Here is the discussion page, so we can come together in one place to go over preferences and plans for the campaign.
As I mentioned in the initial PM, I have the following AP's that I would be able to run.
RotRL (old version)
CotCT
CC
S&S
SStar
RoW
I run a CotCT and S&S here on the forums. One of the invites went to one of my CotCT players. Two invites went to people with whom I play in a RotRL here on the forums.
So far I have received an affirmative from four of you, so we have enough to start even if I do not get a yes from the other two.
Oh this, this is gonna be delightful. While it doesn't really matter which one gets chosen, I'm under the impression you already know which books you'll allow?
Core, Advanced player's guide, ultimate magic and combat, etc, etc.
That said, I'm either up for anything really. If these people post as much as I want to, we should be level 2 in a mere week, regardless of what we play.
That said, I've been wanting to play a Shadow Sorcerer.
Very nice! I would like something that featured goodies for a wizard!
I'm actually a rather strict GM (coming from my old 1st and 2nd ed days), and don't always follow the 'say yes' style of DMing.
That being said, I'll allow just about anything Paizo from the SRD (feats, traits, gear, etc...). There are a few exceptions nonetheless.
No 3PP. Nothing personal, just that I end up having to review every component and don't want to have to cherry pick which ones I do or don't allow. The safest answer is just avoid them all.
CRB races only as a base, but with a reasonable argument may allow something outside the core to be played.
No Gunslingers, or Asian classes (Ninja, Samurai, or Monk).
I may be okay with AN (as in only 1 per group) evil character, as long as they can play well with others and have a reasonable argument as to why they would work with the group to accomplish the AP's goals.
I have some house rules I would like to implement, but I will discuss those later, as I believe all changes to the rules should be an agreement by the majority and clearly defined prior to play beginning.
I'm going to call dibs on that evil character. I trust you believe I'm ample at playing one, Aard?
Then again, depending on what kind of evil someone wants to play, I might reconsider. So who's wanting to do what?
I have no doubt that you can, and I'm sure Kori being who she is helps him a bit. That being said, since I get to see how you play an evil character, I would almost like to see you do something a little different. It's not a requirement, just more of a curiosity.
Shalafi, I know you're fairly new to PbP's, so if you have any issues or questions feel free to ask. Are you comfortable with all the code styles, dice, bold, spoilers, etc...?
What I do is most likely going to be dependant upon what we play, but I can easily mold "Oo" to fit just about every campaign. I've also got plenty of other ideas.
I say that, and then immediately realize I've never played a summoner...
I think so. The other game that we were in has not really advanced more in the week other than having your gnome become evil so I might be a little rusty. Would you allow a half-drow?
Half-drow is just a variation of the half-elf with certain alternate racial traits switched out correct? Or is it a separate race altogether?
That would fall into the realm of how/why? Did a drow fall in love with a human? Was a drow forced upon by a human, or a human forced upon by a drow, of either gender? It would be odd (fairly rare) that drow would ever consider a union with a human, and therefore half-drow would probably be very rare.
All that said, it's not a "no", just a "how do you intend to spin it"?
EDIT: Bear in mind, I wouldn't commit to any concepts until you guys all agree on an AP. For CC, maybe a shadow sorc would be generally disliked. In CotCT or SStar (based around metropolii, a half-drow would face persecution).
You are correct.
I was thinking that his father was a drow since I find it rare that a female drow would couple with a male as a way of gaining the CON of a human into the bloodlines somehow?
A regular half elf would be fine too.
This is wildly ironic in regard to our LoF game, Aard.
That being said, I'm going to suggest Shattered Star, Rise of the Runelords, and Carrion Crown.
I figure choosing 3 makes things unanimous enough to eventually narrow it down. That said, I'm playing around with 5 different potential characters, 3 of which are N and 2 of which are E.
I like Rise.
I too think we should hold off on character creation until we decide on an AP. That being said, I do have several ideas bouncing around, and you can count on me to play the reliable NG or LG big strong guy. I like the idea of morally grey or evil characters, but it seems like Duboris is wanting that spot.
Hello everyone, by the way! It's good to be here with you guys.
My vote goes for Carrion Crown. I like the horror themes and I've had experience with or read many of the other campaigns. That being said, Rise of the Runelords is also fine with me.
I'd also like to state that I think having a wide variety of character types should be important and we should keep that in mind when creating characters. That is to say, we shouldn't make six wizards.
Hey everybody! Nice to see such an enthusiastic response to the invites - count me in as well.
As far as AP selection goes, here's a run down of what I've had experience with.
RotRL (old version) - currently in one with our intrepid GM, though it's a wee bit on the slow side of things. No exposure to anything prior to Thistletop.
CotCT - started one and it died as soon as Lamm was dealt with. So... not much exposure at all.
CC - currently running an alchemist w/ the beastmorph archetype through this. Spun the beastmorph as lycanthropy reasserting itself over the alchemist and will eventually transition into master chemist if the game endures that long. We're a good bit of the way through the first book and will probably be onto book two within a month or two.
S&S - no exposure to this one at all
SStar - no exposure to this one either
RoW - currently running through this as a player with another group. I'm not sure how far we are at this point, but it's still book one.
It took me four games before I found a Carrion Crown that actually stuck, so I'd rather do any of the others. Going through the start of that AP a fifth time would be a bit on the boring side. If I had to pick a top 3, with 3 being most desired, I'd go with...
Shattered Star - 3
Curse of the Crimson Throne - 2
Rise of the Runelords - 1
And just for the record, I really don't want to do Curse of the Crimson Throne. Shattered Star is another that I wouldn't mind doing, however. Pathfinders are cool.
Okay, now that I have the majority of everyone, I thought an easy way to do this would be best served by mob rule (of a sort). A way to solidify everyone's opinions without me having to sift through the thread to find the preferences.
What I want is for each of you to rate which AP you'd prefer to play in order of preference from 6-1 (6 most wanted, 1 least wanted). Only 1 AP per score. So for which ones I would prefer to run, I would place them:
6 - SStar
5 - RoW
4 - CC (Running it TT)
3 - RotRL
2 - S&S (Running it PbP)
1 - CotCT (Running it PbP)
After everyone has voted, I can tally the numbers, and see which comes out on top. If you'd prefer, you can PM me your vote if feel an open ballot has potential to sway the others. Don't worry about my votes above, it will only come into play as a tiebreaker, as I'm willing to run all of them or I wouldn't have offered them.
How does that sound to everyone? If the end result is a game you'd rather not play, I only ask you reconsider. I asked you all because I think the RP potential between the group would be a great mix, and every campaign is fed by the players fueling the GM. The more involved you are the more involved I am.
Aight, my vote:
6- Carrion Crown (no experience, appeals to me)
5- Shattered Star (no experience, appeals to me)
4- Reign of Winter (no experience)
3- Rise of the Runelords (minimal experience)
2- Skull & Shackles (playing in PbP)
1- Curse of the Crimson Throne (have DM'd this in RL and in PbP)
The character I was planning to play would be an inquisitor/fighter multiclass, and would be a big buff melee guy, but that would only apply in the top two APs. I would create a different guy, but it would likely end up being a full BaB class of a sort.
Lein while I would like the evil role, I believe I'm going to be going more neutral for this one.
That said...
6 - Curse of the Crimson Throne
5 - Carrion Crown
4 - Shattered Star
3 - Rise of the Runelords
2 - Skulls and Shackles
1 - Shattered Star
Anyone wanting to call dibs on a particular class, or anything? I'm frankly looking at Summoner and Sorcerer, as well as Fighter.
Shattered Star - 6
Curse of the Crimson Throne - 5
Rise of the Runelords - 4
Reign of Winter - 3
Carrion Crown - 2
Skull and Shackles - 1
I won't have any idea which class to run with until we've settled on an AP. It's normally going through the Player's Guide that sparks the idea.
I've just thought of a really brilliant (in my opinion) character concept, but it takes up the evil role and its very AP dependent.
Does anyone mind discussing it?
What's the idea? (Also, Dmitri just started his thing.)
It's a NE gnome cleric of Lamashtu who's just SO BORED with "regular" creatures. Abominations are just SO much more interesting!
(obviously he's no subject of the Bleaching).
So what would be his drive to help deal with whatever evil the AP uses as the primary antagonist (and each module goal along the way). Which domains would you be taking? I actually like the idea, it's a fun carefree evil cleric, you don't see a lot of those. I'm just trying to see how the vision would fit in the grand scheme of a party.
The gnome obviously wouldn't work in RoTrL, considering Lamashtu's influence on that one. I'm all for it, however.
Well, it would be one of a few things, I think.
One is simply revenge. He's been wronged in some way by the antagonist and wants revenge.
Two is he has some sort of loyalty connection to one or more of the other party members, and he essentially follows that character.
Three is just for fun. It's because he wants to see what comes of what he does.
Four is because one of the party members may be an atypical specimen of most humanoid races, and he's very intrigued.
He'd probably be going with Madness and Strength, or Madness and the subdomain Ferocity.
6. Rise of the RuneLord
5. Shattered Stars
4 Carrion Crown
3. Skull and Shackles
2. Curse
1. Reign of Winter
To be honest I really don't feel comfortable playing if one person is going to be evil. My hesitancy is what makes that one player special and why would someone who is good want to adventure with them?
My primary choice is a NG inquisitor, but that might not be setting-appropriate.
@ Duboris - you voted for Shattered Star twice, which one of those should be Reign of Winter? I presume SS is the 4 and RoW is the 1?
If my above assumption is correct, then our current Player Tally is as follows:
Shattered Star - 20
Carrion Crown - 17
Rise of the Runelords - 16
Curse of the Crimson Throne - 14
Reign of Winter - 9
Skull and Shackles - 8
Looks like it.
Reign was definitely the 1.
So is this like...a democracy type deal?
It would seem that way.
Aardvark- would you ever allow a Dhampir character?
Okay, my last post was from my phone, so I was trying to be short and direct.
Shalafi, as far as a single evil player and its association to the group, just think Raistlin. He may have wore red, but I think Par-Salain somewhat did it out of hope, considering what Raist did to the Caramon illusion during his Test.
That being said, I'd rather not have an evil in the group if it would be a problem for people. I usually only allow one just because (much like Raist, the only evil character I've ever liked) they can add a level of tension in a party without being destructive or disruptive. I have tempered it based on my players (as there have been some at my tables I would never let play Evil). In that same regard, sometimes the evil can be well-hidden, and work with groups. I won't allow CE, ever, but LE can form bonds/agreements with groups. NE can often work with groups rather well if it furthers their own agendas.
The issue comes up, though, with evil and religion. Any other class can just show it in little ways, a fighter revels in the thrill of killing, a rogue constantly commits crimes for fun, a wizard intends to gain power at any cost. A cleric, though, a cleric is expected to advance their god's ideals, and evil god ideals really don't gel with most of society. Then there is the channel negative/command undead portion of it. It just seems that an evil cleric (inquisitor, oracle, druid) has to push certain agendas that rarely work out with what a group in an AP is trying to accomplish.
I'm not a big fan of using N (vice G or E) as an opportunity to push the morally grey agenda that some people use for to escape the limitation of not playing evil. Personally, I've always been of the mind that the heroes of a campaign are just that, heroes. They fight the good fight, and right wrongs for the greater good of all. Can they do it as neutral or evil, yes it can happen, it just becomes tougher to do. I think RP-ing a good character can end up being a tougher challenge, because there is no easy way out of most problems. No kill the prisoner, no just allow harm to come to innocents to kill the enemy, no torture for information. You have to come up with a way to overcome problems and stay on the high road at the same time.
Dhampir? Oh heavens no. I don't think there's anything I like about the concept of Dhampirs, let alone the mechanics. There is way too much vagueness in what constitutes direct sunlight.
Evil brings a whole new dimension to the game that is difficult to ascertain since we are not playing face to face and may not really know each other save for electronic communication. In that situation I prefer no evil.
Will you allow Champions of Purity? Chronicles of the Rigtheouss?
If we are decided on the AP can we begin character development?
We still need to get a vote from FuriaRIOT. Whose vote could very well change the results. It looks like it could be any one of the current top 3 SStar, CC, or RotRL (as tallied for us by Dal).
I hope that we won't have a DMPC that will take center stage so that we become his minions. :)
Well, darn, there go my plans. I was goin to tell the story of my favorite PC, and do it via him saving the day while you guys hung around to both bear witness and fetch his slippers.
Yeah, I hear ya. My biggest issue was the fact that he took control of my PC away from me, and told us what we all 'obviously' just agreed to follow blindly along with. You can railroad me all day... as long as I get to decide whether I get on the train or not.
I'm not familiar with Champions of Purity or Chronicles of the Rigtheouss. Are they Paizo products, and the mechanical effects available on the SRD? If it's yes to both, then it's highly likely that they are allowed. If they are either 3PP or unavailable to the group as a whole (as in posted somewhere everyone can get), then not likely.
Im personally enjoying dmitri at the moment. Id love to play the quiet type though. Ive got plenty of ideas, really. Regardlsss, this game im wearing a mask.
Alright, totally fine with that stuff. Gonna see if I can't play my pseudo-hero Pharasmin or a paladin or cleric..once we decide on an AP and other characters.
I know, part of my backstory was that his brother was a part of the garrison at Solace but then I am told that I have no idea about anything and don't know where it is at.
I was shocked at what he did with your gnome. It was pretty crappy. He introduced another character that replaced the gnome but who was hired by his DMPC to be our guide in a city that fell in the 1st novel.
They are both Paizo products. I think that they both were released in May.
I don't know if they are in SRD yet but they are in Herolab. I don't always look at the SRD if I have a hard copy.
Regarding PRD/non-PRD resources: The PRD consists of the core line of rule books (Core, Bestiaries, Advanced, and Ultimates) as well as the NPC Codex and Game Mastery Guide. The Companion and Campaign Setting lines (such as the various Blood of books or Inner Sea Magic) aren't part of the PRD.
Not the PRD, no, but the SRD I linked in one of my earlier posts has almost all the mechanics from any Paizo product. Since I can access that and all it offers, I use it.
Ah! Ah ha! You've found a version of that page that's not blocked by my office firewall! SSSHHHHH! Nobody make any sudden moves!
=P
By the way, about evil stuff, the thing about Lamashtu is that she doesn't really have a proactive "evil agenda". She just is sort of...an advocate for monsters. If anything, the Lamashtan gnome would be like...a minority voice for those the party typically mindlessly slaughters.
I would like the AP choice before I make a final character decision.
Really? She's Chaotic Evil and her domains are Chaos, Evil, Madness, Strength, and Trickery - she seems like a bone fide bad chick to me.
Edit: That being said, I think a cleric with the sepratist archetype could be really neat in this respect. A slanted, non-traditional view of Lamashtu could be a fun approach, but otherwise I think straight-up, orthodox Lamashtans are pretty much universally rotten.