Foxy Quickpaw's - Shattered Star AP

Game Master Foxy Quickpaw

Hi.
I read a few of the PbP Campaigns and got interested in playing around a bit with that to see if that would be something fun to GM instead of only reading them.

As per commandment from Painlord ("Finish what you start") I choose something where that would be easy to accomplish. The "Adventures" from the Beginners Box starting with "Terrors". They are simple tasks/missions given by Sheila Heidmarch from the Pathfinder Society that would be over in an hour or so if played at a table.
They are designed for first level characters, and are too short to level up. Even when combined it won't get anyone beyond level two. So it might be a waste of time to bring your beloved dwarven bard with the tragic childhood (insert five pages of background here) over here. Just some slapdash character to play around. A dwarven fighter liking ale and a good coin and being able to socialise with the party is good enough.

As the encounters in this one hit adventures are really hard on a first level party I'm handing out 25 Points but please refrain from min/maxing the stats (min 8/ max 18 after racial modifiers). Please no evil alignments and no characters with a stick up their back. And stick to OGL content I can look up on the PRD please.

As he actual combat is exactly one encounter per mission, it would be nice if the party wouldn't just storm in and kill everything to retrieve the gimmik to bing back to Mrs. Heidmarch, but to use the NPCs for some research before.

I'm still on my winter holiday until 10.January and don't have much else I have to attend to, so my goal is a rather high post rate. Lacking experience I can't set a number here.

So if you are interested, please introduce your Character

Howdy Stranger,
Torbin Steelhammer sure likes his Ale and some coins, so he would happily whop some NPC's ass, after "adequately parlaying" with them.
Bwahaha.

Tauriel, is also not much of a front line parlayer, but is willing to sozialise with both her comrades, and the NPCs. If you'd like her to join.

Let them all BURN! Oh, you meant we should talk to them first? Sorry forgot about that, but next time I'll first use my charm on them, ok?

I'll come along and heal everyone :) Lot's of talking can be done while tending to someone. But not the evil guys. They might get the talking, but no healing. Want me to come?

Ok, that wold make quite an interesting party to start with.

Ayone interested enough to check who the players are, will recognise that it's me, myself and I. As noone else seemed interested at the time, I'll start with that, but the recruitment is still open, if someone else is interested in joining.

For this looking at a 15 pt buy, max wealth by class? Or any special creation guidelines?

Depending on when you planned to start it I might be very interested. Would be my first PbP so i would need to learn, but as this would be your first time gming a PbP (if i understood correctly) it could be quite a bit of fun.

I have no preferred classes and as such should be able to fill any role that nobody seems keen on

[EDIT]
This could also be a fun opportunity for a group of players to mess around with different group concepts, like a full on group of fighters with teamwork feats like shield wall and polearms in the back. A bit of a random thought

Starting funds: 5d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 5, 2, 5) = 20 * 10 = 200 GP

Pleased to make your acquaintance mum.
I like to keep my friends close any my enemies far away. Ill stick my trident in anyone you point me at and try and help out anyone who's with me.

People also seem to be rather scared of me so I can try scare some information out of people if need be

I just built Jimmy, you can follow the link on his profile to his online character sheet

Pleased to make your acquaintance mum.

I like to keep my friends close any my enemies far away. Ill stick my trident in anyone you point me at and try and help out anyone who's with me.

People also seem to be rather scared of me so I can try scare some information out of people if need be

I just built Jimmy, you can follow the link on his profile to his online character sheet

Hello Jimmy, you are most welcome. Sorry, I didn't notice the update on the recruitment page. Just make some introduction how you come along into the Rusty dragon and as soon as Sheila Heidmarsh is present you can make your introduction to her.

Jimmy Fiddle wrote:

Pleased to make your acquaintance mum.

I like to keep my friends close any my enemies far away. Ill stick my trident in anyone you point me at and try and help out anyone who's with me.

People also seem to be rather scared of me so I can try scare some information out of people if need be

I just built Jimmy, you can follow the link on his profile to his online character sheet

Hello Jimmy, you are most welcome. Sorry, I didn't notice the update on the recruitment page. Just make some introduction how you come along into the Rusty dragon and as soon as Sheila Heidmarsh is present you can make your introduction to her.

Thanks, saw this up and figured it was a good chance to try out PBP

Depending on when you planned to start it I might be very interested. Would be my first PbP so i would need to learn, but as this would be your first time gming a PbP (if i understood correctly) it could be quite a bit of fun.

I have no preferred classes and as such should be able to fill any role that nobody seems keen on

Well it already started. You can choose your role as you like, but you could also take a look at the concepts I used and replace one of these. I just ceck which one of my own characters become obsolete and send them back to their everyday job.

If you want to drop in faster you could just introduce your character in the Rusty dragon as I told Jimmy and flesh the stats out later.

Foxy Quickpaw wrote:

Jimmy Fiddle wrote:

Pleased to make your acquaintance mum.

I like to keep my friends close any my enemies far away. Ill stick my trident in anyone you point me at and try and help out anyone who's with me.

People also seem to be rather scared of me so I can try scare some information out of people if need be

I just built Jimmy, you can follow the link on his profile to his online character sheet

Hello Jimmy, you are most welcome. Sorry, I didn't notice the update on the recruitment page. Just make some introduction how you come along into the Rusty dragon and as soon as Sheila Heidmarsh is present you can make your introduction to her.

Thanks, saw this up and figured it was a good chance to try out PBP

Ok J4RH34D now I noticed Jimmy is your alias :)

J4RH34D wrote:

Foxy Quickpaw wrote:

Jimmy Fiddle wrote:

Pleased to make your acquaintance mum.

I like to keep my friends close any my enemies far away. Ill stick my trident in anyone you point me at and try and help out anyone who's with me.

People also seem to be rather scared of me so I can try scare some information out of people if need be

I just built Jimmy, you can follow the link on his profile to his online character sheet

Hello Jimmy, you are most welcome. Sorry, I didn't notice the update on the recruitment page. Just make some introduction how you come along into the Rusty dragon and as soon as Sheila Heidmarsh is present you can make your introduction to her.

Thanks, saw this up and figured it was a good chance to try out PBP

Ok J4RH34D now I noticed Jimmy is your alias :)

First time im using alias's too so my bad. Whoops

For this looking at a 15 pt buy, max wealth by class? Or any special creation guidelines?

Hello Lost 33.

Lost 33 wrote:

For this looking at a 15 pt buy, max wealth by class? Or any special creation guidelines?

Hello Lost 33.

Please read the fine introduction in my first post for the thread, for it answers all your questions.

It didn't mention traits, and as such Jimmy has none at present :P

It didn't mention traits, and as such Jimmy has none at present :P

Two Traits of your choice. I'll see if I can add it to my first post.

Jimmy Fiddle wrote:

It didn't mention traits, and as such Jimmy has none at present :P

Two Traits of your choice. I'll see if I can add it to my first post.

Jimmy now has 2 Traits. Would you like characters set up like yours or is my online character sheet sufficient?

Jimmy now has 2 Traits. Would you like characters set up like yours or is my online character sheet sufficient?

Please do it the way it fits you best. I might take a look now and then, and ask if something is unclear, but so far I'm playing around myself having the complete information in PCGen Characters, where noone but myself can see it.

Would you, by chance, be allowing anything from the Occult Playtest? I would very much like to bring a Mesmer to this, though, it's a bit new. That said, it isn't very difficult to find explanations for it on the various databases.

Would you, by chance, be allowing anything from the Occult Playtest? I would very much like to bring a Mesmer to this, though, it's a bit new. That said, it isn't very difficult to find explanations for it on the various databases.

I have the Occult Playtest pdf. Give me some time to check what a mesmer is.

Specifically it's a Mesmerist, but, having said that, the Cleric idea is something I am rather fond of as well. The Mesmerist is sort of a diminished spellcaster with mind-affecting abilities, but the most dangerous thing about him is that his stare is a no-save penalty to will saves, though he can do more than that.

That said, I'd be lying if I said I intended anything but using that in conjunction with sleep and color spray...

Knowing that, however, I believe I'll go with the Cleric option. I'll be posting him shortly. Do you allow Fetchlings?

@Alshoodone: what do you want the Fetchling for?

There is one roleplaying problem I see. It's an native outsider and it's all over his appearance (You know torch and pitchfork mobs). I have no problem with even uncommon races, if it's not directly obvious or there is a good reason in the backstory, why it has to be that.

If it's just for the stats, then please settle for something else, because a min/maxed charachter would propable overshadow all other party members. But as a fetchling has -2 Wis you got me interested why you would build a cleric with that?

The other thing is, and thats more important than the class you are actually choosing, is which role you would take. As I wrote earlier, if someone joins the party I would take out one of my characters, like I did with Torbin Steelhammer. But I grew rather fond of Gwenhwyfar, our party healer.

So before you invest too much into detail with your character creation, it would be nice to have some rough concept.

Also I took a short look in the Occult Adventures and a fetchling guy who messes around with the minds of his allies? Sorry, but thats way out of the comfort zone of at least two of the current characters.

Generally speaking I'd intended him to be a "Purveyor of Darkness" type, who's obsessed with his plane. That said, he was conceived in Nidal, which is popular for it's worship of Zon-Kuthon. He didn't much care for that, so he set up and shipped off. I say this, but, honestly speaking the cleric option doesn't seem to working out, stat wise.

That said, a Warpriest, however does.

As for why I'm using such a race for such a class, the answer is because I never really agreed with the idea of putting characters together solely because their race was good at it. I mean, if we did things solely because we were more well-suited to it, we'd miss out on what we really wanted to do, right? Bard dwarves, Barbarian Kobolds, etc, etc. Never really fit for the job, but I'll be damned if Enka Kevinka didn't TPK a group or 2.

All that on the throw-away, mind you, I like the idea of a Fetchling who's obsessed with something I call "The Philosophy of Darkness" which is what he draws his divine power from. As a result of arriving at the idea of it, he leaves Nidal for the rest of the world, and ends up here. Is that enough of a premise for me to do the full write-up? Or would you rather I go with something else?

I should also point out it's a TN Philosophy, and he himself is TN as well.

Yeah, thats fine with me. Warpriest would get us another frontliner and the background sounds interesting. Please post your character.

Potential front liner, actually. He's a thrower.

Minor details. I just assume that his hit point and armor will allow him not to hide behind jimmy, because that place is already occupied.

Potential front liner, actually. He's a thrower.

Please also check on the discussion thread, where we started talking about how your character might be introduced.

So far none of the characters would greet a fetchling with open arms and your relationship status with would be "it's complicated" at best to start with.

That is entirely fair. I'll be posting it much later today, however. It'll be in quite a few hours, but it should be done before today is done.

stuff...

something I call "The Philosophy of Darkness" which is what he draws his divine power from...

stuff

Please provide me with some more information on what that entails, i want to decide how Jimmy feels about it

"The Philosophy of Darkness" isn't as evil, or horrific as you might imagine. In fact, it's true neutral, at best. I mean, it's a bit weird for most, and hardly anyone follows it because other deities are better for veneration. That said, let me explain it.

The whole belief is that there's "something" to be found in the darkness, and, not just any random shadow. Vast, pitch black voids, or caves, and such. People who follow it actively seek out deep darkness in hopes of finding something that the ensuing bleakness will give them.

Oz, however, takes that a bit farther, and sees the Darkness as a "gift." A "boon" so to speak. As a result he's prone to suggesting they seek those places out in hopes they can gain some benefit after the inevitable trial they'll face. He also welcomes others to join him on his own trials, knowing full well that certain places he can't handle on his own... though, the rewards would befit them all.

There's more to it, such as completely covering your body to remain anonymous, but beyond that, it's personal preference. Does this sound like something that wouldn't fit at all, or does it sound like something the party would just be understandably uncomfortable with at first?

I already thought that dark meant the absence of light for Shadow Plane and such.

But "He also welcomes others to join him on his own trials..." is a bit misplaced here, as he would be joining us on our trials, so to speak. Or are these trials more on the inside of your character?

But you answered Jimmy's question let's wait for him to comment.

The name is what makes it uncomfortable, once it is explained it is actually really cool and i could see Jimmy respecting it, but not following it.

Let me try to describe with your input a character:

He is a fetchling and decendant from people from the shadow plane
On the inside:
- he is fascinated with everything dark/shadow
- It is also part of his religion (following some unnamed dark force?)
- he wants to channel the power of the dark for his own use (divine shadow caster?)
- as a true neutral charachter he doesn't care too much about other persons decisions and is not trying to convince them of his way.

On the outside:
- He is an adveturer in search of knowledge about the dark
- He goes everywhere where his search takes him
- As he knows, he can't do everything on his own he compromises with the goals of the group he joins hoping to find the places of void by chance on these trips, as they are not exactly charted on a map you can buy anyway.
- For someone not really interested he is just some funny looking guy with an exotic interedt in the dark
- For someone taking the time to ask he is a source of great knowledge about the great beyond (or at least te dork part of it)

Is that somewhere close to your character concept?

If not feel free to correct where i got the wrong idea. You seem to have a good grip about who your character is, but I try to get how interacting with him would be.

Do you have a statted out description up yet?

That sums him up rather well, yes. He's not out to convince people to join his philosophy at all. He's also not about to judge others for anything, either.

Ironically enough, he has absolutely no skill ranks in stealth.

For a quick reference, here's a statblock.

@Alshoodone
We decided to give it a try.

About you meeting us I have some ideas.
1. He meets us in te tavern (cliché alert). Easy to do, but has the drawback that he needs to listen in on our planning and then convince us, that it's a good idea to take him along. rated 1/10

2. He also meets us in the tavern, listens in on us and decides to follow us without us knowing. We catch him, and he convinces us not to kill him (That would make some interesting discussion between Gwen and anyone willing to kill him, but that would most likely be Abomentolor so, meh. But if Jimmy could find some serious reason to consider killing him :)
rated 4/10

3. We meet by chance in the Lurkwood or at the ruins. Most easy, for no convincing and no killig involved. He would already be there doing the first investigations. That might get interesting as there might be some discussion involved who get's the goods. rated 5/10

Jimmy added a 4th
We find you chased up a tree by some wolves and get to save you.

Please tell me what entrance you would like.

And also get an alias, because if you appear in game with that face, we'll have to kill you :P

Just be aware that in terms of post frequency Myself and foxy are doing upwards of 20 or 30 a day

I do believe that option 2 is a bit difficult as he has no stealth score. That said, I believe I like the idea of option 3 the best, as he'd most definitely be second guessing himself at about that point. I can handle posting 10 or so times a day.

Sounds good to me.

We do a lot of postings and have a lot of fun, but adventure wise there is not much progress yet. So now we need to get our adventure to the ruins before Oz Nubsaul Torm dies in the ruins of old age.

We won't just skip there, so it might still take some time, but I will give you some description of what to expect, so you can start to prepare some posts, for when we arrive.

I've already got a pretty good idea of what he'll be doing, actually. That said, if you guys post at the rates you say, then I shouldn't have to wait more than 2 weeks to get in.

Looking more at 2 days I would guess

That, is much more appealing than my original idea of it. So, as of now, who makes up the party? Yourself, Gwen, Tauri and myself, soon?

I would suggest you read some of the Gameplay. At least the scene at the Rusty Dragon right at the beginning. There are all characters introduced, and you get a good Idea how they interact when introduced to something new.

You remind me that I have to post what Abomentolor is up to, for he wasn't involved in the recent events.

Abomentolor sleeps, a lot. It's how he deals with the sea sickness :P

Hello,
I'm Niamh, a halfling bard and would be pleased to play with you. It's my first play by post if you are interested in this information. Details of Niamh can be found on the profile page. May I join your adventure?

Hello Niamh,
you're welcome to provide entertainment at the 'Flying Halibut' and after your performance take a seat at our table.

But there is a catch with that. You will propably have to endure extensive hugging from Gwenhwyfar for being so cute.

I'm glad to be welcome and the catch with Gwenhwyfar is ... nice.