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BE IT SO KNOWN that the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, acting within its own authority and upon the advice of the Swordlords of Restov, and for the greater good of the People of the Nation of Brevoy, has granted unto Chalm Surtova, cousin of His Majesty Noleski of Brevoy, the throne and charter of the lands south of Brevoy, that wilderness region commonly known as "The Stolen Lands".
HIS MAJESTY Chalm Surtova thereby does call for a body of reputable and experienced explorers and adventurers of acceptable social standing, that they may be granted the honor of swearing fealty unto him, that they may become his vassals and liegemen, uphold his rights and honours, execute his laws and justice, and protect his people and country. They shall be required to uphold the River Freedoms in his name, yet establish upon the land that Freedom that shall replace the Sixth, that the people shall have not what they can hold, but what they have earned and created by their own labors. They shall thus be required to strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior should it be encountered, to clear the land of perils and monsters, to develop their assigned fiefdoms, and to protect the subjects of the new kingdom.
IN RETURN for their oath of temporal fealty unto His Majesty Chalm Surtova, his line, and his nation, should they be of honourable estate, they shall receive patents of nobility from His hand as appropriate to their labours and station, and shall partake of the kingdom's largesse in proportion to the labour and effort with which they shall invest it.
SHOULD you perchance be of a company of venturers of reputation and honor, and should you be interested in settling a new land and bringing order and progress to such a wilderness, you are commanded to present yourselves and your credentials to His Majesty's chamberlain, Fidel Réviser, and His Majesty's Captain of the Guard, Sir Costaud Soutenir, to be found within the City Hall of the Free City of Restov, on or before Oathday 26th day of Abadius, 4710 AR, that they may be reviewed and submitted to His Majesty Chalm Surtova for acceptance and oathtaking during the gala the Crown of Brevoy does command to be given for His Majesty Chalm Surtova by the Lord Mayor of the Free City of Restov, Ioseph Sellemius, to be attended by the Nobility and Swordlords of the Free City of Restov, upon Oathday 2nd day of Calistril, 4710 AR.
SO DECREED on this Toilday 2th day of Abadius, 4710 AR, under the watchful eye of the Overlord of Restov, by King Noleski Surtova, by the authority granted him as Regent of the Dragonscale Throne.
(Signed)
Noleski Surtova, Brevoy Rex
(His Seal)
First, this will be a significant undertaking - not four nobodies going out to set up a couple of farms in the Greenbelt and beyond, and hacking through a few 'issues', but a sizeable number of individuals seeking their fortunes, with oaths of fealty sworn to a recognized noble that the current king trusts moderately, but can do without if he fails like so many other things in the River Kingdoms. As a consequence, this game will have:
- A large number of players - up to 16 - with cohorts and followers, enabling them to roleplay both in concert and at odds with each other;
- Advanced (7th level) and complex characters, with magic items, extensive equipment, abilities, backgrounds, IC history with each other, and the like;
- Multiple smaller groups of 3-8 individuals, sometimes all of one type (leader/cohort), sometimes a mixed bunch, where leaders will not necessarily be paired with their own cohorts, thus enabling players to be involved in multiple experiences (and not have to RP off themselves); and
- plenty of spotlight time - a fair amount of politics, significant chances to be underhanded (or to NOT be underhanded), enforcement of law and order, slam-bang fights, at least one war, flamboyant duels, spectacular magical fireworks, and who knows, maybe even a romance or two.
As written above, this is Noleski Surtova stealing a march on the Restov Swordlords, so politics and a social situation will be involved right out of the gate. However, hot on its heels will be a fight, a kidnapping, a discovery, a running battle, a choice, a chase, another fight, another social situation (of sorts), another choice, and ...
... and that's just the prologue.
This campaign will start out at a higher level, and also go Mythic (with certain enhancements of my own devising). This is not a campaign to learn to play; while people new to the system are welcome, I certainly hope to have people who know the system inside and out upon whom I can lean if/when it comes to crunch.
Speaking of crunch, I am utterly unfamiliar with the Kingdom and Army rules; while use of them is well in the future, if anyone has good experience and can shepherd us through them, it will be of benefit. If we do not gain anyone with such knowledge, I am more than willing to play fast and loose, using and abusing knowledge skills, followers, random die rolls, and lots and lots of narrative to describe effort put into growing the kingdom.
If you are thinking you won't get to be the king or queen (even if, as Mel Brooks says, "It's good to be the king") in this game, you are correct; you probably won't, since the aforementioned Chalm (pronounced 'Calm') Surtova is the king, and you are going to be his firemen. I use the word 'probably', however, because the reason for Mythic tiers is because though this game is based off the Kingmaker campaign (and all its events will take place in this campaign), you will have a far more difficult task ahead of you than just spanking some bloody jumped-up nymph for getting too big for her britches. You will be epic; you will be legendary; you will be Mythic.
Or, y'know - you'll die.
All players from Corsario's Kingmaker - Agents of the Kingdom are not only invited, but have priority and immediate acceptance into the game. Yes, even Axhammer, Grogimus, with the caveat about it being a requirement of the game that he swear an oath of temporal (i.e. earthly) fealty.
At game start, characters will be organized (with their cohorts) into groups, based off common elements or themes within their backgrounds and characters; it will be a given that these groups have been in existence for at least five years, and that any particular individual has been a member of the troupe, fighting beside and protecting and trusting each other, for at least two years. (This gives you a sizeable depth of trust implicit with each character and cohort in your group.)
Teams may have worked with each other, may have been rivals, but at the very least they will know of each others' reputation. Rivals may have fought each other on the field of battle, but after the war they should be able to have a drink together. This will not be a PvP game.
The first adventures will see characters out of necessity working together; afterwards, past group allegiences will be remembered but superseded by loyalty to the entire group, and players will be expected to trust each other, "mix and match," and split into any configuration needed at the moment.
If you can assemble your groups on your own, that's great.
Recruitment will be open for one month, until the night of Sunday, 18 December 2016. I will allow myself a week to analyze and make selections, and intend to give Christmas presents by posting the roster of accepted individuals late Christmas Eve / early Christmas morning, so you have plenty of time to make a good character.
More importantly, take the time to assemble a coherent background that fits into Kingmaker, Brevoy, and the River Kingdoms. Good writing, and a good background, counts highly. The area and culture are loosely based off post-Renaissance France and Spain (what with duelling); do your homework. Most importantly, understand that I have done my homework, and can puncture an overblown background with a rapier wit.
(Get it? Duelling and rapier wit? See what I did there? ... okay, never mind, forget I said anything. Sheesh, you people ...)
Ask questions. Be flexible. Be friendly. Be Courteous. Be willing to have fun.
Unchained Classes as below.
Fractional Base Bonuses.
Background Skills.
Artistry and Lore skills available.
Skill Unlocks available.
Scaling items available.
Words of Power available.
I don't have everything memorized; if you're wondering, ask.
Level: 7
Attributes: Point Buy, 25 points. Minimum Charisma 12. (This is a hard minimum, so don't try to finagle me.)
Races: Core primary. Featured races may apply, but I will select at most 1 Featured race out of every 5 characters.
Alignment: Any Good; Lawful Neutral, True Neutral.
Classes: Core and Base (no 3rd party). Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner must be Unchained. No witches. Standard multi-classing, no variants.
Archetypes: Maximum 1 per class. 3rd party archetypes only to replace those lost to Unchained.
HP:
. . Game Start: Maximum for level.
. . Advancement: Average (round up) + 1 (So 1d8 = 6.)
Traits: 2, 1 must be Racial or Kingmaker; +1 from 1 Drawback.
Feats: Normal for race, class, and level.
. . Bonus story feat; initiating events assumed to have happened.*
. . Bonus leadership feat: Leadership. To get it out of the way now, no, you cannot have Cohorts instead.
. . Crafting Feats allowed, but all items at start are purchased at full cost (no discount).
Skills: Unchained, +1 background skill point per level.
. . Profession and craft skills may be useful for downtime.
. . See 'Crafting Feats' above regarding items at start.
Gold: 24,000 gp, no crafting.
. Magic Item Limits:
. . 1 magic up to 8,000 gp
. . 1 magic up to 4,000 gp
. . Any magic up to 2,000 gp
. . 2 wand maximum + 1 healing wand
. . 10 potion/scroll maximum, +10 healing potions/scrolls
Spells and Spellbooks: Not initially tracked. For those who msut find and transcribe spells (e.g. wizards, etc.), double the 'new level' spells (4/level for a wizard).
* - You know - you've died and come back to life, or you've stolen 1,000+gp worth of stuff and you've kept souveniers, whatever. I am particularly flexible with Story Feats; if there's an effect you want, but the thematics of the Story Feat doesn't quite fit what you want (e.g. Dynasty Founder, but you want to build a trade company), don't worry, ask me and I'll work with you. Same thing with Traits.
Leadership Feat
In this game, Leadership - including your follower numbers - will grow into importance. You must build the cohort you acquire from the free feat. You possess a general reputation modifier of +3 (of 'Renown' and 'fairness and generosity'); you possess no benefits nor drawbacks as of yet in regards to follower reputation.
Cohorts
Your cohort is your secondary character; you should put almost as much effort into their character and background as you do your own. Your cohort should either amplify your PC's main strength (a fellow cavalier, for example), or else take care of one sector of situations (one, not all other) where your character is weak - magic, social situations, underworld issues, etc. As your cohort will often be seperate from your PC, hyperspecialization is ... not recommended, but will be accepted, because if they get killed, you get a Leadership penalty for your next cohort, don't you?
Cohort Creation
Level: As per your PC's Leadership feat. Special rule: cohorts will gain in levels in lockstep with the PCs, remaining at least 2 levels behind them (again as per your PC's Leadership feat).
Attributes: Point buy, 20 points.
Races: As PC, including 1 Featured per 5 characters.
Alignment: As PC and Leadership.
Classes: As PC.
Archetypes: As PC.
HP: As PC.
Traits: As PC.
Feats: As PC, including bonus story feat. Will gain 'nesting' Leadership-style feat at 7th level (may select Cohorts now, if desired, and gain a free feat at 7th).
. . Crafting Feats as PC.
Skills: Unchained, no additional background skill point.
. . Profession and craft skills may be useful for downtime.
Gold: 10,000 gp, no crafting.
. Magic Item Limits:
. . 1 magic up to 3,000 gp
. . 3 magic up to 1,000 gp
. . Any magic up to 500 gp
. . 1 wand maximum + 1 healing wand
. . 5 potion/scroll maximum, +5 healing potions/scrolls
Spells and Spellbooks: As PC.
Followers
Followers do not need to be fleshed out, but you are permitted to do so. Followers above 1st level may possess PC classes; only 1/3 of 1st level followers may have a PC class.
Attributes: NPC (Basic).
Races: As PC, including 1 Featured per 5 characters.
Alignment: As PC and Leadership. No Evil or Chaotic Neutral Minions, thank you very much.
Classes: As PC.
Archetypes: As PC.
HP: As PC.
Traits: 2 traits, 1 of which must be Racial or Kingmaker. No drawbacks.
Feats: Normal for race, class, and level. No bonus feats.
. . Crafting Feats as PC.
Skills: Unchained, no additional background skill point.
. . Profession and craft skills may be useful for downtime.
Gold: Depending on level, below.
. L3: 3,000 gp
. . 1 magic up to 1,000 gp
. . 1 wand maximum, including healing.
. . 2 potion/scroll maximum, +2 healing potions/scrolls
. L2: 1,000 gp
. . 2 potion/scroll maximum, +2 healing potions/scrolls
. L3: 300 gp
. . 1 healing potion.
Spells and Spellbooks: As PC.
If you do not flesh out the followers to such an extent, they will be presumed to have the equipment necessary for their assigned task - masterwork if possible, standard if not. L3s will possess 1 CLW wand and 2 CLW potions; L2s will possess 2 CLW potions, and L1s will possess 1 CLW potion.
Future followers will come similarly well-equipped; your NPC followers (as you can tell) are a couple steps above the average when it comes to equipment. I have yet to determine magic-item breakdowns, but followers will generally possess PC-level wealth-by-level.
- Builds: Build the build you want to play.
- Background: Limit your background plot twists to 1, maybe 2. An overcomplicated background typically irritates me. Let it make sense, not be a fantasia; that's what the game is for.
- Writing: Be coherent, use all the rules for spelling/punctuation/capitalization/etc. Ugly writing makes for an ugly character.
- Leadership: Consider your character in light of the people they've drawn to them. Why do they follow you? What do you offer them that they can't find elsewhere?
- Personality: Give your PC one, and not a two-dimensional cardboard one. Take a moment to come up with a dozen adverbs or adjectives that describe him or her. Lively; bubbly; disgruntled; thoughtful; irascible; tender-hearted. Whatever they are, come up with them, and then infuse them through your background.
- Equippage: You don't live in your armor, and you need to move your gear. Reflect your character's personality, background, everything else in their gear.
- Background: Overcomplex is overcomplicated is bad. Simple is beautiful. Most people are just people; most heroes are just the right people in the right place at the wrong damn time.
- Location: This is Brevoy; don't come from the far side of the world without a Very Good Reason.
- Description: What's that 12+ Charisma mean? Are you a stunning 20 Cha elf with legs that go all the way up? Or a 16 CHA half-orc who might have a certain rough attractiveness, but whose power of personality lights peoples' spirits on fire?
- Ask to use your own race / class / 3rd-party product.
- Totally min/max your character.
- Ignore the build requirements.
- Create a character background that makes no sense.
- Make a loner.
- Be incoherent.
I use the 9-point system for Law/Chaos and Good/Evil. Actually, I technically use an 89-point scale for each of those two (L/C and G/E); there are 'transition points' where you really know you're about to slide, and you can get a decent idea of how far you're sliding one way or another due to certain acts and the like. However, while Good/Evil is relatively easy to explain, talk about, agree upon, Law/Chaos is not.
Law and Order are essentially synonymous; a Lawful person likes structure, whether internal or external, in their lives. Social structure tends to be important to them; self-discipline tends to be at least as important. They tend to follow laws - just laws if they're a Good person, any laws if they're an Evil person, and then twisting the letter and the intent of the law until it squeals to their advantage.
Chaos and Freedom are equally synonymous; a Chaotic person likes freedom in their lives. A Chaotic individual prefers the freedom to be able to make their decisions without social pressures to make them a certain way. They tend to believe that people can make their own life decisions without someone somewhere telling them that they can't make certain ones. They may choose to obey a law (or laws), but it's their belief in freedom that allows them to make that decision.
All of them believe in consequences for your decisions; only madmen and qlippothics believe otherwise.
In most RPGs with alignment systems, and especially in Pathfinder, alignments are essentially objective conditions. What that means in game-play is that if I warn you you are currently or about to be engaged in an act or situation that may radically shift or violate your alignment restrictions, then take it as guaranteed as gravity, as certain as water being wet, that that's the condition that's happening.
Like with anything - see my 'I want to have fun too' section in 'about myself', below - you have two OOC posts at best to try to convince me that what you're doing does not violate your moral code (Good/Evil) or your code of ethics (Law/Chaos). Understand / realize / remember, however, that while you play your character, I play all the rest of the world around your characters. That's the king, and the servant girl, and the wind and grass and trees and monsters and, oh yeah, the Gods. If I post that your cleric character is getting the sense that Cayden Cailean disapproves of the imposition of her will upon someone, and you can't convince me in a post or two over in the Discussion thread that your actions are essentially freedom-loving, then that's the way it is - your actions, at that moment, are not approved-of by the Lucky Drunk as being too Lawful. Back off and keep your alignment, or press on and accept the consequences, whatever they may be.
I am an a#+*~!%.
Let me say that again, just so that you and I are on the same fvcking page:
I am an a~!$#&!.
I will not coddle you. I will not automatically be careful not to insult your tender-wender feelings. I will kick your ass when you're being a schmuck, I will kick your head when you're being a pedant, and I will kick you out of the game if you deliberately wind me up. If you don't need any of those things done to you, you will find that I generally like people, that I'm a laugh riot, that I don't take myself too seriously, and that I can take an insult like a champ. But make sure you're wearing your big-boy/girl pants if you want to play here, dammit.
I run with an eye towards realism. That doesn't make my game a slavish image of reality, and that won't make this a simulation instead of a game, but someone who uses ass-backwards logic in the vein of 'well, the X here could be anything, it's a fantasy X with magic' is going to get Gibbs-slapped the first time they say it, and b!tch-slapped the second - because fantasy games like this one have their core roots in what we as humans know. Brevoy and the River Kingdoms are a blend of late- and post-Renaissance Spain and France, adding a touch of robber-baron and bandit king to it. Nobles in Brevoy have a vested interest in seeing the commoners kept in their place, even if the commoners aren't their commoners. You can spurn these things, but doing so will have consequences - and those consequences can mean you getting executed for giving offense to a royal person.
I do not play your character - only the rest of the world. This means that you control what your character does, I do not. What I do control and dictate is how the rest of the world reacts to your charater. If you diss the princess, the nobles around her take affront on her behalf. You might get repeatedly challenged to duels. You might be seized by the royal guard for lèse-majesté, taken out back, and be executed for the treason under which that class of actions is defined. I don't dictate what you do; I only dictate what the rest of the world does in reaction to what you do. Heal a person? Defend a town? Slay a marauding dragon? They love you, your reputation grows. Start throwing fireballs around the tavern - or the town? Well, they don't love you, but your reputation DOES grow; just not the sort of reputation you might want.
Learn the Six River Freedoms. Seriously, if you're playing in the River Kingdoms (and we are) this sh!t winds up impacting about 80% of your interactions. The above declaration - and, essentially, what 90% of the game is going to be about - is strong-arming a majority of the Kingdoms into changing #6 ("You Have What You Hold") into actual rule of goodness and law, as #6 essentially legalizes banditry. #4 might get a facelift, but learn, learn to love, and live by the other four as if your life depended on them - because they probably will.
I write the way I want myself, my character, or the world to be viewed. I write very, very well for an amateur, and I've been trying to break into the pro scene (if I can get at least one of my ten different projects done), but it means that I write well. And I check my writing before posting it. And I tend to use word selection specifically for its implications and impact. (Subtlety is my friend, though it may not be yours.) The more you write, the more you learn to write; the better you write, the more people want to play with you. Learn to write well - and then do so.
I want you to have fun. Being a player means wanting your character to do Cool Sh!t(TM). That means Spotlight Time - you know, the moment in the game where you do Cool Sh!t(TM)? That's when the spotlight is on you and your character, and you do your Cool Sh!t(TM). That spotlight can move fast - there's a lot of characters that are going to be here - but if you want to try some wild-ass stunt, then by all means, try your wild-ass stunt. I am, in fact, here to facilitate your wild-ass stunts. I am also here to provide you with Object Lessons on why wild-ass stunts are wild-ass, because when you fail, you look like a wild ass. (And if it's a wild-ass stunt, then I think there should be a reasonable chance of you failing - but I'm pretty sure we'll figure out together what 'reason' in such a case means.) But I'm also here to cheer when your wild-ass stunt succeeds, and reward you appropriately for managing to pull it off, you crazy kid.
I will be flexible - within reason. If I have a set-piece I need to run you through, then you will encounter that set-piece no matter where you go - Mivon, Daggermark, or Absalom. However, if you try to hie yourself all the way to Absalom or some other place that is clearly well out of the campaign expectations (e.g. the River Kingdoms and environs), then I reserve the right to be a bit cross about it, and Gibbs-slap you for making me twist reality not only into a pretzel, but into a Moebius strip in order to make everything work because of your ludicrous craptastic journey to Absalom just because your oats are up and you want to have a go at the Starstone.
I want to have fun too. I am not going to get involved in huge arguments about politics, an off-the-wall interpretation of a rule that depends on how you define one word, or whatever. I am open-minded, and I know what I don't know - to wit, much of the system. However, I've been playing and running pen-and-paper RPGs for over thirty years, and so I can smell a bullsh!t attempt at sixty paces. You have one (1) chance - that means two (2) posts max, and maybe one (1) post - to convince me of a rule interpretation. If I say no, roll with it, and try again the next time, because the next time I may agree with you for a myriad of reasons. Like I said above about realism and playing the rest of the world, though, it means that for the most part, 'usual consequences' will be usual. What I said above about you having fun means that I WILL adapt the game to the wild stunts you crazy kids try to pull off - either through consequences due to your failures, or amazement due to your successes. But if I start approaching this game with trepidation, if the moment I see '3 new messages' I get a sour feeling in my gut, I will locate the cause of my upset and I will make it not be a cause of upset any more, either through telling the offender to get their act together, or removing them from the game for not having done so. Because I want to have fun too.
And because I am an a@!#&~$. I reserve lots of rights - the right to Gibbs-slap you, to tell you you're being a schmuck or a pedant, to ask you what drugs you're smoking if you think you can use two lances at once during a charge, to take a phone book to you if you think your special snowflake deserves special treatment. I especially reserve the right to kick your butt out if you not only go out into left field, but stay out there and scream and whine and cry and tell me I'm being unfair for doing all of the things I've already warned you right above this very statement that I was going to do. I also reserve the right to run a howling good game, to write like a poet (and to write entirely new poetry appropriate to the game), to make pugnacious NPCs, to make you fear for your character's life, to run you ragged, and to try to make this the best game ever played on Paizo.com.
And I'm setting out to finish this game, not just start it. And hoo-boy, what a finish. Do you feel like going up against a god? You do? Great, because that's just the opening part of Act 6's main attraction.
Now, you got all that? You did? And you're still here? Smokin'. Go put together a character, and let's go make fvckin' magic.
I look forward to reading your submissions.
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Dotting: Interesting take. I will start building a submission.
Hmm, we'll see if I can come up with two linked characters. That was a stumbling block for me last time a game vaguely like this came up.
This sounds like a tremendous headache on your part, but this is just way too cool to pass up.
I shall be placing a Dot of Tentative Interest here. Even if I do not manage to come up with something, this seems like a game that would be interesting to at least follow.
Similar dot of tentative interest.
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@GM TWO: I have a tricky question for you... as far as I understood, the main characters will often taken missions always from the secondary and vice versa, but what would happen if the main character looks like to be the cohort?
My idea is of a stalker vigilante who has the social identity of an unassuming page/squire of a famous knight. The knight would be the actual follower. Would this be possible at all?
P.S.: Hi Wyrm! I was Baltor in your Homecoming game.
Dotting here. Thanks for the heads up.
I'm very intrigued by this, it looks fantastic and different enough from regular Kingmaker that I'm okay with applying here. Holy crow, though. This seems fantastic.
Holy s+~# yes. I mean dot.
Edit: Some clarification required.
Except for psionics, all Paizo if it can be explained into the region. (Like I said, background counts.) No 3rd party unless added below.
Classes: Core and Base (no 3rd party). Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner must be Unchained. No witches. Standard multi-classing, no variants.
Does this mean all paizo is allowed for character options but we are only allowed Core, Base and Unchained classes?
dotting here per pm...
dot
Dot~
Dot
Alright, this game sounds invested enough to be interested (and I've been looking for a new kingdom-builder).
P.S. Would you like to have a few players/characters offer to take point on kingdom stuff? I'm currently running a game with kingdom-building elements, and would be happy to help crunch mechanics on that.
* * *
EDIT: Okay, also: echoing the above question on classes—does this mean no hybrid, psychic, or vigilante classes? (Also, are PrCs limited to the original set of books?)
Oh! And I noticed the above comment on psionic classes. Did you mean occult classes? (Since psionics are 3pp, but psychic classes aren't)
Alright. I've finally decided to submit a human barbarian. And the time to really hone it.
Oh, now this looks cool. I'll have a Half-elf Magi up by tonight.
Except for psionics, all Paizo if it can be explained into the region. (Like I said, background counts.) No 3rd party unless added below.Classes: Core and Base (no 3rd party). Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner must be Unchained. No witches. Standard multi-classing, no variants.Does this mean all paizo is allowed for character options but we are only allowed Core, Base and Unchained classes?
Okay, also: echoing the above question on classes—does this mean no hybrid, psychic, or vigilante classes? (Also, are PrCs limited to the original set of books?)
All right, that's what I get for doing a 'copypasta' from someone else's old campaign, and not having my wits about me and my head in the game when it comes to PF classes and PrCs and stuff. So let me handle these one at a time, and please forgive me if my terminology is screwed up; it's pretty clear that I've screwed up the differences between 'Core' and 'Base' classes, and forgot things like the hybrid classes.
Psionics: For some reason I thought the psionics stuff was Paizo. (Dreamscarred Press, now that I actually look at the cover. Duh.) So thankfully that's by-definition out. :D
Psychics: Thank you for mentioning this, because I totally forgot about it. My apologies, but psychics adds another level of complexity to things, and I'd rather not go there.
P&P Explanation: Understand that I like the ideas for both of these; one of the best characters I played in early AD&D was a heavy-duty psionic class. But at least at the moment, both psionics and psychics (or both simultaneously, if they're essentially the same thing by different names) are rulesets that have been radically revised from what I learned lo these many years ago, and I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with the revised versions. Maybe at some point I'll try to play in or run a game that's entirely psychic/psionic so I can get used to the rulesets, but for now, that's a morass I'm not ready to wade into. (That and a player a few years back created a true monstrosity for a game I was in; left a bad taste in my hindbrain that will take dedicated effort to scrub out.)
Hybrids and Unchained: Obviously all the Unchained classes are not only allowed, they're mandatory. The hybrid classes (Arcanist, Bloodrager, Brawler, Hunter, Investigator, Shaman, Skald, Slayer, Swashbuckler, and Warpriest) are all entirely allowed.
Vigilante, other Paizo classes and PrCs: This has been inquired about by several people, but the following is the best Q so I'm going to quote it and answer it directly.
I have a tricky question for you... as far as I understood, the main characters will often taken missions always from the secondary and vice versa, but what would happen if the main character looks like to be the cohort?
My idea is of a stalker vigilante who has the social identity of an unassuming page/squire of a famous knight. The knight would be the actual follower. Would this be possible at all?
Hi, Sir Longears!! Good to see you again.
The vigilante and all other classes and PrCs found throughout the Paizo line, so long as they are not psychic classes (which would violate the 'no psychic stuff' above) are allowed. This is what I get for not having a Paizo-to-Wyrm dictionary handy, huh?
However, in specific regards to the vigilante and the question asked above, my answer is this: 'This would be a problem.'
As I understand it, the vigilante class uses secret identities and the like to move unnoticed among the populous; fine as far as it goes. Works better when the game stays in one specific city, but since the game will not always be monsterslaughtering in the wilds, it could still work. I don't know the class very well, but I HOPE the 'secret ID' would still be able to survive a combat at their class level.
The specific question asked - 'can my leader be a vigilante' - is a trickier question to ask. If you want the TL;DR answer up front, it would be 'No, only a cohort can be a vigilante.' The explanation behind that is that the leaders are the people being summoned, and who will be called to affix their names to a legally (and, shortly thereafter, magically) binding document. You can't do that if the people in charge don't know that you're the leader. Should the above happen, the cohort would become the actual noble, be looked to for decisions which would in reality be above his pay grade, and all the rest. It would be Bruce Wayne in the Wayne Industries boardroom, trying to make decisions he is in no way prepared for because Alfred is the real Batman with the super-genius intellect.
As a consequence, the actual leader needs to be the public leader. This does not mean that you can't play a vigilante; I absolutely love the idea that a cavalier's batman (in its original meaning) or squire/page is secretly a flamboyant, semi-psychotic Scarlet Pimpernel or Zorro, running around behind a mask doing bad things to worse people, unknown perhaps even to his 'lord and master' the noble knight. But doing the reverse would have dire, and possibly unplayable, consequences for your characters in the very near future.
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As a notation, one of the legacy players (a sizeable number of whom have gone 'YAY!', which in turn makes ME go 'YAY!!') has enquired about Spheres of Power. I have heard of SoP several times, and have taken a look at it, but I have two current problems with it:
- Spheres of Power is AFAIK not in Hero Lab, which I am leaning heavily on for my balancing and double-checking. (And if you use Hero Lab, please include a link to your character file(s) so I don't have to go through the labor of doing it all again.) If anyone knows of a SoP add-on for Hero Lab, let me know.
- I am very, very not familiar with the system, which raises my concerns in regards to 'adding on a sub-system' found in the psionic/psychic stuff above. However, because and only because it is a legacy player asking, I will be creating the first of a series of threads, 'Walk Me Through It', that will assist me (and hopefully others) in learning this particular sub-system, how it works with the rest of the game, how well it balances, and the like. (I plan on making WMTI posts for the kingdom-building rules, the army rules, and the Path of War stuff - though that won't put PoW on the approved list any time soon.)
As a reminder to bloody well everyone: read every single word and spoilered thing in that first post. There are critical things to be found there, the most critical being that entire 'About myself' bit, which I hope will pretty much set expectations for GM/Player interactions during the game. As well, you are not done with your character until you've built both of them. I'm seeing a fair number of 'I'm gonna make a Gender Race Class!!' when in reality it should be 'I'm thinking about a Gender Race Class, with a Gender Race Class cohort, and a group of people who Concept.'
A good example would be my GMPPC (GM pseudo-PC) being carried over from the previous game - Coalhouse Porter, a male half-orc rogue/monk who is a very straightforward baggage handler, and his half-sister cohort Alysandra Janus, a female half-elf bard who puts y'all to shame in the diplomacy and contract negotiations department. Their concepts evolve together; you won't be able to properly build one character without giving serious thought to the other. So give it serious thought!!
Questions!!
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Thanks for the answer Wyrm! Since it is going to be a problem, instead I'm probably going with a paladin as the main PC and a vigilante disguised as his squire but that actually is a spy/assassin.
I was inspired by Robin Hobb books.
The Paladin will be a noble, a honored warrior and a good man in general.
The Squire/Vigilante/Spy/Assassin will be his nephew. I'm aiming for a royal assassin, working directly for the crown, sent on his first field mission... being a squire is a pretty good disguise since it would allow him free movement both in courts as well among the common folk.
The plan is for the Paladin to not know about his nephew's assassin role (which he would disapprove since he needs to be LG) but he would also be somewhat aware of his nephew's spying job, even if he believes the boy is doing so for his father and not for the crown.
The fun stuff is that the vigilante can have two tendencies... one for the social persona (LG) and the other for the vigilante (LN) so there would be little chances for the paladin to smell something weird.
Spheres of Power is AFAIK not in Hero Lab, which I am leaning heavily on for my balancing and double-checking. (And if you use Hero Lab, please include a link to your character file(s) so I don't have to go through the labor of doing it all again.) If anyone knows of a SoP add-on for Hero Lab, let me know.
FYI, A simple google search for Spheres of Power Hero Lab will bring up this link.
As for learning Spheres of Power, I will say it is probably the easiest pathfinder system that I have ever come across. I am sure that when you finally create the 'Walk Me Through It' threads you will find it short.
My character's cohort is a monk with an archetype... I have to convert him to an unchained monk, but can I keep his archetype?
Alrighty! Revising my plan away from using psychics suggests I'll be building two sorcerer brothers (if it's okay, I'm planning to have one go veiled illusionist, and one to go arcane trickster).
Now to decide on secondary classes (I've got occupations/roles, but it's worth thinking about things like what classes best fit those roles).
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Is there a preferred format for submissions, or just "generally make it look clean?"
Dot for interest.
I'm thinking a blind two-weapon fighter, with the appropriate feat chains, and his perky alchemist cohort--who is also his dealer, since the incident that left our stalwart hero without his eyesight also left him hooked on a sordid little concoction to manage the pain.
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Thanks for the answer Wyrm! Since it is going to be a problem, instead I'm probably going with a paladin as the main PC and a vigilante disguised as his squire but that actually is a spy/assassin.
I was inspired by Robin Hobb books.
Know them well, so I understand where you're coming from.
The Paladin will be a noble, a honored warrior and a good man in general.
The Squire/Vigilante/Spy/Assassin will be his nephew. I'm aiming for a royal assassin, working directly for the crown, sent on his first field mission... being a squire is a pretty good disguise since it would allow him free movement both in courts as well among the common folk.
An ... interesting theory, with one core equally interesting issue that raises its head, to wit 'how will I be an assassin without being of Evil alignment?' (Recall/read the alignment notes above.) There are ways around it, but this is definitely something you need to explain, because for the long-view game that the PCs will be the agents of accomplishing, the manner and methodology is as important as the success.
The plan is for the Paladin to not know about his nephew's assassin role (which he would disapprove since he needs to be LG) but he would also be somewhat aware of his nephew's spying job, even if he believes the boy is doing so for his father and not for the crown.
The fun stuff is that the vigilante can have two tendencies... one for the social persona (LG) and the other for the vigilante (LN) so there would be little chances for the paladin to smell something weird.
Two things.
First, a LG individual - or rather, a non-paladin LG individual - can very, very easily approve of the efficiency of the use of an assassin. Quietly murder one individual, prevent a war that kills thousands, that sort of thing. (Rulers especially need to possess this capacity.) Paladins need to be made of sterner, or perhaps more focussed, stuff; while they might be party to infiltration, the fellow who needs killing would definitely be required to have a blade in his hand, have a chance to survive.
Second, 'spy and royal assassin, on his first mission for the crown', is not likely to be a situation in which such a character would be finding themselves at any time in the next RL six months to a year. I do not deny that the spy skillset (whether acquired via archetype or PrC) will be useful in the future; there are plenty of cities and governments that need to be 'cased'. Assassin, should you manage to come up with a LN or TN methodology that you can stick to, is similar - potentially very useful, even if it's only in the defense. But unless you go out of Brevoy and make your cohort an assassin-spy for someone else, the only Royal within reach at game-start who is currently outfitted (per se) with spies and assassins is Noleski Surtova.
Consider also the potential personal-conflict issues lurking. After the paladin gives an oath of fealty, should he discover that his cohort is NOT working for him and the king to whom he's sworn that oath, he would be honorbound to capture and bind him over for the king's justice if he could do so, or slay him if he could not. (And a paladin ... what's a paladin get you that you can't acquire some other way? ;) )
So the core issue that needs to be addressed (by me, really) is this:
If you do not make sure your characters - both leaders and cohorts - are free to give their full and complete loyalty, you are running a very real and immediate risk of needing to write up a new one. Because of that, this is something that would break an application.
My character's cohort is a monk with an archetype... I have to convert him to an unchained monk, but can I keep his archetype?
Yes. Purple Duck Games' archetype is the approved Unchained update for Zen Archer.
Is there a preferred format for submissions, or just "generally make it look clean?"
By preference the standard from Hero Lab, and if you have Hero Lab, you should provide the file to me. (Keep your GM happy!! Let him do less work!!)
FYI, A simple google search for Spheres of Power Hero Lab will bring up this link.
Twenty bucks for one add-on; ouch. But thanks for the link.
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The first 'WMTI' post, for Spheres of Power, is now up. Also available (and recommended) for use is the Recruitment Tracking Sheet, with an example already filled in. (Columns with green headers should not be written into.) You should link your character's name to their information, for easy access for me. Ability gauges (Enable / Control / etc.) are from 0 to 1, going by quarter-points. Anyone who thinks their character deserves above a 1 in something ... is probably tooting their own horn too loudly, and will receive a particularly detailed examination by me when that time rolls around.
What's the timeline on this whole thing? I'm just now realizing that this will be a bit of work, and I might need to pace myself a bit.
Hi GM! Submitting Timm Tones here for your appreciation. I have the Hero Lab file, by the way, and I can send it to you. :)
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Regarding Spheres of Power (a system that is entirely unknown to me by the way), the following couple of links may help. "May" being the operative word here as at first glance they do seem somewhat complicated and maybe a little reminiscent of Words of Power (please note the "at first glance" caveat).
What's the timeline on this whole thing? I'm just now realizing that this will be a bit of work, and I might need to pace myself a bit.
I believe I posted the timeline on the recruitment in the 'About the recruitment' section of the very first post. Let me check.
Yup, I did.
If you meant something besides the recruitment, please specify. Otherwise, try reading the original post.
Hi GM! Submitting Timm Tones here for your appreciation. I have the Hero Lab file, by the way, and I can send it to you. :)
I do not want you to send a file to me; I do not want to give my email out if I don't have to. I also would prefer not receiving a PM just to tell me you're applying, when a submission - and questions about submissions - belong in the thread. Give me a link to your character file, where-ever you might host it (Google Drive is a handy place).
Also, if you're going to use something that requires specificity - like, say, six cracked ioun stones giving skill bonuses - then you need to actually detail that specificity.
In addition, I am not appreciative of this sort of tactic, in gaining a +1 boost to every CHA skill for only 1200 gp. While technically legal, it is just the sort of thing that makes me go 'okay, that character looks dodgy'. Seeing multiple stunningly massive skill bonuses on a 7th level character, 60' darkvision on a human, a +1 tonfa buried in the gear, and 'loves the shadows' attributes combined with 'loves the light' attributes, definitely makes me go 'WTF?!?'
Post a link to your character file, and I'll load it up and take a look at some point. But just on a technical glance-through, even before reaching the background, I believe this would be destined for the circular file. My suggestion would be for you to trash what appears to be a revision of an old character, complete with legacy oddities, and start from scratch.
Sounds like a very interesting game. Gonna see if I can come up with an Engaging character or two for it. I have ideas.
I can't find any archetypes listed for unchained monks and nothing for purple duck games under regular monks... does anyone have the info on this archetype for me? If I have to pay for a book, I'd rather rethink and rebuild the cohort with a completely different idea...
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Ok, I'll be breaking this in a couple spoilers.
The Neutral component is a bit more tricky. In my mind the fact that you need to kill someone don't make you evil, much like an executor isn't inherently evil... they might like their job (thus being evil) or dislike it, but know that it should be done nevertheless. A LN assassin would not like to kill people, but would know that he have to do so... I imagine that such role isn't one that enables someone to quit his job and live thereafter.
The Player Companion: Champions of Balance book gives a couple guidelines about how to play neutral PCs and in the LN session it even gives the example of executors, who see their job as a necessary one and focus on doing his duty and expects the others to also do their own.
His social persona would be one of a clumsy and easy going squire, who does his duties quickly to have some spare time to hang around both with soldiers, the staff of the noble houses, and the common folk.
If it is possible, I'd like to connect him to the Surtovas somehow, such as a cousin of King Chalm, someone who have played with him when both were young. Still unsure about his house or his banner.
The knight and the squire have met a couple years ago and the knight was the one responsible for the squire's training in arms. The squire would respect the knight like a paternal figure (or an older brother, not sure yet) and would be a bit jealous about his role as a knight instead of a spy.
The knight would also love the squire and his mission is to make the boy a proper knight someday, even if he has suspicions that the boy might have something else in mind.
Azrael, got you covered. 3PP Purple Duck Games - Unchained Monk Archetypes.user.
Long nasty day at work; tired. Will look at stuff later.
thanks... can't seem to open it with anything I have on my computer... the format .user doesn't work for me... can you format it as a pdf maybe? or .txt or .doc? thanks.
Um ... okay, sorry, thought you had Hero Lab. (That was a Hero Lab file. Dur me!! :P :D ) Look for a message to your PMbox shortly.
Settled on Cavalier and Wizard for my characters and a lot of different backgrounds. Not sure how political I want to get yet.
ok thx
Well, this sounds absolutely fascinating and awesome!
Got all sorts of ideas runnin through my head, but a quick question on presentation:
I tend to use the Paizo official stat block(aka, what you would see in the Bestiary), is that acceptable? I lack Hero Labs, and do not plan on buying it, at least any time soon.
Edit:
Are you OK with us swapping standard racial traits for ones from ARG, Inner Sea Races, etc?
Also, out of sheer curiosity, why no witches? I don't plan on using that class, but it just seems odd to not allow that, vs say Gunslinger, Samurai or Ninja.
I am 90% sure the witch thing is a carry over from the previous game. I have no idea how The Wyrm Ouroboros feels about Witches - he might also be opposed to them, but I know the original GM had them banned from his recruitment due to power concerns and to avoid dealing with Evil Eye/Misfortune/Slumber/Ice Tomb shenanigans.
Cohort;
Feats: As PC, including bonus story feat. Will gain 'nesting' Leadership-style feat at 7th level (may select Cohorts now, if desired, and gain a free feat at 7th).
Could you please explain this a bit more? Does this mean my Lvl 7 PC gets a Cohort and 10 followers, and my Cohort gets an additional 7 followers? And therefore my PC has effectively 17 total?
Also, I think I will create a Monk for this, very fast, wind stance, panther style, high charisma. His cohort will also be a monk, but with a focus on dragon style, strong and brash.
The followers are the reminants of a Clan of Ki Artists who are still loyal to the PC, and so they are all low level Monks as well and so he tries to lead the clan as best he can while still training them.
So a clan of Martial Artist monks :)
Good morning, GM! A few questions:
1. For your own writing / personal preference, how where do you fall on the Machiavelli vs. Howard Dean scale in terms of volatility with intrigue?
2. Are there any topics or tropes which particularly bother you in character creation / in-game discussion we should be aware of? For example, does tough-guy-with-a-soft-heart feel too cliche? Does detailed description of torture bother you?
3. You've stated you're ill-inclined towards non-core races for this campaign, and I understand the reasoning behind that. Would you consider permitting the watersinger archetype for Bard to be used by a core race instead of an Undine?
4. What are your feelings about platypodes?
5. Would you consider a follower of Hanspur to be too unwieldy for the aristocrats of the River Kingdoms to entrust on such endeavors as would be embarked upon in this campaign?
6. Though prices for goods have set starting points in the books, would you be open to markets responding to excess supply / shortages in goods to adjust their prices accordingly?
Many thanks!
This sounds interesting. I'll see if I can find the time to get something together.
My initial idea is a couple that are both followers of Desna. One would either be a bard or an evangelist cleric while the other would probably be a flying blade swashbuckler(though perhaps with a one level dip in warpriest due to the heavy prerequisites required for all the starknife feats). Obviously the followers would be more followers of Desna. Both would use Desna's Shooting Star divine fighting technique. I worry though that the bard stuff will be redundant with your GMPC, thoughts on that? Edit: I guess your bard is a negotiator, so overlap won't be too much of a problem.
How do you feel about VMC? Did I miss where it was mentioned? Considering going VMC Cavalier (Order of the Star) if I do end up going for the cleric option.
Will you allow the Master Performer and grandmaster performer feats without the faction requirements? Would the evangelist cleric qualify, or only if I were to go bard? Not sure what these ranks usually mean in terms of levels. If you do require the faction requirement, perhaps I could have my Bard come from Taldor, it's not too far away.
What class I do end up going for my performer probably depends on the answer to the above questions.
Do we get skill unlocks for free when we reach 5/10/15 skill-ranks or do we have to pay a feat? It might be fun to spend a feat and a trait to get a bit intimidate on my swashbuckler, but I'm not sure I want to spend two feats and a trait.
Your restrictions on gear is rather inflexible. For my swashbuckler for example I probably want a blinkback belt (5000 GP), a Headband of Charisma (4000 GP) and a +1 starknife (2330 GP). Any chance you can losen those requirements? What I normally see is a restriction that one item can't be more than half your gold (though 8k certainly works), but that you are free to chose whatever you want for the rest. Alternatively, could you consider raising the threshold to 2,5k for "any magic item", so we can afford +1 weapons?
...Standard multi-classing, no variants.
I am crafting up a wizard from the elf houses who plans to oversee arcane knowledge and learning in the new kingdoms.
Gonna give it a read. Might have an Arcanist or Bard I wanna try out for it. But will give it all a read later.
That's a shame. They really are two very different mechanics. VMC is just like a feat chain/package and actually possible to pick up by casters without hurting themselves too much. Hope my other question is allowed.
This sounds like an interesting game. My only question is in regard to this part:
The area and culture are loosely based off post-Renaissance France and Spain
I was under the impression that Brevoy and the River Kingdoms were more equivalent to Slavic eastern Europe (i.e. Poland, Kievan Rus, Muscovy) in the early middle ages, a confluence of Iobarian, Ulfen, and Taldor culture (instead of Russian, Norse, and Byzantine Greek) with the additional obvious George R.R. Martin influences. "Russian Westeros," was I believe what James Jacobs called Brevoy.
Let me know if I missed something somewhere (and if the Russian accent I've done for Oleg and Svetlana the times I've ran Stolen Lands was misguided), or if this is just your homebrew version of Golarion.
3. You've stated you're ill-inclined towards non-core races for this campaign, and I understand the reasoning behind that. Would you consider permitting the watersinger archetype for Bard to be used by a core race instead of an Undine?
Check out the Racial Heritage feat. Humans, Half-Elves, and Half-Orcs can be any racial archetype.
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I was under the impression that Brevoy and the River Kingdoms were more equivalent to Slavic eastern Europe (i.e. Poland, Kievan Rus, Muscovy) in the early middle ages, a confluence of Iobarian, Ulfen, and Taldor culture (instead of Russian, Norse, and Byzantine Greek) with the additional obvious George R.R. Martin influences. "Russian Westeros," was I believe what James Jacobs called Brevoy.
Let me know if I missed something somewhere (and if the Russian accent I've done for Oleg and Svetlana the times I've ran Stolen Lands was misguided), or if this is just your homebrew version of Golarion.
Golarion names/language don't correlate with historical political structures/cultures. While outfits, names, and language in Brevoy are probably somewhat Slavic (Brevoy is really far north, and it's COLD), their noble houses system of government, general love of dueling, high-mobility court structures, legitimized piracy, and loose coalition of city states centered around prestigious coalitions all mirror Renaissance Italy more strongly than anything else.
Are we allowed to edit our submissions after submitting them, but before the deadline? Nothing stat-wise, but if we're supposed to try and weave our backstories together somehow....