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Medieval Greece isn't a bad comparison, but the combination of it being the center of a once sprawling empire and now a center of culture as seen in the opera that Roma and the northern Italia cities are a closer analogy. The Eastern Roman empire was steadily conquered by Turks, is there a force subsuming Taldor that I'm not remembering?
as much as I dislike the mega-corporation that is Games Workshop (they seem to be the only minis you can get in the UK in any quantity) their tomb kings range would be a perfect fit I would imagine. Warsphinx, knights riding giant cobra, and some cursed individual composed of a swarm of scarab beetles, heck yeah!
Could be pilgrims to see the iron gods. The gearsmen could be initiates of the faith, or holy sacrifices.
I've been into visuals for inspiration lately, so when I came across this I thought "Mummy's Mask," or at lest Osirion. Spawn action figures: Age of Pharoahs
I'm pretty sure that you can resolve any number of bonds per session, but you only have one bond per character. There are other independent games that instead of a statement have an emotion, and that emotion can be a plus or a minus depending on the situation; while, in Dungeon World, the bond is always a plus if you are assisting the person bonded. And, yes, it is a great game and highly recommended. It is not a game that ever will require another rulebook, though, because it is the epitome of "sandbox," Pathfinder's campaign setting series can be useful.
So, I've been racking my brains trying to figure out how the prospective Iron Gods GM would sell this AP to the average population of Pathfinder players who mostly have this sentiment:
My working theory is that it has everything to do with presentation. Think about Star Wars: a New Hope, Lucas has you swallowing bigger and bigger doses of disbelief as the film goes on, until Obi Wan is saying, "Yes, the Force. It flows through everything..." Even though it is presented to us with interstellar vessels from the opening scene, it is the humanity of Leah and the 'droids against the faceless Empire that gets the audience to buy-in to the narrative and ignore the lack of physical logic. But, it is a challenge because there aren't popular examples of this kind of genre, "this" being a genre where the main assumption is fantasy with a little bit of weird science, as opposed to ones where soft science fiction is the assumption with smaller doses of supernatural. Lovecraft created a sense of fear by presenting a hereto unknown otherworldly race that cultivated a feeling of fear (by lack of knowledge), and powerlessness (by the Cthul-oids being so deadly). In Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars" the sense is of heroism as the surprise is that the main character is more powerful than the dangers he faces and the unknown is overcome because the tale is narrated by the main character as a flashback. Most Pathfinder players will probably benefit being eased into the idea of Iron Gods by analogies more genre-centric, like an Tian Xia cleric that worships the element of metal, alchemists with alchemical clockworks, wizards with cannon golems. I will be calling the Technic League the Technic Guild, or some-such that doesn't sound so 19th century. And I'll certainly have to promise any potential players no energy weapons, whether affected by Use Magic Device and Dispel Magic or not. An example of presentation: A princess who is kidnaped by a Black Knight who works for a Sorcerer EmperorStar Wars... you mean that movie where the farmboy meets a wizard who tells him to become a knight and then they go off to save a princess? ;)I'm not so much of a hater tho as i'm mostly overreacting, but my only fear is that this is a big hit and that the normal fantasy slowly disappears into nothingness to be replaced for 100% by lasers and robots because the Starwars junkies always demand more.
Tasty as long as you aren't a wild animal. (warning, link contains pictures of dead elephant and leopard). I didn't know about this. Thank you, Sara.
There are many different role playing games and some of them aim for rules simplicity, often letting the narrative explain specifics rather than mechanics. This is definitely not the way D&D has evolved. However, if you wanted to play a fantastical Medieval Europe pastiche power-acquisition game inspired by D&D with a different rule set, "re-skinned" as it were, then I could imagine two handed weapons, if not all melee weapons, doing effectively the same damage and other mechanics, although it would be a scythe and the narrative would reflect that (e.g. token villager for comic relief will mention you are early for harvest, you always have a convenient walking stick, you get caught on branches and other objects in close environs). Since the title of this thread mentions the yet-to-be-released fifth edition of D&D let me suggest that the "core" of that rule set looks to be pretty rules light and probably would do fine with generic statistics for weapons of each non-exotic grouping, even if that isn't what the published rules will state. Whatever system you would like to play I recommend not waiting until in session to mention to the game master/Storyteller/Head Honcho that you've taken liberties with the rules. Always best to ask for feedback from the group when the muse strikes.
I'm curious, how do people generally have PCs learn the final method of destroying a haunt? Is there some method other than divination that people like? For me, if it comes down to a die roll it might as well not have been there. Haunts not only create atmosphere but give the characters another opportunity and incentive to explore and interact with the game world other than combat. You make that happen with consistent and clear descriptions, but be careful to not have it turn into a note taking marathon. Make the names evocative, not long slurs of incomprehensible syllables. Reuse catchy and descriptive adjectives for the same person/place/thing. With the example of the wizard's crypt above where the portrait of the wizard is on the wall use the same description the villagers used to describe the "sketchy-eyed old man" who used to live in the manor for the portrait. Raise your voice, change your tone, do something a little different when you describe so that the players know they are hearing something relevant. Unless you want it to be a dream session for investigative librarians you need to be a bit obvious in your mystery, I've found.
I've heard that there are rules for honor in the Jade Regent series and rules for a changeling race in Carrion Crown. However, looking at the product description pages for the various books I can't tell which ones hold these rules. I was also looking for the relationship/romance rules presented in Jade Regent, but discovered they are in the player's guide for that path. Which turned out to be a double bonus, as that guide also presents rules for caravan statistics, encounters, and conflict resolution. In contrast, Kingmaker's #32 clearly states in the product description that it contains the rules for building settlements. Is there a source which lists all of the hidden features of the various adventure path books and where they are to be found? I suspect that the honor and changeling rules may not be the only ones of interest. Thank you for your help. Michael
DM Scarogoth, it looks that you would appreciate writing samples as part of your assessment of potential players. Below in the "spoiler" sections are writing samples designed to fit with this adventure path. Thanks, again. Writing Sample 1:
Journal entry 170. The Kelhi family has been far less than appreciative of the difficulties in procuring accurate data, and the discipline of alchemy in general. At the mention of generous compensation some take a genial, though still apprehensive, tone, while others become violent. However, madame Jacian herself has been practical, seeing the long term benefits her assistance in my experiments will have for her family financially. This morning she had a message delivered to me stating she had "made her peace" and instructed me to be at her domicile during the mid-morning prayers her family would be attending at another location. My servants were able to get her on a stretcher and in a carriage without incident. Once in my care, samples of her alchemical components were taken: blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile. She enjoyed a good meal at my table and we lounged with a digestif by the fireplace. Just moments ago she was placed into her final confines, a weighed glass box with four individually weighed contents. The contents are a ceramic bowl of fly larvae, a ceramic potted Cyprus yearling, a glass bowl of water holy to the Kellid, and a ceramic basin with straw mattress to hold the newly purchased slave, madame Jacian. Sir Gustivas Aluicious Lepidski, PhD. Writing Sample 2:
Journal entry 171. Tonight madame Jacian, Kellid slave, died while still inside the glass box she was placed in late yestereve. The whole unit, the sealed glass box and all contents, weigh 418.12 kg. As has been previously noted, each item in the glass box, the human specimen, the bowl of fly larvae, the potted Cyprus yearling tree, and the bowl of water holy to the Kellid, is separately weighed. Since noon and six and a half hours post meridian today, the weight of the bowl of fly larvae and the potted Cyprus yearling tree have not changed. The human specimen, slave Jacian, weighed 307.48 kg at noon today, but at six and a half hours post meridian, thirty minutes after her jaw dropped open, diaphragm deeply sunk with coinciding sound of exhale, and waste voided, the body weighted 306.99 kg. The bowl of Kellid holy water weighted 5.6 kg and 6.09 kg at noon and six and a half post meridian, respectively. Initial supposition, ethereal essence of human specimen, or soul, left body during the first phase of elemental disassociation, or decay, and adhered to the the ethereal essence of the water. Sir Gustivas Aluicious Lepidski, PhD. Writing Sample 3: Gustivas walks the mist-shrouded streets over the steps of his Alma Mater, the Quarterfaux Archives, to the Unbroken Line winery. Ah, Professor Lepidski it is that time again, isn't it sir?Seemingly answering his own question, the elder clerk turns and pulls down two bottles of Shiraz from behind the counter. Seeing Gustivas' quizzical look, Two, yes. I hear things, you know. Professor Lorrimor has died, your mentor, and by some measure, friend. Half price on the second bottle, my contribution.Gustivas paid and thanked the venerable clerk, even managed a respectable smile, then wandered. Lost in his thoughts, Gustivas found himself on a canal bridge, but none surprised. Producing two glasses and a cork screw from his jacket he prepared a toast for himself and a guest. Geraldina, to your rest. May my recent discovers be the final bits of knowledge needed to let your soul find the peace your body has. Mist takes an orange hue in the setting sun's light and a salty tear falls in the canal on a journey to the sea.
Hello Mr. Scarogoth, thank you for starting a game on here. I haven't played Carrion Crown before, but am familiar with the concept and I am excited by the prospect of playing it. I haven't done PBP before, but like the idea of being able to write a colorful reply and get into a more narrative side of role playing. If you are familiar with White Wolf's World of Darkness line, some of their more recent products have had suggestions for alternative forms of role playing, including correspondence play. I haven't done these either, but I'm glad that there are experiments into different styles. I'm curious as to how you plan on executing this. Is there a block of time that you hope to have vigorous interactions with, and between, the characters? What time zone? I like what you described in your opening post, including the limitation of character build options. I think Gothic horror is best served with a sense of familiarity which can lead to personal dread. The more outlandish the characters the harder this may be to achieve.
Went to Ravenstone, got We Be Goblins and the Dragon Age quick start. Not much going on there (but there rarely is). There was a shop in Reynoldsburg, but I didn't head down there. At Ravenstone we played the All Flesh Must Be Eaten module followed by the Pathfinder one. I'm not sure what you were expecting from a game store.
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