Hello, friends! This is a recruitment thread for the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path.
I am fairly new to PbP gaming, and this is my first attempt at PbP GMing. But I've run this AP in meatspace up through a decent chunk of the second book, among other games.
To prepare your delve into dangerous jungles, colonial disasters, and ancient, forgotten ruins, I suggest that you read through the Serpent's Skull Player's Guide, located HERE.
I'm looking to accept 4-6 players.
I would rather not drag out recruitment, so submissions will be accepted until the evening of Sunday, Feb. 16.
Frequency 1/day posting is what I’ll be aiming for. Please provide notice if you expect to be gone for a little while!
Combat I will roll initiative for all parties. For maps, so far I’ve had good luck with shared Google docs. However, as this is my first time GMing a PbP, I’m open to suggestions!
House Rules
- All characters get Weapon Finesse as a free bonus feat
- PvP is strongly discouraged
- I’m not super picky about encumbrance
Please submit your character in a spoiler tag or an alias. Feel free to post as the alias, or simply provide a link to the profile. A fully completed backstory is more important than a fully completed stat-sheet for your application!
Races Flexible. Probably sticking to things from the Advanced Race Guide is best, though. The more "monstrous" races may have a harder time fitting in during the time spent in more "civilized" areas though, so be prepared for that if you want to apply with one.
Classes If it's third-party, ask first. Otherwise, Paizo-published should be fine, including the Advanced Class Guide playtest classes. Also, there's no as-written support for gunslingers (although if you really want to play one, we'll see if we can't work something out).
Abilities 25 point buy, maximum 19 in any stat after racials
Traits 2 Traits, one of which should be a campaign trait from the player's guide. No Flaws.
Alignment I'm not a big fan of evil alignments.
Starting Wealth Average by class, or you can roll it by class.
Health Max at first level. For subsequent levels, you may roll or take 1/2 HD + 1
Background, Appearance, Personality Why are you aboard the Jenivere, headed to Sargava? A bit of background is nice, as is a physical description and brief personality overview. Obviously, “personality” is something that develops over gameplay more than being limited to your blurb, so don’t worry too much about it if you end up a little stuck on that particular front!
Feel free to ask questions if you have any concerns, either here or via PM.
Im thinking oread monk. If possible. Will work on story tonight =^^=
Dotting for interest :)
I think I might have to put in an application here as it seems as though some of my other games are slowing to a crawl and I'll have the time.
I've always been interested in playing Serpent's Skull. I'll see what I can come up with, though I have been itching to give the Bloodrager a whirl!
I am interested. I will go through the player guild and build a character based on what I find. Any chance of a psion being accepted?
Dotting for interest. Will look through the player's guide and determine a character concept from there. Though I like the idea of playing a wild elf inquisitor.
Before I submit a ranger, I have played this before, and if you check my bling, I also own it.
Will that be a problem for you? I will keep my knowledge out of the game, but I know some GMs dislike that much pregame knowledge or it makes them uncomfortable.
Let me know when you can! Thank you.
Ah! Sargava! The legendary jungles of Sargava! The elf leans over the railing of the Jenivere and looks out over the open waters. His face is lined with tattoos and his clothing certainly incorporates many more leaves than is typical. Oh, the trees! This shall be a most fabulous journey! The forests of Kyonin are beyond compare but eventually every elf longs to see the jungles of Garund; and this is my time!
On the deck behind the elf stands what appears to be a small tree, swaying slightly in the breeze of the salty air. "Come, Sticky, let us get some rest. We've got quite the journey ahead of us." Suddenly the tree springs to life and waddles after the lithe elf as the two head back down below-deck for a quick nap.
---
Hello GM!
As a player in one of my games, I think you already know that I have a decent posting rate and enjoy fast-paced games. I've been looking forward to playing this one for some time; I love the Mwangi Expanse!
Silmarye is a treesinger druid and I think I will mostly be focused on casting (summon nature's ally primarily) while letting the treant do the grunt work. I still need to buy him gear and load Sticky's stats to the profile (as well as add a section to flesh out his backstory and appearance some more) but I will hopefully finish that today or tomorrow. The bare-bones stats are on there now though.
I have one question for you: will you be handing out PFS credit when this is sanctioned? As APs can be run in campaign mode, all it really entails is running the AP like you normally would and at the end of each book you can hand out chronicle sheets to everyone that they can apply to any PFS character they wish. Serpent's Skull is next on the list to be sanctioned and, I would think, will be sanctioned well before you finish book one.
Dotting.. Gonna submit a Bloodrager later today..
Talathel Windliss, volunteering for duty.
Elven Magus (Spelldancer)
I'll need to up his point buy, add on his campaign trait and elaborate his backstory. (I designed him with RotRL, Shattered Star, or Serpents Skull in mind -- he wants to explore the world, learning more about history and magic)
Dotted for interest. Perhaps a summoner. Not entirely sure yet.
I'm interested in this campaign—how do you feel about the feral child druid archetype from the ARG? Been wanting to play that and I think it could fit in this campaign quite well.
I'm interested. I was in one game of this once, but the DM vanished rather quickly after it started and we didn't get far.
@ TheNine: Catfolk are fine. "Monstrous" refers more to goblinoids, orcs, the scarier teiflings, etc. Also, a randomly determined character works for me, as long as you like the character, and can create a sensible background for it!
@ Aquanda: I would consider a Psion, assuming it's the Dreamscarred Press version. Things to note, though: psionics will be essentially interchangeable with magic for the purposes of SR, magic immunities, etc. They would certainly be rarer. Also, I would discourage the use of psionic races, since they don't have much of a place in Golarion canon (or any, to my knowledge).
@ Scott Williams 16: That should be fine. As long as you honor the separation between player and character knowledge, there'll be no problem!
@ Endless Forms: I'll look over your sheet, but it sounds like a fine submission to me. I'll also have to find out what the process is for getting AP PFS credit, and how that would work for a PbP, but I would certainly consider it! We can discuss it further once it's sanctioned, and I'll contact my local Venture Captain about it.
@ Kris Vanhoyland: That archetype looks fine, and I think would be a pretty good thematic fit for the campaign overall.
I'm working on a colonial Sargavan oracle of life that will be going for the Oradin concept of a healer that fights. From level two onward will be almost all (or all, haven't decided yet) paladin levels.
He's a little less than halfway done, here's what I have so far.
Very lawful paladin of Abadar. Wants to integrate the Mwangi better into Sargavan life. I'm thinking he's 1/3 merchant, 1/3 Jesus, 1/3 Judge Dredd. Meaning, he'd rather trade with you than fight, but you'd better follow the law and leave innocents alone. I'll finish him up over the next couple days.
Lived among pirates, his father died defending them. His mother and sister are the only ones he has left. But due to past lies he has to take to a new land to protect them and make sure they are safe.
Stout and stable. Tough. But wise. Like it should be
@ Endless Forms: I'll look over your sheet, but it sounds like a fine submission to me. I'll also have to find out what the process is for getting AP PFS credit, and how that would work for a PbP, but I would certainly consider it! We can discuss it further once it's sanctioned, and I'll contact my local Venture Captain about it.
Certainly! I'm sure they can give you some more information. I can probably help too; I've actually got a lot of experience with AP PFS credit: I am currently GMing Reign of Winter (real life-book 5), Shattered Star (PbP-book 2), Jade Regent (PbP-almost book 2), and Rise of the Runelords (PbP-about to start) and I'm playing through Carrion Crown (real life-book 2). We've been using campaign mode for all of these. (Phew! I know, that's a lot!)
The rules for running APs for PFS credit are in the Guide to Organized Play but basically they break down to:
Hope that helps a little!
The only consideration is that the Serpent's Skull chronicle sheets haven't been released yet. But as long as they are released before you finish book 1 you should be good to hand them out. We were 80% finished with book 1 of Carrion Crown when the chronicles were released and the GM was able to give us chronicles as soon as we finished that book.
---
I'm hoping to buy some equipment and get my profile finished up this afternoon.
I've briefly gone over the current submissions. I'll go over them in detail with regards to making sure all the crunch is done properly when it gets closer to the weekend, but for now I'm concentrating on the bigger picture. With that said, here is a list of the current submissions:
-Galford Dao, Tengu Rogue (Swordmaster/Scout): Looks good so far. If you are selected we will further discuss what your precious cargo is, per your campaign trait. I'd also like you to expand on your background a little: How long was he a slave? Who taught him how to use a sword? Why is The Green his deity? Feel free to focus on whatever questions are most relevant to how he is now.
-Silmarye Leafwalker, Elf Druid (Treesinger)
I see you've updated the appearance and background. Looks good so far.
-Talathel Windliss, Elf Magus (Spelldancer)
I would appreciate a brief physical description, but otherwise it looks fine so far.
-Paulinus Ratarian, Aasimar Life Oracle
Looks good so far, excited to see how that Wolfscarred curse works out for a merchant. Looking forward to seeing a background added.
-Onix, Oread Monk (Student of Stone)
Seems fine so far. I will need a written out background, of course, but there's plenty of time to do that.
|
I have decided for this venture to go with the catfolk, the gnome as awesome as she is going to be will take a bit of work, and it seems I left my APG at a friends house, so looking up the alchemist things will take a bit. (i've never played with one so) He will be some sort of arcane caster, possibly with a dip into something trickstery or even divine. I tend to let those things work themselves out in gameplay. Should have him up in an hour or two.
I played this character in a Serpent's Skull game that got through part of the first book before the DM disappeared. He is third level right now and was made with a 15 point build. If selected, I would adjust him in regard to level, equipment and abilities.
Also, do you want the character stat blocks to be formatted in a particular way? Several DMs require them to follow the format used for bestiary entries.
In case you are wondering, we got as far as
Onix grew up as the eldest of two siblings. Both his parents were in the local guard. He was gifted with a crystalline form. Dark green crystals covered his body, his hair was also crystal but onyx colour. Hence his given name.
Through the years he held to his promise to his younger sister to not use a weapon, as she had seen many people die from them. She was a cleric and helped people in need where they lived in the Shackles.
One evening a pirate raid on the local clergy caused the death of their father as their parents tried to help and evacuate the patients. In trying to help, Onix was captured by a large creature. Hr was held for a few days, questioned and tortured to find more information on other places of interest where the clergy might be hiding medicine and other goods.
Onix held out and told them what they wanted to hear, not what they needed to hear though. In so doing sending them off on a wild goose chase.
Only later did he find out that where he sent them many died, and they would soon return to seek revenge on him. To save his family, he boarded the first ship that left port. Where to, he didnt know, as long as it was away from his family
Hope that sounds good enough for the game =^^=
I'm interested in joining. I'm in a current Serpent's Skull game, but it has apparently died after only one battle. I think I'll make a new character though.
Consider this dotting for interest!
@ Joll: I have no formatting requirements. I tend to do my own bestiary style, but as long as I can read it I don't care. Further more, I can see that you plan on being quite popular with the natives. I actually used a very similar build to yours for a character once, although she was a Shackles pirate captain who worshipped Besmara. :)
@ Seth86: Thanks for writing that up. The only glaring thing is that I'd like to what the unidentified "large creature" that captured him is.
Thinking about maybe a Hunter from the ACG playtest stuff or some form of druid; will try and come up with some stuff once I've got a little time to sit down and really work on it.
@ Joll: I have no formatting requirements. I tend to do my own bestiary style, but as long as I can read it I don't care. Further more, I can see that you plan on being quite popular with the natives. :)
As long as they bow down and recognize the superiority of the Chelish Empire then things will be fine.
Here is the Nine's Entry into your AP. It is a 90% complete draft, i may spend some of that gold sitting there and might edit the extra trait, by for now things are complere thank you for the consideration, good luck to all!
Here is my submission for the AP. The stat block is in the profile, but he's a Chelaxian Rogue (Scout).
Not everyone in Cheliax won when the Thrune Ascendancy occurred. The poorest of the poor were treated like dirt and suffered under the new political and economic schemes. Kenton's grandparents were some of the affected.
When he was still a babe, his family moved out into the wilds of Cheliax to escape perceived persecution as worshipers of Aroden. While not a believer in the dead god himself, Kenton grew up feeling afraid for both his parents and himself.
Dealing with the issue as best as he could, the young Chelaxian took up study of the world around him and quickly grew knowledgeable of the many trails surrounding his home. It was on one of these expeditions that he came back to find his home burned to the ground and his parents dead.
Both frightened of the might of the Hellknights and angry that he couldn't do anything on his own, Kenton fled the country and found work as a guide through the Mwangi expanse in Sargava. Here, he plied his trade and ducked the long arm of Cheliax's law until he started to hear rumors of magic buried deep within Sargava, and of unrest in the population.
Feeling the stirrings of change in the air, Kenton grabbed passage aboard the Jenivere and looked forward to the day where he had the power to make changes in the world.
Kenton is lanky, shaved-bald, and has a permanent forest of a beard growing from his chin. While still not an expert at navigating the Mwangi wilds, he has grown more accustomed to the environment and now dresses in jungle attire that better fits comfort in the terrain of Sargava.
For a man who has had almost everything taken from him, Kenton is relatively upbeat. He still comes off as short with others at times, but the man's gruff sense of humor relieves any tension that his temper causes.
i'm not nearly finished with him yet, but I made a Kasatha, that has four arms.
Note: You draw a heavy crossbow back by turning a small winch. Normally, operating a heavy crossbow requires two hands. However, you can shoot, but not load, a heavy crossbow with one hand at a –4 penalty on attack rolls. You can shoot a heavy crossbow with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two one-handed weapons. This penalty is cumulative with the penalty for one-handed firing.
Since I have 4 arms, does this mean I can fire 2 crossbows at the same time with no penalty? If so that would make an awesome ranger?
Also, I hope Archetypes are okay, I'm going with the FreeBooter Archetype.
Dotting for interest.
Thinking about an Oni spawn Tiefling centered around powerful bite attacks. Not sure on class and the like yet but we shall see.
Since I have 4 arms, does this mean I can fire 2 crossbows at the same time with no penalty? If so that would make an awesome ranger?
As far as im aware, its basically like two-weapon fighting, and would incur steep penalties.
Dotting for interest.
Thinking about an Oni spawn Tiefling centered around powerful bite attacks. Not sure on class and the like yet but we shall see.
Since I have 4 arms, does this mean I can fire 2 crossbows at the same time with no penalty? If so that would make an awesome ranger?As far as im aware, its basically like two-weapon fighting, and would incur steep penalties.
oh, so I will probably just avoid the cumulative penalty of firing with one hand, I am firing with two hands, but it is still two-weapon fighting, still good.
Or fire 4 crossbows with 4 arms? my first crossbow would get -10 penalty and my other 3 -14 penalty.I'll probably want to take this feat if I'm going to do stuff like that.
Two-Weapon Fighting feat, so two crossbows would be -4 each firing with two hands so no cumulative penalty and four crossbows would be -8 each.
Also, the only reason this guy has a human avatar is because there are no Kasatha ones on this site.
Dotting -- was thinking of playing a Half-Elven or Suli Shaman (something I've wanted to try out since the ACG playtest came out...) who's motivated to go to the jungle to try to learn about his own nature from the natives -- still spinning the details in my mind at the moment -- if it's the half-elf, it'd be Life or Battle as the primary spirit -- if it's a Suli, then probably elemental ones.
I'm thinking he'll have boarded in Varisia if I go with the half-elf, or in the Shackles if it's the Suli.
@ Hunter Deadeye: I apologize, I should have been more clear. When I said to stick to things from the ARG, I meant the Core, Featured, and Uncommon races. So no Kasatha. They're a bit too powerful for a first level character, not to mention that (as far as I can tell) they exist solely as an example for the race-builder, and have no official fictional tie to Golarion other than their blurb about being wasteland raiders. If you're still interested in having multiple arms, you may look into an alchemist with the vestigial arms discovery, or a (synthesist) summoner.
@ Deliverance: I believe rangers have the option of taking natural weapon focused combat feats. Besides that, I'm not sure what else would go well with a bite. Perhaps a beast totem barbarian?
Introducing Vasily Petrescu, Varisian bard and adventure seeker. He was kicked out of his clan for de-flowering the chieftain's daughter who was promised to antoher, and now needs to make enough money to care for his 2 youngers sisters. He can either sign on for the trip to Sargava as a sailor, or as a stowaway. He has had the typical Varisian wanderer's background, stealing, robbing, and conning to make his daily bread. LMK if I can answer any questions.
Male Human (Varisian) Bard 1
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +0
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +2
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee longsword +1 (1d8+1/19-20) and
whip +1 (1d3+1)
Ranged light crossbow +1 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks bardic performance 8 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1)
Bard Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5):
1st (2/day)—grease (DC 15), hideous laughter (DC 15)
0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), detect magic, message
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 12, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18
Base Atk +0; CMB +1 (+3 disarm); CMD 12 (14 vs. disarm)
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm
Traits boarded in varisia - bluffing, vagabond child (urban)
Skills Appraise +6, Bluff +8, Diplomacy +8, Disable Device +3, Knowledge (arcana) +3, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +3, Knowledge (engineering) +3, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nature) +3, Knowledge (nobility) +3, Knowledge (planes) +3, Knowledge (religion) +3, Perform (string instruments) +8, Sleight of Hand +2, Spellcraft +6
Languages Common, Shoanti, Skald, Varisian
SQ bardic knowledge +1
Combat Gear caltrops; Other Gear studded leather armor, crossbow bolts (20), light crossbow, longsword, whip, backpack, masterwork, bedroll, belt pouch, blanket, flint and steel, Mandolin, thieves' tools, waterskin, whetstone, 12 GP, 3 SP, 8 CP
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Bardic Knowledge +1 (Ex) Add +1 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (standard action) (8 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Boarded In Varisia - Bluffing +2 Bluff checks against inhabitants of the Mwangi Jungle.
Combat Expertise +/-1 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Improved Disarm You don't provoke attacks of opportunity when disarming.
I present to you, Gnick Gnack Paddywack, apprentice alchemist and gnome! He had heard that Sargovia has many interesting things to help make medicine, bombs, extracts, so he did as any apprentice alchemist worth his snuff would do, he set off to find these wonderful ingredients to help him become the greatest alchemist in all of gnomedom.
Gnick Gnack Paddywack
Gnome Alchemist 1
CG Small humanoid (gnome)
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +1 Dex, +1 size)
hp 11 (1d8+3)
Fort +5 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison), Ref +3, Will +1; +2 vs. illusions
Defensive Abilities defensive training (+4 dodge bonus to AC vs. giants)
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee light mace +1 (1d4) and
longspear +1 (1d6/×3)
Ranged bomb +3 (1d6+3 Fire) and
light crossbow +2 (1d6/19-20)
Special Attacks bomb, +1 on attack rolls against goblinoid and reptilian humanoids
Spell-Like Abilities
1/day—dancing lights , ghost sound (DC 12), prestidigitation (DC 11), speak with animals
Alchemist Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4):
1st—cure light wounds, enlarge person (DC 14)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 10, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 10
Feats Brew Potion, Extra Bombs, Throw Anything
Traits boarded in mediogalti, excitable
Skills Appraise +7, Craft (alchemy) +9 (+10 to create alchemical items), Heal +5, Perception +7, Sleight of
Hand +5, Spellcraft +7, Use Magic Device +5; Racial Modifiers +2 Craft (alchemy), +2 Perception,
alchemy
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Gnome, Sylvan
SQ mutagen
Other Gear leather armor, light crossbow, light mace, longspear, 95 GP
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Alchemy +1 (Su) +1 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Boarded In Mediogalti (Giant Wasp Poison) +2 Save vs. Poison, immune to the selected poison.
Bomb 1d6+3 (6/day) (DC 13) (Su) Thrown Splash Weapon deals 1d6+3 fire damage.
Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs monsters of the Giant subtype.
Hatred +1 Gain a bonus to attack vs goblinoid/reptilian humanoids.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Mutagen (DC 13) (Su) Mutagen adds +4 to a physical & -2 to a mental attribute, and +2 nat. armor for
10 min.
Throw Anything Proficient with improvised ranged weapons. +1 to hit with thrown splash weapons.
@ Gnick Gnack Paddywack: Thanks for the submission! But would you mind putting your stat sheet into a spoiler tag, just to keep the thread a little tidier? :)
Will look at beastiaries and let you know
Edit: thinking centaur with swashbuckler levels
I've updated the profile, to match the 25 point build and selected a campaign trait. Added a brief physical description. Rebuilt him in Hero Lab rather than by hand, but I think it made a mistake (the spelldancer spend arcane pool for movement should replace the add magic to weapons uses).
Bought equipment using average gold.
I'm still planning to update his history a bit more to better integrate.
dotting
Finished Paulinus's crunch and am working on the fluff.
Changed my mind, going with a Sylph Witch; will try and get the story and crunchy stuff up tomorrow night after work.
x10=120gp
Submitting Siri Quinray, half-elf barbarian just trying to make her way back to her tribe after being snatched up at a young age as a slave. Need to expand on her background, but the crunch is 90% done.
An air witch and a stone monk. That could be interesting