personality
-Appearance: Can be sparse on details, but I would like to know how tall they are and what their build is (are they squat, slender, a curvaceous bombshell, a studly studmuffin, a studly lego, etc.) If you can find a picture, link to it.
-[Optional] Complete one or both lists of questions. This won't necessarily increase your chances, but if it helps paint an interesting picture of your character, it certainly won't hurt.
Twenty questions to help you create a backstory for your character.:
Found here
What is your character’s name?
How old is your character?
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Where was your character born?
Where were you raised?
By who?
Who are your parents?
Are they alive?
What do they do for a living?
Do you have any other family or friends?
What is your character’s marital status?
Kids?
What is your character’s alignment?
What is your character’s moral code?
Does your character have goals?
Is your character religious?
What are your character’s personal beliefs?
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Why does your character adventure?
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
How does your character get along with others?
Is there anything that your character hates?
Is there anything that your character fears?
Concept
These are the fundamentals, the broadest strokes. Every character should have answers to these five, including NPCs. It’s the quickest way to give the sense of a full individual instead of a cardboard stereotype.
1. What emotion best describes your character? Find one primary emotion your character expresses. Try to use a colorful, specific word to describe it. For instance, instead of “angry” you might say “vengeful” or “raging,” or instead of happy you might say “cheerful” or “exalting.”
2. What emotion does your character evoke in others? How do others react to you? Do you impress, scare, calm, excite, or perhaps annoy? Again try to find the most specific term you can. Is this reaction different between friends and enemies?
3. What does your character need most? If your character had everything he or she needed, why go on an adventure? Most people’s needs are fairly universal, although they can change over time. Common needs are survival, security, companionship, esteem, romance, family, or wisdom. Consider what your character’s starting needs are, and where you want them to be by the end of the adventure or campaign. It helps to establish this need with the GM, to ensure it fits with the themes of the game.
4. What is your character’s goal in life? This should be the principle, underlying motivation for everything your character thinks, says, and does. If your character were lying on the brink of death, what makes him or her cling to life? What could your character lose that he or she would consider worse than death? This goal is often broad, and sometimes unachievable. Whatever the nature of the goal, it should be something your character can strive for his or her entire life. The best goals are ones that can be threatened, as they will help create more compelling adventures. Ideas include justice, revenge, protecting loved ones, redeeming one’s self, or gaining some kind of power. When you think of something, ask yourself “why?” to make sure it isn’t because of some larger, more important goal.
5. How does your character believe this goal can be accomplished? Because the goal can often be ideological, the method to achieving it is sometimes equally insubstantial. Your character’s methods should be strongly tied to beliefs (or lack of beliefs), and primarily be a decision of lifestyle. A character bent on revenge might consider perfecting a fighting discipline, while a character devoted to a cause might consider a religious or philosophical doctrine.
Background
For any campaign, a character should have come from somewhere. Spend any length of time with someone and their history is bound to come up. These questions give your character history, and therefore dramatic and emotional weight.
6. Where did your character come from? Consider your character’s initial roots, before he or she was a teenager. These times are what shape your character the most. Who were your parents? Where did you live? What was your family’s economic and social status? How were you educated? What were the three most important lessons you learned?
7. When did you grow up? Everyone begins taking responsability for their own lives at different times and in different ways. Describe the events related to when your character started taking care of him- or herself.
8. What values does your character hold? Name three things your character considers sacred, and three things he or she is idealogically opposed to. These things will usually stem from a combination of your goals and your personal history. Consider especially where the values came from. Was your character taught these values? Did they develop as a reaction to something your character considered noble or diabolical? Establish lines that your character will not cross in pursuit of his or her goal to add challenge to playing your character.
9. How does your character dress? Start generally with an overall statement of the quality of your character’s appearance, such as projected social status, trade, common activities, or how groomed or slovenly your character is. Begin to hone in on telling details, especially those things that most people take for granted. How exactly does your character style his or her hair? What decorative articles does your character wear, such as jewelry, decorated buttons or buckles, a belt, gloves, etc.?One especially telling detail is footwear. Describe in detail what your character wears on his or her feet, including cut, tightness or looseness, heel height, sole hardness or softness, lacing/buckling/tying or lack thereof, toe shape (square, round, pointed…?), color, material, shininess, cleanliness, repair or disrepair, and any other details you can think of.
10. What are your character’s means? Consider all the resources your character has. This should include material resources such as money and property, social resources such as friends and allies, and personal resources such as skill, courage, strength, wits, etc. It might help to make a list of all your character’s resources that he or she might use to overcome adversity. Consider challenges like fights, puzzles, traveling, persuading (and being persuaded), and any others.
Details
Now we’re picking nits. These five are all about texture and color. These answers take your character beyond an adventure serial persona and into reality. Answers to these make your characters memorable for years.
11. What are your character’s personal tastes? Name at least three things your character enjoys for no reason other than personal preference. A good place to start is with each of the five senses. Consider a sound, smell, taste, feeling, or sight that is uniquely pleasing to your character. Also consider activities such as hobbies or habits. Name three things your character dislikes, as well.
12. What are your character’s opinions? Decide upon at least three major aspects of local society and your character’s opinion on them. This could be generalizations such as rich or poor people, more specific areas like a particular political or religious group, or very specific things like a prominent individual or an aspect of the character’s job. Check with your GM for relevant things in the campaign to have opinions about.
13. What is your character’s comfort zone? What environment, activity, or mindset puts your character at ease? This can add a lot of color to your character during stressful moments, as he or she will have a place to go or a thing to do at these times. It helps to have a comfort zone broken up into the above parts so at least some of it is portable.
14. Who has had the biggest impact on your character’s life? Name and briefly describe at least one person who had a significant impact on how your character perceives the world today. You can name more than one, but they should each reflect different aspects of your character’s beliefs. Use this as a reference point when your character has to make difficult decisions (i.e., “What would so-and-so do?”).
15. What are some of your character’s unexpected quirks? Name three things that are unexpected about the way your character behaves, such as things that go against his or her normal social status, age, or trade. How about three unexpected talents or abilities like being able to sing, or knowing some trivial knowledge, or being good at math? Three things your character can’t do that most other people can such as whistling, swimming, or reading well? How about three things your character fears, such as heights, dogs, or insects?
Player
These five questions direct your play experience itself rather than your character. What do you want out of your game? If a group answers these together, they can expect dramatically rewarding game sessions, and the GM will know clearly what’s expected to give everyone a good time.
16. What kind of story does your character belong in? Who are the characters your character interacts with? What settings does he or she inhabit? What themes are important? What conflicts does your character face? These things are important to understand so your GM can create adventures that will engage your character, and so you will have a better chance at getting along with your fellow players’ characters.
17. What role does your character fill? Roleplaying is all about the ensemble cast. Make sure you fill a unique role in the party, and you aren’t stepping on anyone else’s toes. Consider your role in the interpersonal relations of the party, your role in combat, what skills your character is best at, and what thematic note your character hits.
18. What should the other players know about your character? These should be major thematic points, your character’s general emotion (if it isn’t secret), potential surprises or areas that might be difficult, and any other pertinent information. Also start sketching out potential interactions, such as another character you might go to for help (or who might go to you for help), or someone you’ll probably butt heads with. Getting these things out in the open is important to ensure there aren’t unpleasant surprises.
19. What is your play style? Do you like heavy character immersion, or attention to detail in the rules, or perhaps you’re especially goal-oriented? Maybe you’re a bit competitive. Do you prefer lots of colorful descriptions, or a quicker framework understanding of situations? Do you speak in your character’s voice? You may not even be aware of your own play style. Keep this in mind as you play so you can better communicate with your fellow players about the direction of the party as a whole, and the course of the adventure. This also helps your GM understand your personal needs at the gaming table.
20. How do you want your character to die? Your character won’t live forever, although you might not play him or her to the end. If you had your choice of deaths for your character, what would it be? Death of old age, having survived through all his or her trials? Perhaps a bloody, violent death? A noble sacrifice? Happenstance? It can also provide an unusual layer of texture to your roleplaying, as you have a better understanding of your character’s fate. It will also tell you if your character is a tragic or heroic one. Finally, it can help your GM in resolving conflicts in-game if he or she has an idea of your comfort zone with threats to your character’s life.
Miscellaneous Stuff regarding your submission
-Your submission won't be complete until you've posted the following in a single post or posted in your character's profile with a link to it. (in other words, Put all of it in one place so I can find it using both hands.)
-You'll need your character's stats, background, personality, appearance, and answers to the questions below.
Questions from your GM
-Who are you and how are you doing?
-How often do you tend to post?
-What kind of tone are you looking for in this game?
-What do you expect out of your fellow players?
-What do you expect out of me (the GM)?
-What is your comfort zone? Where's the line for you in RP terms?
-How do you see your character progressing as a character?
So, if I haven't scared you off yet, you should have something like this when you're done:
sample submission wrote:
HI, this is my character Gazebo the Magnificent!
Stats:
Something like the official stat-blocks from Paizo here. You can see what I'm looking for with the example below with one of my characters:
Josephina Annabella Whitehall
Female human (Chelaxian) paladin 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +1
Aura courage (10 ft.)
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 21 (+7 armor, +1 deflection, +1 Dex, +3 shield)
hp 44 (5d10+10)
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +8
Immune disease, fear
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee +1 longsword +11 (1d8+5/19-20) or
. . dagger +9 (1d4+4/19-20) or
. . heavy shield bash +9 (1d4+4) or
. . unarmed strike +9 (1d3+4 nonlethal)
Ranged light crossbow +6 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 3/day (DC 14, 3d6), smite evil 2/day (+2 attack and AC, +5 damage)
Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +7)
. . At will—detect evil
Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
. . 1st—cure light wounds (2)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 21
Feats Extra Lay on Hands, Shield Focus, Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Versatility
Traits alabaster outcast, mediator, sacred touch
Skills Acrobatics -5 (-9 to jump), Appraise +1, Diplomacy +11, Handle Animal +6, Heal +7, Knowledge (nobility) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Linguistics +3, Perform (sing) +7, Ride -1, Sense Motive +6
Languages Celestial, Common, Thassilonian, Varisian
SQ divine bond (mount), lay on hands 6/day (2d6), mercy (shaken), sheltered
Other Gear breastplate, heavy wooden shield, +1 longsword, dagger, light crossbow, ring of feather falling, bedroll, blanket[APG], cleric's vestments, explorer's outfit (2), masterwork backpack[APG], noble's outfit, signet ring, silver holy symbol of Iomedae, waterskin, 14 gp, 4 sp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Animal Companion Link (Ex) Handle or push Animal Companion faster, +4 to checks vs. them.
Aura of Courage +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. fear.
Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell).
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Fear (Ex) You are immune to all fear effects.
Lay on Hands (2d6 hit points, 6/day) (Su) As a standard action (swift on self), touch channels positive energy and applies mercies.
Mercy (Shaken) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the shaken condition.
Paladin Channel Positive Energy 3d6 (3/day, DC 14) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Share Spells with Companion (Ex) Can cast spells with a target of "you" on animal companion, as touch spells.
Sheltered You become shaken when you have less than half your maximum hit points.
Smite Evil (2/day) (Su) +2 to hit, +5 to damage, +2 deflection bonus to AC when used.
Weapon Versatility Weapon w/ Weapon Focus: shift grip to alter damage to B/P/S (free act.).
--------------------
Animal Companion
Wolf
CG Medium animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 17 (+1 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 enhancement, +5 natural)
hp 45 (5d8+20)
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +3
Defensive Abilities evasion
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 50 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +5 (1d3+2 nonlethal) or
. . bite +6 (1d6+4)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Improved Natural Armor, Toughness
Tricks Attack, Attack, Attack Any Target, Combat Riding, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel, Hunt
Skills Acrobatics +9 (+17 to jump), Perception +7, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +7; Racial Modifiers +4 to survival when tracking by scent
SQ attack any target, combat riding, hunt
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
+4 to Survival when tracking by Scent +4 to Survival when tracking by Scent.
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.
Evasion (Ex) No damage on successful reflex save.
Hunt [Trick] Hunts or forages for food to bring to handler.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ feet by sense of smell.
Trip (Ex) You can make a trip attempt on a successful attack.
Background:
Put your backstory here. I don't mind reading a novel if you bang one out by accident.
Appearance and Personality:
Can be separate or together, just so long as they are both there, and you put in how tall your character is. This is also where you put links to any images you may have found that your character looks like.
Answers to the questions above. I find it helps to keep things straight if I do it something like this:
Question
Answer
Question
Answer
but that could just be me.
Beyond that, there are a few things that I expect.
-Be kind and courteous to others, though I hope that goes without saying
-Remember this is a game, and that what another PC or NPC feels about you is not what the player or the GM feels about you. Again I hope that goes without saying.
-Try to post daily, especially when we're in combat. I'll try to do the same.
-Play your character. People aren't perfect, and neither are good or great characters. Your PC may suffer for it, but it makes the story more fun to play out.
-Don't be afraid to ask questions and evilly plot with the GM to throw a monkey wrench into your character's plans. I do it, and I believe that my characters have come out stronger for it.
-Ask questions. I'll try to answer them. If I don't, ask again, I probably forgot to answer.
-Don't sweat the small stuff. I'm a laid back guy, and if you got something wrong on your sheet and you didn't catch it until later, or if you've figured your bonuses wrong, don't worry. I'll fix it if it's feasible, or let it stand if it isn't
-Have fun. If you aren't let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix it, because my job as GM is to make sure that you have fun. If you don't I didn't do my job.
Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
~DM Salsa
P.S. Because I know I've forgotten something, updated submission rules will be here:
Submission Rules
