No objections here, you're the GM.
I'm thinking of playing a dwarf hunter by the way. I was originally going to go for Mammoth Rider but I can't decide if a huge mount is worth losing spells. I guess I have a long time to decide. So in the meantime, straight hunter.
I'll throw something together later today.
I can always suggest people who are reliable posters and good RPers but if you have people in mind then go for it. Open recruitment can be hit or miss and is definitely messy.
Here's EF's first pass at a character. I haven't chosen traits yet but he's otherwise done. I reskinned the aurochs into a yak if that's ok. It seemed the most appropriate for reskinning and I (we) really wanted to have matching yaks.
Black Powder Chocobo is a lot of fun to play with but he's been absent from the boards this past week or so due to a family emergency so he might not get back to you right away.
Cyril Corbaz (GM Lithrac), Hawkwen Agricola (GM Tektite), Tangaroa, RyckyRych, and Nebten are just a few of the people who are in APs with me before and are all dedicated posters so no risk of losing players there. There's also Kobash (DM Rah), Amazing Red, Ilmakis, and Signboy77. All of the above have been around for a long time and aren't at risk of leaving such a long commitment. Yours is mined has some of the most well-written posts I've seen on the boards but I don't know if they've ever done a longer campaign. Been around a few years though so they're not going anywhere either. I've GM'd for Painlord a few times and he literally wrote the guide(s) to PbP so he's a good go-to as well.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few key people but those are some of the people I've played with extensively in the past and stood out to me as reliable and quality posters.
I can't think of anyone missed outside of MichaelCullen (aka Sir Thomas). He is always on point in CC and very reliable as a poster.
Having just received the invite, I haven't a clue what to play. Initial thoughts are;
A) a dwarf something, assuming an all dwarf party.
B) a half orc something (sorcerer?), as I've never really played a half-orc and it seems appropriate for the starting location.
Thoughts?
I was considering a dwarf character (maybe Titan Mauler), but I have a couple other ideas as well. Halfling mouser, gnome alchemist, or maybe an arcanist.
Tektite, aside from race, are you considering a caster of some kind? If so I'll probably avoid the arcanist.
Oh, I will be going Ranger into Mammoth Rider with a focus on ranged attacks. Jorgan is planning on Hunter into Mammoth Rider with a focus on melee.
Yeah, a half-orc might not fit in well with the Steelkegs. I like the idea of (another) all-dwarf party. Bonus points if your characters have pet yaks. But play whatever you want, don't feel bound by what I just said.
Don't worry, I spent 100gp on brewing gear! Malt the Yak pulls the wagon!
Ok, I'm playing a dwarf. Should we all be from clan Steelkeg?
Feel free to join! Yaks are required! (Optional)
@Rah: I was not set on arcane, I was just looking at what wasn't filled. I was also looking at warpriest, last night. If you have an idea for arcanist, go for it.
Edit: Actually, I was considering the divine commander archtype for warpriest, because it gets a mount. (yak!)
I if did arcane, I was leaning toward Slyvan bloodline, in ordr to get an AC (yak!).
Is it possible for everyone to get at least one level in Mammoth Rider? A party of mammoth riding dwarves would be awesome!
Huge-yak-riding dwarves would be awesome. It's mostly a big skill investment.
Torgan's got ranged covered I think and I'll be melee, although not terribly strong. Then again, with a bunch of yaks running around none of us needs to be particularly strong in melee I guess.
Plus with three yaks, we can use their special stampede ability.
I support the Sylvan Sorcerer + Divine Commander quadruple yak.
Divine Commander archetype looks awesome as I didn't really like the Blessings aspect of Warpriests anyway.
Here is Kraygan. He is a work in progress. I'm thinking about going with Cavalier Beast Rider mixed with a little Barbarian Mounted Fury and Unbreakable Fighter, but I'm not sure which class to start with.
Maybe Beast Rider first?
EDIT: looks like I can apply both Beast Rider and Gendarme archetypes, so I'll start with Cavalier. Yay.
Tektite here. Petrosk is my rough draft at arcane/skill. (Wildblooded/Seeker) {Likely taking some item creation feats}
I'll post my warpriest shortly and let you decide. Not sure if healing or trap/arcane is considered more important.
So we're a 4-man group, right?
Jorgan (Hunter, heading towards Mammoth Rider)
Torgan (Ranger, heading towards Mammoth Rider)
Kraygan (Cavalier, heading towards Mammoth Rider)
Petrosk (?, heading towards Mammoth Rider)
Jorgan and Torgan have the potential to heal (Jorgan immediately, Torgan at 4th Ranger), and will be able to use healing wands when they become available. Between them they might have most skills covered, though not to an expert degree.
Kraygan has about zero potential for spells at the moment, though I could adjust him and grab a level in alchemist at some point. He also is the only one with any diplomacy at the moment (obtained through the student of philosophy trait to use his intelligence instead of charisma for certain diplomacy/bluff checks).
Since your wildblooded/seeker is a sorcerer, his knowledge skills probably won't be much better than Jorgan and Torgan's, though he might be a good face for the group.
If you play a warpriest, will he be strickly healing and combat, or will he have any skills - knowledge religion, spellcraft, etc?
Also consider that as a sorcerer or warpriest Petrosk will have very few skills to work with, especially after the mandatory skills to get into Mammoth Rider. So none of us will have a bunch of points to throw into every knowledge or other skill. We'll be pretty limited in joint skill sets.
Ok, I'll vote for Tektite taking Divine Commander Warpriest.
I can adjust to grab a level of alchemist or magus at some point for basic arcane.
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Hey All--
GM Tyranius has graciously offered me the 5th slot. I am honored for the opportunity.
I know many, if not all of you, already because your deeds echo throughout PbP. For that reason alone, I jumped at this opportunity.
Them giants won't know what will hit them. Ayep.
Here comes an army of halflings with slings---[/me reads more of the thread] whaaa? dwarves? freakin' dwarves?
Oh, okay...I see that, uhm, this party is getting very bearded...uh...
/me scratches back of neck, looks for a polite way to not have a beard.
-Pain
Meh. I love what you guys are doing above, but it isn't for me. I don't believe in roles or balance and prefer to approach character creation in a silo so that it feels much more 'real' (that is, whatever events that throw us together happen without thought to roles or balance).
GM Tyranius will have my build long before we start and most you guys will easily figure out what I'm playing, however, I truly believe in everyone playing what they exactly want to play, then working together to have as much fun as possible ('win' or lose).
Hey Pain! It will be a pleasure to play along with you, as I know you ny reputation and rading your posts, only.
Glad to have you with us Painlord!
Ahem... :)
Seriously, though, play whatever you want. A black sheep (or Yak) can make the herd more interesting.
Agreed. We're not forcing everyone to abide by the dwarf n' yak combo. And I agree with you that 'party balance' is somewhat of a false notion. I'm reminded of the meme (I can't seem to find it) with a picture of a Roman legion and the caption Single class parties do work or something to that effect.
Although now that you mention a sling-wielding halfling party....
Anyways, I've had a lot of fun GMing a few PFS scenarios for you so I'm excited to jump into an AP alongside you. PFS is great for its own reasons, but limited in scope and development which is where APs have the advantage.
Should be a great group!
Alright, Tektite's Divine Commander here.
Vanderhoff and Vanderhoof, that's hilarious!
Honored to be known by THE Painlord.
I don't think there is any need for a alchemist or magus dip in your character, Kraygan. (Unless you think that is what you should do for them).
What is our relationship to each other? I think me and Jorgan were going for brothers. Are you more brothers, cousins, etc.?
Also, @Painlord: If you don't want a beard, you could be a female dwarf. ;-)
Regarding the Steelkeg clan: I'm thinking Kraygen is a cousin.
Regarding an alchemist/magus dip: I'll probably skip it.
Regarding female dwarves: most still have beards. At least the pretty ones do. :D
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Well having the top 5 GM's playing at your table isn't intimidating at all ;). I am kidding I am up for the challenge.
Everything looks great above! Makes me feel like Bilbo and dwarves just keep knocking on my door.
After reading the first book to this campaign the story sounds amazing so far.
Looks like we have character concepts for everyone so far. Once I see Pain's then I will go ahead and post the intro.
Here are a few of the things you guys can expect from me.
- I am new but a consistent poster. So I will make a few mistakes (I rolled a Human)but I am a very quick learner. (Always looking to improve)
- I can post multiple times a day except for Tuesdays. Tuesday I have X-wing tournaments. So Tuesday is usually a once a day post.
- If during combat I don't see any movement (post) in 24 hours I will GMPC the individual to keep moving along (Though I don't see that problem here but we all do have lives.)
- I will roll perception and Initiative to help streamline the process. I will only roll perception for surprise round and if you wander into a trapped area and other key points in the campaign. You can still roll if you wish to search a room.
- You guys can roll your saves and I will catch up the results unless specific situations deem otherwise.
- You can post you actions at any point in the initiative order and I will place your action in a post in that order.
- Please post stats in a stat block above as it will make it far easier for me.
@GM: Thanks for the rundown. This is exactly how I prefer PBPs. From my experience with you in other games I know this is going to be a good campaign.
Also, I'll admit to being a little intimidated by the caliber of this group as well, but in a good way since it encourages me to bring my A game.
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Well having the top 5 GM's playing at your table isn't intimidating at all ;).
Dude, your excellent use of the list commands intimidates me. I'm not sure I'll be able to handle, much less match, that kind of formatting.
/me notes the mad skillz
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@Torgan: Yes, the GMing of Bold Strider is widely known.
@Torgan: Yes, I also think the females have beards. Hmmm...maybe that explains why your dwarf is a bachelor? ;)
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GM Tyranius: I'll get you my yahoo this night (or tomorrow night) to look over, to gaze upon the beauty therein.
For the record, my yahoo will be mostly Core because it will please me to do so. I'll be selecting from the CRB, Orcs of Golarion, the Inner Sea World Guide and one other story/flavor source as it's all the stuff that I own that applies to Belkzen.
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Side note: One of the reasons I'm excited about this game with this group is that because you all are so prolific GMs, I'm sure you've learned things/styles/tricks from your players and as a GM.
I'm excited to see what those things are. I want to learn to be a better player and look forward to what y'all will be teaching me. I hope my 'studentness' doesn't become too annoying...I frequently reflect on things as I try to understand both PbP, but also human behavior as we play this silly social game.
I beg your forgiveness in advance if I use this OOC thread to talk about some ideas or theories that I might have. The below is an example of such. It's spoilered as so not to distract from the primary discussion of the campaign, and so participate or ignore at your leisure.
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And I agree that party balance is somewhat of a false notion.
Yes, but let me ask a follow up question(s) because it is something that has been bothering me for a long time (and recently irritated moreso by the 'deceptive characters' thread on the PFS boards...gah! when am I going to learn just to avoid reading there?).
Question: If party balance is a false notion, why do so many PFS PbP GMs promote that false notion by asking for classes when doing sign ups?
PbP, at its essence, has the ability to a better RP format than F2F...yet many GMs promote and allow bad play by encouraging classes/builds rather than characters when doing sign ups and mustering.
I know that I am pretty deeply outside the mainstream on this, but I believe in a purer, RP game and detest the metagaming that goes into the average session of PFS.
@Painlord: I dunno. Maybe. ;-)
If I had a party of five Karu the Bold Striders, five Gaarms, five Flinders, five Atums or five Shus, I'm almost positive that they would complete every scenario. I'm not sure builds really matter. I think it is the quality of the player.
But, then again, from a roleplay perspective, you also look at PFS and see that it is the Decimvirate handing out missions. I would say it is a classic paradigm for a reason. Having Haste is a great buff. Having healing can come in handy. Making groups with this in mind would definitely be my drive as a marshal for the Society when crafting groups for missions.
Either way, since I don't use class for my determinations of groups, I will stop asking for it. You have inspired me.
Why do other GMs recruit that way? I'm not sure. I don't and never have . I switched to using a lottery for my games because the signups are so popular and because I honestly don't think the party makeup will make or break a scenario. Being (un)prepared is a far more important variable I think. A party of well-prepared bards can outperform (hehe) a well-balanced but unprepared party of six different classes. And I have seen that happen.
That being said, I can't really stop the players who win my lotteries from starting out by asking, I have X, Y, and Z. What should I bring? Do we need a healer or arcane? It certainly happens a lot.
I guess my answer is that it's not a problem specific to PbP GMs but rather a problem with the PF community in general. Perhaps the rules-heavy/bloated nature of the system lends itself to such discussions, although I think yours (and my own) play styles attest to the fact that it doesn't have to. But for a lot of people I think the sheet gets in the way of the character it's supposed to represent.
To be honest, I actually prefer stripped-down RPGs like The One Ring or Shadows of Esteren where the rules system (and your character sheet) are so simple that you can focus a lot more on your character's interaction with the world. And yes, this admission is coming from someone who has GM'd over 225+ PFS games and several PF APs. It's a social game so you need to play what everyone else is playing or not play at all. But those games tend to have a lot less metagaming because there is so much less to metagame about.
But if I had things my way, I'd probably be spending a lot more time primarily playing those other RPGs and fiddling around with PF on the side, rather than the other way around like it currently is for me.
If that helps my motivation for asking sometimes in PFS scenarios.
I tend to ask about classes (when I play), because I find a lot of players like to bring heavy hitters, healers, or casters and the skill monkey class is neglected (which I love playing). It is a symptom of the scenarios written, that a certain quota of skill/abilities will be called for at some time, aside from combat. A whole other discussion is how well-rounded characters should be. I buy into the Pathfinder persona and like to have well-rounded PCs, usually to the detriment of their combat abilities, but that's what I like to play.
As far as this game is concerned, I merely asked what everyone thought, because I had no real ideas of what to play, and felt I could build something fun, either way. Then again, I'm the sort of player that likes to wait and see what everyone else builds, then build a PC to cover any weaknesses, that I perceive.
In organized play, I think the healer is less needed, due to wands, but in an AP, I've found that not having healers for the first level or two can be rough, if only for the fact of having to go back and rest more often.
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If I had a party of five Karu the Bold Striders, five Gaarms, five Flinders, five Atums or five Shus, I'm almost positive that they would complete every scenario. I'm not sure builds really matter. I think it is the quality of the player.
I don't know about Gaarm. He is unconscious a lot and just pulled a greatsword in a town hall meeting which may quickly make him go unconscious again here fairly quickly. lol :)
@Torgan: Yes. Yes, just like that. And that was a case where I really wanted to try out an arcanist, and didn't check what everyone was playing.
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@Painlord: I dunno. Maybe. ;-)
Hmmm...that is curious. Maybe the shaved beard is the chainmail-bikinification* of dwarven women? When will the artist community stop objectifying she-dwarves?
Zeroly, I appreciate all the thoughts. It's all good food for thought. Thanks for indulging. :)
Firstly, you guys all rock and you know that. I appreciate that you might make changes: because I hope it will lead better players. Players who are more focused on story and character rather than focused on mechanics, build, and balance. We are the only ones who can train players to be better. The GM should know what each player is playing, but no one else 'needs' to know.
Secondly, I recognize that it's charged topic (at least if that PFS thread is any indication)...and people have been doing things one way for a long time. And admittedly, there is a sizable portion of the population that just *loves* to talk crunch and focus on mechanics and that's part of their socialization process and conversation starter.
*=trademark me: newly minted word
This is a good discussion.
Now, I haven't read that thread you mentioned yet, so I can't speak much for PFS, but I can talk about my experience with long-term campaigns.
I'll admit to being a bit of a rules lawyer and number cruncher, though I try not to min-max my characters. I also like to make team-players, or at least characters that compliment the abilities of others in the group. This dwarven group is actually a departure from my norm and the discussion of dipping an arcane class comes from a habit I've developed from 25 years of gaming, mostly with a group of long-term friends. In that time I have played and run campaigns with poorly coordinated parties that were a pain in the rear, but there have also been campaigns with poorly coordinated parties that were some of the best games I've played in. I believe there are two factors that can determine a good or bad experience.
1. A GM's ability to adapt to their players. Sort of like Fezzek from the Princess Bride "You use different moves when you're fighting half a dozen people, than when you only have to be worried about one".
2. Players ability to "play nice" with others. I would hope everyone in a game is playing a character they are passionate about, but not at the expense of another player's fun. In PFS this isn't so much of a problem because the games are short and a bad experience isn't prolonged. In a campaign though, you have to live with each other for an extended period of time.
The other thing to consider is that a campaign is much more flexible then a PFS scenario. A GM can adapt to unconventional parties in a campaign, but is bound by certain restrictions with scenarios.
Last thing. My sign-up sheet was copied from EF's original. *throws EF under bus* Hah! Actually, though, I don't mind listing class on my sheet. I don't select players by class. Some players though, like Tektite and myself, like to fill roles in a party, and I don't think that necessarily prevents us from roleplaying. I have many characters, plus ideas for new ones, and can usually select one that both fills a role and is fun to roleplay.
I just wanted to clarify that my observations are from previous experience and hypothetical in nature. Everyone in this campaign is a seasoned player and GM, and I trust this experience will be a good one.
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On topic!:
Worked a bit on my backstory and personality last night. I think my yahoo will be a good fit for the town and I'm trying to keep it completely separate from whatever the Dwarvesmoot* decides.
GM Tyranius: can we assume that we can start with employment someplace in town? I've seen the map of Trunau in the player's guide, and wanted to write in my backstory someplace.
When I finish the backstory, I'll mix and mesh the build...and ta-da!, I might have a yahoo worthy of this group.
I figure I still have a few days to work, right, GM Tyranius? Or are you ready to go soon?
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I think Torgan and I already decided that we have run a family brewery in the town for several generations; we are the brothers currently in charge of the brewing (hence the yaks, for hauling our goods to the local taverns and whatnot!). Kraygan and Vanderhoff decided to join the party and they are welcome to work at our brewery as either cousins or I suppose we can expand and have three or four brothers if you want to go that way. I think we're pretty flexible on that.
No crazy tragic backstories or anything (for me at least), just long-time townies brewing beer and helping fight back trouble when we need to. Respected in the town as authorities but not really interested in political office or anything of that nature.