GM Birch33’s Urban Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Birch33

1. Your time-zone
2. Your available posting hours
3. If you are an existing player on the boards, which alias best reflects your playing style
4. How often could you post each day
5. Would you prefer to play solo or with one other person
6. What sort of game you would like to participate in (this can be as generic or detailed as you like – this does not have to be lengthy but if it’s too loose, it may not give me enough detail to interest me)
7. What sort of character you would play in the above game (please don’t link me to a character from another game – I’d rather you told me)
8. If applicable, what is your character’s overarching aim (this could be both personal and campaign related)

This is a two-way process and, alas, I don’t have an alias I can point you at for my GMing style, but here are some pointers to expect:
- I’m not a rules-freak and will always go with the role rather than the roll
- One of the slowest parts of play-by-post is combat. I intend to run as much as possible from my iPhone and so will always simplify combat i.e. describe the situation and ask for your response. This will mean no alpha-numeric maps to determine who can see or reach whom, and no waiting for the person with the highest initiative to decide what to do before you can decide your move
- I will use pictures if applicable – sometimes words can’t do something justice – and will probably use a simple link to Dropbox

Here are the things that will be decided by agreement:
- Starting level
- How to determine ability scores
- Starting gold
- Number of traits
- Where the game is set
- The nature of the challenges (this could include a specific adventure path too)

And here are the things I don’t want to move on (or am unlikely to):
- Paizo source material only for classes, skills, feats etc.
- Races (I’ll stick to the Core rule-book here)
- No firearms

1. I live in the pst time zone but can post at almost any time... I'm adaptable.

2. My available posting hours are just about any time except 2-6am pst which is when I usually sleep.

3. Seijiro is my fave character and represents my rp style the best (see DM Immortal's Blood Red Roses)

4. I can post as often as I want most days - I don't work or go to school. (retired) Some Saturdays I have face to face games so some limited posting (I do keep my netbook with me during games, so I can post a little.)

5. I would prefer to play with at least one other person

6. I like games with a good balance of rp and combat, maybe a little heavy on the rp side. I like having lots of opportunity for character's personality growth over time. Intrigue and politics are cool too, but not to the point that player has to know what character knows at all times (that's what skill rolls and stat rolls are for - ie I can't necessarily know or recall everything my character might know or recall all the time. Just because I met so-and-so 3 months ago in the campaign doesn't mean -I- as the player will remember his/her name and what happened 3 months ago).

7. Interesting question. I have a lot of different ideas for characters. I do have one that I developed for another campaign and didn't get to play in. Her stats were rolled, so if you want point buy, I would have to in and change her around some and she's 7th lvl so again, that could be changed and I could re-level her to any point, including 1st. The idea was to build an interesting support character who could also adventure on her own. She is a monk/ninja with a blend of archetypes.

I of course would be more than happy to build a different character or run one of my other first levels (I have a magus and an alchemist, both from discontinued campaigns) that need new homes as well.

The magus is a displaced warrior from a far off land (fell into a portal), who is looking for a way home.

The alchemist is a dedicated scientist who lost his one true love due to an alchemical accident and since has become bitter against women as a result.

8. the monk/ninja's one true goal is to become a grandmaster (10th in each class) and found her own clan with it's own unique style of martial arts.

The magus' overarching goal is to find a way home through another portal or strong enough magic to take him home.

The alchemist's one true goal, though he'd never admit it openly is to find his one true love, either his original love, who he is convinced no longer loves him because of the accident, or another, which he would never admit to. Perhaps, he thinks, if he could reverse the horrible deformities due to the accident, he could win her back again?

1. Your time-zone
-I live in the EST TImezone

2. Your available posting hours
-I'm generally available from 1500-2200 your time

3. If you are an existing player on the boards, which alias best reflects your playing style
-None thus far.

4. How often could you post each day
-regularly during the above hours

5. Would you prefer to play solo or with one other person
-I'm fine sharing the spotlight. It really depends on if someone else is interested in the same kind of play

6. What sort of game you would like to participate in (this can be as generic or detailed as you like – this does not have to be lengthy but if it’s too loose, it may not give me enough detail to interest me)
-I'd like to play in a game complimenting the PC that will be detailed below (or the PC and his partner, assuming someone else wants this style of play). I'd like something a bit sandboxy but with a forward moving plot (like Skyrim, Oblivion, Dragon Age, etc.) I would love to play in an urban game.

I'd like to see an urban campaign. I'm told there are PF APs that fit that scenario at least to start, and would object to playing one if it had been either toned down enough to accept a single PC (or pair) or if you got to stretch your RP legs with a few party NPCs

7. What sort of character you would play in the above game (please don’t link me to a character from another game – I’d rather you told me)
-I'd like to play a rogue. An up and comer in the thieves' guild or if the city doesn't have an established thieves' guild, someone pulling themself out of the gutter. Mechanically, I'd be looking at either a Charisma Rogue or a Ninja.
Not for the oriental themes, but for the ability to work with people

8. If applicable, what is your character’s overarching aim (this could be both personal and campaign related)
-Personal? He'd want to rise above his station. Campaign? That depends on your story really.

I like my PCs (when I'm on either side of the GM screen) to be heroic. I give high point buys and generaly start them higher than 1st level. That said. I feel like starting at level 2-3 isn't unreasonable in a "climb out of the gutter scenario.

Depending on the campaign run, I wouldn't mind seeing gestalt rules for a single PC / buddy cop campaign. I do understand that those aren't Paizo, though.

1. Timezone: CST (GMT-8)

2. I've got weird hours as a university student. I'm typically available in the evenings, but during the day it could vary wildly.

3. At the moment, my Rupert Saint alias is the one I'm active with, and is not a bad representation; that said, the style can vary quite a lot based on the character.

4. If there's something for me to respond to, I'll do my best to respond within 24 hours.

5. I can play solo or share. Admittedly, solo is a bit easier than groups, but with only one other person, it shouldn't make that much of a difference.

6. I'm interested in a great variety of styles of games; the list of things I'm not interested is probably shorter (Numerian super-science). I love Golarion, and I love RPing different kinds of people. I would prefer a RP-based game as it works best with the PbP style, but I'm fine with sandbox or with a rail-roady plot. I like to feel that I'm free to contribute; there's nothing worse than being restricted to reacting to given details and not having said details to work with. If you want a list of game concepts, I can provide one.

At the moment, I'm interested in an intrigue-focused city-based game. I just pitched an idea for a game in Caliphas, Ustalav, that's basically Carrion Crown modified to be more like Sherlock Holmes meets film noir meets high fantasy.

I'd also be interested in playing twilsemail's organized crime game.

I'd like to play a Monster Hunter-style game, focused on hunting magical beasts and making magic items out of the harvested pieces.

I have plenty more ideas, these are just a few.

7. If the Ustalav game, I'd like to play a dhampir inquisitor of Pharasma, functioning as a detective and liason between the mortal world and the vampire underground. You said core races only, so I'd have to change the race, which might necessitate a change in character motives.

If the organized crime game, I'd like to play a bard (class), thematically adapted to be more of a magical rogue as opposed to a magic musician, in the capacity of charming hellion.

8. Depends on the campaign/character. If the Ustalav game, the character's motivation/goals would be to solve the day-to-day cases he gets, while keeping the cold war between the church and the vampires under control. If the crime game, he would also be interested in making a better life for himself, but with a cavalier attitude toward life. If he's got money to spend and a roof over his bed, that's plenty. If he's got a fine meal and woman's fine bed, even better. And if there's danger and excitement to be had, that's better than a meal and a bed.
If the monster-hunter game, the motivation would be simply to hunt monsters; I haven't developed a character around that concept at this point.

1. Your time-zone

I live in Sweden, GMT+2.

2. Your available posting hours

Difficult question. From GMT+0 3PM to GMT+0 8PM I should be resonably capable of posting, but will have plenty of other time available outside that parameter that's hard for me to pin down. Friday-Monday especially I'll be a LOT more active than that, but its the hours I should be readily available.

3. If you are an existing player on the boards, which alias best reflects your playing style

I do not understand your question. I am a big fan of the rp aspect, and tend to adapt to what feels appropriate for my character.

4. How often could you post each day

I try to respond as soon as I am capable to what is going on. I dont type very fast, but during the mentioned hours at the bare minimum.

5. Would you prefer to play solo or with one other person.

I would prefer to play with one other person: I like the roleplaying that takes place between players.

6. What sort of game you would like to participate in (this can be as generic or detailed as you like – this does not have to be lengthy but if it’s too loose, it may not give me enough detail to interest me)

RP-heavy is my style. I prefer events to have emotional weight - I want to feel excited about what is happening, want to be terrified when in combat. As long as it feels real, feels important, I am all for it.

A political intruige with backstabbings, hidden agendas and mysteries would be interesting.

Perhaps it begins in a straightforward maner, PC's are sent to deal with a problem, perhaps monster, perhaps matters of diplomacy. Something more is behind events, which are unraveled by the main characters, be it for their own gain or in the name of their ideals.

7. What sort of character you would play in the above game (please don’t link me to a character from another game – I’d rather you told me)

I think of many different concepts for characters. They will have psychological depth, regardless of whatever else they are. Right now, I think I'd like to play a kind but mentally challenged Fighter, a Rogue worshipper of Seranrae who truly believes in mercy, or a Cleric considering their own beliefs and morals.

8. If applicable, what is your character’s overarching aim (this could be both personal and campaign related)

In the Campaign? Depends on what happens. Personal? Staying true to their ideals and, really, finding a place for themselves. Most of my character are misfits, but not necesarily unhappy ones.

-Starting levels:

I prefer a few levels in, so the character creation decisions have some room to make a difference, but level 3 might be a a good level to start on for purposes of building the character through the campaign. Otherwise, I am a big fan of the mid-levels.

-Ability scores for characters:

I definitely prefer point buy, I tend to get aggrevated when chance is involved in deciding the defining traits of my character.

- Starting gold

I don't see an issue with avarage gold for the level we start at, but do not really care about it if we chose something different.

- Number of traits

I like 2 of these things, but I am not picky.

- Where the game is set

I like Urban settings.

1. Your time-zone
I live in NY so that's GMT -4 and GMT -5 come next month.

2. Your available posting hours
Currently between 12:00 GMT and 21:00 GMT seeing as I just recently moved. The cable guy is scheduled to visit my new apartment on Mon 17th so that range should open up to about 12:00 GMT to 3:00 GMT.

3. If you are an existing player on the boards, which alias best reflects your playing style
Cassian Vespertine is one of my favorite characters on the boards so far. I like his slimey charisma and overconfidence in himself and abilities.

4. How often could you post each day
I try to make it a point to post in my games at least once a day if I can. Most times I don't post daily is due to not wanting to intrude on character specific conversations or story arcs.

5. Would you prefer to play solo or with one other person
I would love to play with at least one more person but I may be up to the task of baking in the spotlight.

6. What sort of game you would like to participate in (this can be as generic or detailed as you like – this does not have to be lengthy but if it’s too loose, it may not give me enough detail to interest me)
Rather than being so specific as This is the game I want to play I’ll just give you a quick list of things that I like in my games and you can cherry pick what works for you.

• The more I read “Urban Setting” the more into the idea I get.
  
• I love sandbox style games
  
• I enjoy a setting that is equal parts magic and industrial.
  
• I like games where magic weapons are a big deal. It always saddened me to find a bunch of +1 longswords and just ignore them and toss them into the ‘To Sell’ pile. In this regard, I loved LOVED 3.5’s Weapons of Legacy. Unique, evolving items are key.
  
• Gestalt games are always fun. It’s a good way to double up roles in small parties.
  
• Dungeon crawling is fun. Dodging past traps/hazards to find caches of treasure is always a good hook for my (non-paladin) characters.
  
• If playing in a high fantasy game I enjoy my Heroes to be rightfully heroic (just as Twilsemail says)

7. What sort of character you would play in the above game (please don’t link me to a character from another game – I’d rather you told me)
I haven’t played a pathfinder Barbarian yet so that would be a nice change up. I played a brief campaign as a dervish dancer Bard that I really enjoyed. That would be something that I would definitely want to try again. (If gestalt I’d probably go with a Bard/Fighter)

8. If applicable, what is your character’s overarching aim (this could be both personal and campaign related)
It’s hard to say at this point. I’m likely to play an egotistical character so it wouldn’t be far off to assume he would want to be the very best at what he does. Fame, riches, women, power, etc… you know, the standard Hero stuff. This will be better expanded with more information.

Starting level
Somewhere between 2-4 would be nice.
How to determine ability scores
A point buy is much safer but I’d like to see it in a high range like 25-30 if that’s alright.
Starting gold
Standard Wealth by Level should be just fine.
Number of traits
I’d say 2 Paizo traits plus 1 “campaign” trait that you could tailor to the character based on background/skills/achievements/etc…
Where the game is set and the nature of the Challenges
The answer to these questions I’d leave entirely up to you. As a player I like to be surprised by what I’m about to encounter so just toss in whatever you like and hope for the best (or worst if you’re one of those DM’s, haha)

1. Your time-zone

I am in the UK so my timezone currently is British Summer Time.

2. Your available posting hours and 4. How often could you post each day

Most days one post on the morning and maybe a couple of posts in the evening depending on how busy I was during the day. I can also post a sprinkling throughout the day.

3. If you are an existing player on the boards, which alias best reflects your playing style

I don't think that I could choose. Each character has good points and bad points. For simple concept wise I will have to choose Grantar. Although this game hasn't started yet.

5. Would you prefer to play solo or with one other person

Depends on the concept. If there was another player I would say characters and players would have to mesh well together.

6. What sort of game you would like to participate in.

My main idea is basically based on the Mongolian rise to power under Ghengis Khan.

The idea is that the Player could then kind of do a similar thing but on Golarion or somewhere else entirely. i.e Uniting the Tribes and fighting for recognition and conquest. The character could even work up the in the army. Maybe they are part of a specialist unit.

There would probably be a lot roleplaying and combat opportunities in this game. Combat if desired could probably be down on a grander scale aswell :P

7.What sort of character you would play in the above game?

Two Character Ideas. One is a Cavalier style character based primarily around horse archery.

Second idea is for a Shaman which would probably be a wizard with necromancy powers or maybe some sort of sorcerer.

8. If applicable, what is your character’s overarching aim

Both characters aims would ultimately be to amass an army and drive all other nations to their knees. When I say this I don't mean to wipe out their cultures just their armies :P

Starting Level:Level wise I am quite versatile.

If the characters started out younger say 15, and just learning to hone their skills then I would probably start at level 1-2.

However if they were slightly older I would like to start level 3-4ish.

Point buy:Happy with any point buy between 15 and 25. Any lower and you just feel weak. Higher and your to overpowered and good at everything. In my opinion anyway :P

Starting Gold:Happy with anything you feel is appropriate.

Trait Wise: Two or three traits. Possibly custom made ones might be nice if there is nothing that fits with the character.

Location: In my opinion this game could be set anywhere on Golarion or in any Homebrew world. After all the idea is about a group of nomadic separated tribes eventually forming one cohesive unit.

Challenge wise: Challenges that would probably occur would most likely be political in my opinion. Obviously there would be combat.

Final Words:I know this is probably a bit out there but I thought I would note it down anyway :P I would also not want to be a part of an adventure path. I think one or two people is to small for those adventures ;)

1. Eastern Standard
2. I can post multiple times during the day (9-5) and sometimes in the evening during the weekdays. Weekends are sometimes iffy
3. I am pretty new to the boards so this would be my first game
4. Like above multiple times.
5. I could do solo or with someone else. I'm not picky :)
6. I would like to play in a game where the character/s have an epic destiny (whether it be heroic or evil)A campaign that shows the growth of the character. I like a good mixture of combat and social challenges. I also really like when I can get attached to NPCs (or NPCs that draw emotion out of me.)
7. If possible I would like to discuss with you what would best fit your campaign idea. What ever character I played I would want to make sure that it is a character that you as the GM liked just as much as I do. I have GMed a good bit and there is no better way to curb a GMs interest in a game then when someone creates a character that makes you want to loath it.
8. Again this would be dependent on a discussion.

- Starting level --- Maybe like 2-3 range. I'm fine with anything really

- How to determine ability scores--- I would be ok with point buy or if you rolled them (I trust you)

- Starting gold --- not picky. If it makes sense for my character to be poor then poor it is. If my character is to be rich well then you can decide how rich so as to not break the game.

- Number of traits --- I am ok with the Standard 2.
- Where the game is set --- I really like the Inner Sea Setting but if you have something else in mind Id be up for it.

- The nature of the challenges (this could include a specific adventure path too) --- I dont think there is an aspect of RPing that I dislike so really I'm up for anything. Throw whatever you want at me.

1. Right now I am at GMT, but that is prone to change every month or so. Eventually will be going to Madrid, across Europe to Budapest maybe, and then to Istanbul, and eventually to Thailand and then possibly Argentina and north from there. I will be moving around a lot over the next many months/maybe year, but will be sure to keep you updated as I go.
2. This also changes depending on where I am/what I am doing. Right now I am traveling, having just graduated college last spring, and some days I sit round with absolutely nothing to do and other days I might get to post once in the morning and once in the evening. There will likely be days with no internet access, but those have been surprisingly few thus far.
3. Kirk Spearborn is one alias that represents my playstyle. He's no longer active, but I ran him from level 1 to where he's at now in the longest PbP I've participated in thus far.
4. See number 2.
5. Duo!
6. I enjoy urban campaigns, and I like to deal with larger organizations. Maybe working for one, or working against one, but I like the political intrigue found in humanoid cities, and the drama of tense social interactions.
7. I like Roguish characters, and I've been thinking about a Lore Warden Fighter that multiclasses into either Ninja, Rogue, or Bard.
8. Probably get rich or die trying haha. Obviously it would depend on the setting of the campaign... and I'd like to play my aims off of my partner (assuming there would be one). I enjoy good team cooperation in games, and I like the be the one always on the lookout for those he is loyal to (and those loyal to him).