Mask Golem

Smashtag's page

Organized Play Member. 38 posts (260 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. 1 wishlist. 1 Organized Play character. 6 aliases.




As the smoke from the destroyed construct and the fired pistol drifts about the ballroom, twining itself around the stunned aristocrats, Baron Eichorn von Ryuko suddenly begins screeching.

"CURSE ALL OF YOU! You fools cannot even follow simple rules! This was easy, so blooming easy! All you had to do was choose! But noooo, you all had to try and play the high road, as if any of you, ANY OF YOU, can boast clean hands! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! YOU IDIOTS!"

Ryuko whirls and runs from the balcony, and you can hear an airship, his airship, starting its engines, and the massive BOOM of its cannons as it lifts away; the Baron had obviously been prepared for this eventuality. The shells land not on the ballroom, but amongst the other airships in a hurricane of destruction.

The aristocrats are left standing in the ballroom. The servants have fled as their master did.


Absalom, the Center of the World; she reaches to the sky as she embraces her people, and her teeming streets boast Ulfen, Chelaxian, elf, halfling, and gnome alike. Traders from Qadira rub shoulders with warriors from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Colorful Varisian caravans come with their goods and their guards to haggle with dwarves emerged from their ancient mountain halls. Truly, you can find anything in Absalom...including your destiny.

Like flotsam washed into her bay, you have arrived in this shining city to seek your fortunes as Pathfinders, your reasons as varied as the colors of the ocean. The Grand Lodge is headquartered here, a combination barracks, training facility, and fortress. Here, you have been trained as a Pathfinder. Here, you have passed every test set before you, save one.

You have all been called by the Chamberlain to meet with Ambrus Valsin, the Venture-Captain in charge of the daily rounds of the Grand Lodge... and of all of you. An old warrior, as rough as the wood he appears to have been carved from, Venture-Captain Valsin has hounded each of you through your training, pushing you, forcing you to understand your true potential. Now, he has one final test for you that will determine the course of your future with the Society.

One by one, you arrive in the marbled foyer outside of Venture-Captain Valsin's office, and one by the one the waiting Chamberlain greets you all with words that seem practiced, smooth:

"Venture-Captain Valsin will see you shortly; as soon as the rest of the recruits arrive, in fact. Be patient. You are at the call of the Society, and not the other way around. If you grow impatient, well, you will soon have your fellow recruits for company."

He indicates several padded benches along the wall of the room.

"Be at ease. Venture-Captain Valsin will be seeing you all shortly."

Your adventure begins here! Please determine what gear you are carrying on your person and what gear is in saddlebags, your barracks room, etc and note that on your sheets. All animals are stabled at the Grand Lodge's stable behind your barracks.


This is a free-form game with a loose story that will be shaped by the players.

Setting information:

Spoiler:

Alternate Earth is a strange place. Socially, the etiquette of Real Earth's late 1800's hold sway; advanced technology such as computers, robotics, and airships exist alongside magic, sentient animals, and living avatars of the gods. The landscape is malleable: scars and craters from past conflicts between magi lay alongside mountains raised by Mole engineers.

It is in this world that Baron Eichorn Von Ryuko held a series of parties under the ostensible cover of a land giveaway. Eager aristocrats, rich in title but poor in holdings, flocked to his parties to claim their shares, only to find that assassins lurked with hidden blades, ready to jump upon their own prizes.

Von Ryuko's last scheme, however, went awry as the aristocrats refused to play his sadistic game of accusation, lynching, and paranoia.

Now the aristocrats stand in a ruined ballroom filled with smoke; what lies in store for them is as shrouded in mystery as Von Ryuko's plots...

For the prologue to this game, see DougFungus' Murder Mystery Tour.

This is a game where the main constraints lie only in your imagination. Your character can be anything you want (with the exception that you must have limits; see below). The setting is shaped by the players as well: If you want to fly a pirate airship, then pirate airships exist. If you want there to be a forest nearby, there is a forest nearby. What players create exists in the game and for the other players to interact with.

This game has few rules.
1. Any action taken that involves another character must be left open to give them a chance to respond.
Example: GMSmashtag: "I draw my sword and run GMSeirou through!" is NOT acceptable, as I did not give Seirou a chance to respond. "I draw my sword and attempt to run GMSeirou through!" IS acceptable, as GMSeirou has a chance to respond by either parrying, dodging, accepting the hit, etc.

2. Characters are fallible. You must play your weaknesses as well as your strengths. No 'god-moding'; I.E. your character must have a reasonable explanation as to why he can destroy a mountain to actually destroy it, and the other characters must be given the opportunity to stop you if they so choose. Limitless power quickly becomes both annoying and boring in a pure RP setting.

3. GMSmashtag and GMSeirou will be available to answer any questions or assist in resolving any conflicts. PM us, or post in the discussion thread.

4. Multiple characters will be allowed as soon as the game gets underway and as long as the players feel that more characters would be beneficial to the game.

I will set up the initial gameplay post as soon as all players check in.

Thank you for playing, and have fun!


You may use this thread to discuss build, backstory, Society questions, and all other OOC needs.

We will start the game when everyone has their characters finished up and posted.

Enjoy!