FG Shackled City

Game Master Reckless

Shackled City on Fantasy Grounds Sundays 1-5pm EST


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Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Interest Check: Shackled City AP Fantasy Grounds Sundays

Checking on Player Interest in playing “Pathfinder-ized” Shackled City Adventure Path via Fantasy Grounds on Sunday afternoons. I have an “Ultimate” FG license so players would not need to have one.

Shackled City is a compilation Adventure Path set in the city of Cauldron on the world of Greyhawk. It includes dungeon, city-based, overland, and political themes, mostly centered around Cauldron and its environs.

PCs should be heroes (LG, NG, CG, or LN), will start at first level, and should be linked to the campaign with a campaign trait. A strong sense of teamwork and cooperative character building would also be highly encouraged.

I will probably be using array-based stats rather than point buy. I will consider the possibility of using gestalt.

Game could be either text-based or voip-based with box text for some things. I will likely be taking advantage of Fantasy Grounds’ language programming to “speak” in foreign tongues.

I am looking for a mid-May starting time.

This interest inquiry has been posted both on Paizo Forums and Fantasy Grounds Forums.

FG Forum Formatted:

FG License: Ultimate
Game System: Pathfinder (possibly Gestalt, some Unchained &/or House Rules)

Time Zone: Eastern Time USA
Day of week and time: Sunday Afternoons
Planned start date: May 15th or 22nd
Planned Frequency: Three Weeks On, One Week Off
Term: Long term.

Text or Voice: tbd
Voice software used: tbd

Roleplay & Combat mix: Probably 40-60 or so closer to 50-50 with good participation on part of players
Number of Players in game & needed: Looking for 3-5 consistent players
Character starting level & equipment: 1
Character restrictions: Greyhawk-based characters

Details of your scenario: see above

Dark Archive

I'd be interested, would need link to the guide book if you could. What time would it be on Sundays?

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I'm leaving that tenuous at the moment. My initial thoughts are 1pm-5pm (EST) but I have some flexibility to slide that a bit.


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Shackled City Adventure Path Player's Community Guide, feel free to contribute with your additions/modifications ;)

Use the comment option to add suggestions please.

I hope this helps all you to flesh a character and Reckless to provide the setting more easily.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Thanks for the link, Rutseg!


Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

I am definitely up for this. Reckless is a great GM!


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I think I'd be up for it. Been a good long while since I visited Greyhawk.

Maybe play an illusionist wizard. If you do decide on Gestalt, probably Wizard/Rogue for skill points.

All depending on what other people want to play. I'm flexible.


Urban campaigns are of huge interest to me. Plus I have never had the chance to play the Shackled City, though I have heard very good things. Colour me interested.


I'm interested! I'll wait for the character creation guidelines before I come up with a character, though.


Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

I'm considering a half-orc melee type, not sure beyond that till more details come out for the group.

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Hello GM Reckless! My name is Simon. It is very nice to meet you. I set a limit to myself for only 3 PbPs to maintain good posting quantity and quality, and because I just started. But as I understand, this will be a scheduled weekend game? That sounds super fun and time-manageable. :)

I try to put my all into every character, and I love working as a team! I have read as much as I can of GM Rutseg's Player Guide, and I currently have a character concept I would like to share with you.

Sorin Spellmason (Neutral Good Archivist Bard)
Sorin Spellmason is a proud descendant of the hero Surabar. As a scion, he has been pressured to succeed from a young age. Rather than lamenting or rebelling against such a burden, he strives to excel and meet everyone's expectations of him. His talents mainly lie in intellectual pursuits rather than combat, though he approaches strategy and tactics as important subjects for study. He is a star student at Bluecrater Academy, and his favorite areas to relax are Lakeside Pavilion and The Coy Nixie.

My apologies for the alliteration. Ah, that is, sorry for all the S's!I hope I did ok. I can go into more detail once the guidelines are up, if you'd like. My character would focus on helping the party with Knowledges, Trapfinding, general skills, and combat buffs.

I'll try to research Fantasy Grounds as much as I can. I've used Roll20 a little bit before. I'm also available for voice, though I have been made fun of in the past. I'm sure everyone here will be nice though, if I'm able to join.


I'm interested but I've never played anything from Greyhawk.


I would be interested, but I run the game at our LFGS every other Sunday. I could only play on the opposite weeks.

Dark Archive

We could do rolls, rolls are fun.

Liberty's Edge

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Between here and the Fantasy Grounds Forum, we definitely have enough interest to get this going.

The Campaign Info Tab has information about recruitment procedures and character building. If we agree to any changes, I will modify that tab; it's the easiest way to keep the recruitment information up to date and not lost.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Simon: Nice to meet you as well. Sorry to hear that people have made fun of you in voip, that can be difficult to deal with. I'm the guy who came up with the Sibilant Sistrum as a submission for RPG superstar, so I'm not one to knock alliteration. I have played games with Brother Fen and Lokiel before and I can attest to their niceness.

Junelee, Shackled City was initially written to be able to import into any campaign, but I am using Greyhawk primarily for the Deities- their churches are tied into the campaign, especially its early stages, and I'd rather use them as written then modify towards another setting. Familiarizing yourself with the information in the Player's Guide should give you sufficient information, but I have also linked a Greyhawk wikia in the Campaign Details tab in case you want to learn more.

Fen, I think I'd rather stick to the three weeks on- one week off schedule. Sorry. You know I'll keep you posted if something else opens up, or if I change on this.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Sample results for a Dwarven Ranger-Witch Hybrid:

Format for Background Rolls

Step One- Homeland, Family, Childhood
(Race) Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 30 Hills or Mountains, access to Goldsniffer and Highlander traits
(Race)Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 75 Only your mother is alive
(Race)Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 81 1d4+1 biological siblings, access to Kin Guardian trait
Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 80 Bastard Born, access to Bastard trait and Shamed story Feat
Parents’ Profession: 1d100 ⇒ 51 Yeomen, access to Savanna Child trait
Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 96 The War, access to Vagabond Child trait, Deny the Reaper story Feat

Step Two-Adolescence and Training
(Class) Background: 1d100 ⇒ 37 choice between Blood Cleansing or Found Familiar
(remember you can apply the above roll to the chart for either class in your gestalt)
Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 33 The Fool, access to Unpredictable trait
Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 4 A few significant relationships

Additional Rolls:
Make any additional required rolls after the above rolls. You may do this in a separate post or modify your post after rolling the above. Do not change the order of the rolls above, as doing so on Paizo’s website modifies the results.
Number of Siblings 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Siblings(Roll For Each Sibling): 1d100 ⇒ 64 sibling younger
Siblings(Roll For Each Sibling): 1d100 ⇒ 26 sibling older
Siblings(Roll For Each Sibling): 1d100 ⇒ 74 sibling younger
Siblings(Roll For Each Sibling): 1d100 ⇒ 75 sibling younger
Additional rolls: [I]I think I'll re-roll the Influential Associate result: 1d100 ⇒ 38 The Liege Lord, access to Influence trait


Just throwing this in here to say I'm also interested! Cauldron is one of my favorite places from my childhood... I'm gonna go put together some character ideas, but I'm pretty flexible as far as classes/roles go. (Might go for a healer type? Paladin is a-callin' me... But no promises just yet ;) )

Liberty's Edge

Reckless wrote:
Simon: Nice to meet you as well. Sorry to hear that people have made fun of you in voip, that can be difficult to deal with. I'm the guy who came up with the Sibilant Sistrum as a submission for RPG superstar, so I'm not one to knock alliteration. I have played games with Brother Fen and Lokiel before and I can attest to their niceness.

Thank you very much GM Reckless! I've been told it's "high-pitched" and "squeaky." But I promise to do my super duper best! I'm glad everyone is nice.

My apologies for missing the Campaign info at first. I will attempt to roll for Background now.

Step One - Homeland, Family, Childhood
Human Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 33
Human Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 43
Human Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 38
Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 90
Parents' Profession: 1d100 ⇒ 59
Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 5

Step Two - Adolescence and Training
Bard/Rogue Background: 1d100 ⇒ 50
Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 38
Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Simon Dragonar wrote:

[

My apologies for missing the Campaign info at first. I will attempt to roll for Background now.

You didn't miss it, it wasn't there :)

I've added it today, and am tweaking here and there.

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Simon, these are the results on those rolls:

Human Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 33
01—50 Town or Village: You gain access to the Militia Veteran regional trait.

Human Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 43
01—50 Both of your parents are alive.

Human Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 38
01—40 1d2 siblings. With two siblings, you gain access to the Kin Guardian combat trait.

Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 90
89—90 Dishonored Family: You were born into a family that once was honored among your society but has since fallen into disgrace. Now your family name is loathed and maligned by those who know it, putting you on your guard. You gain access to the Reactionary combat trait, the Lost Legacy story feat, and the Redemption story feat.

Parents' Profession: 1d100 ⇒ 59
56—70 Tradespeople: You gain access to the Artisan social trait and the Life of Toil social trait

Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 5
01—05 Academy Training: You attended a private academy where you studied a number of skills and gained training in your current profession. Whether you were a brilliant student or a dropout, the university environment was your home for a good portion of your formative years. You gain access to the Focused Mind magic trait.

Step Two - Adolescence and Training
Bard/Rogue Background: 1d100 ⇒ 50
41—50 Gift: Someone gave you a special instrument or a collection of songs and stories at a time in your life when you needed them most. You have treasured this object above all other possessions, and it started you on a path to new songs and stories. You gain access to the Seeker social trait.
OR
41—50 The Kill: You killed someone when you were relatively young. You might have done it in self- defense, in anger, or as part of an initiation ritual. And it was easier than you suspected. Afterward, some individuals or groups started paying you to kill for them, and you made a lucrative career of assassination. You gain access to the Killer combat trait and the Innocent Blood story feat.

Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 38
36—40 The Liege Lord: You became close with someone you were bound to serve, be it a minor lord or lady, master (in the case of a slave), prince or princess, king or queen. Though this person held power over you, she held you closer than a subject or servant. As a result, you're used to dealing with and being close to power, and your name is known among the ranks of the privileged. You gain access to the Influence social trait.

Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 12
10—12 Current Lover: You are currently involved in a romantic relationship. You gain access to the True Love story feat.

Liberty's Edge

Homeland: Town or Village
Parents: Both Alive (Yay!)
Siblings: 1d2 ⇒ 2
Age of Sibling 1: 1d100 ⇒ 92
Age of Sibling 2: 1d100 ⇒ 83 (If Applicable)
Circumstance of Birth: Dishonored Family (Holy Cow!)
Parents' Profession: Tradespeople
Major Childhood Event: Academy Training

Bard/Rogue Background: Bard - The Gift (Rogue version is very bad)
Influential Associate: Liege Lord
Romantic Relationships: Current Lover (Nice!)

Everything seems to fall into place with my original concept except Circumstance of Birth. Would it make sense for there to be an extended descendant family of Surabar's that is not as prestigious as the main family? I'd like to think of it as an opportunity. It might make his story more interesting, not less. :)

Edit: Oh, thank you for also listing them GM Reckless! I wasn't sure if I need to post the raw format first, or if the rolls are kept from preview. If you preview your dice rolls, do they stay the same? Next time that may help me update rolls in real-time. :)

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I was amused at how well the rolls fell into your intended background. You could indeed work the unexpected result into your background. Perhaps one of your parents or siblings was caught doing something that dishonored your family and you worked hard against that failure to prove you had more Surabar than the failed relative in you.
Perhaps one of the city's nobility took a shining to you and took you into their household as a result of your hard work at the academy (Liege Lord result)

Alternatively, you could choose that as your reroll option, but I like that you're willing to see where the rolls take your concept.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Character Background Rolls:

Step One - Homeland, Family, Childhood
Human Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 28
Human Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 61
Human Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 73
Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 96
Parents’ Profession: 1d100 ⇒ 18
Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 4

Step Two - Adolescence and Training
Wizard/Rogue Background: 1d100 ⇒ 29
Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 98
Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Basic concept: Benjamin Rice, CG human Wizard//Rogue. Specializes in illusion.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

They do stay the same if you preview. It's just when you add in other dice rolls between the current rolls that they can change.

For future people rolling, I'm perfectly fine with the way Simon did this with two (or more)posts, or with people rolling and editing things in via preview.

Simon, I'm just available and having fun with the way my concept for the game is congealing and coalescing. It's been awhile since I've had a real day off, and I'm having fun tooling around.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Benjamin Rice Results:

Character Background Rolls:
Step One - Homeland, Family, Childhood
Human Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 28
01—50 Town or Village: You gain access to the Militia Veteran regional trait.

Human Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 61
51—70 Only your father is alive.

Human Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 73
71—90 2d4 siblings. You gain access to the Kin Guardian combat trait.

Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 96
96 Energy Infused: During your birth you were exposed to potent source of divine energy. You gain access to the Sacred Conduit faith trait and the Sacred Touch faith trait.

Parents’ Profession: 1d100 ⇒ 18
06—25 Serfs/Peasants: You gain access to the Poverty- Stricken social trait.

Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 4
01—05 Academy Training: You attended a private academy where you studied a number of skills and gained training in your current profession. Whether you were a brilliant student or a dropout, the university environment was your home for a good portion of your formative years. You gain access to the Focused Mind magic trait.

Step Two - Adolescence and Training
Wizard/Rogue Background: 1d100 ⇒ 29
21—30 Poverty: In your youth, you rarely had enough food to keep from starving. Poverty and hunger forced you to steal to survive, or to help your loved ones survive. You gain access to the Poverty-Stricken social trait.
OR
21—30 Fitting In: You hail from a long line of sorcerers or from a community known for its natural affinity for magic. Your manifestation of wizardly talent, as opposed to blood-based sorcery, caused you to hide those talents at a young age, and then to disguise them as sorcery to the best of your ability later. You still retain some tricks from this early misdirection. You gain access to the Shrouded Casting magic trait.

Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 98
96—100 Well-Connected Friend: In your circle of disparate associates, there was someone everyone knew. This person collected friends like trophies, and she had contacts in every social or professional circle. Through this connection, you continue to meet and associate with a wide variety of people in every walk of life. You gain access to the Well-Informed halfling race trait (which you may take regardless of your race).

Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 19
19—20 No Experience: You have never experienced any kind of romantic connection whatsoever.


Looks like your-well connected friend might have had to get you into the illusionist school :P

Liberty's Edge

Reckless wrote:

They do stay the same if you preview. It's just when you add in other dice rolls between the current rolls that they can change.

For future people rolling, I'm perfectly fine with the way Simon did this with two (or more)posts, or with people rolling and editing things in via preview.

Simon, I'm just available and having fun with the way my concept for the game is congealing and coalescing. It's been awhile since I've had a real day off, and I'm having fun tooling around.

Thanks! I will keep that in mind for my future rolls. I'm glad you are having fun on your day off, GM Reckless. :) Me too. It's fun to make characters! Your concept is really cool. I've never seen Gestalt but I am reading all the rules for it. Shackled City seems like it was before I even played my first adventure, of any RPG. I am playing in GM Rutseg's other PbP game, Fires of Karamoss, and it's great! I enjoy meeting all the great people on the boards, as until just recently I only played at my local game store.


Hmm. I'm seeing a LOT of red flags here. The fighter changes don't bug me too much, since I can just avoid playing a fighter, but the fact that a third party book is not only allowed, but required to play a certain class, is a bad sign to me. The alignment restrictions aren't horrible, but it concerns me that you'd rather completely ban neutral and chaotic neutral characters than work with the player to develop a story.

But, above all else, I can't possibly understand what would possess you to require that every character have their history randomly generated. This feels like cancer to storytelling.

I'm not 100% out yet, but I'm not confident.

Liberty's Edge

Ok, I've been formulating a backstory. I will be taking advantage of some of the cool random background results. There are a lot of noble houses in the Player's Guide; I have some ideas.

If it's ok, I would like to take the True Love feat. My character is from a disgraced family, but his talent elevated his status with his Liege Lord (any noble house is fine). He fell in love with his Liege Lord's daughter, and she with him. Her father isn't especially offended by this and cares for them both, but all the same he cannot have her marrying someone with his family name. Instead, the Liege Lord is looking to marry her to a proper suitor. Part of my character's goal is to become worthy of her hand. I didn't want to over-step and create those characters on my own, if they can be better linked to existing NPCs. :)

I will also change his surname from Spellmason. This will help emphasize that his branch family is not in favor, and that people disassociate it with the actual Spellmasons.

EDIT: Whoa, Holy Cow! Taking cover! I'm innocent!


Rolls!:
Step One- Homeland, Family, Childhood
Human Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 66
City or Metropolis: If you're a human, you gain access to the Civilized social trait and the Vagabond Child regional trait.

Human Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 51 (Father only)

Human Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 51
1d2 siblings and 1d2 half-siblings (roll d% to determine each one's race; 01—50: half-elf, 51—100: half-orc). You gain access to the Kin Guardian combat trait.

Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 9
Lower-Class Birth: You were born among peasants or slum denizens. You grew up working the land around a village or manor, practicing a rudimentary trade, or begging in a settlement. You gain access to the Poverty-Stricken social trait. Roll 2d20 on the Parents' Profession table to determine your parents' occupation, instead of rolling d%.

Parents’ Profession: 1d100 ⇒ 3 (rerolled for Lower-Class Birth)
Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 33
Fall of a Major Power: In your early years, an old power with far-reaching influence fell into decline. This could have been an empire, a major organization or gang, or a person such as a benevolent king or evil dictator. Your early memories were founded in a world where this great power affected your region for good or ill. You gain access to the Worldly social trait.

Step Two-Adolescence and Training
Paladin Background: 1d100 ⇒ 10
Divine Calling: An otherworldly agent of law and good—such as an angel, empyreal lord, or perhaps some other celestial envoy of the gods—tasked you to be a divine champion. You accepted the calling (maybe grudgingly) because ultimately you realize that the laws of destiny and one's divine calling cannot be denied. In return, that celestial agent watches over you and makes sure you can fully realize your destiny and meet the course that has been set for you by a higher power. You gain access to the Blessed faith trait.

Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 65
The Seer: You were close to a person who claimed to see the future—perhaps an oracle, seer, prophet, or merely some festival charlatan. Whether they're true or a trick, you've seen visions of distant places and of times that may come to pass. The seer's influence either made you into an optimist with a drive to change the future or a fatalist resigned to accept it. You gain access to the Scholar of the Great Beyond faith trait.

Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 4
A Few Significant Relationships: You've tried to make deep connections with individuals on several occasions, but it's never worked out.

Additional Rolls:
Siblings: 1d2 ⇒ 1
Half-siblings: 1d2 ⇒ 1

Sibling: 1d100 ⇒ 60 (Younger)

Half-sibling Race: 1d100 ⇒ 78 (Half-orc)
Half-sibling: 1d100 ⇒ 88 (Younger)

Parents' Profession: 2d20 ⇒ (17, 18) = 35
Sailors: You gain access to the Worldly social trait.

Seems good to me :D

Concept: Beyla Rodric -- Female Human Paladin of St. Cuthbert/Brawler (Sacred Shield/Shield Champion) (Party Tank at your service! Here to help out those potentially low-hp rogue-ish party members and make sure no one gets into any trouble ;) )

Going to work on fleshing out my character now :D

Dark Archive

Step One
Half-Elf Homeland1d100 ⇒ 14Elven Homeland
Elven Homeland1d100 ⇒ 69Non-Elven City or Metropolis: Forlorn/ Failed Apprentice
Half-Elf Parents1d100 ⇒ 76Only Mother is alive
Half-Elf Siblings1d100 ⇒ 36No siblings
Circumstance of Birth1d100 ⇒ 66Noble Birth: Influence/ Rich Parents
Nobility1d100 ⇒ 64Knight
Parent's Profession1d100 ⇒ 87Merchants: Merchant Trait
Major Childhood Event1d100 ⇒ 21Death in the Family: Reactionary/ Deny the Reaper
Circumstance of Birth1d100 ⇒ 91Heir to a Legacy

Step Two
Ranger Background1d100 ⇒ 63Divine Purpose: Divine Hunter Trait
Cavalier Backstory1d100 ⇒ 30Champion of the People: Militia Veteran Trait/ Champion and Town Tamer Feat
Influential1d100 ⇒ 10The Pariah: Suspicious Trait
Romantic Relationships1d20 ⇒ 14Several Inconsequential Relationships

Concept: Artix Pavel Urban Ranger/ Daring Champion Cavalier
Some sort of noble knight heir gone out on a sort of pilgrimage. Along with such, bringing an overbearing sense of responsibility to take the mantle of his late father. Not fully sure on a deity yet, but I'm working on it.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Newbonomicon wrote:
Hmm. I'm seeing a LOT of red flags here. The fighter changes don't bug me too much, since I can just avoid playing a fighter, but the fact that a third party book is not only allowed, but required to play a certain class, is a bad sign to me.

This is designed to give the Fighter more options in combat in a different way than adding or modifying Feats. Path of War is very popular with many people and this is a way of including some of it without including all of it. By all means, if someone WANTS to play a CRB Fighter, I'm more than willing to allow it. All of the information needed to make these changes, however, is on Pathfinder OGC for free with no need for a 3rd party book. (Also in HeroLab's community pack for those using Hero Lab.)

Newbonomicon wrote:
The alignment restrictions aren't horrible, but it concerns me that you'd rather completely ban neutral and chaotic neutral characters than work with the player to develop a story.

"Chaotic Neutral" alignment is often used to excuse evil (or worse, random) behavior, and this campaign is geared towards heroic individuals who wish to protect and save Cauldron. My experience over 30+ years is that you get more "heroic" characters with these 4 alignments than with any of the other 5. In any case, the alignments listed work best with the themes of the campaign, and are the ones I've chosen to allow.

Newbonomicon wrote:
But, above all else, I can't possibly understand what would possess you to require that every character have their history randomly generated. This feels like cancer to storytelling.

Every character has about 9 pieces of their history randomly generated. They are not, nor should they be, the sum total of the character's background.

Random seeds are a role-playing tool which dates back to the seventies, and has a fine tradition in role-playing games from Traveler to Dragon Age, and, hey, look, even Pathfinder. They are not "cancerous" at all when embraced as a tool for inspiration rather than a block to ambitions.

Newbonomicon wrote:
I'm not 100% out yet, but I'm not confident.

Thankfully, I have plenty of other hopefuls, some of whom seem to be embracing the ideas I've presented.

I'm willing to listen to feedback. If you wish to respond to my thoughts here, please do.


Well my friend Reckless on the fantasy grounds website under my other name "Gaara6666" I have supplied a forum post and a PM direct message with all required information for a "soft close". I prefer to use that site as I have it more tied to my alerts


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Siblings: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Benny's Biography:
Benjamin "Benny" Rice was born to a poor family, and his mother died bringing him into the world. As the youngest child, and a runt to boot, Benny grew up feeling like a burden on his family, just another mouth to feed and one that couldn't pull his weight.

By the time he was ten, Benny had taught himself to read (a good way to not be underfoot all the time) and was allowed to spend his days in the village square, where neighbors could look after him while his father and siblings worked, and where he might pick up the odd copper or two doing odd jobs. His father thought he might help feed chickens or fill horse troughs. What he actually did was a bit less honest.

Teaching himself the principles of sleight of hand from a book, Benny ran games of Three Card Monte and Liar's Dice. He cheated enough to ensure he won, but not too much.

A gang of older boys soon found out he was making decent money, beat him up and robbed him. To prevent further beatings, Benny was forced to pay them protection money, and his games grew ever more crooked to keep up with their demands. Benny soon bitterly regretted his dishonest ways, and wished fervently for a way out. He dare not explain his predicament to the town guard, as that would be tantamount to confessing having scammed half the town.

When he was twelve, Benny found salvation from his situation in a book of adventure stories. There was an illustration of a mighty wizard in a flowing cape, reading from a book of eldritch power while calling down thunder and lightning upon his foes. Benny scraped together enough coin to buy some purple dye and wool cloth, and a blank book of appropriate thickness. He filled the book with meaningless symbols, fashioned himself a cape, and let himself be seen around town poring over the book in furious concentration, while sleight of hand tricks made it look like he could make frogs appear and turn coins into butterflies. Soon the rumors started: Benny is studying wizardry! Best not mess with him.

The bullies scoffed at these stories, but kept their distance more and more. When their weekly demand for money was lower than usual, Benny knew he had them. He waited for a rainy and overcast day, and made his preparations. Inspired by a stage trick he'd read about, he found a tin sheet and suspended it from a rope hanging over a gutter. The other end of the rope he stood on around the corner, blocking it from view with his cape. When the gang appeared to collect from him, Benny informed them that he was no longer paying, and that he had become a wizard. Mess with him and lightning would strike them down where they stood.

The bullies laughed, but nervously. They couldn't let such a challenge go unmet. As they closed in on him, Benny raised his hands, shouted a nonsense phrase, and lifted his foot off the ground. Around the corner, the tin sheet clattered down onto some rain barrels, and "thunder" rolled. The entire gang ran screaming.

Benny's mirth was short-lived, as he felt an adult hand close on his shoulder. His trick had not gone unnoticed; Rufus Vittorio, a traveling showman had witnessed it from the tavern across the street, and was impressed with Benny's skill at deception. Not wanting to see such talent go to waste, he recommended him to a friend of his, an illusionist who occasionally helped Rufus provide effects for his shows. Benny received a sponsorship to attend an academy of magic, and was soon on his way to becoming a wizard for real.

Now 24, Benny has at last completed his tutelage and is ready to make his way in the world. On the surface he may come of as aloof and arrogant; Benny is still a firm believer in the power of trickery, and consciously adopts an air of egotism to mask his insecurities. Although he possesses true magic, he likes to supplement actual spells with mere parlor tricks, hoping that regular rubes won't know the difference and he will seem more powerful than he actually is.

Despite this overstuffed demeanor, Benny Rice has a strong sense of justice and hates to see the weak taken advantage of. He still mistrusts authority figures however, feeling that he is better off relying on his wits than society.

Rough draft of Benny's appearance.


Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

Step One- Homeland, Family, Childhood
Half-Orc Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 98
Unusual Homeland: 1d100 ⇒ 28
Plains, Savannah child regional trait

Half-Orc Parents: 1d100 ⇒ 35
Only his father is alive

Half-Orc Siblings: 1d100 ⇒ 26
1d6+1 orc siblings: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Kin guardian combat trait

Circumstance of Birth: 1d100 ⇒ 16
Lower-Class Birth
Parents’ Profession: 2d20 ⇒ (12, 19) = 31
Soldier, Tactician combat trait

Major Childhood Event: 1d100 ⇒ 21
Death in the family, Reactionary and Deny the Reaper traits
Step Two-Adolescence and Training
Gunslinger/Ranger Background: 1d100 ⇒ 33
Black Powder Fortune and Scarred Descendant

Influential Associate: 1d100 ⇒ 43
The Relative, Oathbound faith trait

Romantic Relationships: 1d20 ⇒ 7
Several Significant relationships.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

so far...
NenkotaMoon Artix Pavel elven cavalier-ranger
Overlord_laharl Ben Rice human rogue -wizard
Simon Dragonar Sorin human bard-rogue
Pokeapache Beyla Rodric human brawler-paladin
Bob Reilly Saladar Bach human brawler-rogue
Lokiel ?? half-orc gunslinger-ranger

plus...
The Pale King
Newbonomicon
Junelee
Vhok


Hello again GM Reckless. This is Simon. Here is my formal character application. I know we will be playing on Fantasy Grounds, but I read that there will be supplemental forum roleplay as "Campfire Stories." I felt it was best to be proactive and create an alias, in that regard. My profile currently contains his full character build, physical appearance, and rough draft backstory. Reposted here in a spoiler tab for convenience:

Sorin's History and Backstory:
Descendants of Surabar Spellmason, House Jasidin was born when the old head of the branch family changed their name; apparently to show their piety to the Goddess Wee Jas. This proved to be largely unpopular with the people of their home city, Cauldron. Although Wee Jas had her share of followers within the city's walls, the name of Spellmason carried more weight with everyone in the city, regardless of their faith. Thus began a long history of failures and mistakes for the once proud House.

As the eldest of three children and the scion of House Jasidin, young Sorin Jasidin felt the weight of responsibility virtually since birth. His House had fallen into infamy, and they were barely even considered nobles. The pressure to succeed and redeem his House consumed his waking days. He pushed himself to excel in every endeavor, from academics, to oration, to fencing and knowledge of military history. Despite the curse of his family name, he obtained a scholarship to Bluecrater Academy. His continued success there eventually earned him the patronage of Cauldron's richest noble, Ankhin Taskerhill. Sorin used his knowledge of economics and logistics to improve the efficiency of Lord Taskerhill's mines, and in turn the Liege Lord elevated him to proper noble status within Cauldron.

Sorin's intelligence and charm endeared him to Lord Taskerhill, and eventually to Taskerhill's own daughter, Annah. The two young nobles became fast friends. In time, they began to feel something more towards each other. Sorin approached Lord Taskerhill before his relationship with Annah went any further, not wanting to betray his Liege Lord's trust. Still, Sorin feared Lord Taskerhill's reaction would be one of rage, or disgust. Thankfully, his reaction was calm and measured, though still bittersweet. Lord Taskerhill reminded Sorin that his daughter's status was still far above Sorin's own, and that she would be more likely to marry someone appropriate for her station. He asked that Sorin not speak of it again.

Sorin was grateful to be spared any repercussions for his attraction to Annah, but that was still not enough for him. His new goal became to impress Lord Taskerhill, and elevate House Jasidin, rather than just himself. He hopes that if he becomes more notable and worthy, he will earn Lord Taskerhill's favor and Annah's hand in marriage.

I would appreciate any feedback! Most of all, please let me know if I overstepped my bounds with NPC Hooks. I did my best to fit my story seamlessly with the existing information in the Player's Guide. If anything I added breaks the intended storyline, please let me know. I hope it adds to it, instead, though. Thank you very much for your help. :)

Dark Archive

He's a half elf cavalier/ ranger all-around good guy that has a lot on his shoulders.


Here's lokiel's character. Roahk. I look forward to any feedback on the character!


lokiel, I think your character is really fun! It's cool to see a half-orc whose combat style is based more on speed than strength. I hope he and Sorin become friends!

I was wondering about your HP though? I'm not sure if I'm missing any special Gestalt or HP rules. I'd calculate your HP as:

10 HD* + 2 Con + 1 FC** = 13HP?

*If we have Max Health at Level 1.
** If you're using Favored Class for HP.

Just wondering. I might totally be missing something. Are we rolling for all HP? Thank you! :)


I put the FC into a skill point. It helps to have more of them XD

And I just realized my mistake. I forgot to change HP when I copied the template over from my goblin rogue XD


Cool! Skill points are great, especially for Ranged. I was tempted to use it on skill points for my character, but he is going melee for in-character reasons (noble with rapier) so I decided against it. :P


Yeah, hp is important when you're up close. I've got a cestus for emergencies.


Cestus is awesome! I have one on every character who doesn't Disable Device. Unfortunately had to go with light mace for Sorin, but it's all good. Light mace also fits the noble thing at least; it's kind of like a battle scepter.


Reckless wrote:
*snip*

In regards to your alignment restrictions: Generally, the recruitment phase is when you would weed out anyone who'd play CN as "lolrandom", and it's more sensible in my eyes to discipline or remove any players who are disrupting the party dynamic than place arbitrary restrictions that you only guess will curb that sort of play. But enough about that. My main concern is, and always has been, the backstory roll.

I've looked over the page regarding the backstory roll, and there are so many things there that I can't possibly fathomed being forced onto me. For example, if I want to play an Oracle, I won't be allowed to choose a Mystery, meaning the entire thematic concept that I would build the character around has been randomly thrust upon me.

And what about the segment on romantic relationships? What if I intended to play as a celibate, or simply aromantic character, as I have numerous times before? I'd only have a 10% chance to get that result, and frankly, even hinting at romance tends to make me uncomfortable.

Also, what about classes that don't have a backstory table? If I were to play, say, an Occult class, what would I roll for? You haven't explicitly banned them, so there's no way of knowing.

This game really does sound like something I'd enjoy, but there are just too many variables, and I'm intimidated.


Created character sheet for review; no equipment yet, but everything else should be there.

Benjamin Aloysius Rice

Also created alias for this board.

For the other things in the ”Soft” Close Recruitment list...

I've been playing Pathfinder for about 4 years, have tried out most classes except for the newest ones, and played 3/3.5 edition D&D for several years before that.

I've used Fantasy Grounds in a previous campaign with Reckless, so I understand the basics. Also have a license, though not a GM one.

Thing I'd like to see: A fight with a classic Greyhawk/D&D monster not usually seen in Pathfinder, like a Beholder or an Illithid.

Party name suggestions: Team Peregrine? Phoenix Force? Those Maniacs? I'm rubbish at names, I'm playing a wizard named "Benny" for goodness sake.


Benny a name isnt anything and I will just use this name to roleplay in.

As for party names I personally like "Cauldron's flame" -Keeping the fires lit in this great city

as for backstory:

Saladar bach a descendant of a founder of the Cauldron was a poor child. One who saw the merits of thievary and easy pay over hard work that the other "serfs" would be suffering through all their life. Angry and frustrated that the peasants had no real means to move up into the world he found that taking from merchants and nobles would go uncared for and treated with apathy. Getting in a group of thugs; the stronger than average boy found himself stealing anything of worth from such despised nobility but never hurting or harming them despite encouragement from his mentor "Niles the rooftop sparrow". One day he found himself between a moral dilemma.The noble had chosen to resist and when pressed by another scoundrel to "silence his throat" Saladar stood his ground in defense. Barring himself in front of the only friend and love from the gang he felt the icy cold stab of steel pierce his flesh as he suffered a killing blow from a once loved girl.
This caused the noble to flee but not without a twang of regret and genuine morality on his part. At great expense life was restored to Saladar Bach as the oracle decreed in a flash of prophecy that young Saladar was an omen of great coming. A coming of change. Uncertain of the nature of change the oracle bequeethed to Saladar the omen. Endearing and sincere in his thanks the noble took Saladar into his care with little intervention from his parents allowing their child a better life as a house servant. Thus Saladar grew up in the company of a military lord.
The life of Saladar although polite and modest in demeanor concealed a perpetually bored and disenchanted youth who had tasted death. Blaise and unafraid the youth studied as he worked the household seeing military men of action drill and demonstrate in the yard as he learned to read their movements like one would feel the subtle tumblers on a lock.Years passed as the stone faced simple living Saladar grew before taking up his own path with the money he saved and scrounged working in paid loyalty to the lord.


Good catch! Thanks Benny!

Prior Experience

I have been playing Pathfinder for about 3 years. It was my first Tabletop RPG ever. I am very active in my local community of San Diego, and I'm having a lot of fun meeting everyone in the online community so far. I've never used Fantasy Grounds before, but I am willing to learn. I have some experience with Roll20.

I would like to have some political intrigue in the campaign if possible. Social encounters can be fun like combat, too! I prefer a nice balance of both though, rather than there being too much of either.

Party Name Suggestions

All of my suggestions will attempt to be lore-appropriate and alliterative. Admission in advance!

1. The Hunters of Hellfurnace - Inclusive of everyone in the party, as we all live in the Hellfurnace mountain range. Implies skill in investigation and combat.

2. The Hounds of Hellfurnace - Same as above; Animal-themed.

3. The Cauldron Cats - Equally inclusive as we're all centered in the city of Cauldron. Animal-themed. Implies light-heartedness and a care-free attitude.

4. The Lions of Lantern Street - If we all want to be nice and be good examples for the orphans there. Animal-themed. Implies sheer badassery. My favorite.

Party Friendship

Would anyone like to fulfill the party friendship requirement for Hard Recruitment? I don't mind at all; I'm happy to establish friendships and character connections with everyone.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Sorin Jasidin wrote:
Would anyone like to fulfill the party friendship requirement for Hard Recruitment? I don't mind at all; I'm happy to establish friendships and character connections with everyone.

Sure, I'm happy to. Any ideas for how to integrate our backstories? I'll try to think up some tomorrow.


Yes, tomorrow sounds great!

Sorin studied at Bluecrater Academy. If that's the same Academy Benny went to, they could have met there. Sorin is a few years younger than Benny, so he could easily have looked up to him as his upperclassman. Sorin was fast-tracked mainly because of his connection to Ankhin Taskerhill, and graduated ludicrously early (17). I don't want him to be some kind of overpowered super genius, so I consider that to be partially politically-motivated and due to his charm; not solely due to his intelligence or merit. In truth, Benny is likely to have a much better grasp of the full curriculum (and is actually a Wizard!).

They were both bullied when they were young; In Benny's case it was due to his size and card sharking. For Sorin, it was his family's disgraceful status. Then again, they both grew up to be quite successful. It's something to bond over, definitely. It will be interesting since, though they're both Good, they're at opposite ends of Law/Chaos. :)

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