Greetings! It is I, DM_Scholar!
You were likely drawn to this magnificent thread by it's equally magnificent title. And that title speaks true! Yes, there will be a high powered monster campaign on these boards.
You can play whatever you please, within the guidelines I'll be iterating later that basically amount to, no, you can't play whatever you please. Still! You could play a wide variety of things! If the chance to play one of a wide variety of things does not intrigue you, I really must question why you are playing this game!
Dead gods still dream.
That's an observed fact. Some argue that this means that gods do not die, which is semantics. Medically, they were never alive.
There was a god once, who is now dead. Or perhaps merely comatose. There is, after all, said to be a ritual that could awaken it. But even a dead god, or a dreaming one, is powerful. In it's death, or sleep, the Dreamer created a world of its own. Inside its mind it created a world of monsters, and heroes, a storybook world that blurs the boundary between demiplane and mindscape.
In the centuries since the Dreamer's death, it's world has become somewhat less storybook perfect. Mortals and immortals alike came to visit and to stay, drawn by the Dream's unique properties: scrying spells do not work inside the Dream, and teleportation spells cannot be targeted. The Dream is constantly shifting, making finding particular people inside it nigh impossible. The Dream has become a haven for those who would prefer not to be found.
Assuming, of course, that they are strong enough to resit the Story, and keep their goals their own.
Long ago, each PC sold their soul to Contracts, an aptly named archfiend. The PCs' souls are forfeit upon their death, but they aren't particularly worried. They've likely each found a path to immortality, or at least very long life.
Well, they weren't worried. But mere days before the story begins, a new god was born. Once a mortal, the new Demon Lord had long ago sold his soul to Contracts. Upon finding himself more powerful than his one time benefactor, the demon decided to kill the devil and secure his soul. Contracts was forced into hiding, with nothing on him but the clothes on his back and all the infernal contracts he carried on his person.
Not all the devil's contracts were kept on his person, though. Many were safe in hell. Except they weren't exactly safe with no one to protect them. The demon, using a dark ritual (and a bottle of white-out) was able to edit the contracts he found, binding a number of powerful beings into his service, and instructing them to comb the Dream for Contracts.
The PCs are understandably worried. They likely have no interest in opposing the latest addition to the pantheon, but they would very much like to abscond with their infernal contracts before someone else does.
These are the rules to character generation, in no particular order:
Your CR should probably be somewhere around sixteen. No higher, and if it winds up lower just give yourself some class levels.
Everyone gets the "Devil Bound Creature" template. You need to be CR 16 including this template. You can be bound to whatever kind of devil you want the stats from.
The 'advanced' template is expressly banned. As are all templates that decrease your CR.
Class levels add to your CR on a one-for-one basis, key or unkey.
You can't cast spells higher than sixth level. (Here's my reasoning for that: one, full casters are really strong this late in the game and this'll make the party easier to DM for, two, this makes it so that playing a very low hit dice monster or PC race is significantly less appealing, since you can only have 11-13 levels in a full casting class, which should increase the variety of things that are submitted.)
All Paizo material (books, bestiaries, ect.) are allowed. If you want to use something third party, ask me first, but I'll probably allow that too. My philosophy is that it isn't the DMs job to balance the players- that's their job. If you want a rough guideline of where you should be stat-wise, look at the monster statistics by CR.
All alignments are allowed, though whatever you are you should probably have a good reason for selling your soul to a fiend at some point in the past, and a good reason for working with evil allies who are also devil-bound.
You start with wealth appropriate to a sixteenth level PC.
I have a small number of spells that are banned for PCs and NPCs alike. These are spells that I find most responsible for the unbalance seemingly inherent to high level play. If you disagree with my judgment on any of them, I'll explain my reasoning in the thread. (We'll both use spoilers so that people submitting characters don't have to read it all.)
- Blood Money
Lesser Planar Binding
Planar Binding
Greater Planar Binding
Polymorph Any Object
Create Greater Demiplane
Emergency Force Sphere
Ethereal Jaunt
Etherealness
Lesser Simulacra
Simulacra
Greater Simulacra
Mass Suffocate
Time Stop
Find the Path
We'll be using background skills and fractional leveling!
By the time that you hit CR sixteen you're normally invested quite heavily in a campaign world. You've met the NPCs, you've visited the cities, you've encountered the plot and if it isn't resolved yet you are striving to resolve the plot. I can't hope to match in a couple of days the complexity of a long-running campaign world. So here's what we're going to do.
When you submit a character, submit a backstory. (That isn't such an unusual request.) But instead of having your backstory conform to the world, the world will conform to your backstory. Invent any elements (nations, NPCs, dynasties, artifacts, gods, legends) you think are necessary, and then I'll tie them all together and fill in the gaps. I'm curious to see what kind of world we build!
To make sure that everyone is on the same page about the world's power level, I'm going to set that in stone. More than half the population are level one in an NPC class, and of those who aren't, very few are above level five. There are currently no mortal beings that can cast ninth level spells on the prime material. The gods exist, but are not omnipotent; they range in power from CR 26-30. (They also meddle incessantly in mortal affairs.) At CR 16, your PCs are some of the strongest creatures on the prime material. If you want the world to know you, it does. If you want the world to fear you, it does. If you write in your backstory that you rule an empire with an iron fist, you do.
And that's what I've got! I'll be looking for around six or so applicants. Look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Hi hi. Dot for interest.
I’ll have the Lich worm that walks started out as soon as possible.
I'll be putting together an Implaccable Stalker of some sort - I'm thinking Interlocutor Kyton or maybe Banshee... I can be friends with the Lich Worm! :)
Quick question GM - have you ever read the Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix. If so, would you allow his version of the realms of death? I like the idea that my creature is created to destroy necromancers/other creatures that escape from death... so maybe not friends with the Lich afterall. :D
A couple of questions. can you comment on:
1- initial stat point buy
2-how do you want item crafting to work?
3- did I understand correctly that scrying just doesn’t work?
I'll be putting together an Implaccable Stalker of some sort - I'm thinking Interlocutor Kyton or maybe Banshee... I can be friends with the Lich Worm! :)
Quick question GM - have you ever read the Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix. If so, would you allow his version of the realms of death? I like the idea that my creature is created to destroy necromancers/other creatures that escape from death... so maybe not friends with the Lich afterall. :D
I've never read that series, so you'll have to describe the realms of death in greater detail.
1- initial stat point buy
2-how do you want item crafting to work?
3- did I understand correctly that scrying just doesn’t work?
1- People using a hitdieless base have a twenty point buy.
2- If you have item crafting feats, up to half your wealth by level can be spent on self-made things, effectively giving you half again as much money to play with. If you want to make a unique item, there are guidlines in the core rulebook.3- Not inside the dreamscape, no. (Of course, that's only a formality. Most all the things strong enough to live in the Dream could easily have some way to protect themself against scrying.)
I plan on making unique items. Specifically an intelligent Phalactry. To that end how would you like the 120k until cost for that t work. In my backstory I imagine that as part of the devils bargain. Any additional costs would be on me though. I’ll clear the final build with you of course, but does that sound reasonable so far?
I know that it says a lich's phylactery costs money, but that really should be included in the template. I won't make you pay the exorbitant base costs, no.
I know that it says a lich's phylactery costs money, but that really should be included in the template. I won't make you pay the exorbitant base costs, no.
Thank you
A few questions:
1) Custom Races by Advanced Race Guide? If so, max RP?
2) Mythic? If so do you get 2 Mythic Tiers per CR? And/or are Mythic Templates allowed at their stated CR?
3) for creatures with Hit dice, do we just use their Stats out of the Bestiary? Are we able to trade off on these stats if so? Or is there a point buy formula we should use (most creatures use NPC arrays, or important NPC arrays, which are significantly less than a 20 point buy.)
Loving your low wisdom kingmaker campaign!
Undying tyrants and eternal champions of the undead, graveknights arise from the corpses of the most nefarious warlords and disgraced heroes—villains too merciless to submit to the shackles of death. They bear the same weapons and regalia they did in life, though warped or empowered by their profane resurrection. The legions they once held also flock to them in death, ready to serve their wicked ambitions once more. A graveknight’s essence is fundamentally tied to its armor, the bloodstained trappings of its battle lust. This armor becomes an icon of its perverse natures, transforming into a monstrous second skin over the husk of desiccated flesh and scarred bone locked within.
(1) 20pt buy: Str (15) Dex (12) Con (-) Int (11) Wis (10) Cha (16)
(2) Ghost Rider Cavalier (CR13)
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/cavalier/archetypes/paizo-cava lier-archetypes/ghost-rider-cavalier-archetype/
(3) Devilbound (CR1)
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/devilbound-crea ture/
(4) Graveknight (CR2)
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/graveknight-cr- 2/
Actually, people, I've been thinking things over and I don't think I should start another campaign. :(
I committed to this one rather impulsively, upon realizing after a back of the envelope calculation that the Kingmaker campaign I'd started would likely take years to resolve. It's not that I don't enjoy the kingmaker campaign, far from it! It's just . . . there's a feeling of attainment I get from completing a campaign, and I thought that maybe I could create a shorter campaign to run as well, that would end within the year.
But upon fully digesting the logistics of it, I'm fairly certain that I bit off way more than I can chew. I apologize for getting everyone's hopes up, but I think I'll stick with DMing one campaign, at least until I'm more familiar with the play by post format.
Again, my apologies everyone. I just figure that if I won't be able to manage two campaigns, it's probably better that I let everyone know sooner rather than later. :\
I’m of course disappointed, but I get it. No worries. If you ever decide to get it going again PM me.
Damn, this looked really cool. I hope you get to start this again sometime.
Thanks for understanding. I'll revisit the idea in the month of May, see if it's realistic. If it is, I'll send out PMs to the people who expressed interest. :)
If you end up sending out PMs I would love one.
Awesome! I will cross my fingers and surgical claws in hope!
I'd be interested in a PM if you re-visit this idea.
As somebody who has started campaigns only to have to retreat with my tail between my legs, I thank you for your insight. In the meantime I'm still going to be playing with ideas. Please put me on your PM list.
A shame, as the others I would love to have a pm if you pick this up. I love the idea of monstrous campaigns.
Oh! Me too! I didn’t see this before, but I love a good monster campaign. I have wanted to play a dragon for ages
Still playing with concepts. The Undead With No Name is probably a bit too powerful, but Evil Baby Groot is looking like he'd be fun to play.
If this gets relaunched please let me know, it seems very interesting.
Some interesting ideas here! Feel free to pm me if this is relaunched.