The Agents of Apocrypha, the personal investigatory unit of Djarin Vhrest, the Curator of Apocrypha. Their purpose is to evaluate books, tomes, scrolls and other cataloguable works of literary value which could be harmful to body, mind, or soul if left unchecked. Upon successful evaluation, the Agents provide their recommendation for censure or proscription of the continued circulation of the PFS copies of that material.
How militant this clandestine agency actually is can be discussed. Should the group be charged with actual acquisition of the material if deemed harmful? Or merely evaluators who pass on the information into the hands of bureaucrats and politicians?
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Thoughts? Questions? Ideas? Let's build this up to something great!
Oh, interesting...
Thoughts:
* Acquisition sounds feasible and more combat-rich.
* Reward structure is fine.
* If we're doing acquisitions, Barb heavies and Druids might be OK, particularly if we're going after Druidic artifacts.
Not ruling out the druidic artifacts, but since that would be slightly out of context, I'm not sure how quickly an assignment of that nature would appear. Most assignments would involve traveling to a location where reports of a disturbance potentially related to written works or enigmatic art pieces are found. In the beginning, this will mostly mean urban settings rather than an Indiana Jones style hunt in a lost dungeon.
That's why I was feeling Barbarians and Druids, possibly Rangers may not fit well. Very civilized settings, often affluent or connected owners of the pieces to investigate, etc.
And don't worry, the investigations have the possibility of having much combat. The "acquisition" question is really an end game discussion. Is the Curator interested in merely documenting and advising his brethren in the PFS Forae Logos library? Or does he mean to "safeguard" the world by forcibly removing the works of art from potentially unsafe hands?
I just didn't want to create a game where the players feel icky about their duty from a personal OoC sense. Censorship can be a hot button topic, and I don't want to assume anyone would be okay with that.
On a side note: Djavin Vhrest (yes, I misspelled it before), the Curator of Apocrypha actually has two introductory "letters" in the Artifacts & Legends and the new Occult Mysteries that pretty much define what I am thinking in terms of this game. If you own them, feel free to read those letters.
Sounds interesting, I don't have those books. But in a fantasy world it could be really fun to collect and catalogue mysterious hidden lore. In either a Indiana Jones way or Lady from Mummy series.
I could definitely see many of the classes fitting in well and I'd probably go for a human (though I must play a dwarf at some point).
The cleric of Nethys places the fabric tassel bookmark back into the tome she was reading before looking up, face unreadable behind the simple black-and-white mask. "To save the world for its virtues or shatter it for its flaws is always the question. But if it is to happen at all, calamity should not be a matter of mere accident. If that means instructing the owner on an objects' safekeeping, or purchasing it from them, well and good. If it cannot be kept safely, or the owner acts with reckless disregard..." The priestess tilts her head slightly to one side, and her level tone is uncommonly delicate when she continues, "If that is the case, then it may need to be removed to the hands of caretakers of proven experience and good judgement."
The cleric looks around the room once to be sure that the nuances of her opinion are understood, then settles back into the armchair and returns her attention to her book.
Caorann is going to be a battlefield controller type, I think. Very much 'stand back and cast'.
Anybody got a tank in the works?
I'm in once I make some character decisions.
I have been told to join no questions asked, so here I am. No questions asked.
So...my instincts tell me that only an experienced PC of the Pathfinder Society (or a very well-trained outside specialist) would be recruited to this kind of clandestine team. As mentioned before 3rd level is feeling about right...however, I am open to doing a "from the ground up" type of build. It would be easily manageable to have the AoA be a literally new formed group which could totally be level 1. You let me know if you like that, or prefer to start off with a more storied history of experience.
I have been told to join no questions asked, so here I am. No questions asked.
Nor any answered. *bows in welcome*
I'll just take a seat. Right over here.
Level 1 v. Level (whatever seems appropriate).
Fors/againsts/pros/cons/discussions/arguments...
Go!
Well... if the stuff is only potentially dangerous, I could see it being passed off as grunt work, which could be plausible for level 1 characters. Level 3 is not terribly high either, so it could work for that as well. Though to be honest, I have trouble imagining that greenhorns would be let in on a unit like that.
I mean, it's not like we're collecting the Box of Limitless Psychological Torment.
L3 sounds about right for characters that have been able to prove both their competence & discretion, but who aren't too powerful/otherwise important to send on what might be a fruitless search.
...the Box of Limitless Psychological Torment.
You have OCD. The Box is on a shelf with your carefully organized collection of artifacts. It's in the right place to be a box...but what if it's not because of what's inside?
Do you leave it where it is and never open it? Or do you open it and rearrange your collection?
Oh by the way, you're strait jacketed and chained to a wall...you can't actual reach the Box...but you can think about it...
Oh, um.
Ahem. Anyway, I'm thinking the lore warden archetype for the fighter, out of the PFS Field Guide. Just enough skills points and feats for me to work with. Human, of course.
Ha! Nice, Mahorfeus. And your lore warden is welcome to the game!
I cast stilled Mage Hand and rearrange the collection so that the box is at the center, Venn-diagram style. It can then fit into any or all zones.
L3 makes sense to me, seems more likely they wouldn't want total greenhorns for the agency. They'll want people they can trust to get the job done, even if they're being sent off on potential wild goose chases.
So the lineup currently looks like:
* Jssra - Cleric
* Rikabarī Kanmu - Oracle
* Leoian - Cavalier
* Mahorfeus - Fighter (Lore Warden)
* Treppa - Unknown
* DSXMachina - Unknown
How about me?
Two tieflings would be pretty rare, but I wouldn't say impossible.
Bwahahahahhahahahaaaaa....so I'm back from France with an idea! (not at all stolen from their history) :P
So, I have decided that 3,500 gold should be good for starting. I have some other perks which we will go over later before the party hits the road, so hopefully you will feel sufficiently equipped. You may hold off on full equipment purchase until I have announced via the gameplay thread what part of the world you will be headed, if you wish to gear up for specific environs.
Oh, yeah...gameplay thread up.
In the year 42XX, Simeon de Montfort returned from the second Mendevian/Lastwall Crusade to his home village of Hautpool after having distinguished himself greatly in the campaign. Over the rest of his lifetime he spent his battlefield fortune improving the small hillside hamlet into a bustling walled town.
Having looked upto him & being inspired by the founder Kal was dismayed to find out the truth about his hero....
A decade after Simeons' death a group of acolytes formed a temple amongst the terraced town, this separatist faction of had much experience and knowledge - housing a library of scripture and Lore. Thus they were welcomed by the populace, soon becoming the official religion of the region.
However a mere quarter of a century ago, the Order of the Nail descended. The mayor went out to parley, as was the custom of the time, only to find a crossbow bolt in his neck. The villagers frightened, fled during the night - alas the Order expected this and caught them, killing all they found.
Son of a blinded seamstress, father having died as a consequence of the slaughter - Zayn was born to a small maison upon the hill.
The aftermath was harsh, but the spirit of the villagers was unbowed. Slowly they started to rebuild the desolated place, the atrocity had affected them all. All strong stubborn streak ran through them - as well as an ability to live in the moment - however living in the shadows of the horror they haven't forgiven or forgotten.
Zayn, lean due to numerous walks up and down the hill, developed a fluid style of movement. Thus putting less stress upon his joints, with an acrobatic meander. Since there's little extra food in the village, there's no excess thickness to Zayn's stature.
Slowly the town has been rebuilt, to the splendour of the 200 abodes there were before. As Zayn grew up, constantly at their mothers side, to help compensate with her blindness - although she coped admirably . He spent most of his early days, tending the fragrant gardens of contemplation - where the dead are brought. These terraced strips of land nourished the souls as well as the towns poorly fed stomachs. Requiring extensive maintenance they became the focal point of the village, in the shadow of the ruined monastery.
Sorry just a little start for the background that I could come up with at work.
Did we decide L3?
Treppa: Yep.
Ah, sorry. For some reason I thought I had confirmed that already. Yes, level 3 will be our starting level for this adventure. I will be updating the character creation and adding it into the campaign summary shortly.
Character creation instructions finalized and updated. You can find this at any time on the Campaign tab. Please review this and adjust your sheets accordingly. I will begin stats verification using HeroLab and we will get into the nitty gritty soon.
- 20-point buy - 3rd level
- Max starting HP for 1st level; roll for subsequent levels
- Starting gold: 3500
- Race Restrictions: Standard races approved, anything outside of that requires a good pitch by you.
- Class restrictions: Barbarians and Druids don't feel like a good fit, Rangers on the cusp but if done right could work. I'm open to discussion about all of this if a solid case can be made.
- Freebies: +3 skill points to be placed in the Knowledge skill of your choice. You may redistribute your 3 points if you have already applied at least 3 skill points to a Knowledge skill. I suggest you coordinate so you can cover a range of different Knowledge skills.
Jssra and I have been throwing around an idea, and I would like to get everyone's reaction.
Nethys is the god of magic with a "divided" outlook. His domains are protective and destructive. I had thought that it would make sense to allow clerics from his worship be able to channel both positive and negative energy/cast cure and inflict spells...but with a specific "mechanic" that allows it.
Essentially the cure/inflict, positive/negative channel would be affected by the last domain "type" of cleric spell she casts. So if Caorann cast a spell from the Destruction domain, she would be able to cast inflict spells/channel negative energy and unable to use "positive" energy until she used a divine spell from the opposite domain.
Would anyone be opposed to trying this out? I figure it could be fun and make the Nethys cleric kind of unique, but if anyone feels this is just too far out, I would like to hear about it.
That's interesting, and I think we should try it.
Blargh. You'd think the summer would give me inane amounts of free time, but all it's done is throw stuff at me while simultaneously making me twice as lethargic.
I told pin already, but I think I'll just warm the bench for now. You guys have some cool interaction right now, and I'm just not sure that I can barge in with a character that I can do any justice. I will just stick to my voyeurianistic tendencies for the time being. -_O
Alternating between positive and negative energies depending on the spells sounds good to me. A duality like that seems more fitting for a God like Nethys rather than one or the other.
Sorry to hear it, Mahorfeus, but if you feel up for it, we can always add you in later on.
Thanks for your support on the Nethys channeling idea, guys. I am hoping it will be pretty cool.
Now I will be posting specific comments on the stats verifications. I will do it here so that if anyone makes similar mistakes, you might have a chance to fix it before I notice. :P
Encumbrance and money-wise, I did notice some small misses. You have soul soap and surgeon's tools as weightless, but both have weight (soap = 2 lbs and tools = 5 lbs). I see you have the surgeon's tools listed inside of the chirurgeon's kit, but that is not a standard item included, so please make sure you are deducting the correct GP amount. My calculations have you at 548 GP opposed to the 1163.5 GP you're listing. I will go over the numbers again, but I am fairly sure HeroLab didn't do the math incorrectly. I am supposing that perhaps your special materials weapon and armor costs may not have been accounted for properly in addition to the smaller cost of the surgeon's tools.
I don't include money cost in weight incidentally, so that is not a factor. Caorann is under a medium load currently with room to spare before reaching heavy. She may be missing some essential traveling gear you may want to consider. I would recommend at least a belt pouch for her money, but also the cleric's kit, a harrow card deck container, and probably some kind of riding animal (which would allow you to stow those more cumbersome traveling essentials on the animal and reduce Caorann's own encumbrance). Also, if you do add a horse or mule, there is a rider's kit as well which may be useful.
I think you may not have seen that in the Character Creation I have given everyone three additional skill points to apply to Knowledge skills. As Xaveer has one skill rank in Knowledge (nature), you may add two more skill ranks and then use the 3rd additional skill point anywhere else. Or you may choose to add three skill points to another Knowledge skill of your choice.
Now for my requests. I don't see any of Knibbles stats in the bio. If you don't mind, please provide those, so I can fact check them as well. Also, your current GP total is a mystery based on the rather sparse gear you have assigned Xaveer. I show you should have 2,317 GP left over not 43 and change. And that is after the few masterwork and special materials items are deducted from the starting 3,500. If you used that money for items which are currently stashed on Knibbles, I am unable to account for them until we see his stats also. :)
Otherwise, I would say you should really consider the cavalier's kit or some a la carte purchasing of adventurers' gear for travel and urban settings. Of course some purchasing after the team's destination is announced is allowed, but since your current wealth listed is unaccountably small, I wasn't sure what was happening there.
So what ya sittin at for players right now old friend?
Four confirmed, two of whom have fully statted characters, one which needs to finish leveling from 1 to 3 and the other is a mystery character at the moment.
Jssra = human cleric of Nethys
Leoian = halfling cavalier (emissary)
Treppa = tiefling magus (she's re-using Ciri from the Kingmaker game)
DSX = appears to be a human male of unknown class I believe
Kanmu doesn't seem to be active, so I am assuming she's out, and Mahorfeus isn't sure he is playing at this point.
Always reusing Ciri. Funny you'd think someone would choose a class like the investigator rogue or detective bard. I mean, they're like MADE for it. I'll probably be doing one of those.
Woot!! The character creation stuff is under the campaign tab.
Ciri is flat awesome and deserves to be reused. :P
What she said.
Once she gets a little blood on my blade she'll be able to claim that in truth. Until then...well, we'll see if she doesn't cut off her own toe.
FML
I think I'll build another character. Eh, why bother. A 16 hp L3 magus will die quickly. Hmmm. I think I'll lower her CON to 8 and skip toughness, so she'll have 9 hp and will die even quicker!
I'm willing to let you try that roll again if you desire. That is pretty unfortunate.
*sigh* Here goes nothing:
Just about average. Sometimes I swear the dice hate me. DSX teases me about it.
S'okay?
Do you feel comfortable? I think that's pretty good, no?
I didn't think of this, but I guess I should add a max HP increase option to my rewards table.