I am looking for several players to begin a campaign to take place in my homebrew setting of Louwildar. For information on the setting, please visit the Obsidian Portal page.
I'll summarize a bit here: there are only 3 PC races in this setting: humans, elves, and dwarves. Dwarves are small in Louwildar. Other races exist, but are not well-suited for PC's.
I'm allowing almost every class: the only outright bans are Ninja, Samurai, Summoner, and ACG Playtest Classes.
Firearms status for Louwildar is: Emerging Guns. Like on Golarion, firearms are mainly located in a smal area. If you want to play a gunslinger from the get-go, we'll need to work out the details. Because of this, the selected party will not include more than 1 gunslinger to start.
Other classes requiring prior approval: Alchemist and Monk. Also rare in the setting, so we'd need to work on a good backstory.
Please pay careful attention to deities. There are only five main deities. You don't need to pick one unless you're a cleric or inquisitor.
Check out the map and nations sections - the adventure will begin in Bernhold.
Basic character creation rules:
Start at level 1
Alignment: any good or neutral - you'll be expected to do heroic things
15-point buy
2 traits
150 GP to start
Max HP at 1st level, 1/2 rounded up thereafter
Anything in the PRD is fair game, as long as I can look it up and reference it, with the caveat that I may decide to ban things for flaovr or power resaons.
Metal armor is pretty hard to get, and I'm not sure that half and full plate are even extant in the world. You are all assumed to be commoners or lower-born gentry without access to top resources. Please keep this in mind with starting gear. You'll get plenty of opportunities to upgrade.
I'll keep this open until I find at least 4-5 players.
Definitely interested. Looking over campaign info now.
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Definitely going to muse something up for your campaign, Derek. :)
What would you think about a character that wants to become an epic and legendary craftsman? Would that be possible?
Any thoughts on the beginning of the campaign, are we essentially just non-adventurers that get caught up in something?
Sounds interesting
Calanthe, a craftsman (or woman) would make an excellent character. Given the importance and relative scarcity of magical items, I expect crafting to be one of the key ways for the group to gain access to items beyond masterwork quality. Tomb raiding will get you some too, of course.
My initial concept for the world is not one where adventuring companies just wander around, but if your character has a background/history of wandering or drifting from place to place, we can work with that.
Maybe they were part of a caravan, or were a laborer building an Imperial road who decided not to return home. Maybe a former thief or highwayman.
So I'm pretty flexible with background. The group will probably not have a history together, though, unless the players really want to work it that way.
I'm certainly interested - i've never had a chance to play as a gunslinger before, and certainly don't mind if resources and ammunition are hard to come by - i would envisage the character as someone with great reverance for a firearm, but sees it as very much a last resort or tool to be used in extreme circumstances...
I submit for your approval: Roarke Stonebeard
I'm finishing up the details and will have the fluff soon.
@Chakka - No worries - I don't HAVE to cap the group at six or even seven like in PFS. It might be hard to manage a big group in combats and such, but we'll see what comes along.
@drawesome - Roarke looks pretty interesting at first glance, though I must say fluff will go a long way in this campaign. I haven't had much experience with druids, so I'm intrigued.
I dig the setting, the game sounds like fun and I'd love to submit Tomm here.
Tomm was born to a long line of hunter's and foragers that worked for a local lord in a small forest kingdom. Tomm and his family were responsible for filling their lords larder and leading his hunting parties through the forest, and though it made for a modest living, Tomm lead a quiet peacful life. The lord, though relatively poor, was kind to his subjects and treated Tomm's family well, Tomm was taught the importance of duty and honor and respected the man he served. The lord took a liking to the lad, Tomm was funny and kind, if a bit lacking in manners, and though young Tomm soon found himself personally leading the lords hunts. The peace didn't last forever though. A bandit troop settled in the area, determined to take their pickings from the small kingdom, and the lord was too poor to hire any more soldiers to defend the village. The lord sent what few soldiers he had to defend his own castle and left the village to fend for themselves. The bandits were smart, they took what little excess the villagers had and made sure to avoid the lords castle completely. Those villagers that were allowed to take refuge in the lords keep did, and yet Tomm's family didn't. Despite Tomm's insistence his family refused, they would rather face the danger with their friends in the village than the lord in his castle. Tomm's father donned armor and took up weapons to defend the village when others wouldn't, he organized a small band of villagers to fight back. Tomm learned a lesson that changed his life, honor and duty are all well and good, but sometimes you have to do what is right, you have to stick by your friends. Tomm joined his father in routing the bandits and resolved to leave the village unwilling to work anymore for a lord who wouldn't do everything he could to defend those he was beholden to protect. Unsure of where he was going or where he'd end up Tomm set out with his favorite hunting dogs and the family armor to find his place in the world, and friends he would be willing to lay down his life to protect.
I'd like to submit Rizzo
Rizzo's father is a gondolier named Bello. His mother Melinda is a weather mage on the good ship Greyswain. Rizzo was conceived during a night of drunken revelry, Melinda had to resort to divination magic to determine his parentage. Having a large share in the ship and unwilling to devote time to a family, Melinda left Rizzo in Bello's care. Bello is a loving father and married a wonderful seamstress named Maria. Maria has been a good mother to Rizzo and he has three younger sisters but recently Maria has finally given birth to a son, Bello junior. Maria has made it clear that she would appreciate it if Rizzo would make himself scarce and Rizzo has complied.
Growing up on the docks, Rizzo has made a name for himself as intimidating muscle for some of the local loansharks. Rizzo takes no joy in the bullying and is desperate to find some other way of making ends meet. He has befriended an old swordmaster whom he brings beer every evening and in exchange has received extensive longsword and acrobatics training.
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Ok...here is my submission for the game. Hope it is ok, and the background meshes with the world view...
Jack the Locksmith
Male Human Rogue 1
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +1
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19-20/×2)
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
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Statistics
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Str 12, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 12
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Deft Hands, Point-Blank Shot
Traits artisan, vagabond child (urban)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +5, Craft (locks) +7, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +13, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +5 (+6 to locate traps), Sense Motive +5, Stealth +7, Use Magic Device +5
Languages Common, Dwarven
SQ trapfinding +1
Other Gear Leather armor, Light crossbow, Artisan's tools (Craft [locks]), Thieves' tools, masterwork
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Special Abilities
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Point-Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Sneak Attack +1d6 +1d6 damage if you flank your target or your target is flat-footed.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Jack the locksmith (or just Jack Smith) is a humble craftsman trying to make ends meet in the city of Bernhold. Eking out a modest living, he is one of the hundreds of simple craftsmen in the city; however this is not always how it was. Jack Smith use to be known by another name, Nimble-fingers Jack, a moderately notorious lock picker and thief.
In his younger days, Jack ran with a much different crowd than he does today. This group styled itself the "Free Brotherhood of Thieves and Rogues" and preyed on the cities merchants and wealthy. It is while with this group that Jack honed his lock-breaking skills. It became a challenge to find a lock that Jack could not open. Some were simple and opened in mere seconds, while others took a little bit more time, but sooner or later they all seemed to open for Jack. He was 13 years old at this time.
As time went by, Jack became less and less interested in the material wealth his lock picking brought, and more focused on the locks and mechanisms themselves. The "Brotherhood", concerned that their talented member was growing a conscience, set him up to be arrested before he attempted to do the "right thing" and turn them all in. Jack never even thought of turning on his "brothers", but was contemplating leaving the group. This became a moot point once he was in custody.
For 3 years he was put to heavy labor, breaking rocks and clearing swamps for the growing farms and villages around Bernhold. His so-called friends quickly forgot about him, as did the rest of the world, and he simply became Jack. On his release at age 19 he decided to try apprenticing himself to a craftsman, but none would have him. He spent his first year of "freedom" almost starving on the streets of Bernhold for want of work. He did pick up a few odd jobs here and there, and came to the attention of a travelling dwarven tinker. Therlfik was his name, and he too was an outcast of his people. The two made an interesting combination, for the boy was quick with his hands and could repair locks and other small, mechanical items, while the dwarf was a talented tinker, blacksmith and repairman. For 3 years the duo worked together making a modest income, and finally purchasing a rundown building and converting it into a workshop and store. Unfortunately they also caught the attention of a local gang, who insisted the pair pay 'protection' least anything happen to their store, or themselves. Not wanting trouble, they paid and continued to scratch out a living, but with money tight, Jack has begun to contemplate returning to his old profession to help out.
here's my character, Derek, still a work in progress. Just wanted to post him, to keep my hand in. should be finished soon.
OK. He's mostly finished, think I just need to fill in the Trait abilities. Backstory is in the profile.
If you could check it out and lemme know what you think.
He's gonna be quite a bit different than Ebon.
XD
Well, so far everyone has built something very interesting, and I do appreciate the effort you put into your character backgrounds!
@Chakka - yeah, definitely not like Ebon, but a pretty cool concept!
So far we have submitted:
Roarke Stonebeard, dwarf druid
Tomm Odelle. human huntmaster cavalier
Rizzo, human free-hand fighter
Jack Smith, human rogue
Mithroon Boolt, dwarf wizard (ranger wannabe!)
I'll keep things open a little longer to see if some of the others who expressed interest make submissions. I also offered a spot to my friend Fred who helped me start the setting years ago.
Thanks guys!
Too many Dwarves, we need an Elf in there!
Also looks like you need a divine character... Another one for me? oy!
Too many Dwarves, we need an Elf in there!
Heresy! Ye cannae have too many Dwarves!
I'll work on an elven oracle of the heavans. BTW, hate 15 point builds, they always feel lacking.
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Dotting for interest. What is your feeling on multiclassing and prestiging? I have this idea for an elf who gets levels in fighter and wizard, then goes into arcane archer. I haven't seen a good arcane archer in years, and I've been dying to play one.
I'll get to work on her now. Going to start her career as a fighter, background should be interesting.
Edit: What are good languages to pick up? I see elven isn't a language naturally known to elves, does that mean it does not exist?
Well, first off, in the elven section, it says Dwarved know...
I think Sylvan = Elven in this world
Yeah, I make no promises about the Obsidian Portal page being perfect.
But Mez is right Sylvan = Elven
They're fey, baby! I even debated giving them DR/cold iron but nerfing the other racial abilities, but thought that would be too OP at low levels and pointless at higher ones...
@Tiasar - As for multiclassing and prestige classes, I have no problems with what you're planning.
Just posting briefly as I haven't had the time to fill out a profile yet... expect that tomorrow for sure! I'm applying with a Human Wizard (Conjurer w/ Teleportation Subschool).
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Caelin's a blacksmith by trade (forcefully so), one who spent his younger years bemoaning his family "curse" and wondering just what god-awful sins he must have performed in a past life to deserve the much loathed job. As the oldest kid, his dad fully expected him to take up the family business and pass it on as his father and his father's father and yada yada had done... but of course Caelin had zero interest in that. In order to dodge the menial labour for a time, he convinced his mother to convince his father that sending him to be apprenticed to a wizard in the city would be a huge boon in the long run for the business. Y'know, replacing assistants with unseen servants, being able to transform dress jewels in pommels into precious stones, and the like.
He was supposed to study transforming one thing into another, but instead learned about creating short-lived and fake things. He was supposed to study summoning objects, but instead learned how to summon living creatures instead. When his father eventually found out about all the 'useless' magic he was learning, he forced Caelin to come back home and refused to pay for his tuition any more.
Stuck back at the forge, Caelin tried his best to find something (anything) to deal with the doldrums of life. What he did find some interest in is history; particularly, the rumours of ultra-powerful artefacts made by legendary craftsmen of yore. Despite himself, despite his hate of his family's trade, Caelin found himself surprisingly interested by the legends... wouldn't his father be shocked if his 'useless' son that would 'never be a good blacksmith, no matter how much (he) beat it into him' could make something to line the history books? The mysterious and marvellous supposed methods and components of these creations also piqued his interest, as a scholar. Esoterica at its finest.
Of course, that's all some hopeless daydream Caelin muses about when he's busy making shoes for the neighbour's draught horses. Sigh.
Not too long ago, his father ordered him to take their old donkey and a cartful of wares down to the nearby city (or town, or wherever the starting area is) to sell. Horribly boring to Caelin, but hey, he had an opportunity to raid the bookstore and visit his old mentor for some intellectual stimulation...
And perhaps something new and interesting would occur as well...
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Caelin's your quintessential absent-minded mage: forgetful, nerdy, and a bit of a dork who has a thing for bad puns. He's friendly but kind of awkward, particularly around those he's attracted to as his stutter acts up when he's nervous. He's somewhat lazy and loathes physical labour; he will always do his best to avoid strenuous activities. And, yes, he's a bit whiny, but will shut up quite quickly if threatened or yelled at.
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Anyway, proper profile will come tomorrow.
Guys, I can't really say what kind of party I'm looking for. I definitely want to design around the group, but that will be hard since I haven't run tons of homebrew games.
I had a question in a PM regarding elves in Louwildar. This was my responce, which isn't a lot, basically what's on Obsidian Portal with perhaps a few extra tidbits.
They are shortrer than humans and have delicate features and pointy ears, so they look like Middle-Earth elves. But they're notorious pranksters and tricksters. The good ones just do it all in fun, but the evil ones are the kind who like to twist your words in a deal, like a genie.
Elves love nature and dislike civilization. There are no elven "nations", but a number of communities in the larger forests and mountains. In the Grunwald there may be one elf village. They are a bit clannish, like dwarves, fiercely loyal to their families and friends. Many are fickle, but once they're trust is earned they are loyal to the end. They live longer than humans, but they see the joy in life and are not in general somber.
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Sorry for the barrage of questions DM, but I really like homebrew worlds and learning about them.
1) Beyond Common, Sylvan, and Dwarven, what are other common languages?
2) Is there really a different currency in every country? What's the map scale? Because that has a potential to being quite the problem.
3) If an elf shows up out of the blue, how would a normal town treat it? Eyresia specifically, if it matters.
@Tiasar - No problem on the questions - some are issues that I've considered other are ones that I should have.
1) There are regional languages and dialects, but for simplicity we're sticking with these. But we could change this to synergize with other details.
2) Yes, there really is. This definitely isn't Golarion or the EU. The map is drawn on a single side of an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. 1"=about 150 miles. So the continent is about 1,200 miles wide at the widest and about 1,600 miles long, north to south. Well, that is the average of two planned sizes anyway. Nevertheless, its a fairly big place. We may simply play under a 1:1 exchange rate anyway. "Big ticket" items are not generally available for sale at any price, as outlined on the Obsidian Portal page. You want a +2 adamantine longsword - make one!
3) Elves and dwarves have had very little contact with humans in general over the last 200 years. I wanted to introduce that in-game. It will be a little Middle-earthy, if you must know. In most towns, elves (and dwarves) would receive a mixed reception. Some folks would be suspicious, some fearful, some friendly and welcoming. Generally, the larger the town and the closer to the coast, the more likely elves are going to be the stuff of folk tales to the common people.
Eyresia may be an exception, Like Kalvar, it rests in the foothills, and while elves are unlikely to frequent the city itself unless disguised, I'd be willing to bet the folks in the outlying settlement have had more dealings with the fey folk in general. In eastern Bernhold, herders and old wise women have had continuous contact, though many don't believe the stories.
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1) Well do keep me informed, I have a number of free languages going to waste if there are no other languages spoken.
2) Daaaang, that is a big place. Hmm, I might pick up some crafting feats in that case.
3) Oh good, it won't be too difficult to get a little settled in at Eyresia. Also, where would some elvish settlements be around that area? PM me if you don't want the non-elf players to know <.<
Thanks!
looking forward to this one...got some really good submissions
I know what you mean. I cleaned up my background, its in the alias. Everyone's backstory is so good! Some stiff competition...
Hey guys, yeah I haven't decided on a hard cutoff yet on recruiting, but it'll be by the end of the week for sure, maybe sooner.
I've seen some pretty cool stuff, and I will definitely have a hard time coming up with the final group.
That said, a few points about the game that may affect your status:
I'm typically on the boards throughout the the workday, and I'm usually good for one or more posts on those days. Weekends are more iffy for me, so I might post over the weekend, but not always.
As I said on the Obsidian Portal page, Im not sure how long the campign will run (level-wise) if oyu have a build that won't come together until level 10 or 12, you may want to re-wrok things a bit. Not saying we couldn't take this to 20, but I've never run a PBP that long.
One thing you could do to help me out is tell me how you see your character progressing mechanically. You don't need to list out feat selection by level or anything, but just an overall concept - like Tiasar did with his arcane archer. Knowing he wants to get into that PrC helps me understand a bit of what he wants from the game.
On languages: Common = Ardivandrian. Other major human languages: Bernholder; Kalvarnai, Preghetti
Real-world rough equivalents: Ardivandrian = English; Bernholder = German; Kalvarani = Latin; Preghetti = Italian
Preghetti is spoken in Tulaire and along the Horsehoe Coast, along with Ardivandrian
Well, Tomm plans on training his dogs up to be more effective and hardy in combat, and with some feats to shore up his weaknesses (poor will save and such) he should create a pretty effective front line all by himself.
Also, if we're from a certain area do we get Ardivandrian and our regional language as a bonus? Just curious.
Interest!
Rizzo plans to take a one level dip into Rogue (Acrobat) to pick up class skills a sneak attack and the Expert Acrobat ability. Then stick to Fighter until Level 13 when he picks up Interference ability. After that it's back to Rogue. No duelist planned but he will be picking up all the Focus and Specialization feats for longsword. Also Iron Will at some point.
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Holy Desna, I've been doing some research into how my build is going to end up and I'm so pumped!I just found the best feat ever for an arcane archer. Focused Shot. Plus the spell Arrow Eruption.
Focused Shot is amazing, but that Arrow eruption spell is just CRAZY! Hadn't seen that one before.
I'll review all the submissions again today, probably over lunch an and post where things stand right now.
On languages, I guess it makes sense to have Ardivandrian and your local language. Now, if you're from Ardivandria, you'd need a substitute bonus language. I'd be ok if you picked any of the other human languarges. So you all basically start with at least two languages for free.
Don't forget me! I have the crunch done on an Elven Oracle of Heavens, but have been having a hard time working on a good backstory. I know the personality, but Derek already knows that :)
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Oh wow I totally missed the +6 BAB requirement for arcane archer, that makes things complicated. I did some research and these are my options:
1) Fighter 5/Wizard 2. Not crazy about it, spellcasting abilities are pretty shoddy.
2) Fighter 1/Magus 7. I would probably take the Myrmidarch archetype for magus. A lot to keep track of as well, since magi are fairly complex by themselves. Decent spellcasting progression.
3) Fighter 1/Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 3. Qualifies much later but probably has the greatest spellcasting potential. Very...interesting for sure.
I'm definitely leaning towards 2 or 3. I'm going to hit the drawing board and crunch some numbers, I'll get back to you in a few hours.
And this is why I rarely multiclass. Pathfinder has a dozen ways to make the same type of character, and I'd get lost in the nuances of trying to min/max.
It's much simplier to just pick a class and go! The fun is in the RP anyway, and not using a spreadsheet calculation to do .25 more DPR.
Have you thought about pure archer bard? Feats at 1, 3, 6 would get you your pre-reqs, and you'd have a lot of skills and utility.
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I multiclass on occasion, rarely but probably more often than you do.
Yeah, I'm a math person, so I actually enjoy sitting down and doing some number crunching.
You cannot go "pure archer", as you need to be able to cast arcane spells. That's the entire point of being an arcane archer.
In an effort to avoid clogging up GM Derek's recruitment thread with unrelated conversations, I have created this thread to get some outside opinions. If you have any more comments/thoughts/suggestions/critiques please bring them there. I appreciate any and all input, thanks!