Kingmaker: On the Shoulders of Giants (Inactive)

Game Master JDPhipps

Marcus Cowl wrote:

Yanking someone upside down and covering them in burning tar is just too much fun not to try.

Looks suspiciously at True Neutral alignment.

Marcus is a work in progress. Becoming a decent person is a slow process, occasionally punctuated by inverted burning bodies. :)

That sounds like a lot of fun. I look forward to what the two of you come up with.

Annika is going to lose her wide-eyed wonder at the world very quickly in this party

O.O

Dotted. GM, I forgot you did the 1-1 point buy. The numbers should now be correct.

Regarding the idea with Marcus, send me a PM with what you have in mind. I'm flexible. As before, Kahurangi was planning to use Chief Rongo as his celestial map to guide him to his destiny. Marcus's more incorporeal side to the story may not be so distant from Kahurangi anyway, him having a reincarnated grandfather and being a shaman.

I'll be posting in the evenings during this week as things look like they're about to tee-off. My presence at GenCon means the nights will be my posting windows until Sunday though.

Dotted. GM, I forgot you did the 1-1 point buy. The numbers should now be correct.

Regarding the idea with Marcus, send me a PM with what you have in mind. I'm flexible. As before, Kahurangi was planning to use Chief Rongo as his celestial map to guide him to his destiny. Marcus's more incorporeal side to the story may not be so distant from Kahurangi anyway, him having a reincarnated grandfather and being a shaman.

I'll be posting in the evenings during this week as things look like they're about to tee-off. My presence at GenCon means the nights will be my posting windows until Sunday though.

Yep, numbers are all good! The ability scores are still listed as the old ones in the actual stat block, but the correct ones are in the sidebar and everything is calculated using the correct modifiers. The only thing I noticed is the math on your gear is wrong. You don't the masterwork costs for the spear or chain shirt, and without either of those you'd have 495.1 GP. You can actually afford both and just end up with only your 45.1 GP left, or you can purchase one or the other (or neither, I guess).

PM will be sent soon, likely tomorrow.

Also, I think we're just about ready to start. My girlfriend is coming down to visit this weekend after being out of the country for a few months, so I'll be with her most of the time. I don't want to start a game during that, but once I think we're (close enough to being) ready I'll get it started next week. Most things people need to fix are still very minor, so we're about to set sail!

Sounds good! I'll reduce his GP when I have a moment - I'm at GenCon this week.

I will be out of reach from friday night to tuesday afternoon. I am going to my sister's house and then on to watch the eclipse from inside the path of totality. I may have occasional access on saturday, but I am not planning on posting anything.

Have fun. My state is set for rainy weather for quiet some time.

Just to let you all know, I'm thinking I'll get a starting post for this up either tomorrow or Monday. I'd appreciate it if people could finish up the last edits to characters sheets within like a week, but none of them will prevent us from getting started.

I am done. Today is my last day on the boards for a week or so. I might have a little time late Monday to check in but that will be that till Labor Day.

Hmm, I'll probably wait a few days then before starting so that you won't be left out by the time you get back. Still, expect a start within the next few days everyone! I hope the suspense isn't killing you to much, if at all.

No killing at all, at least not killing the mood or the hype.
When we are all ready, I'll be ready!

I am very much looking forward to this...

Fairly certain that I am done with the mechanical stuff. And I am very ready to get to playing of this game. Azlant is a fascinating place.

Hey guys, I have a question. Would anyone be potentially interested in playing in a second game with this group? I've been working on several ideas for campaigns and I prefer to play with people who I know and can rely on rather than doing open recruitments? Jon and Prophet are both somewhat interested, but I was hoping that some other people might be as well.

Hey guys, I have a question. Would anyone be potentially interested in playing in a second game with this group? I've been working on several ideas for campaigns and I prefer to play with people who I know and can rely on rather than doing open recruitments? Jon and Prophet are both somewhat interested, but I was hoping that some other people might be as well.

Sure! I am pretty much always up for a game :-)

Probably. I definitely like this group. What's your idea?

I have a lot of ideas. The one I currently have the most details worked out for is a game focused around Golarion's Darklands. The party would be mercenaries hired by a drow house that would eventually work their way into dealing with an ancient evil deep beneath the earth that can and will screw over the entire world if it wins. Also, there would be a surprising amount of sea travel and water combat because I have plans to use Lake Nirthran and the Sightless Sea as major plot points, which would be something unusual.

It would be a mid to high level game (starting somewhere around 7-8 and going up into the high teens by the end) and focus pretty exclusively on the Darklands and the cultures deep beneath the surface. The twist is that I'd like everyone to play a race native to or tied to the Darklands, or a race that could reasonably come out of them.

Sounds pretty neat. When you're ready to start on it, put up a closed recruitment thread and link it here. I already have a fun idea for a Serpentfolk Witch or Warpriest.

Indeed, Serpentfolk was what I was considering as well. Not sure of the class yet, was thinking maybe Rogue or Rogue with a small dip into Cleric.

I would definitely be interested. Do you have a link for serpentfolk? I cannot seem to find it...

I worked up a homebrew version a while back. There isn't an official version of Serpentfolk for PCs anywhere that I've been able to find, even third party stuff. I have third party stuff that I like for the other races that don't have Paizo versions.

Well, I have to assume this won't be the usual heroic stuff, am I right?

Don't need to answer since I was going to say yes anyway.

Your list of races have some pretty interesting things in there, like the Ghoul, but this being the Underdark... I mean, the Darklands, I have the duty to ask: is there any way I could convince you to add -obviously nerfed down- Illithids, Half-Illithids or Deep Dragon's Half-Dragons?

Those -Ghoul, Illithoid and Deep Dragonkin- would be my absolute preferences, but in any case count me in.

I have the duty to ask: is there any way I could convince you to add -obviously nerfed down- Illithids, Half-Illithids or Deep Dragon's Half-Dragons?

Those -Ghoul, Illithoid and Deep Dragonkin- would be my absolute preferences, but in any case count me in.

I second the request! Those sound very interesting...

I can at least say that I am interested. I have a GM flake out on me for a Darklands campaign.

Personally, I prefer Illithids as villains. Powerful, frightening, non-nerfed villains.

On the other hand, since this is a higher level game, it could be fun to play an Illithid adventuring party (maybe a half Illithid servant or lesser race thrall or two)

Illithids do not play nice with others, but among themselves they are pretty cooperative.

I'd have to play around with them to see how well they'd fit. Since I'm using the Golarion setting, they don't exist normally, so I'd have to work out their culture and how'd fit into the existing one's in the Darklands. I don't really have any plans to include them right now.

Ghouls I have a version from Kobold Press that's pretty okay. A little higher power than average, but this would be a higher level game so it wouldn't be a huge deal and most Darklands races are a little higher power to begin with anyway. Not sure about Dragonkin or the like, but I might homebrew up a race that's sort of like tieflings, but for dragons instead of fiends.

That being said, I would like a party with some variety in races. Not saying that I want one of each or anything, but some representation from different races and cultures in the Darklands would be more interesting. And I have plans to explore a lot of different cultures in the Darklands including Drow, Dark Folk, Serpentfolk, Ghouls, and a few surprises.

Why would these normally adversarial cultures be working together? Would we be playing outsiders of our various peoples? Or mercenaries? Some other reason?

The current starting idea is that the party would be mercenaries hired by House Misraria, one of the twelve major drow houses. Additionally, the party would be starting in Telderist, a pirate port on the Dying Sea, which is home to a large variety of merchants, pirates, slavers, and other corsairs and cutthroats. It's about as close to a port in the Shackles as you can get without actually going to the Shackles. Possibly more cutthroat since it's mostly run by drow.

Additionally, most civilizations in the Darklands have cordial relationships. Not friendly, but peaceful. Primarily because they know war to mutual extinction benefits no one. And because wealth is pointless if you have no one to trade with. Drow and duergar have peaceful trade relations, dark folk run underground markets that rival Absalom's merchant district, derro trade kidnap victims for alchemical reagent and magical items, serpentfolk tribes that haven't completely degenerated offer ancient treasures for modern conveniences, the ghouls on the south shore peacefully trade their slaves and goods brought from the trade with the surface, and orcs and goblinoids either trade captured good and prisoners from the surface or act as guards. None of them fully like or trust each other, but all of them know it's better to smile and play nice than to start fights, so it's perfectly common to find all the different races together in one city, especially a merchant port.

I have always been fascinated by Illithids and they do make fascinating enemies. I suppose if there was a reason they were a weaker vision of the core race that could be fun.

Alright, so I put together a player's document about the area and the different races and organizations in Telderist. Hopefully that will give a better idea of what I'm trying to set up.

Link

what are Dark Folk?

They're a species descended from humans who fled to the Darklands when Azlant fell. They were changed by a type of creature from the Plane of Shadows to make them into a new species. Look up Dark Stalker, Dark Creeper, Dark Slayer, Dark Caller, Dark Dancer, and Dark Empath for the various castes in their society and their stats and enemies. Basically, each caste is determined by birth since they each have different innate abilities. Slayers are warriors and leaders, Creepers are mooks, Slayers are sorcerers, Callers are summoners and priests, Dancers are bards and messengers, Empaths are psychics

Caligni are the player character version of their race. They're basically a throwback to before the caste system was complete, so they're more versatile and closer to old humans. But they're also super rare, so I put how all Dark Folk are in the area since there aren't enough caligni to have their own social group.

Alright, I set up a private recruitment so we can continue this line of discussion without continuing to fill Jon's thread with off-topic stuff.

Find it here

FYI I am back tomorrow, you ready for us to post Jon?

My Ruins game will be and running first ;-)

I will be, yes. The past several days I've been working on a... well, we'll call it a special project, I guess? It's something I've been tossing around for a while, but this is the first time I've really buckled down and started chugging away at it. I got a little wrapped up in that, but I'm still around. First gameplay post will go up tomorrow!

And away we go!

Which characters made the journey from the Stolen Lands with Marcus?

It was Kahurangi and Gallidren, as both of them kept the same characters (with some rebuilding). So, all three of you have traveled together by my understanding.

I just realized that I forgot to send Kahurangi my ideas about him and his spirit along with yours. I'll do that now.

Marcus, only Derrick has taken up a position amongst the crew. The rest of you are colonists.

Thank you for the clarification.

I am without PC until tomorrow night. Will post then.

No worries! I figured we may have a bit of a staggered start, but that's not a problem for me.

Hey guys, this is a blanket notice going out to all of my games here on the boards. While I am thankfully outside the path of Hurricane Harvey, current projections for Hurricane Irma are sending it barreling up the coast of Florida to sweep much of the eastern coast of the United States. As I live directly on the ocean, I'm already gearing up for a potential evacuation at the moment. While hopefully all I get is a lot of rainfall, it's likely that by the time Irma hits Maryland it will still be at least a Category 3 storm, if not worse. I will have my laptop and such in the case of an evacuation, but I likely won't be able to post with any real schedule or frequency. Moreover, given that I live more or less directly on the ocean, it's more likely than not that if I'm forced to evacuate there will not be a home for me to come back to after the storm passes. The island is not built to withstand that kind of storm, and the last time something anywhere near that deadly swept through, it made an inlet where there used to be a road. My point being, if I'm hit by the hurricane it's very likely I will be off the boards for a long while, or at least my posting will be sparse and intermittent.

I'm sure I'm not the only one following the storm on the news, but I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on my status. It's likely the storm, if it hits me at all, will make landfall here early next week. If you see on the news that the storm has hit Maryland and you don't hear from me, that's probably why. I just wanted to put this message up now as I'm prone to losing power during storms and I didn't want to leave anyone hanging.

Thanks for understanding,
Jon

So, are you guys ready to move on from introductions? I know you guys were introducing yourselves and getting acquainted, but that seems to have died off. I can move us along, but if you all want to continue I'll wait for the time being to give you a little more time. If not, I can give us a little time skip.

I think I'm good to go.

I think that we all have different things going on in different areas of the ship. Get us all in the same place with a loose goal or reason to start working as a group and I'm sure we'll take the ball and run with it.