The blizzard comes up out of nowhere, its storm clouds rushing overhead as if dragged over the sky by a chariot. One minute you’re travelling through open countryside with spring in the air and a spring in your step, the next you’re fighting for survival against cold, rain, sleet, snow and a howling gale that is threatening to flay the skin right off your body.
It seems like an inauspicious start to your adventuring career …
… or perhaps not. Who, in truth, knows how to interpret the omens of the gods. Just as all seems lost and you are certain you will freeze to death you spot a light up ahead which resolves itself into the upstairs window of an isolated traveller’s inn. The inn’s sign, swaying crazily in the wind, gives the establishment its name: “World’s End”.
Which given how you’re feeling right now seems eerily appropriate…
As a fresh-faced board member, I know that I need to kick off my first game with a fresh and exciting concept. That's why I'm recruiting a band of ragtag adventurers to meet up at an inn.
In earnest, I do have what I hope will be a very memorable little adventure in store. I'm new to this whole PbP gig, so you can expect this to be somewhat of a learning process for me. Even with a hiccup or two along the way, I still hope that you'll help me harvest one of life most valuable resources - fun!
written by Richard Develyn
Players: 6
Length: 1st level characters will be level 2 near or upon completion
Content Rating: PG-13
Combat: Light
Roleplay: Heavy
Structure: Episodic, order of episodes may change based on player choice
Environment: Frequently changing
Themes: divine comedy, mythic moral conundrums, Norse mythology
Other Notes: Although fans of Norse mythology should get quite a few kicks out of this adventure, such knowledge is by no means required for enjoyment.
3rd edition was my gateway drug, Pathfinder is my current substance of choice.
I play rules as intended, but I still interpret things wrong sometimes, so call me out if I do.
As soon as at least half the party agrees on a direction, I will move the party in that direction.
I don't care how strong or weak your character is when contributing to combat, as long as you can make a strong contribution to the story.
I think player vs player conflict (not combat) can be fun but not everyone does. As a player, my personal rule of thumb is that if I start a conflict I plan on my character "losing," unless I really know the other player(s) and what they're okay with. A&+%~%% characters have potential to make for great stories, a~*!@&% players do not.
While I get the hang of things, I will ask for different formats for combat posts from time to time.
Same deal with maps, I'll be testing out different tools so be prepared to be flexible.
This info will also be found in my alias and periodically updated.
As with any roleplay heavy adventure, I'm looking for awesome characters over awesome character sheets. My requirements for statblocks are thus:
1st level
20 point buy
Max HP
Background skills
Feat tax rules (I've never used them myself but they seem to be popular so let's give it a shot)
Due to how huge the system has gotten, ANY material outside the core Pathfinder line (big hardcovers, basically) needs to be approved by me and exist somewhere online (d20pfsrd, Archives of Nethys)
No third party
A posting requirement of at least once per day seems to be standard around here, so we'll go with that for now. I know that I personally could certainly move at a bit of a faster pace, but we'll see how it pans out. I'm also going to open the discussion thread for anyone who wants to do a bit of early roleplaying. Aliases or even fully formed characters are not at all necessary.
Credits:
These fantastic guides have greatly helped me. If you haven't read them, do.
DH's Guide to Play By Post Gaming
Painlord's Advanced Play-by-Post
Painlord's Guide to PbP GMing
Oops, I forgot the link. Original post has been edited.
These ones: http://michaeliantorno.com/feat-taxes-in-pathfinder/
What sort of character backgrounds are you looking for? Any?
Absolutely yes.
I don't expect some epic backstory for a short low-level game like this but I'd definitely like to see something at least brief and interesting. Anything goes, the only common thread between characters is getting caught in the storm (which, to clarify, occurred in multiple disparate locations) and finding the World's End inn.
I'm interested. When are you planning on closing recruitment?
I am thinking of submitting a cleric of Shelyn with the Protection(Defense) Domain and the Air Domain. They would be a less than good looking person with a personality of gold, trying to spread the "beauty from within" message of Shelyn. More details to come.
Looks like I forgot to include that as well. First time for everything, eh?
I'd ideally like to close recruitment in a week, but if that's too much of a time crunch I can hold it open a little longer.
I submit Bjorn Gladlock, oracle of whimsy. He's mostly done on the crunch, I still need to work on the fluff.
Any rulings on traits or background skills?
Traits are the standard 2 or 3 w/ drawback. Background skills are in effect.
Dotting...
Particularly enjoyed this line..."As a fresh-faced board member, I know that I need to kick off my first game with a fresh and exciting concept. That's why I'm recruiting a band of ragtag adventurers to meet up at an inn." Cute.
Thinking witch or druid...something to that effect...
Dotttttinngg
Thinking LN Aasimar Investigator - Psychic Detective
A north Truth Seeker, speaker of law, and adviser to Clan elders.
= You can mimic the sound of any animal perfectly.
= You gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against disease.
= You gain DR 2/magic.
DR2/Magic I think.
GM Panic here, here is My PC
Just to clarify, despite the Norse flavor of the adventure, characters aren't required to be Nordic/Ulfen.
Got to say I love the ulfen, I’ll get a character up.
Okay, it's not a lot of background, but I've got some fluff now. Basically, he's got a bad case of pixie infestation, and his goal in life is to make people laugh and smile as much as possible.
His signature trick is to use his disguise self ability to confuse and amuse.
Character is complete.
Race: Werewolf Skinwalker
Class: Primalist Rageshaper Bloodrager with Shapechanger Bloodline
Yes...he is a werewolf. he can control how much he transforms. He has racial transformation, which gives him a bite attack and better saves, and he has his bloodrager transformation which gives him stat bonuses and claw attacks. He even has DR/Cold to reflect his nature and living in the wild.
And as a primalist, at lvl 4 he would get better claws, scent and darkvision. Which completes the werewolf transformation. He would also get DR Silver until lvl 12. I know we won't reach those levels, but I like having a character thought out. It's much more rewarding than number crunching only for the early game using metaknowledge that we would end there.
The men who frequent the World's End Inn say that Sven is moontouched. There have been sightings in the forest that he lives in of a creature, part man, part wolf, that hunts deer and other wild game. It is said that this is how Sven hunts his game, and it is why he refuses to live within the confines of civilization. These rumors have never been confirmed, and Sven does not deny them.
At first, there was panic at the sightings. But, as the months rolled by, followed by years, the hysteria died down. Nobody had ever been harmed, and it was agreed upon that hunting a werewolf was far too risky an endeavor. Infact, it became something of a local selling point, that they could tell to travelers to keep them eating and drinking on cold nights.
Now that the blizzard has come, Sven has returned to the Inn. He comes without anything to sell or trade, because of the quickness and severity of the storm. Even with his prodigious resiliency, both to hardship and the cold, he recognizes that this is no ordinary storm. It is a case of finding shelter or dying...
Sven, you'll have to change your background a bit, specifically the part about being a regular at the world's end. I should have made this more clear, but nobody's character has ever been to World's End, much less heard of it.
The stat block and background for Doern Mac are in the spoilers below. Thanks for the opportunity.
Doern Mac Age 22 Height 5’ 5” Weight 155 lbs
Human Cleric of Shelyn (Protection(Defense) and Air Domains)
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 dex)
hp 13 (1d8+5)
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft. (20ft. In armor)
Melee Bastard sword +3 (1d10+3 19-20/x2), Light Shield +3 (1d3+3 /x2), dagger +3 (1d4+3 19-20/x2)
when TWF Bastard sword +1 (1d10+3 19-20/x2), Light Shield +1 (1d3+3 /x2)
Ranged Sling +2 (1d4+3 /x2) 50 ft, Ammo x 10, Javelin +2 (1d6+3 /x2) 30 ft, Ammo x 5
Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +2)
1st (DC 12, 2+1)— Bless x 2, Shield(D)
0 (DC 11,3)— Detect Magic, Light, Read Magic
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats (2) Weapon Focus(Glaive), Toughness
FCB – Level 1 (hp)
Traits (2)
Skills(4+2BQ, ACP -2 Shield, -4 armor) K(Religion) +5, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +5, Knowledge(Planes)+6, Lore (Shelyn) +5, Knowledge(History) +5
Languages(2) Common
Gear [0 gp, 0 sp] Glaive(10 lbs), Sling Bullets x 10 (5 lbs), Javelin x 5 (10 lbs), Scale Mail (30 lbs), Dagger (1 lb), backpack(2 lbs), bedroll (5 lbs), a belt pouch(1/2 lb), candles x10, a cheap holy text(5gp 3 lbs), a flint and steel, an iron pot, a mess kit(1 lb), rope (10 lbs), soap, a spell component pouch (2 lbs), torches x 10 (10lbs), trail rations x 5 (2.5 lbs), a waterskin(4 lbs), and an iron holy symbol, Scroll of Cure light wounds x 2
Encumbrance Light < 76, Medium <153, Heavy < 230, Total Carried = 96 lbs
SQ Lightning Arc (1d6 Electricity, 30ft ranged touch 5/day), Deflection Aura (20ft burst, +2 deflection to AC and CMD, 1 round)
A devoted servant of Shelyn, Doern grew up on a farm herding cattle. Doern’s life was fairly simple, until one day when he was at the market he heard a procession of priests travelling through town. Never before had Doern hear such beautiful voices, or seen such graceful dancers. They held Shelyn’s banner high as they moved through town.
Years later, Doern has been an itinerant spreader of Shelyn’s faith. Doern is not the standard beauty that graces Shelyn’s clergy, but a plain and somewhat forgettable person. Doern makes up for it with a heart of gold, always helping those in need and never turning away some one who he can help. By acting in such a way, Doern strives to show the world that “beauty comes from within”, as Shelyn would say.
Sven, you'll have to change your background a bit, specifically the part about being a regular at the world's end. I should have made this more clear, but nobody's character has ever been to World's End, much less heard of it.
Alright. I’ll do a proper edit tomorrow. He’ll merely go into ‘town’ every now and then. The World’s End is merely what he changed upon when caught in the Blizzard.
None too busy over here, so recruitment will close (and the game will commence) on Monday.
Dotting.
Looks like you might need a bard, or some arcane juice.
I just built a catfolk magus out of boredom.
but really, a lvl 1-2 adventure? seems uh... short lived. do you mean 20?
Yes, it is short. It's my first time GMing a game over forum and I want to test the waters. Who knows, I may run some epic length adventure in the future, but for now it is what it is.
well, i have a beastblade/eldritch archer build, so she doesn't start to get her goodies until lvl 3 and the familiar gets really good at lvls 7 and 11, so I'd much rather play her in a longer campaign. I'll keep an eye out.
So far I see:
Bjorn Gladlock, oracle of whimsy
Ynjan Ragnavold Aasimar Investigator - Psychic Detective
Sven Olaffson werewolf bloodrager
Doern Mac Human Cleric of Shelyn
I'm going to throw together a halfling bard, I think. With a masterwork tuba.
Here's Peet's submission: Faolan Forgael. Halfling juggler extraordinaire.
Made him for another game and didn't get picked. He's a bard with a throwing focus in combat, and he also has disable device (I noticed there were no rogues).
I gave up on the masterwork tuba idea.
I alters a few small things to make Ynjan more interesting to play, her/his sex is hard to say, see background way. Also altered form LG to CG, and is a follower of Cayden Cailean.
It was a long and brutal process in which I had to cut many fine characters out of the mix, but the final roster is:
Everyone!
Thanks to the five of you who applied, the gameplay thread is up, and I'll have some more stuff for you in the discussion in a pinch.
Ha! Well then, look forward to gaming with you all.