Please dot if you are a part of this campaign.
Done.
Nice! Kearra and Ricard still need to post here. The two other people I'm talking with should be all ready in the next few days, they'll post here when possible!
Good evening!
Sorry for keeping you waiting. I'm here and ready to kick ass!
While we are waiting, lets discuss roles in the party?
I'll go first. Ricard is a swishy-poke person but not a swashbuckler. Later on he will get some battlefield control via free hand maneuvers. For now, he's good at the poking and decent at hunting down bounties and going dungeoning.
Kearra is a punchy Swiss army knife with some minor Ki abilities thanks to her mother's training. She excels at one-on-one fights with other melee people. Soon she will deflect arrows to mess with ranged people.
Im your resident casty and trapfinder/disabler(not too good at it, yet), and probably party face. At 3 I'll take phalanx formation, so I can hide behind the rest of you and stab.
Would be nice to have a ranged class but we'll just have to roll with it. If posaible I'd like to portion the knowledge checks to everyone who has class skills for it (since seeker archtype takes away all knowledge checks as class skill for me).
I get planes, religion and history as class skills, not the rest and I'd be happy to cover those.
Kearra - I think we're all under 20 pt buy, so please adjust.
I actually completely forgot to, as "Just a Mort" said, mention the deities! I'm going to bold all this information for those who aren't reading every post, I guess.-
20 POINT BUY
PFS NORMAL STARTING GOLD
PFS-ALLOWED BOOKS AND SOURCES
CORE DEITIES
Okay I'm getting a little annoyed with our two players. They have known about this since the 12th and still haven't even made Paizo accounts despite me reminding them.
We will start without them and if they wish to join later then so be it. I'm going to try to contact Gimpy for our ranged member and we'll start late tonight or tomorrow, sound good?
Everything is fixed. Sorry about that. The sheet was from an old RP that allowed for 25 point buy. I'm down with starting whenever.
Yeah sure. Whenever you want us to start!
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Okay, what Gimpy is and what he will be in the Future:
Gimpy is a liar and a player(yes, that type of player)... He cheats at card games and loves his booze, above all however he wants to keep his skin. He will be a long range gunfighter hopefully, I want to get a pistol soon so that he has some Variety. It will be his goal to surprise his enemies and make them flat footed so that it is much easier to hit them(flatfooted touch is like... 10 I believe to most creatures). He will whip out weapons like nothing and will be the first to shoot, just like another scoundrel we all know and love (may he Rest in Peace) ;P
Ah yes the mysterious ratfolk. "Anyone know who that mysterious stranger was?" "Yeah he's, like the only Rat guy within 500 miles." :P
But seriously sounds like fun. I wish Kearra could throw him up so He could do a cool spin move and hit every bad guy in the room.
Welcome Gimpy! Anyway, due to some complications, I will TRY to start on Wednesday! Until then, would anyone like to ask some questions about lore and legends and people and such? I've built the world up for a long long time, but I'm bad at articulating everything, so let me know any questions you have!
What's up with Aroden in this world? And Rovagug?
Who is the Queen really? How did she conquer so much so quickly without having a coalition form against her like it Napoleon? What do the people in the Cascade think about her? Do she have a family? Why did everyone accept her murdering the last king? Is she an iron fist type or does she go for a high public approval thing like Lex Luthor?
How can Hosawa stand up to any other nation without Magic or even magic-lites like ki? Why did Dragons f@!@ around with this nation as opposed to any other? Shouldn't Hosawa want magic, particularly divine magic, against the apparent Demon threat (Oni would fill the same role and be more appropriate to the Eastern theme.) Paladins by definition cannot do evil and would be a great help against Demons and Evil Dragons. Would they kill a magic-using foreigner who used magic in self-defense?
Where do the monstrous races live? Where are the Dwarves?
What were the old kingdoms like? Do most people want them back?
I hope these don't seem combative. I'm just curious.
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A lot of really good questions there. I second them! :)
1) Why have the Cascade and New Vadna formed an alliance?
2) Who is paying for Neox's capture?
3) Neox hasn't really done anything really bad. In fact some may feel he is a hero for closing down the factories on discovering unsafe conditions and publishing them.
4) Are there any travel curfews between the islands due to any of them being at war?
5)How about racial prejudice?
Very good questions! As I said, I'm very bad at explaining myself haha so questions like this are appreciated!
1. Gods in this setting are incredibly minor, and may not even actually exist. The legend of Aroden is similar, but talks about a land far to the east. It varies from person to person, the story is different for different people, but basically Azlant merely existed here as well, and the story is the same from there. This is the same for most gods, including Rovagug, who is considered imprisoned below Destiny, rather than Golarion. (I know very little of core pathfinder deities, but hopefully I can get them right...)
2. The Queen is extremely mysterious, and even her close advisors know next to nothing about her, even what she looks like under her golden helmet. The details are not very well known, but she was able to conquer these lands through her use of magic and her vast wealth. Her soldiers are payed handsomely and trained by the best in Destiny, and with her rule constantly sapping and destroying the Cascade's economic strength, becoming a soldier is the best way to feed your family, men and women allowed.
There are many, many separate resistances throughout the Cascade, and while Irrida has expressed its distaste for the happenings in the Cascade, war would be suicidal. The resistances and coalitions are wiped out as fast as they begin, but a few of the major ones manage to survive and spread their messages. Perhaps you could help?
Pretty much everyone, including her closest advisors, are completely terrified of her. This fear brings hate, but to speak such hate in public would be stupid and wouldn't end very well. Nobody really 'accepted' the death of their former king, as he kept the economy in check and was much less... harsh. Those loyal to him even after the extreme pay increase were slaughtered, which gives you an idea of whether she is an 'iron fist' ruler or not.
3. I really should've clarified this, so I'll put it in bold. Arcane magic is the only type of magic not allowed in Hosawa. Divine magic, plus ki, is actually extremely prevalent in the kingdom for the exact reasons you stated! I, uh, actually forgot Oni existed, but now that you mention them, yes, that fits a lot better! Dragons have messed with the other kingdoms, but Hosawa is the most densely populated, and only because the air is too cursed and foul in New Vadna, The Cascade has never been friendly to monsters in general, and Irrida... Irrida has legends of fallen dragons, of massive golden wyverns being devoured in the air, and of the forests to the southwest being home to more draconic corpses than trees. Use of the arcane is forbidden, but if used for the right reasons, it is acceptable to merely exile the user.
4. They are everywhere, just very rare to see. Dwarves are not a major race in Destiny, having some large underground areas and some towns to themselves. They often make good blacksmiths, and there isn't much prejudice against them, they're merely less common than elves and humans. Orcs are the same as usual, pillaging small villages in every kingdom. Ratfolk, like our little Gimpy here, are most often seen in New Vadna. Dragonlikes, such as our player that should be joining today, are extremely rare and not very well liked in Hosawa, but can originate from pretty much anywhere. It involves a recessive gene, that means both parents can be of any race, usually human, while still having a scaly and dragon-esque child.
5. The old heptarchy was much less diverse, with Hosawa and Irrida being the major kingdoms. Tensions were high almost constantly, however, and many people in Irrida and New Vadna actually prefer the new kingdoms to the old. Those in poverty in The Cascade do wish for the old kingdoms back, but they wish for a lot of things.
Let me know if I missed or didn't answer well enough. I hope I can get more questions, I really like answering them!
Just saw your questions Arendyl!
1. New Vadna needed land to expand their Metal production and factories, and The Cascade needed to ensure Irrida and Vadna would not attempt to fight back.
2. The Queen. Her reasons aren't well known, but it likely has to do with the alliance's strength.
3. Many do feel that way! It is mainly those in power that wish to see him punished, as well as the families of those killed in the factories.
4. The Cascade and Hosawa are the only kingdoms currently at war, and as such, travel between the two is not allowed whatsoever. There is no travel curfew in either kingdom, because Hosawa cannot enforce it and The Cascade is in very little danger.
5. Monstrous races are usually seen as out of the ordinary and strange, and orcs are seen as savages. Half-orcs have a bit of prejudice in Irrida, and Dragonlikes have to deal with prejudice in Hosawa. Ratfolk have quite a few stereotypes and slurs attached to them in every kingdom.
This should give you all you strictly need on the core deities and many of the other ones. Inner Sea Gods would tell you more and is a pretty awesome book in general. I have it and I'd suggest getting it.
Alright! Any comments on my answers?
Gods are minor but are the churches? Can they still grant 9th-level casting to those of sufficient power? Do they still have their heralds?
You say "her rule constantly sapping and destroying the Cascade's economic strength" but you also said she had "vast wealth" which is how she completed her coup. So couldn't she just leverage her own wealth to avoid destroying the country?
There's no official story for how and why the Queen usurped the old king? Aren't nobles concerned with her lack of a family in terms of political continuity?
1. The churches are not minor, it is simply that the gods will not play a big part in the story. Sorry for the confusion. Heralds ARE still around, and the mystery of whether gods are real or fiction could be solved. This is an open world experience, perhaps you could look into it more?
2. She can, and does, but with the way that she is ruling over the kingdom, it's not enough to keep the wage gap and her huge amount of land manageable. Landowners and nobles need to do most of the work to keep their people happy and... alive. The new regions conquered by the Cascade sap the most resources, with soldiers patrolling the streets constantly. As you move closer to Stoneward, cities and towns are safer and the people healthier. The economy could possibly stabilize soon, but her growing interest with military strength, and the fast conquering of new lands, definitely isn't helping.
3. It happened in private, with every witness slain. The story that is most commonly accepted is that it happened at night, she found a way inside his chambers. The details are unknown, and it's likely she had help. Nobles and other landowners, as well as her staff and advisors are incredibly concerned about a lot of things, but there has been a number of suitors, none of which have been accepted so far. The common populace knows very little of these details, but if she were to die without any heir, one of her advisors would likely have the throne.
Everyone, dot the gameplay thread and we'll start! We're waiting on our dragonlike, but we're almost there! I hope you all have a fun time!
Hi! Im the Dragonlike Taco has mentioned and has been waiting on. Im finally ready to go but, im new to all this so im sorry in advance for any mistakes.
Hey Resalth!
Since Ricard is going for battlefield control and I'm going for combat flexibility, what's your set-up like?
Well, thanks to the gm, my set up is basically like a casters nightmare.
Casters ARE annoying if not dealt with right?
Good! We don't need those snotty magickers here anyhow. Except Arendyl. She's gonna have to carry this team of Tier 4s. :P
Oh be nice, the only time we be mean is towards the enemy!
Hey I include myself in the Tier 4s.
Before we start, just to make myself clear, I will not be a forgiving GM. I won't dangle unbeatable battles in front of you constantly, but this is an open world campaign. If you venture too far into the forests, expect tough enemies. If you take a side quest obviously too difficult, you won't have a great time. Slash at the Queen with a sword, expect her heavily armed and trained guards to have a problem. Otherwise, the main story is designed to scale with your level, though side missions and grinding may be necessary. Death is permanent unless you can scrounge up the gold for a resurrection or something like that.
There will be no maps. Asking directions and using a compass or in-world map are the main ways of figuring out where to go. Splitting up is possible, but not recommended unless inside a dungeon or cave or something like that. Travel will be handled night by night and event by event. Enemies do not scale with your level. You will see extremely difficult enemies early on if you stray too far, and later in the game you can return to early areas and very little will have changed... unless something from the story has.
If anyone has any last minute questions please ask. It appears not everyone will be dotting today, but we can hope. If not it will begin early tomorrow. Thank you all for your patience!
talking about magic users heh
So we can't have maps for travel even if we have one in game? How about tactical maps when fighting? Roll20 is great for that.
Well... I was thinking that, but it would take even longer to set up, and more work for me to design every area with assets when I could simply describe in detail whatever fits. I suppose big cities and such I could try to map out? Otherwise travel routes would likely not be detailed in maps unless they are major trade routes and stuff like that. What do you think? Our dragonlike is also on mobile most of the time, she wouldn't be able to use Roll20
Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not asking for Tolkien's map of Middle Earth here. Just a basic "where some things are" type thing. You can do it in MS Paint. It'd give some better context of where everything is and how big the countries are. And Roll20 is much better than theater of the mind for mapping out fights. We don't have a rogue but knowing where enemies are is important for charging and flanking. It also helps with crowd control.
Hmm... I could try! I only have a mouse to work with so just give me some time haha.
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Tell me how this map of Vadna looks:
Here
Thats actually really good
-Posted with Wayfinder
pretty awesome actually. All we need now is some labels and a legend.
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Should be fixed!
We're waiting on Gimpy and Arendyl. By about... 4-5 PM EST, even if they have not dotted, the campaign will begin. I'm sorry about the wait everyone!
I like it! Very good for a first attempt!
That took my 4th attempt to dot g+! d!!nit.
That took my 4th attempt to dot g#~ d#@nit.
Ouch. Web site kept going down on you?
I thought I dotted. Checked, no dot. Tried again. No dot. Well, you get my drift.
Dot D@mn it.
The opening post is done, but..... I'm really hoping it's good haha. I'll post it in ten minutes and we'll start!
Gimpy is having some schedule issues atm. He's my GM in another game. Don't worry its just temporary, he's usually very quick to respond to stuff.