Campaign concept = In past campaigns, although reputation was important, characters would frequently move from location to location, and saw little impact on the region by their actions or inactions (other than depriving monsters of their undeserved loot). In Kingmaker, you will stay in one large region for the entire campaign, first by exploring a section of wilderness, then civilizing this wilderness by building a town, growing the town into a city, and perhaps eventually into a kingdom (or even an empire). More than any previous campaign, your actions have consequences that you may have to live with (the forest you burn down may be your own, and creatures you meet may turn out to be impacable foes or useful allies).
Wilderness survival/environment = This campaign focuses on reclaiming the wilderness in the name of civilization. Please consider potential environmental hazards when building your character. Terrain includes plains, hills, forests, marsh, swamp and rivers. Terrain difficulty and weather conditions will have a role in this campaign, as well as encumbrance, food and distance. Years will pass and your character may age decades.
Character Creation = We will be using the core Pathfinder RPG rules for character creation, plus the Kingmaker Player's Guide (available for free download from Paizo). Material from other official PF products must have GM approval.
Characters begin at Level 1, using a 15 point buy ability score generation method.
House Rules:
Traits = select one Campaign Trait from the Kingmaker Player's Guide, and one trait from any other regular category (i.e. social traits, combat traits). Players will also earn "Acheivement Traits" throughout the adventure for heroic and humorous accomplishments.
Healing = Casting a healing spell or a channeled healing burst outside of combat, or in combat as a full-round action maximizes the spell. (i.e. at 1st level a Cure Light Wounds spell heals 9 points when cast as a full-round action).
Hit points while leveling = At level-up, players may re-roll their hit points one time, but must accept the second roll, even if it is a lower score.
Bonus Feat = "Heroic Resiliance" All players receive this bonus feat for free at first level. You are a hero, and though fate and the gods are often cruel to you, and test your resolve, they desire that you remain alive to fulfill your destiny. You are disabled when your hit points reach 0, minus your character's level (i.e., a 1st level character is disabled at 0 to -1 hit points). You are dying until you reach a negative hit point total equal to your constitution score, plus your level (i.e., a 1st level character with a 14 constitution score is dying from -2 to -15 hp). You also gain a +1 bonus to your rolls to stabilize for every 2 levels you possess).
Character Death = A character who dies may be raised from the dead using any of the different methods described in the Core rules. If a player chooses to "reroll" a new charater instead, the character will start that level over at 0 xp for that level. The new character may either "inherit" the previous character's gear and share of the kingdom, or forfeit this wealth for the standard wealth of a character of that level (see Table 12-4, pg. 399 of the Core Rules). Note that Acheivement Traits and reputation gains will not be passed to the next character. My hope is that players will invest in one character for the entire campaign, instead of changing characters. If you are unhappy with your character, please talk to me for help before rerolling.
Races = Core races are permited, plus Aasimar. Other races are subject to DM's approval. Humans are by far the most common race in this region. The default Human is of Taldan ethnicity from the nation of Brevoy (Restov city), but other ethnicities are accepted (see Humans of Golarion source material or GM for guidance).
Classes = Core classes are permitted. Other classes and prestige classes must have GM's approval.
Deities = Divine casters (Clerics, Druids, Inquisitors, Oracles, Paladins, Rangers) must select a deity. Deities are optional for other classes. See the Kingmaker Player's Guide or GM for guidance.
Special Materials = Mithril and adamantine are difficult to obtain, and only a few artisans in the world have the skill to craft these rare materials into weapons or other items. They will not be available for purchase, and must be obtained through questing or other special efforts.
