DM VoV's Arena Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Mark Sweetman

You are now all officially gladiators, and it's my job to whip you into shape so the fine people of this empire can watch you all be killed, gruesomely. Now listen closely, because I'm about to tell you how it's going to be in this hellhole for the rest of your short, miserable lives. - Gladiator Instructor Nasty, The Order of the Stick

This is a recruitment thread for a Homebrew Play by Post set on Golarion in the River Kingdoms at the Valknar Gladiatorial College.

A Personal Note:
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.' — Charles Schulz

Hi, my name is DM VoV… you may remember me from such recruitments as… well clicking through my profile will give you a bit of an indication of my history. Though to save you the trouble I’ll give a few stats below:
# of Campaigns Started: Fourteen.
# of Campaigns still going: Two.
# of Campaigns that failed with <500 posts: Three
Campaigns that lasted at least a year real time before shutting down: Eight

What I’m trying to say is that I’ve had my ups and downs, but hopefully through those times I’ve managed to learn what I think I’m reasonably good at (visceral combat and dark-ish tone) – and what I’m pretty poor at (Interweaved plot with multiple complex NPCs). Therefore for this thread I’m going to try and aim at my strengths - and hopefully create a fun environment where everyone knows what they’re in for and I can hopefully keep up with and push along at reasonable pace and speed.

Campaign Summary:
Thunderdome's simple. Get to the weapons, use them any way you can. I know you won't break the rules - there aren't any. – Dr Dealgood, Mad Max 3

Put simply – arena based team combats. That is the PCs working together as a team in staged combat sequences. Sometimes it will be as simple as hit the other guys till they fall over, sometimes it will be a little more complex, I might even dust off the old chase rules occasionally… but that is the gist of it.

I’d still hope for a wee bit of off arena roleplay and uses for social skills… but it won’t be a real focus of the campaign. Also, the enjoyment for me is attempting to collaboratively write a combat narrative – so rather than a mechanical description of actions, I’d like there to be a lyrical quality to the combat description. Use adjectives wisely and try and add detail to descriptives.

Points of Note:
2nd level start and 20pt buy. Max HP for the first two levels.
Two traits and 1,000gp for gear.
All Paizo is acceptable – though races are limited to core rulebook only.
Third party products are on a case by case basis, but my preference is predominately keeping close to Paizo canon.
I have an allergic reaction to slumber witches, and summoners (or summons focused characters) tend to make me break out in hives.
Also, I’m aiming for six characters – but within that I’d also break the group into three linked pairs. So please feel free to link up with another interested party and present linked characters with symbiotic abilities / focus.
And yes - there will be maps

Posting Requirements:
I am looking for people that can check in on the thread a couple of times a day, and post 1/day on weekdays. Weekends are more relaxed, as I can generally only get online in the evenings due to the entanglements of a couple of young boys. My weekday posting can occasionally get a bit spotty as well depending on how my workload goes.

What do you Need to Post Now for an Application:
All I need are the following:

• A paragraph description of what your character looks like.
  
• A summary of how your character will be mechanically built (abilities, class, major character choices).
  
• Brief rundown on how you’d expect to level up over time.
  
• Once your interest and character are logged – I’ll ask a few questions for you to respond to in character.

Recruitment Timeline:
The recruitment thread will stay open for roughly a week or so. I also will give a 24 hour warning before shutting the gates to applications.

Fire away with any questions that you might have and I shall endeavour to answer them.

Lastly… please remember this is a Recruitment Thread; and not a Roleplay Tavern.

Dotting.

EDIT: I have a Half-Orc Phalanx Fighter that I think would be perfect for this. Roughly based off of the 300 version of Spartans.

Half elven fighter(archer) . Other stuff to come later.

Do you mind someone new to PbP gaming? I've played in home games pretty thoroughly, and am a veteran of in-person games, but this would be my first PbP game. I'd pretty much play to fit whatever role is missing in the party. Looking at a channeling-focused cleric right now, given that the other two people to volunteer are melee-type characters.

Dotting for interest, I have a few ideas that I might want to build.

thegreenteagamer - no problems considering someone who's new to PbP.

OH YESSS!

Will tinker with Noonan. Former Skull and Shackles and Alkanstar barbarian who keeps having the misfortune to be 'Bleeped' out at the moment of his death into other universes.

Likes:
Parrots

Notable quotes:
Yah
Yarp

This is Fallen_Mage.

Jason Argus stands over six feet tall, with a muscular frame that indicates both strength and agility. Upon his shoulders, he wears a full length crimson cape, which serves as the backdrop of an olive green, multi-scarred torso. Held in his right hand is a finely crafted shortspear that shows the years of battle it has served. Opposite that, he holds a large heavy steel shield that likewise shows many dents and scratches from deflecting all manner of attacks. His thick black hair tied back and coming down to his shoulder blades, and a well groomed beard dons his face. Around his waist is lies a belt holding three pouches holding various vials of alchemical remedies, such as Antiplague, Antivenom, and Solvent that dissolves various bonds. In his finely crafted pack, Jason holds rope and a few healer's kits.

Jason is built to utilize spear and shield, allowing him to stab with one while bashing with the other. He is also designed to weave through enemy lines with a decent Acrobatics bonus and not being weighed down heavy gear.

Overtime I hope to get some bracers of armor, just to keep with the theme of a 300 Spartan. As far a progression, there are no immediate plans to take anything other than Phalanx Fighter. That however could change, depending on what happens during the course of matches.

Noonan is a huge man almost seven feet in height and other than his eye brows has no hair on his head, being one to almost religously shave his face and head. The rest of him is covered in scars and a rather pungent smell of one who bathes only when rained on or falls in a river. Noonan is clad in a surdy breastplate and has a gealming greadtsword on his back and dagger at his waist. He keeps several pouches with his healing potions secured at his waist and has thick boots on his feet.

Noonan is based on a pure power build with invulnerable rager archtype. His progression will continue with barbarian and increase his ability to dominate the battlefield

I would certainly like to try my hand at another of your campaigns :-)

I will throw something suitable together over the weekend :-D

Dot for interest, although I'm one who can never promise a frequency of more than 1/day.

This is thegreenteagamer's character.

Morgan Delbeckio is a slight, slim young man standing at 5'5", with piercing blue eyes and long, loose raven black hair, it is obvious he is Chelaxian of descent if not nationality. Handsome features comprise his clean-shaven face, although a disdainful scowl often mars his otherwise attractive persona. He carries no blade, but wields his holy symbol of Norgorber without fear or trepidation. Morgan eschews heavier armor for a simple chain shirt and heavy shield; his meager frame can barely carry much more than that.

Morgan will be built with channeling negative energy in mind. Eventually, via Quick Channel, he will be able to burst energy and cast in the same round. I am still debating, though strongly leaning towards, taking Command Undead at some point and utilizing those defeated foes as undead bodyguards. I do not plan on multiclassing Morgan, and he is a plain vanilla Cleric.

I'm still working on the character, so if you click on the description and it's not 100%...it will be soon.

Here is the crunch for Noonan. I will get a profile up if accepted.

Noted all on those with bits and pieces filtering through - I'll give it the weekend to get a mass of who is or isn't interested and fire out questions early next week.

Morgan - I can advise that Commanding Undead is unlikely to be a profitable avenue to pursue.

Morgan - I can advise that Commanding Undead is unlikely to be a profitable avenue to pursue.

Even if they're self-produced undead? I wasn't planning on taking the feat until I could cast animate dead anyway.

Morgan - yeah, even if they're self-produced.

Two quick questions for you:

1. Do you plan on using the Performance Combat rules from Ultimate Combat on a (semi)regular basis?

2. Because you didn't mention it above and someone will want to know, what is your policy on firearms users?

At the moment I'm looking at a Human Daring Champion Cavalier. However, more specific build choices (including attributes) depend on if Performance Combat will be a frequent occurrence.

Ohh! The scence of killing one another is one I am all too familiar with! To the labratory! Ehehehe

Ahem. Hi :)
I have a few ideas that would be interesting here.
First is a human terrorist, originally for a councel of thieves campaign that really doesn't fit in well anywhere, but getting thrown into the pits for being a terrorist fits! He is an alchemist firebomber focused on bombs and nuking the planet.

Second idea is reviving my dwarven armoured hulk. He's been around forever, he is durable as a rock, is covered in rock, wears a rock helmet and uses it to shove people around. He's a little hard headed and stubborn :)

Third idea, probably won't be allowed. First, what do you think of the performance rules? They seem to fit a gladiator setting well.
The idea is a goblin dex fighter who plays up to the crowd, very agile, very fast, and gets the crowd going wild with his twin golden daggers, named lefty and other lefty :)

Firearms are fine - though at this point kept to 'early' firearms only.

Performance combat is something that I'd be interested in playing with - but not every time and not to the degree where it would mandate other characters to invest in it if they didn't want to.

Mr Bonkers - pick one and put it forward :)

What is ur view on "normal" craft and magical craft in the game. Can I craft my own gear at reduced price?

Gilthanis - I'm happy to allow reduced cost crafting for minor items and consumables like wands / potions / scrolls - but I'd be wary at the long distant hypothetical future for wondrous items, etc.

Loot won't be lacking, and you'll be able to cherry pick alot of what you purchase as well.

Gilthanis - I'm happy to allow reduced cost crafting for minor items and consumables like wands / potions / scrolls - but I'd be wary at the long distant hypothetical future for wondrous items, etc.

Loot won't be lacking, and you'll be able to cherry pick alot of what you purchase as well.

Example: I could spend 50 gp to craft my own "mundane" banded mail?

I'd rate that under 'minor items' so yes, no problems - as long as you've got the skill points invested.

(1) A paragraph description of what your character looks like; (2) A summary of how your character will be mechanically built (abilities, class, major character choices); (3) Brief rundown on how you’d expect to level up over time.

My concept is going to be a magus, probably either human or half-orc.

A man stands, looming over his fellow gladiators. He easily tops 6 feet 4 inches and tips the scales at just a shade under 290 pounds of unbridled anger. His own people cast him aside when he mentioned he wanted to study the arcane, he was deemed weak.

He wears a chain shirt, dyed black. On his hip, a battleaxe, finely crafted with a leather wrapped hilt for better grip. He has a pair of javelins in a cross shape slung across his back should the need arise.

His muscles bulge, but he seems to have some knowledge of the arcane about him. He doesn't take grief from nobody. He searches to fight the best and heat the best. He aims to prove his people wrong in their thick-headed thinking.

I would go magus all the way. Focused on a strength build with decent intelligence and dex overall

DM ?

If I wanted to go staff magi, could I use a bo staff in place of the quarterstaff, but without taking EWP?

Gilthanis - you could use the mechanical stats for a quarterstaff and just call it a bo staff... but if you want the mechanical stats of the bo staff then you'll need to get proficiency for it.

Morgan - yeah, even if they're self-produced.

** spoiler omitted **

Gotcha. Hurts a little of the flavor, being a cleric of a god of undeath and all, but I'm still gonna hold onto the domain. Death's Kiss is just too useful for post-battle healing as a negative energy channeler to let go of. But, hey, that's what the charm (love) domain is for, to replace those scrappy spells I'll not use from undeath.

(What an awesome portfolio Norgorber has. God of charm and death. Only in Pathfinder will you find such a thing.)

Just know if my companions die and I'm at least 11th level, Norgorber is not so much a fan of resurrections as he is making them a horrible walking embodiment of evil such as, but not limited to, a ghoul or other intelligent undead.

I would expect no less from my companions with my own lifeless corpse.

*grin*

Morgan - technically Norgorber is the god of Greed, Murder, Poison and Secrets. The true god of undeath in Golarion is Urgathoa - the Pallid Princess... while it is nitpicky - it also means that as per canon a cleric of Norgorber doesn't have access to the Undeath subdomain.

Also he doesn't get access to the Love subdomain either. In fact there isn't a canon deity in Golarion that gives access to both of those subdomains (at least not in Inner Sea Gods).

Morgan - technically Norgorber is the god of Greed, Murder, Poison and Secrets. The true god of undeath in Golarion is Urgathoa - the Pallid Princess... while it is nitpicky - it also means that as per canon a cleric of Norgorber doesn't have access to the Undeath subdomain.

Also he doesn't get access to the Love subdomain either. In fact there isn't a canon deity in Golarion that gives access to both of those subdomains (at least not in Inner Sea Gods).

Darn. Well, that means I need to change things up a little. Any suggestions? I want the undeath domain, for sure, so that I can channel negative energy into healing post-fight.

I was thinking I could use Undead Lord and say "screw it" to the other domain, but if I can't bring my skeletal companion with me, that's a less than optimal move.

I don't suppose I could just be an ideal-focused Cleric, rather than deity focused, and keep those subdomains? Probably not...

So, yeah, like I said, any suggestions?

thegreenteagamer - there are a few options that give the Undeath subdomain - if you refer to here. Just depends what you want to have as a second Domain.

Or if you did go Undead Lord, I'm fine with you bringing along the Corpse Companion (just the same as I am with Rangers with Animal Companions, etc) - just no 'extra' undead from spells, etc.

Thanks for the link. I'm thinking of swapping deities up to Baalzebul and taking the subdomains Undeath and either Wind or Air.

Really, which one I choose depends on how useful you perceive bullrushing to be. It's been my experience that, unless there's a lot of traps in the arena or the like, bullrushing is kind of a waste of combat manuvers, and thus the lightning arc of the air domain is a tad more useful; however, if there's going to be stuff I can push people into, like spiked walls or pit traps, etc, I'll totally go wind.

My submission, hope you like it.
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Ausk is a 6'4" tall Half Orc with prominent tusks, bald, and a lazy eye. His body is covered with the remains of hard beatings and lashings, and on his neck hangs a holy symbol of Gorum. He likes to bite the body of his victims, leaving a "signature" on their corpses.
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I am thinking in an Half Orc Cleric of Gorum, with the War Domain, and the Toothy Alternate Racial Trait.
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I would level him trying to make the best melee fighter possible, maybe dipping into a level or two of Barbarian or fighter. I visualize him as a very flexible combatant for the arena, preparing spells just before combat, adapting to the fight at hand.

Name: Oril Xirensa, the Golden Flame

Appearance:
Standing only 5'5" and of a lithe build, unlike many of his fellow competitors Oril presents a dashing and charming persona in and out of the ring, his red hair always perfectly styled, a sparkle in his green eyes, a smile on face, and his golden armor shimmering spotlessly. Often wearing little more for armor than a lightweight chain shirt and buckler, Oril relies on his agility and speed for defense, parrying blows with his signature golden gladius while taunting foes and setting up openings for his allies to take advantage of them.

Build notes: Human Order of the Flame Cavalier (Daring Champion Archetype). He is high on Dexterity and Charisma and has/will have a focus on combat maneuvers (specifically Dirty Trick), Intimidate/Dazzling Display, and moving around the battlefield.

Advancement: At this time Oril is likely to stick with Cavalier for all levels, but if a Swashbuckler oriented Prestige Class is introduced he might move into it.

Partnering: I'd like to partner Oril (who is debuff focused) with a buffer who is willing to go into melee. For mechanical and flavor reasons a light/agile character would be preferred. If anyone is interested in playing such a character let me know and we can work out specifics.

I'd like to submit Urist McDeathaxe, a middle aged dwarven fighting instructor.

Roger all and well received - lots of melee on the ground (unsurprisingly) it seems.

Bullrushing will have reasonable utility. There will be some setups with traps, some with raised platforms and others where maintaining position will have importance.

I would be interested in playing an Aegis if your ok with it. If not I thin a swashbuckler could be fun. I will wait on you to decide before posting about the character. Thanks

Ashe - lets keep it to the Swashbuckler for the now.

Right - here's a list of the whos and whats so far (if I've got anything wrong, let me know):

• Fallen_Mage / Jason Argus - Half-Orc Fighter (Phalanx Soldier)
  
• Cr500cricket - Half-elf Fighter (Archer)
  
• thegreenteagamer / Morgan Delbeckio - Human Cleric
  
• Dragonflyer1243 - ?
  
• Noonan2 - Human Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager)
  
• Luke_Parry - ?
  
• thunderbeard - ?
  
• Mr_Shed - Human Cavalier (Daring Champion)
  
• Joseph Bonkers - ?
  
• Gilthanis - Human Magus
  
• Corsario - Half-Orc Cleric
  
• Cronax - Dwarf Monk (Sensei / Ki Mystic)
  
• Ashe - ?

Still open, still looking for victims gladiators.

Interesting, looking at the list there are no actual players with the Gladiator Archetype.

This is Cr500Cricket. Working on crunchy stuff.

Juro is a very short, thin and wiry man. He stands 5'2" and weighs 110lbs. He only has one eye and his eye patch covers his empty socket to avoid scaring unsuspecting onlookers. Despite his small stature, well toned muscles can be seen through his chain shirt and his bow lets people know that he can kill them before they swing.

Mechanically, He's a straight up archer who will work to drown his foes in arrows.. What do you mean by Major character ideas?

I'm going to continue as a straight up archer.

Might submit something—what are your thoughts on deadline, and post frequency? (You mentioned multiple times a day, and if you're planning on holding to that, I don't think I can in good faith submit anything)

thunderbeard - If you think that you can manage a single post a weekday for 'most' weeks then you're likely fine as far as frequency goes.

Deadline won't be until Thursday-Friday-ish.

Are partially charged wands going to be ok to buy?

I'm going to go with a no on the partially charged wands.

What level do you envision this going to. Just tyring to plan archetypes thanks :)

I'll keep it going for as long as there is relative interest in keeping it going and people are having fun. That being said, it's likely to be down in the low to mid single figures for a while.

Also - since it looks like I've gotten all the bites that are biting, I'll call this the official 24 hour warning till cutoff.

Just so you know, I didn't go away, Ashe and I have been working on a team. I still need to allocate the rest of his gold, but aside from that I'm about done with him, so here he is; Atren Relt, the Slayer.
Crunch:

looks like Dragonflyer1234 and myself will be submitting a team.

I will have my build done shortly but here is the basics. Question can we take a drawback for another trait? Thanks.

[spoiler=Titus "The Titan" Armstrong" History and Appearance]

Titus is a mountain of a man Image He stands almost 7 feet tall and weighs a staggering 400lbs. He is fit and athletic. He was born a slave and has never know feedome. As he matured and his physical power became unmatched he was sold to a Ludus for training. There he became friends the (Inserser Dragon's Character here). He trained hard as he had no education and knew nothing else besides death equaled applause and fame in the arena. [/spoiler]

Not bad Drangon1234. Nice one two. I will be all up in the business while you shoot at them.

Titus will continue down Bloodrager

Whoops, my spoiler didn't work. Atren is about average height, and has no real distinguishing features aside from a badly broken nose, which helps him blend perfectly into the crowd. He uses this to his advantage, as he appears unthreatening in the extreme until he begins to shoot. His long brown hair hangs over his eyes, which would seem to obstruct his aim, yet he can still make incredible shots with seeming ease.

He was once a free man who worked as a marksman for hire, but became bored and actually volunteered to fight in the Arena. After being impressed with Titus's abilities, he struck up a conversation and the two became fast friends and fearsome teammates.
Atren will continue as a Slayer, working on improving his archery.

Crunch: