Deus Machina - The Last Grimoire (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

...I don't think I should answer questions like that. XD Half the fun of the game is being surprised, right?

Interesting concept, but I'm just not feeling it and don't want to take someone else's spot. I'm dropping out - good luck!!

Too many other obligations at this point to continue, unfortunately.
Feel free to use Viktor as your character or as NPC.
He wouldn't be evil because he doesn;t think Lucifer is -like in the Shin Megami Tensei games, if that rings a bell.
If he was an animal, he would be a snake, btw.

I actually ask that question and can give people an insight into their personality...like a party trick. And yes, I have freaked out some folks with it!!

SMT is... complicated... when it comes to morality. ^^ Which is a good thing. Insights into personalities are good, too - actually, part of the early game here is uncovering those to help plan future developments...

As a note for everyone else, recruitment continues! ^^

Did anything happen to Caquix? I point out that there're only the two of us as characters and then no more posts from Aiden.

No I'm still here, sorry. I've been debating what to post next and let the debate go on a bit too long.

It's fine. My new machine isn't here yet, so I can't expand on things the way I want to anyway. XD I am looking forward to that being resolved, though...

On the bright side, my new machine is almost here! On the other hand, there does seem to be limited interest here... Hmm...

Might want to start a new thread. I know I tend not to look at recruiting threads with more than a page of chatter

I didn't even restrict myself to that. I literally looked through every recruitment thread that was started after Jan 1 for something to join lol.

Hmm... I guess it depends on what people want to play? I should probably give more details on how characters will develop. XD

Hope we find more people. This game seemed really interesting and i was excited to play Aiden

I'm trying to figure out the best way to re-word the intro post, helping give people reasons to play without giving away too much of the plot.

It's surprisingly difficult. XD Actually, I'm starting to have a little more respect for the people coming up with the spoiler-avoiding player guides for adventure paths and such...

If you need help, feel free to ask. I'm horrible at creative writing on my own, but give me something to work with and I can work wonders! (not to toot my own horn or anything...)

Interested! Tell me what you think of my background, if you would.

I think I could work with that. ^^

So that's three likely players... I'd like to get a minimum of one more before this game really gets going.

Wooo! A new person!

Okay, maybe you've changed the Campaign Info or whatever recently but, based on what I just read, I'm really surprised you're still waiting for players.

This game turned up in a search I did for something else. I read about half of the first page of Recruitment and -- thinking "This is a really cool idea" -- I flipped over to Gameplay to skim some of the story.

Only Gameplay wasn't connected yet.

So I came back to read the rest of Recruitment. And I truly don't get why this hasn't drawn more interest.

Though admittedly, games that are off the beaten path tend to call to me, and I'm far more into "story" than "game," so maybe it makes sense this would catch my eye. Conversely, maybe the "no XP/preset plot/you're just an ordinary person" vibe is unattractive to more traditional gamers?

Anyway, are you guys seriously still looking for players? This seems like fertile ground and I wouldn't mind having a shot at seeing what I could contribute.

If so... let's see... I probably would've gravitated towards CompSci, but since MU doesn't offer that program... hmm. How about a guy who was studying nuclear engineering because he thought that industry was going to rebound and he wanted to surf the wave and make the big bucks. In the process he started becoming fascinated with fusion research... including cold fusion. And as he read more about the latter, he got drawn farther and farther into pseudoscience and discredited concepts like Maxwell's Demon.

(I'm thinking along the lines of "El Cazador de la Bruja" in which some "supernatural" powers are in fact simply practical application of Maxwell's thought experiment.)

As time went on, prepping for a high-paying career became less of a motivation than simply wanting -- no, needing -- to learn. But no respectable academic institutions would go anywhere near what they consider pseudoscience.

None, except for Miskatonic University.

So this fellow has worked and journeyed long and hard to reach Arkham to pursue his questionable quest for knowledge... or perhaps "quest for questionable knowledge."

Would that work for you guys? I'm thinking of somebody pretty average. Maybe an Expert, but more likely a Commoner.

Well, you're an ordinary person to start out with. XD

But seriously, this game has a very strong inclination towards the idea of things that are unknown and beyond understanding - and characters who are powerful to begin with would have far less trouble in a situation like that. I'm hoping that all of you will feel that anything you have access to is actually something great, not just "Okay, I have five first-level spells per day, with a focus on crowd control...".

That said, Don Jon Dux, your character does sound like one that MU would be willing to accept. Anyone who's willing to quest for knowledge, regardless of what others think of them, is the sort of person who'd fit right in. ^^ You're certainly welcome to submit a profile, and unless there's something incredibly wrong with it, I think you'll get in - which should give us four characters, yes? In that case, assuming everyone's still around, I think I can get going.

So~

Those who are still interested in this game, please post your profile and/or alias now.

Thank you for the opportunity! Let me see what I can pull together.

Okay, I have this guy mostly built out in Hero Lab and will be transferring him to the profile for approval shortly. Three things:

1) By RAW, Detect Charm is a L1 spell. You have it listed as a cantrip; is that as intended?

2) What with this being a current day setting, I'm surprised I haven't caught any reference to guns. What's the word there? Sal won't be packing, but given where he grew up in urban Joisey, it's reasonable he might be able to use one, or even have some rudimentary gunsmithing skills (minor repairs, etc.)

3) Again considering modern day, do we need to give any attention to driving skills, using computers/smartphones, that sort of thing?

Thanks!

1. Charm Person's Cantrip Version, courtesy of Rite Publishing. ^^ I should probably make some kind of reference page for these...

2. Technically, there's nothing that would stop you from using a gun if you really want to have one - and you can certainly choose something like Weapon Proficiency in using them as an option, though that might not be a very good idea. Things that help your ability to survive will almost certainly be more useful. XD Still, if that's the kind of character you want to make, you're welcome to submit it for consideration.

3. No, you do not.

Not a problem on Detect Charm, I just didn't realize you were pulling it from the same source as Dim.

Heh... no, I'm not really going for "that kind of character," just surprised it hadn't been mentioned yet. Anyway, I went with a Commoner ("story over success"), so Sal's skill-starved as it is.

But if I'm supposed to be building him with an eye towards "ability to survive" he may not last long! Other than the obligatory nod to things like Perception, I've mostly built him based on "reality." So, knowledge skills based on his interests, languages driven mostly by what his family forced him to pursue as a kid, a probably useless musical skill, etc.

Though I did give him a set of lockpicks (lower-class urban kid, remember) and -- based on dabbling in the SCA for a few years (yes, he's a geek) -- enough skill with a knife and tools to fashion rudimentary weapons. (The guys I grew up with used to homebrew basic crossbows and have quarterstaff fights, so I figure that's not unrealistic.) Basically, he's built to be any brilliant but otherwise average college kid.

I'll upload the raw Hero Lab output and wait on cleanup until (if) he's approved. I'll also hold off on backstory if that's alright, since you already have the gist above?

EDIT: Basic framework is up; critique away!

Seems fairly good overall, though you should probably keep in mind that the Magic Recharge rules are in effect, so your spells aren't (usually) limited to a smaller number per day. ^^

Understood. That's just default Hero Lab output I haven't yet cleaned up. (I created Denton as a Commoner, then added "Grimoire" as a linked "Sorcerer" to accommodate the (future) spells. So the program's treating the book as it would the stock character class... haven't bothered to see if Hero Lab supports that variant rule, since I mostly just use it to assist with the chargen process and keep me honest during level-ups.)

If you think he's good to join in, I'll go ahead and finish out the profile and tidy up. And jump into the Discussion pre-game RP, if you want me to?

Oh... I should mention I may be at a remote site tomorrow through Thursday, so possibly limited participation during work hours for a few days. I'll be around in the evenings and possibly early mornings my time, though.

I'm fairly sure it doesn't have them in. XD It's not too hard to keep track of manually, though. The pre-game RP isn't very necessary; it was mostly just a way to pass the time.

Ah, and don't worry about what hour you actually post in. ^^ As long as you can post at some point during the day, it's all good.

I don't use Hero Lab for that aspect anyway, I make the Paizo profile the "gold standard" and track everything there.

Pre-game RP may not be necessary, but it's an opportunity to get comfy with the PC and do an "establishing shot" before committing to Gameplay. So, I'll jump in the sandbox.

Finally! I was slowly giving up on this. I'm pretty excited. Now I just have to get back into the character. You'd think this'd be easier considering this one is actually based on me (go figure).

I'm sure it'll be easier once the campaign's truly underway. XD So that's three, I believe...

I am still here I just have to set up my alias stuff, I'll try to get it done tonight.

Hey! Room for another? I love Urban Fantasy and this looks fun. History might be a little rough and not sure if the Allure trait will be allowed, but I could totally see someone overwhelming another person through sheer presence and nobody thinking 'Oh hey, it's a magical daze!'. But if it's a problem can switch it to either Augmented Disguise or Extremely Fashionable.

I think I'd prefer a switch - though reflavored, it would still be spell-like in terns of effect, and I already told everyone else to avoid getting such choices (that's actually very relevant to this campaign). Great profile otherwise, though!

And with that, I think I'll go ahead and get this started... ^^

Alright, went with Extremely Fashionable then.

How do you want us to handle gear? Like, I think I should have a disguise kit (AKA A gigantic makeup kit)

Also, pretty new to this forum and all the alias stuff going on (I've pbp'd pathfinder before though) so if you notice some sort of Faux Pas on here or if I seem clueless about something obvious, keep that in mind >_>;

Carrying around gear will not be very important - of course, if there's anything your character would normally have on them, you're certainly welcome to buy the game's equivalent. ^^

Though like most schools, MU has a "no weapons" policy... unless it's really old and you're studying it, anyway, in which case it can stay in a lab. XD

... if there's anything your character would normally have on them, you're certainly welcome to buy the game's equivalent. ^^

So what the heck would a smartphone translate to? :op No, wait, don't tell me: No cell service in Arkham, right?

Probably not too important to have a phone listed on your sheet. From what the Gm has said, I think it's safe to assume a phone won't much come in handy. I'd bet Arkham has signal but super spotty 3g haha.

The system doesn't really have anything like that, which does make it a little harder to implement. XD Still, if you want to come up with some rules for it, I could always take a look - though Aiden is right, and phones generally won't be too handy.

Or I could just say that the University bans them as distractions and potential sources of information theft, which they highly frown upon, considering how much of their income is derived from it... XD I'd rather not say "No" outright if there's a way to make it work, though.

Well, you could always steal things from d20 modern. WOuldn't require much modification.

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/modern/ smack/srdhome.html