GM mechaPoet's Risen from the Sands (Inactive)

Game Master mechaPoet

The desert sands of Osirion conceal an untold number of ruins and tombs, lost to memory over the millennia-long span of the nation's history. Even today, the fickle winds of sandstorms can reveal structures hitherto unknown for thousands of years, and seemingly untouched by time. Such unplundered tombs can be an archeological windfall, but would-be explorers should exercise caution, for the pharaohs of old jealously guarded their possessions against intruders with traps, unliving guardians, and potent curses.
-- Modern Osirionology: An Introduction, published in Absalom, 4714 AR

Hello! I'm GM mechaPoet, and I have a bad habit of taking on too much when I try my hand at PbP GMing! So I thought I'd try a low level module instead.

Here's the rundown:

• 4 players
• 3rd level
• A short module that's mostly dungeon crawl, but I might make some modifications to spice it up (read: additional or changed encounters, not turning up the difficulty for no reason, for instance)
• Apply by Friday, November 13th
• I'll decide on characters and post results by Monday, November 16th

Game specifics:

Maps: I'll try to get a map up on Google Drive, but I'm working mostly from my phone right now. So we might start with a more descriptive text based approach and see where to go from there.

Posting: Please try to post once a day M-F. Weekend posting is nice but not required.

For any other questions, feel free to ask them here or send me a PM.

Very interested. I'll read Osirion, Land of Pharahos and People of the Sands before submitting a character; dotting for now.

Definitely interested. I'm pretty sure I have a desert-themed character sitting around from a game that never took off, I'll look into it. :)

Always love this sort of thing, would like to try some sort of tomb raider type thief, will see what other classes other than rogue would suit

Maybe a tiefling investigator .....

I've just realized that I forgot a section of the character creation:

• Traits: Two traits allowed, no drawbacks. Or I suppose you could take a drawback if you really want to, but it won't get you a third trait.

I appreciate the interest so far! Do keep in mind that this is fairly short, so while a deeper understanding of the setting can be rewarding in its own right, this is essentially an archeological dungeon crawl, if not an outright tomb raid. That may differ from PC to PC as well. ;D

EDIT: Please also provide a description, personality, and a short background! You can be pretty brief on these, just have a good reason why you would want to go explore a recently uncovered tomb in the desert. This is what I get for creating a recruitment thread at 1am. :P

Actually played through this once and really enjoyed it. Don't worry, I won't metagame.
Not sure what I'll be submitting just yet...

You decided against running The Price of Immortality trilogy? Anyway, I'm interested in this as well :)

In summary: I'll be applying with Jason Lynch, the Dungeon Delver. Jason is a taldan occultist from Qadira seeking a long lost osirian artifact said to allow safe passage to and fro the Akashic Record. Not for himself, but for the Scarab Sages faction of the Pathfinder Society. While not above heroics and self-sacrifice when it comes to his friends, he is more motivated by uncovering lost knowledge and antiquities than any greater good.

"Unlock the Wisdom of the Past for a Brigther Future"

You decided against running The Price of Immortality trilogy? Anyway, I'm interested in this as well :)

Like I said, my computer access is a bit limited right now. I happen to have a print copy of this one, which should make things easier for me. :)

Okay just to give you an early idea of what I'm working on, I'm putting together a character who is meant to convey the idea that the familiar is the actual character, and her wizard "pet" just does things for her. It'll be a really fun character to roleplay, and great for a one-off since the character won't be at all "optimized". :)

Okay just to give you an early idea of what I'm working on, I'm putting together a character who is meant to convey the idea that the familiar is the actual character, and her wizard "pet" just does things for her. It'll be a really fun character to roleplay, and great for a one-off since the character won't be at all "optimized". :)

Sounds fun!

I will mention two things, and this is for everyone's sake:

First, as written, this one could be a bit difficult. You don't necessarily have to optimize, but there are some difficult challenges to overcome if you're not prepared for a variety of encounters.

Which brings me to the second thing: since this is a one shot module, I feel like it would be prudent for me to look over whatever characters are submitted to make sure you've got certain bases covered. I don't want to spoil anything, but I could offer some hints, similar to a player's guide for an AP. It might be worth taking a look at the Mummy's Mask player's guide and working from there, actually. And using the traits from it are probably fine, too, if you find any that seem fun and appropriate!

So, do you all want any hints? Here's a freebie: one of you should take Ancient Osiriani as a language, or at the very least modern Osiriani.

Definitely have Ancient (and modern) Osiriani covered. :)

I'll try to get my character all fleshed out and a profile made today.

Just to make super sure... when you say "anything on the PRD" do you mean ONLY the Paizo reference document, or is stuff on Archives of Nethys or d20PFSRD.com (if they're actually Paizo-written) allowed as well? Most of the stuff I'll be using for this character comes from Paizo's Familiar Folio. :)

I meant the Paizo Reference Document, not d20pfsrd or Archives of Nethys. I realize that my character creation rules also contradict my sources a bit, in that I say only PRD classes are allowed, when in fact I am also allowing classes from Unchained and Occult Adventures.

I think there should be plenty within the Paizo hardcovers for character creation, but if you've got your heart set on something else already or you can't do this concept without outside sources, PM me the Archives of Nethys links for what you're considering and we'll talk. :)

Is it too late to get in on this action? I am thinking of a wayang investigator. All knowledge skill covered (8+d20+d6). Could go with a level of rogue instead for the traps and what have you. I like idea of this character exploring the ancient tombs looking a link to his people (not that he will find any, but he doesn't know that). Do you need more than a concept? Do I PM you the build?

Not too late at all! An investigator sounds like a smart idea. I think it might have some ways to deal with traps without multiclassing into rogue, but I'd have to look. Actually, let me make a quick official change to the character creation:

Update! Traits from the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path Player's Guide have been added to the allowed sources!
For flavor/narrative though, just replace any mention of the tombs of Wati with a newly uncovered pyramid.

There's a trait in there that gives Disable Device as a class skill with a small bonus, as well as the Rogue's Trapfinding ability which allows the disabling of magical traps.

As for what I'd like you all to provide: a concept is fine for now, although it would definitely be nice to see at least a rough build before the end of the week. The sooner I have builds in, the sooner we can start, after all! I would prefer that you all post your builds/concepts in this thread. You can make an alias if you'd like, but it's not necessary. If you post a build, I'd appreciate it if you posted it as a spoiler to keep down the clutter.

Still adjusting things a bit, but here is my submission (this is Cartmanbeck), Eisakla, the raven Wizard and her human familiar, Man.

EDIT:
Just figured I'd give a little info about the fun things this character can do.

1. Spells that her familiar casts on her last double the normal length of time and the caster level is increased by 1. (not from wands or scrolls, though)
2. All spellcasters in the group are allowed to cast spells on her (even if that spell could not normally affect an animal or magical beast) using her Group Share Spells ability.
3. Man never speaks to anyone, but can understand tons of languages, so Eisalka will be acting as translator a lot, as Man whispers into her ear what he's hearing.
4. Eisalka is constantly under a blur effect thanks to the Spirit's Gift ability.

Working on a kitsune medium. Taking realistic likeness as a feat so the kitsune changes his appearance based on the spirit he channels

Okay. Here's the character for pippinTook. Still tweaking some things. Will be posting his stats with each of the channeled spirits as spoilers since it makes things vary so much.
BTW, "Sionnach Athru" is Gaelic (Irish) for "Fox Shift" since he's a kitsune and therefore a shapeshifter :=)

My desert-themed wizard would be a nice fit but it looks like I'd be treading on a few toes. So I'll whip up something new!

I'm thinking a Female Cleric of the Osirion Pantheon, focusing primarily on lesser animate dead. I've never had a chance to play a necromancer (or a female, at that) and think playing an Osiriani would be fun. (Also as a classical history student who hasn't had the chance to study Egypt in depth I'd relish the chance to sink my teeth into it.)

My idea for the thief has gone from tiefling back to human, will add alchemical items at crafting cost, if that's OK, as it makes good use of the crafting skill of the investigator. I know you said no crafting feats, but this isn't really a feat, its a skill enhancement, and one that is quite useful, re: identifying potions by touch. It will also allow a few more alchemical items to be taken on the adventure, but if you want to change it let me know how, the class is described in the PRD here.

Gervais works discreetly for one of the auction houses in Sothis (or any city near where the action takes place), The House of the Golden Mask, which sells antiquities, which would otherwise be difficult to...., I mean which bring in a good price. It is the house that would have directed Gervais to the party about to discover the secrets of the tomb.

A small man, dressed in dirty grey and sandy robes, with seemingly endless cough that interrupts his silence. Those who have been delving with him before know that it is a ruse, for it disappears when on mission to find antiquities. His skin is black, though it too appears to never have been washed, and is streaked with grime, but his dark eyes shine with health and questioning alertness. He holds a few parchments in his cloak, which he removes and reads with intent. You hear a clink from his backpack, the sound of glass on glass, as you notice a glass vial or two, showing out the top of one of the pockets. His other hand holds a bow, with one end resting on the ground, its wood is carved ornately and with precision, showing it to be of quality.

Whenever in the vicinity of books or a library, he seems to take great interest in discovering their secrets, especially of history and construction.

For those of us who like nice, concise lists, I thought I'd help out by listing the applicants and the character type/role. If I misinterpret your role or if you've changed character type, please add a comment and I'll fix it if it's within the first hour.

Sionnach-medium, role is flexible depending on spirit channeled
Deevor-investigator, skill monkey with alchemical arsenal
Twigs-cleric, healing spells and undead puppets
Eisalka-raven wizard, arcane casting and has that valuable human familiar
Fendel-investigator or rogue, skill monkey and trapfinder?
Runge-occultist, role unknown as it varies based on implements

Most obvious lack is meat shields/tanks, though the medium can do that and the occultist might do that and the cleric can if built that way. Of course, hiding behind a wave of undead is always an option.

Thanks for conglomerating those, Sionnach!

I really hope I get chosen for this one... this character will be so fun to RP!

Thank you for the list! I like what I'm seeing so far. :)

@ Deevor: Since alchemy is part of the investigator class, that sort of mundane crafting is fine. As for pricing, I believe there are rules for alchemists and investigator alchemical crafting in the Pathfinder Society Guide (linked!) which is similarly a no/extremely limited crafting campaign. Please use those rules. If I'm mistaken and they're not actually in there, making things at cost is fine.

For those of us who like nice, concise lists, I thought I'd help out by listing the applicants and the character type/role. If I misinterpret your role or if you've changed character type, please add a comment and I'll fix it if it's within the first hour.

Sionnach-medium, role is flexible depending on spirit channeled
Deevor-investigator, skill monkey with alchemical arsenal
Twigs-cleric, healing spells and undead puppets
Eisalka-raven wizard, arcane casting and has that valuable human familiar
Fendel-investigator or rogue, skill monkey and trapfinder?
Runge-occultist, role unknown as it varies based on implements

Most obvious lack is meat shields/tanks, though the medium can do that and the occultist might do that and the cleric can if built that way. Of course, hiding behind a wave of undead is always an option.

Deevor-investigator, skill monkey, trapfinding/disabler with alchemical arsenal.

Just thought it was worth mentioning.

@GM and Deevor:
PFS rules: Essentially, you can create as much mundane alchemical stuff as you want, but just can't craft magic items. Mundane alchemical items are crafted at 1/3 market value, same as normal. Gunslingers can do a similar thing for their ammunition.

i'll dot for something, I haven't thought about what yet, but I will DOT.

@GM and Deevor:

PFS rules: Essentially, you can create as much mundane alchemical stuff as you want, but just can't craft magic items. Mundane alchemical items are crafted at 1/3 market value, same as normal. Gunslingers can do a similar thing for their ammunition.

Thx.

Dotting. Will have a warrior of some sort up later today.

Sounds good all! Here's an updated list of what we've got so far (and thanks for the original list pippinTook!):

pippinTook/Sionnach-medium, role is flexible depending on spirit channeled

Deevor/?-investigator, skill monkey and trapfinder with alchemical arsenal

Twigs/?-cleric, healing spells and undead puppets

cartmanbeck/Eisalka-raven wizard, arcane casting and has that valuable human familiar

Fendel/?-investigator or rogue, skill monkey and trapfinder?

Runge/Jason Lynch-occultist, role unknown as it varies based on implements

---

Dots:
GM Giuseppe
Krumthi
Bilbo Bang-Bang

My desert-themed wizard would be a nice fit but it looks like I'd be treading on a few toes. So I'll whip up something new!

I'm thinking a Female Cleric of the Osirion Pantheon, focusing primarily on lesser animate dead. I've never had a chance to play a necromancer (or a female, at that) and think playing an Osiriani would be fun. (Also as a classical history student who hasn't had the chance to study Egypt in depth I'd relish the chance to sink my teeth into it.)

Ah, a quick note on this: usually clerics on Golarion must pick a single deity to worship to receive their powers. But we have some options:

1. Pick your favorite of the old Osirion gods for your domains and alignment restrictions and such.

2. Alternatively, this is a one-shot so I think it's fine if we use the "cleric of a concept/philosophy" rules. The restrictions are: you are limited to picking domains from gods within that pantheon, and you are still worshipping deities for your power.

Let me know which you choose if you still want to go with the cleric!

I'm going to put my submission together in the next few hours. Currently working on a melee oriented character, since it seems like the party could make use of it.

Sounds good all! Here's an updated list of what we've got so far (and thanks for the original list pippinTook!):

pippinTook/Sionnach-medium, role is flexible depending on spirit channeled

Deevor/?-investigator, skill monkey and trapfinder with alchemical arsenal

Twigs/?-cleric, healing spells and undead puppets

cartmanbeck/Eisalka-raven wizard, arcane casting and has that valuable human familiar

Fendel/?-investigator or rogue, skill monkey and trapfinder?

Runge/Jason Lynch-occultist, role unknown as it varies based on implements

---

Dots:
GM Giuseppe
Krumthi
Bilbo Bang-Bang

You're more than welcome! GM's have enough on their plates without having to make lists of potential players. Also, I don't doubt that one of the other posters would have done the same thing if I'd waited another day or so before doing it.

Well (or should I say bad?), I've now personally experienced that unpleasant sensation arising from spending two hours working on a character and then having him completely annihilated from the server error message. It's the second time it happens already, the first occurring when I created my first character on these board: that time I thought I was unlucky; this time I've learned a valuable lesson and from now on will work only on Word, copying everything in my profile only when it's all done.

Anyway, the point is that I won't be able to submit my character for consideration. I was happily working on my Suli paladin of Sarenrae when the error message came out while I was trying to preview my profile. Unofrtunately, I won't have the time to go through the creation process once again, since it's already night here and I also need to observe my duties as a GM in the meantime.

I wish good luck to all the applicants and to the GM. I'm sure this game will prove to be very solid, because when someone realizes that starting small is a key to success, usually he gets good results. Happy gaming everybody!

Oof, that's rough. Sorry your character got eaten. Maybe I'll catch you on the next one!

Interested, thinking dwarf unchained monk, or dwarf twf ranger. I'll do some work and pick one I like best.

As flavor text, could they be Pahmet dwarves? This is from Dwarves of Golarion, I could PM the text, basically they hold southern Osirion as ancestral territory and claim their rights from a dwarven pharoah; more likely they were some sort of slave caste.

The reason to adventure into the tomb is simple: Perhaps there is an object or text that would shed light on this claim.

Looks like a fun group so far! I'll post in a bit with a character concept more fleshed out.

Pahmet dwarves are fine with me, sounds very appropriate! If you wouldn't mind PMing me the text anyway, I could always stand to learn more about Golarion!

PM sent, and here is the Dwarf Ranger 3

El Akriban

Not 100% but the bones are good.

Akriban is a Pahmet dwarf, never satisfied with complacency. As stout as any dwarf, his skin is bronzed by the sun and the heat of the desert seems to be an afterthought. El Akriban's black beard is braided in 12 thick knots, a tribute to his people's history. His head is shaved in the manner of the Ouat monks, and he is curt, undiplomatic, and ornery when speaking to non-dwarves. Those that gain his trust, though, find him prosaic and idealistic, to a fault.

He seeks the secrets of his people, and sees the opening of a new tomb as a fresh opportunity to study not only the tomb itself, but for any mention of the Pahmet therein. El Akriban will fight with axe and mace more often than not. He seeks knowledge regarding his clan, loathes the undead, and is quick to befriend anyone as like-minded as he. Akriban detests laziness and bugs of any sort.

Not 100%, no skills and missing a trait. Waiting to see if he makes it before finishing. (I've missed a few PbP cuts, so I am hoping the background and bones are good enough).

Excited to see which of us get picked!

It's the last day to apply, folks! I'll close recruitment before I go to bed tonight, probably sometime around midnight PST.

We have a few dots pending, and still time to apply!

Just to clarify, my character is human ...

here's hoping .... good luck all

Recruitment is closed! I'll be moving to a new apartment this weekend, but I'll review the applications and let you all as earlier as possible on Monday the 16th!

Recruitment is closed! I'll be moving to a new apartment this weekend, but I'll review the applications and let you all as earlier as possible on Monday the 16th!

Hope the move went well!

Aaah can't wait to see if I got chosen!! :)

The move in went well this weekend and I have made my selections!

The Party:

pippinTook/Sionnach
Deevor/(Grevais/?)
cartmanbeck/Eisalka and Man
B.A. Ironskull/El Akriban

I will get a Discussion and Gameplay thread up soon!

If you weren't chosen, take heart: I will keep you in mind if we need any replacement players (knock on wood).

Wow, what a great honor to be picked! Really great job on the submissions, everyone. I do not envy Mechapoet having to make the choice. I probably would have wimped out and just taken everybody :=/

Eisalka rejoices in her recruitment to this venture. Man stands stoic, showing no excitement, though he does pull out Eisalka's spellbook and holds it for her while she reads it, memorizing the spells that she will cast the next day. Eisalka doesn't mind him reading over her shoulder, though.