I wasnt pumped about 5e, but reading a bit here and there i do like the changes that i have seen. And my need for splat was assuaged when i saw eldrotch knight and warlock in the base book.
I've been pulling together character creation info and lots of Greyhawk background that I'll be putting into a campaign info tab once the public recruitment gets going. For now, I'll link to the Google Docs page so you can get a preview.
One thing I'll add now is that I'd like to see the group all incorporate some outcast element. You don't all have to be misfit weirdos (in fact, I'd prefer that most aren't), but there should be some reason you're not among the Real Heroes(tm) leading raids into giant lands. Instead, you're nursing watered ale in the common room at the Freckled Lass (the Poxy Doxy to locals) dodging the conscription squads and waiting for a chance at a paying job.
Maybe you were squired to a Knight of the Watch who fell out of favor. When he died, no one else would sponsor you. Maybe you were once a second-story man of great repute, but the years of hard living and hard drinking have dulled your skills. Maybe you were caught having "relations" with a parishioner - who happened to be the mayor's niece. Whatever it is, your circumstances have fallen, though you've got the ability to shine if given half a chance.
First, Daina, please consider giving this a try. I'd like to keep gaming with you. :)
Second, Are we starting in Geoff? Sterich? The Grand March? How about we are a unit from the Yeomanry and the local command is hesitant/confused on how to use or attach us? We have the right to fight under our own banner and our own commander so they cannot just split us up. And the wrong mission could cause diplomatic problems. So we are currently being looked over and ignored.
I dont know anything about the cities and stuff.
You'll be starting in Hochoch, a former trade-town on the border of Geoff and Gran March that is being used as a staging ground for raids into the conquered lands to the west (and north and southwest). There's some information about Hochoch in the Google Doc I linked (with links to even more detail). I imagine your adventures eventually could take you in several directions - the Rushmoors to the east, the Dim Forest to the North, the Stark Mounds to the southwest, and Sterich beyond that.
I should say that I'm not planning a military campaign. Individual members of the group may have military ties or experience, but I want you to be an adventuring group, not a military unit. Part of the idea here is that you are outside the general military structure, handling other quests and jobs while everyone else is focused on retaking Geoff. Some of those quests might overlap with military maneuvers, but the war is the backdrop, not the focus. You're adventurers, risking life and limb for fun and profit (and, optionally, a sense of guilt or desire to serve the greater good).
So, if you want to be a soldier from the Yeomanry, that's fantastic. But come up with a reason that your character is hanging with a bunch of murder hobos at a riverside tavern instead of garrisoned with a unit of his countrymen, awaiting orders to march west.
Ah yes i was thinking of taking the soldier background. But havent really weighed all the background options yet.
ok. One last setting question - do you have a year in mind for when the story begins as far as Greyhawk cannon goes? IIRC at some point the Gran March grabs a city or two from Geoff in "payment" for their efforts against the giants. Has that happened? And what of the fey in Geoff? Are they part of the background?
Still scheming about my character, but I must admit a spear welding Yeomanry who does not give a whit about titles and nobility does sound appealing. :)
We'll be starting on Common Year 591, seven years after the giant invasion. Sterich is free by this time, as are a few elven outposts within Geoff's borders.
Hochoch is one those towns you mentioned, "temporarily" under the authority of Gran March forces and the Knights of the Watch. There is considerable tension between the various political and military factions, making for an interesting environment.
I'm not familiar with a particular fey presence in Geoff (other gnomes and elves), although there is a very strong Old Faith orientation. Can you point me in a particular direction?
And your Yeoman sounds fun!
Mostly just from memory of playing Living Greyhawk. Geoff had great writers and a really fine IC website for people to post stories. I'll have to see if that is still available on Yahoo. If I find it I will certainly share it.
Perhaps this would be a good chance to get my feet wet in 5e. I have heard pretty good things about it.
So...where should I start? I obviously don't own any books. Is there an online resource like the PFSRD?
There isn't an actual SRD, but the Basic Rules are free online. That includes all the rules to play the game, four core races (humans, elves, dwarves and halfings) and the four core classes (Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard). And the core spells. You can make a perfectly viable character from that, but I'm also happy to PM you details about other options (classes, feats, etc.) from the PHB.
There's also quite a lot of stuff that's been released as previews by WotC or free from third parties and fans. I've collected links to a bunch of that stuff in the Google doc I posted earlier, along with setting info and other things that will eventually make their way into a campaign info tab.
Looking over many options. Currently thinking about a Bladesinger. Not sure I have the stats for that class though. What book is it in? And is there a racial requirement?
Bladesinger is a wizard archetype from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide that just came out. It is elf-only, which I'd stick with in Greyhawk (Luckily, there are communities of high elves, grey elves and wood elves close by Hochoch, the planned starting area). I'll take a look at my book and shoot you a PM with the details tonight or tomorrow.
Also, we haven't heard from Raun/Peanuts in a while. Still with us? Still interested?
Yeah still here, just haven't had a good strike of inspiration yet (and/or I'm just being lazy :p). Still interested though.
Hey folks, just checking in. It sounds like several of you are coming along with character concepts: Nnn/Tenro, a human warlock; Grit/Skorn, an elf wizard (bladesinger); Raun/Peanuts a half-elf rogue (swashbuckler).
Daina has expressed some interest, but I've not heard anything from Gorkhan or Woki's players so I assume they won't be transitioning to the 5E game. That means recruiting for at least a couple of spots, which is fine - I know there's some keen interest in both 5E and Greyhawk on the boards.
I've got a trip planned in December, plus the holidays, and rather than starting and immediately going on hiatus I plan to launch the game right after New Year's. I also don't want to recruit, then have everyone sit around for a month with nothing to do.
At this point, I'm thinking of posting a recruitment thread the last weekend of November, letting it run for 10-14 days, allowing me to choose participants before I leave on my trip in the middle of the month. I'll be able to post occasionally after that, helping tweak characters, etc., when get the campaign tabs and everything else ready to go the week after Christmas, probably launching Jan. 3 (a Sunday).
Several of you are very experienced PbPers - see any issues with that timeline? Any recommendations for the recruiting process? My priority list for new players is something like this: 1) Reliable poster > 2)enthusiastic about the campaign premise and Greyhawk > 3) pitches a character that fills a needed role or niche. What about you?
I believe I'm going to bow out. Life is a bit too hectic for me ATM to add another game on as well as learn a new system. I hope to game with you all in the future, it was a blast!
That's ok Daina, totally understandable! Loved having you in the game.
Enjoyed playing with you Daina and hope to play in a future game.
I dug out my 5e book yesterday and began reading it again. Rules are coming back to me. One question I have (this might be related to an errata or update I do not know about) is about racial powers of high elves or Eladrin. I see souces that say they can Fey Step once per long rest, but I do not see that listed in my player's book. What am I missing?
Also, I did not see the Bladesinger as an archtype to wizard. Where is that class listed? Is it in the DMG? Thanks.
Have fun Daina! :)
@Grit: The Bladesinger is in the campaign notes document the DM posted earlier. I don't know if it's homebrew or from another book though.
It's way down the bottom on page 11. There's also a related feat on page 9, Bladesong.
Oh, double post, whoops.
So I plan to upgrade his armor and possibly his weapons, how much can I sell his old armor/weapons for? 50% 100%?
Also: What would be a good language for a thiefy type to know in this setting?
Pending the answer to those questions and writing down his background (which I am terrible at doing :s), I present Morten, the Half-Eld Swashbuckler :)
@GM sounds good to me
@Daina good to have you around, i am sure we will see one another on the boards in the future
i will work on putting my character together but will definitely be taking my time/procrastinating. so a long timeline is good.
Grit: Eladrin are a separate elf subrace in the DMG, they get s fey step ability instead of the abilities granted by the high elf subrace. I thought about using them as valley elves, but hadn't posted the stats.
I PMed you the bladesinger stats, but also pasted them into the Google doc Peanuts linked. It is from the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide.
Peanuts: you can swap any starting equipment for a suit of armor or weapon of equal or lesser value ( you lose the difference) or you can upgrade to a more expensive suit of armor or weapon by paying the difference in cost between old item and new item.
Alright cool :) I shall get equipment up, and then it's just background I can procrastinate over :p
Ah, I saw a reference suggesting that Eladrin and high elves were the same thing. There lies my confusion. Fey step seems pretty great. I'd have to have a good story to be a valley elf outside of the valley I guess. Maybe raised in the Yeomanry - I think both the Yeomanry and Keoland both try to claim the valley though neither work too hard to move into it. :)
The page with the eladrin from the DMG was previewed online - you can find it by Googling "5E eladrin." They are identical to high elves but lose the cantrip and extra language for the ability to cast misty step once per short or long rest.
The Valley of the Mage is pretty much due north of Geoff, so it wouldn't be a stretch geographically. But it would be challenging in an RP sense, as valley elves are universally despised by other elves and most neighboring races, and you'd probably be an exile from your own people.
Hmm, if you are interested the GreyWiki entry on valley elves does have this interesting tidbit:
"Shortly after the turn of the sixth century CY, the king of the valley elves and his entire house arrived at the Palace of the Grand Duke (of Geoff) in Gorna. The valley elf king left several items with the Grand Duke, along with information to be passed to his heir. The elven king and his retinue then departed into the Crystalmists, nevermore to be seen (LGG.127)."
Perhaps your character was a part of the king's retinue who remained behind as an adviser or watcher, or you are a spy from the valley (now ruled by the Mage of the Valley, and more recently, a drow elf and a necromancer who are the Mage's lieutenants) trying to find out what happened to the king.
Meet my character for the new game. Unless I have some errors in the sheet is is pretty much done. I do need to buy some mundane gear and have send at PM to our GM about possibly starting with a scroll or two. Oh, and the spell list is not final. So many good spells available. I have been doing a lot of reading. I'd sorta like to hold off finalizing that selection until I see who all is at the table with us.
So went with the wizard rather than the fighter eh?
dang looks like i need to get on mine. luckily with thanksgiving i will have more time
well, you've got until the end of the year :p
So went with the wizard rather than the fighter eh?
Yes and no. A bladesinger makes a pretty good melee fighter when she has to be. With bladesong she can boost her AC to 20 for two fights per long rest and is at least proficient with sword and bow. I look forward to playing her.
Thinking of Quiet Cabal and/or Knights of the Dispatch for an organization to have ties to.
Should we have just one, or are more acceptable? And if more are OK, are those two exclusive? I picture QC as more of an after-hours thing and the Dispatch as more of a pay-the-bills thing as well as a front if QC affiliation is not something to share openly.
Both would be fine. Quiet Cabal is more a loose fraternity of former apprentices and magic-users than a group with a central agenda. If you are affiliated with the Knights of Dispatch, it's probably off the books, either as a prospective Vigil or one who is operating in secrecy to avoid complications with the Watchers and other groups.
If you're still planning on a Warlock with the soldier background, you should decide whether your affiliation with either group precedes or follows becoming a warlock. Were you a KoD in training who went to war and at some point accepted a pact, studying with the QC later? Or a young warlock who went to war and later applied as squire with the knights?
On another note, after a long week of preparing for the holiday and recovering from a full house of family visitors, I expect to post a recruitment thread in the next day or two, looking for 2-3 more players for the campaign. When I do, I'll post the link here, then set this campaign to inactive.
I think I've got Skorn's bonus feat worked out, but I'm still working on ideas for Tenro and Peanuts' characters. Let me know if you have any ideas - if there's something you'd like your character to be capable of, but couldn't quite make it work with your class and background choices, let me know. Want to be an accomplished liar, or a wielder of hellfire? I can work on a feat that grants some skill bonuses or grants bonus spells. Otherwise I'll be looking to your character writeups for ideas.
If you're still planning on a Warlock with the soldier background, you should decide whether your affiliation with either group precedes or follows becoming a warlock. Were you a KoD in training who went to war and at some point accepted a pact, studying with the QC later? Or a young warlock who went to war and later applied as squire with the knights?
The former, rather than the latter, seems to make the most sense to me. More likely to have encountered something prompting the pact, in my opinion.
OH geez, I dunno kinda dropped the ball on this one :p Been applying to a few too many new RPs, they're muddling together a little :p Uhh I'll try and work on his background tomorrow and get back to you.
I suspect this one is the only one using 5e and likely the only one set in Greyhawk. :) Those two things should help you keep them separate in your mind.
This is wildly off topic and I don't know if this is the right place to put this, but here goes.
I've loved reading all of your Dark Sun adventures. This counts as my first taste of Athas, and I must say, you've all done a bang-up job of getting me interested in seeing more of the setting.
That said, I was wondering where the stats for all the monsters came from? I suspect some of them are reskinned bestiary things, but in the interest of someday running my own Dark Sun game, I wonder if I could impose for some details?
Sure thing, NightmareOne.
There were a couple of things going on:
* Most humanoid NPCs were built from the ground up, using the modified character generation options listed in the Campaign Info tab, or by tweaking pre-built stat blocks from the NPC database at d20pfsrd.com.
* Back in the 3E days, WotC gave certain fan sites permission to do official conversions of old campaign settings. The Dark Sun site, athas.org, put out a free ebook, Terrors of Athas, that updates almost all of the 2E monsters to 3.0 (or maybe 3.5). It's a really handy book, and many of the monsters need minimal conversion - the braxat the group fought before Crossroads, the dark spiders below the village, those were all minor conversions as I recall.
* Other monsters and mooks were reskinned Pathfinder creatures with a few modifications. Ogres make great half-giants. The dune reapers the group encountered in Arkhold were dire lions (or cave lions or something like that). In several cases, I was able to find a suitable monster that subbed in better (or with less effort) than converting the version in Terrors of Athas. You can also find the 2E versions of most Dark Sun monsters online by googling around a bit.
Oh okay, looking over the character again I remembered I wanted to give him a musical instrument. Was kind of aiming for sort of a casanova with the ladies... don't know if you can do anything with that?
Oooh, yeah, I can work with that. Maybe something like:
Legendary Lover
Your charm and skill at seduction have earned you a reputation as a dashing rake.
* You gain proficiency with a musical instrument of your choice
* You have advantage on Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks against people who could be attracted to you
* If you fail a Charisma-based skill check against a target you can immediately try again. If you fail a second time, the target becomes hostile to you, in a similar manner to the target of a friends spell that expires.
once i get my character put together i will have a better feel for what i think i am missing.
Hm... wouldn;t that mean he gets 4d20 to Deception and Persuasion against people who could be attracted to him? I like it, but kind of seems like double advantage or something :p
For the record I'd love to kick this off sooner rather than later. Perhaps some preliminary stuff while we are recruiting? And let me know if you want me to try to recruit another player outside of the normal recruitment channel. I do not know anyone that plays 5e regularly but I do know a couple of people that both have played it and love Greyhawk.
If you have advantage twice for something wouldnt it just be 3 dice instead of 4? Sorta like the old way where you double the base not the aleady-doubled total.
Lady K: I'd love to, as well, but I'm going to be traveling for the last two weeks of December, creating a crunch at work while I prepare to be gone that long. But we can try to work in a bit once I get the recruitment open.
For Morten's feat, I want to avoid the double-advantage thing. Thinking instead of replacing the last bullet point with an ability that let's him use friends once per long or short rest or something. I like the idea of a last ditch lie that let's him appease someone (jilted lover? cheated spouse?) temporarily, but they'll eventually figure out they've been duped and be pissed.
hmmm, so it wouldn't let him reroll, it'd just let him get advantage on anyone momentarily,even if they're not attracted to him? Works I guess. Could call it Sweet Talker perhaps? or Fast Talker :p
Urgh, I was confusing the benefits of friends (advantage on checks) and charm person (make them friendly). I'm thinking the feat would let you auto-succeed (turn a failure into a success) on one Charisma-based skill check per long rest (whether or not it involves attraction), but with the same delayed negative consequence of friends. So, it's a last-ditch "I got this" that could come back to bite you. I'm thinking "Silver-Tongued Scoundrel" for the name ;)
Sure thing, NightmareOne.
There were a couple of things going on:
* Most humanoid NPCs were built from the ground up, using the modified character generation options listed in the Campaign Info tab, or by tweaking pre-built stat blocks from the NPC database at d20pfsrd.com.
* Back in the 3E days, WotC gave certain fan sites permission to do official conversions of old campaign settings. The Dark Sun site, athas.org, put out a free ebook, Terrors of Athas, that updates almost all of the 2E monsters to 3.0 (or maybe 3.5). It's a really handy book, and many of the monsters need minimal conversion - the braxat the group fought before Crossroads, the dark spiders below the village, those were all minor conversions as I recall.
* Other monsters and mooks were reskinned Pathfinder creatures with a few modifications. Ogres make great half-giants. The dune reapers the group encountered in Arkhold were dire lions (or cave lions or something like that). In several cases, I was able to find a suitable monster that subbed in better (or with less effort) than converting the version in Terrors of Athas. You can also find the 2E versions of most Dark Sun monsters online by googling around a bit.
Thank you so much! Now time for some psionic postapocalyptica...
So something like:
Silver-Tongued Scoundrel
insert new flavor text
* You gain proficiency with a musical instrument of your choice
* You have advantage on Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks against people who could be attracted to you
* When you fail on a charisma based skill check, you may choose to instead succeed at the roll, but the next time you encounter the person you made the check against, they will be hostile towards you (having realizes they were duped/manipulated).
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Raun: Yep, that's what I was thinking. I'll clean up the language when I get a chance. This week at work has just been kicking my ass.