101 nights of... Alkenstar!


Recruitment

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Welcome to Alkenstar land of guns, steam and magitech! Read on if your looking for guns and (magi)technology instead of swords and sorcery.

This game is designed to test out Thunderscape content as such at least three of the five party slots must be Thunderscape classes, the Hollows last hope trilogy (and perhaps Hungry are the Dead) will be what I am running albeit it heavily modified. This will be a more outdoors type of game against such things as mutants, undead and so forth.

Combat will be theater of the mind since this will rarely if ever involve dungeon diving.

Selection will take place a day or two after New Years, you will be given twenty four hour notice.

Hollow's end:

Hollow's End is a small village deep within the mana wastes, it was founded on a small vein of manite ore and is a typical boom town from the wild west.

Notables include Boss Tweed who is the local 'boss" of the mines and is a petty, vicious individual who will try to get away with as much as he can in the mines.

Deldrin Baleson is a half elf (of the Drow variety) and is the sheriff of Hollow's End. He is perhaps the only authority figure in Hollow's End that regularly stands up to Tweed and company.

Gavel Thuldrin Kreed, the head of the mines when it comes to paperwork and management. Suspected by many both of extortion and embezzlement.

Magistrate Vamros Harg, a vicious bastard who is the "mayor" of the town. His more evil excesses have so far been restrained by Baleson despite Harg's threats and (attempts) to remove him.

Players (with GM review) can create connections and so forth here for their backstory.

Alkenstar, the uncanon version:

Years ago a desperate band of refugees made their way to the mana wastes, they encountered all manner of mutants, abominations and even greater dangers from the blighted desert...
Then they came upon a group of Drow explorers and history was changed forevermore... The Drow quickly learned the information they desired from these refugees and concluded that the refugees would be more valuable alive and loyal then as bleached bones in the desert...

The Drow sent the refugees supplies and weapons... In exchange the nation of Alkenstar as it would become known would beholden to the Drow city-states of the Underdark, serving the Drow as their hand upon the inhospitable surface world...

From the Underdark flow guns, ammo, grenades, cannons and all manner of strange items. Alkenstar takes these items and sales them to the outside world and use them to survive...

Untold rewards and riches unfathomable await those who would dare the wastes of Alkenstar...alongside unimaginable horrors and strange wonders from a war of mages...

Do you have what it takes to make it in Alkenstar? Will you retire upon a a bed of gold or will your bleached bones serve as a grim testament to the dangers of the wastes?

The crunch:

point buy 20
level 2
starting gp 500
Alignment any non evil
races allowed all core plus Drow and Mutant (see their sections), featured and uncommon races will require more convincing.
Classes allowed. Fighter, Alchemist, Rogue, Slayer, Investigator, Gunslinger, Cavalier, Swashbuckler, Spell Less Ranger, all thunderscape classes except for the Thaumaturge.
Firearms (see Firearms section).

Drow:

Drow, we all remember them as spider worshiping, demon loving psychopaths with a severe case of backstabbing disorder. Or as clichéd rangers duel wielding scimitars with panther companions, frankly I don't know which is worse...

Say hello to these Drow who are neither of the above, they are a hardy and intelligent race of industrialists who gave the surface world guns, magitech and a host of other interesting stuff.

Relations with other races: Most of the world only knows legends and hearsay about the Drow (since they tend to lurk in the Underdark or in Alkenstar) as such they have a reputation as amazing scientists and engineers who can seemingly defy any challenge... While this quite true the Drow do nothing to dismiss such illusions and flights of fancy.

Drow and Elves however have a deep (but recent) racial hatred (or at least apathy). To the Elves the Drow are earth destroying monsters who seem to only exist to strip mine entire regions of all resources. To the Drow elves are backward primitives desperately fighting to hold territories with what...paintbrushes?

Drow Racial Traits
+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma: Drow are both hardy and intelligent but know that honeyed words will not stop a roper from strangling you...

Elf: Drow are humanoids with the elf subtype.

Medium: Drow are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed: Drow have a base speed of 30 feet.

Darkvision: Drow can see in the dark up to 120 feet.

Drow Immunities: Drow are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.

Skill Training: All Drow consider the Perception and Stealth skills to be class skills.

Underground Sneak
Drow gain +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy), Perception, and Stealth checks. The bonus on Stealth checks increases to a +4 bonus while underground.

Spell Resistance: Drow possess spell resistance equal to 6 plus their class levels.

Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds drow for 1 round; on subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.

Weapon Familiarity: Drow are proficient with all Firearms except the Sniper Rifle.

Languages: Drow begin play speaking Elven and Undercommon. Drow with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Drow Sign Language, Gnome, or Goblin.

Mutant:

Mutants are those who have been tainted by the storms that ravage the mana wastes, they are mistrusted by most and are the tieflings of Alkenstar.

Mutant Racial Traits
+2 strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Cha. Mutants are strong and hardy but their appearance damns them in social encounters.

Mutants are Aberrations (they gain darkvision 60 feet).

Medium: Mutants are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Mutations: Mutants are a wild and varied lot, select three mutations from the following list. Each mutation can only be selected once.

Natural Armor +1
Natural attack
Poison Resistance
Hardy
Resistant
Unnatural
Spell Resistance, Lesser
Camouflage
Climb
Terrain Stride
Toxic
Fast

Normal Speed: Mutants have a base speed of 30 feet.

Languages: Humans begin play speaking Common. Mutants with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).

Firearms:

Firearms in world of Aden are much simpler then in Pathfinder and will be used, they are house ruled however to maintain the attack to touch AC rule (natural armor is considered touch AC).

Holdout pistol: cost 10 gp, damage 1d6, crit x3, range 30 feet
pistol: cost 25 gp, damage 1d8, crit 19-20x2, range 30 feet

Scattergun: cost 75 gp, damage 3d4, crit x3, range 20 feet
Rifle: cost 50 gp, damage 1d10, crit x3, range 60 feet

Sniper Rifle: cost 100 gp, damage 2d6, crit 18-20x3, range 110 feet

Ammunition
Armor Piercing (10) 5 gp
Bull (10) 10 gp
Heavy (10) 2 gp
Rubberized (10) 1 gp
Sniper (10) 3 gp
Standard (10) 2 sp
Wounding 20 gp

Firearm Weapon Descriptions
Holdout: This is an extremely small and easily concealed
firearm, designed to be used as a last resort. The holdout grants
a +4 bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it. The range
penalties for a holdout firearm are double that of a normal ranged
weapon (-4 per range increment). Reloading a holdout is a move
action.
Pistol: This basic weapon is the most common firearm
weapon. It consists of a short handle and trigger and a short
barrel. Reloading a pistol is a move action.
Rifle: You need at least two hands to use a rifle, regardless of
its size. This firearm features a long barrel and a sturdy stock,
granting the weapon an excellent mix of range and firepower.
Reloading a rifle is a move action.
Scattergun: This weapon has two parallel barrels and allows
two shots (one from each) before it requires reloading. The
scattergun requires a full round action to reload (both barrels are
reloaded at the same time).
Alternately, you can fire both barrels in a single attack. When
doing so, you can either choose to inflict 4d4 damage against a
single target or attack two adjacent targets, applying a -4 penalty
to your attack roll against each and inflicting 2d4 damage per
target.
Sniper Rifle: Though this weapon counts as a firearm, it
requires an exotic weapon proficiency to use. Precision damage
(such as sneak attack) may be applied to an attack with a sniper
rifle as long as a move action is used to aim the weapon in
the same round in which it is fired. The Sniper rifle requires a
standard action to reload.

Ammunition Description
Armor Piercing: This type of ammunition ignores up to 2
of natural armor bonus to AC. The firearm
inflicts damage as if it were one size smaller, skipping Small size
if the firearm is designed for a Medium creature. (See Tiny and
Large Weapon Damage, Chapter 6, Pathfinder Core Rulebook.)
Bull Shot: This special scattergun ammunition is designed
to deliver extreme amounts of kinetic energy to its targets over
a wide area, knocking them off their feet. A scattergun loaded
with bull shot always delivers a bull rush or trip attack (their
choice) after inflicting damage on a target within the weapon’s
first range increment. This maneuver is made with a -4 penalty to
the shooter’s CMB. If both barrels are fired at once, the scattergun
gains no bonus damage but also receives no penalty to CMB.
Scatterguns using this ammunition inflict one less die of damage
than normal.
Heavy Shot: This ammunition type is expensive but is made
of purer metals and hits especially hard. It grants a +2 damage
bonus. (This bonus is doubled if you are firing both barrels from
a double barreled scattergun.) Attack rolls while using heavy shot
suffer a -1 penalty to hit.
Rubberized Shot: This advanced form of ammunition uses
a magically treated form of Kyanite tree sap. These bullets are
designed to remain as hard and inflexible as metal until exposed to
high velocities, whereupon they soften and flatten. The resulting
mass strikes its target with great force, but does relatively little
lasting harm. Half of the damage inflicted by these bullets is
nonlethal damage. The range increment of a weapon using this
type of ammunition is halved. This ammunition cannot be used in
rifles or sniper rifles.
Sniper Shot: This type of ammunition is designed for
maximum aerodynamics and range. The weapon gains a +1
bonus to hit, rather than a -2 penalty, for each range increment
of distance between the attacker and his target. This applies only
for the first five range increments; you begin accruing penalties
normally beyond this point. Attacks against enemies within the
weapon’s first range increment suffer a -2 penalty to hit. This
ammunition can only be used with rifles and sniper rifles.
Standard Ammunition: This ammunition type is inexpensive
and offers a +1 damage bonus. (This bonus is doubled if you are
firing both barrels from a double barreled scattergun.)
Wounding Shot: This type of ammunition is designed to
fragment upon striking, and it causes grisly wounds. The target
suffers 1 point of bleed damage every round until it receives
magic healing or a DC 15 Heal check.

Note to Gunslingers:

Due to the nature of firearms in this game some of your deeds may not be as useful as previously imagined (or not work at all), talk with me and these useless deeds will be replaced with something more useful...


My first thought is the gunslinning cavalier archetype, but I will look over Thunderscape.


A friend pointed this thread out to me - I don't have time to post a full submission at the moment since it's both 3 AM and Christmas, but I shall dot with interest.

I have a mesmerist/gunslinger/swashbuckler multiclass who blends gunplay with hypnotic trickery to dazzle and confound his enemies who might be a very good fit for this sort of game.


A question for the DM?:

I have oft been intrigued by what can and can not be 'done' with fire arms in fantasy settings, given what has been tried and attempted in real life.

SO!

With that being said, what are your thoughts on a weapon such as,

This

Being turned into,

This?

What I see, from your posting of weapon stats is a 'scatter gun' firing 'solid shot' rounds and the wielder taking a hefty -4 to aim and let loose with the thing. (Now, duel-wielding said monstrosities is something yet again!)

Of note is the original wording for the [b]Titan Mauler[b] archetype for the Barbarian class in that it made no distinction between melee and ranged weapons!

It was only after the introduction of the Gunslinger etc I do believe that errata came along and specified that the titan Mauler abilities only applied to melee weapons.

Sorry for the long winded post, but just offering things for thought.

Much cheers to all and wishing every one a merry season's greetings and the very best for the new year.


@Game Master Mesmerist will have to go, it doesn't fit the flavor of the campaign (Mechamagic is the main form of magic in Alkenstar partly because it is more resistant to malfunctioning during mana storms) however gunslinger and Swashbuckler are perfectly acceptable.

@, for now we shall be keeping to the world of Aden firearms. If I decide to continue after the Hungry are the Dead module however the party should be at least level 6. As a result they will get the chance to experiment with some homebrewed stuff, mainly "Steam Weapons" which are Drow weapons which are powered by steam cells.

Think such fun things as flamethrowers and automatic (belt fed) weapons.

Shadow Lodge

Jesus ive always wanted to play a sniper gunslinger, this material makes it possible! Considering deeds will be really limited considering the changes on the firearms I was actually planning to play a Trenchfighter, im guessing it could fit well on alkenstar. Roughly I wanted to play a gunmarshal or a gunmarshal wannabee, maybe I will the the Grandmarshal prc in due time if the game lasts long enough.

A question, how does rapid reload work with those weapons?, depending on that i probably will think on using a Musket master because maybe its the only way to free action reload the sniper rifle, which i definetely want to use. Of course then we would have to check how deeds may change (such as quick clear since it seems misfires are nonexistant)
Anyway looking forward to this campaign

Edit: Idea, maybe replace some deeds with the ones the Bolt Ace has


@ElementalXX, rapid reloads lowers the reload action by 1 step (full round reload becomes standard, standard becomes move and move becomes free action). If your wanting to be a sniper consider the Rogue or Slayer classes, their sneak attack damage is applied through a sniper rifle regardless of range...

Also a note, I have considered the matter of the Shotgun pistol and now it does exist...

The handcannon:

Infamously nicknamed the "handcannon" this big, double barreled pistol is the favorite of those who need close range firepower that is concealable.

Handcannon: cost 50 gp, damage 1d6 (2d6 if both barrels are fired at once), crit 20x2. In all other ways except reload time and range (standard action) treat this weapon as a scattergun.

Range 10 feet.


Is Thunderscape the only 3pp allowed? I have nothing specific in mind at this point. I am just checking to see what is available.

Shadow Lodge

@gm Dust Devil, I was considering going slayer after i get fast musket (so at 4th level) so that I can free action reload the sniper rifle.(unless there is other way to get free action reload) While I normally like the flavor of one shot one kill of the sniper rifle the rules dont really support it , it would mean losing iteratives nad rapid shot/haste which kind of hurts


@Nohwear, for classes Thunderscape only however I will examine third party sources other then Thunderscape for things such as feats and weapon/armor enhancements.

@ElementalXX, that would be the only way but are you aware of the Vital Strike feat line?

Shadow Lodge

@DM Dust Devil, Im aware of Vital strike but I dont really like that feat chain as it is, only time I have used it was on Wrath of the Righteous when I had access to mythic vital strike, with my ranger i did really cool sniping. If you open it I could consider going that route


Not Mythic for sure (I think from what I have heard paizo needs to redesign the mythic rules) although if there are any non mythic feats from 3rd party sources that could aid the one hit, one kill sniper concept you can run them by me.

Also here is a feat from World of Aden you might like.

Gutshot:

You can use a firearm to inflict a vicious wound.
Prerequisites: Dex 17, Point Blank Shot, Deadly Aim, base
attack bonus +6
Benefit: When using a firearm, your first attack each round
automatically inflicts maximum damage (as if you had rolled
the highest possible result on each die) and the damage bonus
from Deadly Aim is increased by 1-1/2 times normal. Only the
weapon’s base damage dice are affected; additional damage dice
due to effects such as sneak attack, weapon abilities, Vital Strike,
or additional damage rolls from critical hits are not maximized
in this manner.
If your first attack in the round misses, this effect is wasted
for the round.

Dark Archive

I am INSANELY interested in joining you in this! =)

Just...just give me a moment to put together something truly worthy of this epic epicness you have put before us.

Oh my but I do likey the guns, but I've never had the chance to play with them. =)


So, after looking through Thunderscape I think that Thunder Scout seems really interesting. Although, if we need a healer I would not be opposed to playing a bug druid.


Oh I forgot, everyone add 2 light healing potions to your equipment. I am not a believer in the party having to have a dedicated "healbot" as a necessity.

@Nohwear this will be an an open air sort of adventure, as such a Thunderscout should be able to use their vehicle at least 85% of the time.

Shadow Lodge

@DM Dust Devil, thats a pretty sweet feat, altought i can use on a full attack too. Anyway im keeping my eyes open for any 3rd party feat which sounds interesting for this but in the meantime i will stick to musket master.

(actually trought martial versatility+ pummeling style you can snipe with a very good damage but that may be too much. Maybe a toned down version for ranged attacks would work)

Now on the fluff part i was planning to play an shieldmarshal, unfortunately paizo has almost no information about them, because they havent written much about alkenstar anyway, so i will ask you at that level what rank i could attain more or less. Or maybe im just fit for a wannabe, thats cool for me too maybe my goal could be to join the shieldmarshals. In the case if get to be a shieldmarshal I want to be a openfield agent or a sheriff (if they have those, they should right? lol)


@ElementalXX, you probably wouldn't be a Shieldmarshal to begin with. However you could potentially become one with the assistance of Hallow's sheriff, Deldrin Baleson. Solving the town's problems even as a mercenary (which is pretty much what the PCs are) is likely to draw his approving eye.


Parting song

Parting Image

Thank you very much for the consideration GM Dust Devil. The 'Hand cannon' is beautiful. :)

Sadly, my Real Life schedule is too random for me to concentrate on generating a character for your wonderful creation.

Much cheers to all.


Are Thunderscape traits allowed? Maybe the better question is what from Thunderscape is not allowed?


Looking to be chirugeon alchemist with a shady past and selective memory. A healer, too, if you want one at all.


@Nohwear traits from Thunderscape are allowed, what is not allowed from Thunderscape is the Thaumaturge. This is primarily because it has the feel of an "eastern" class, in Golorian at least that class would be found lurking within Tian-Xia. The reason the Entomancer is allowed is because this is Garund as such insect druids are to be expected.

@Emile backstory?


Emile was raised by waste bandits and took part in some particularly vicious raids willingly. She used to be a sadistic biznatch who experimented on living things until she messed with a strange machine in the wastes and got 'reset', with a new personality and only vague memories of what happened before. She's usually a do-gooder now, though, and will subconsciously go to great lengths to avoid the truth of what she did.


Cliche, I know.


Do note that if players desire to play thunderscape classes but don't have the info I am willing to PM the info.

@Emile very cliché indeed...


If it is too cliché, I could just have her be a compulsive liar whose actual origins are so boring they don't bear mentioning.


I suppose this is to the group more then the GM, but would it be better to take a motorcycle or truck? For those that do not know, Thunder Scouts have a custom vehicle. I am probably going to focus on being awesome in mine.

Dark Archive

My heart is leading me to a human gunslinger because...well I've always wanted to play one and I've never played one. Don't hate me, I promise to turn the RP up to 11. ;)


"The roaring thunder of my rifle is that last thing you will hear"

I just finished my Backstory, i still need to finish the crunch which I havent fully decided yet


@Silver, simple but effective... Instead of the Quick Clear deed you may choose a dare (d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/greater-vital-strike-combat---final).

@Everyone consider what Nohwear is saying as their is a lot of customization that can be done to a thundercycle and a steamwagon... Like a sidecar for the former and a big fat cannon for the latter.

@Emile I could actually see a Fallen (fallen in this settings are mutants who got caught in a mana storm) with your first backstory.


I'd love to do a fallen, but I need a link to the crunch.


Nevermind. It's up there under mutant. /facepalm
But I do need to choose a mutation, and I'm not sure what they all are.

Shadow Lodge

@ GM Dust Devil, (i think you linked to greater vital strike, lol.)
Well anyway i guess dares work, thats nice. As a musket master I still get rapid reload musket, which is kind of weird since there are no muskets in the settings, may i trade it for rapid reload sniper rifle?.


@Elemental, you may.

@Emile should have made it clearer, mutants are basically those who got off "lightly" compared to their Fallen cousins who are infused with the warped magic of the wastes rather then merely warped by it. It's perfectly possible to be both a mutant and fallen, if you want the class info I will send it to you.

As for the mutations on the mutant you can find them here, http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedRaceGuide/raceBuilder/racialTrai ts.html


GM Dust Devil wrote:

@Elemental, you may.

@Emile should have made it clearer, mutants are basically those who got off "lightly" compared to their Fallen cousins who are infused with the warped magic of the wastes rather then merely warped by it. It's perfectly possible to be both a mutant and fallen, if you want the class info I will send it to you.

As for the mutations on the mutant you can find them here, http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedRaceGuide/raceBuilder/racialTrai ts.html

I would like to look at the class, thank you. And thanks for the url.


crunch done!

Dark Archive

Crunch and backstory!


Hi, I am putting together my Arbiter... She should be fearsome...
I want her to be the daughter of a drow and Baleson. So 3/4 drow or according to PF = full drow... :)

Shadow Lodge

Would you allow the Mechamage to be played? I'm interested in playing a Gear Gnome with an Iron Golem companion. (Although it is tempting to play as a Gnome with the Childlike trait and a Doll Golem as a companion for a comic relief character)


Gear Gnome eh? Is that a regular gnome or a variant? Mechamage certainly.


What would be really cool if you had a bronze or brass golem that started to go green due to the rain.


How are we doing hp again? First level max and roll after?


That I was wondering too i think thats the last thing it was missing


Serriously, Thunder Cycle or Steam Wagon? This is a major decision.


Steam wagon.

Shadow Lodge

the ones that looks more like a motorcyle, motorcycles are cool

Dark Archive

Logistically speaking, Steam Wagon.

The Exchange

Here is my Mechamage character Zander Cogvalt, the Gear Gnome (A listed racial variant for Gnomes) with his trusty Copper & Bronze Golem Copperbottom

Will make a background soon for him.

Copperbottom Image


So. I drew and painted Emile today.
Emile


Aaand she's pretty much done.

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