Lost Lands Mega-Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Grimmy

There will probably be another recruitment in July, after I get some material prepped, and possibly an opportunity to participate in a smaller one-off sooner then that.

The one-off thing would be a tournament style dungeon raid, with two teams starting at different entrances, goal is to survive with the most treasure. Maybe survivors get to take the treasure haul into the big campaign? Could be new players, existing players with alt PC's, or even existing PC's. Not sure yet.

The July recruitment will probably be for a fourth group. The current three groups may get condensed down to two groups. Probably not. Have to see who bites at which plot hooks over the next couple of months. (don't worry no one is getting "fired")

I'm attaching this recruitment thread as a place to hear from any lurkers out there who may want a chance to get in on this campaign at some point.

Think of this as an interest check for now.

Also this may be a place for existing players to recruit for "raids" as the campaign evolves. Still hashing out how all of that is going to work.

Gotta be some lurkers out there with questions...

Copy/Paste from earlier recruitment phase:

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***This is a lead-in adventure for a campaign I will be running in FGG Lost Lands setting. The campaign will proceed through a series of modules. The freedom of the players to select their challenges and direct the course of the plot will increase as the campaign progresses.

When the PC's are high enough level, challenges like the legendary Dungeon of Graves, Rappan Athuk, and the Slumbering City of Tsar will certainly loom before them if that is what they choose to face. However, by that time, there will also have been opportunities to become embroiled in intrigue in the City of Bard's Gate. In my experience, this is the best way to add dimension to a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl.

There will be future recruitment threads at different intervals in the campaign, so participation in this lead-in adventure is not required for those who just want to test their mettle against Rappan Athuk later (or some of the other quests and adventures along the way). However, participants in the lead-in adventures will be given preference for inclusion. Plus, there might be some treasure you won't want to miss :D.***

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OK I wasn't going to post this yet because start of gameplay is a little way's off but I may as well get the interest check rolling.

This will be the third and final group running through my Lost Lands mega-campaign. See "The Wizard's Amulet" and "The Mouth of Doom" for examples of the style and pace and tone of this campaign.

These three parallel adventures serve as proving grounds for characters interested in taking on the challenges of Rappan Athuk, Slumbering Tsar, the lower levels of the Stoneheart Valley Dungeon, and the Cyclopean Deeps of the Underdark.

Details and character creation rules to follow shortly.

This game is lots of fun... you gotta see what is happening over here.

Basically the game is one big sandbox with multiple parties set loose in it. The parties are not by default in competition per se, but they can impact the game world in ways that will be felt by the other parties.

So, if group A kills the dragon and takes it's hoard, that dragon and hoard are no longer there for groups B and C to slay and loot.

The game has an old-school vibe, depending on what that means to you.

The aesthetic is old-school, but we actually play fairly RAW I think, especially since there's time to look things up in PbP I don't resort to "fiat" much.

It's gritty, lowish-magic I guess. I mean there's no WBL fairy or magic-mart, so don't plan out some build that relies on very specific gear by certain levels. There is shopping but you have to meet the right NPC's and stuff.

The world doesn't scale with you and throw you only APL appropriate encounters, you have to ask around and find out if an area is dangerous or not.

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20 Point Buy, bonus feat, no traits. Everything core except some changes to crafting and leadership.

Most feats and spells and archetypes from APG and Ultimate Magic.

I don't use Ultimate Combat except for some archetypes.

I still haven't read ARG.

Let's see what else.

Tieflings and Drow and Aasimar are allowed.

Inquisitors and Cavaliers are in, Magus is in but remember with no traits and no dervish dance, some popular magus builds are unavailable.

If there's something else you're itching to play and you think you have a finger on the pulse of this game and it wouldn't be too idiosyncratic, run it by me.

Just please don't feel bad if I say no, this is the last recruiting I'll probably do for a long time and I'm going to take my time and find really good matches.

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Depending where the openings end up being you will be making at least 2nd Level characters, probably higher.

You will start really poor though.

Oh finally someone gave me a bump, thanks Janna.

I'm interested in playing a quarterstaff master magus archetype, human.
Name of Karl Chillstrike. If 5ok stats to follow.

Do you mean all classes from APG, or only feats/archetypes plus Inquisitor and Cavalier?

I'm interested in playing a quarterstaff master magus archetype, human.

Name of Karl Chillstrike. If 5ok stats to follow.

Staff Magus is cool but before you jump the gun and build a character, think of this as more of an early interest check.

I'm really looking for good matches in playstyle, posting availability, all that.. And we have a couple of months.

Do you mean all classes from APG, or only feats/archetypes plus Inquisitor and Cavalier?

So far from APG we have been doing feats/spells, most archetypes, most stuff like bloodlines and rage powers, but just those two base classes.

I have more specific character creation specs from the earlier recruiting that I could link or copy/paste here but I'm trying to start off with the focus on finding people that buy into the vision of the campaign.

That's why I'm being a little nebulous, sorry :)

No problems. It does sound interesting. And as you say, there is plenty of time...

Thanks for the post, keep the questions coming, and check out what the other groups have been up to in the links above, as well as the campaign wiki (obsidian portal page, very much still in progress).

How would you feel about a Drow Ninja?

chillblame wrote:

I'm interested in playing a quarterstaff master magus archetype, human.

Name of Karl Chillstrike. If 5ok stats to follow.

Staff Magus is cool but before you jump the gun and build a character, think of this as more of an early interest check.

I'm really looking for good matches in playstyle, posting availability, all that.. And we have a couple of months.

Ok, fair enough. I can post several times a day, usually as needed really. How would you like us to demonstrate playing style? Still, plenty of time for that.

How would you feel about a Drow Ninja?

This sounds cool to me, but two things:

1. I have to figure out how to make it fair for the rogues in the other groups, because they didn't have ninja as an option. They did get two traits though, so that might be enough.

2. You would have to re-skin, re-flavor the ninja slightly since there is no eastern/asian locale in this campaign setting.

Ok, fair enough. I can post several times a day, usually as needed really. How would you like us to demonstrate playing style? Still, plenty of time for that.

I guess I would say... it's not so much about you demonstrating anything, it's more about me demonstrating what kind of game I'm offering here, and you guys tell me honestly if you like that sort of thing.

And the best way to do that is keep the questions coming.

Here's the Survey I had people do for the last recruitment:

*What is your posting availability like? What do you like in terms of pace for PbP?

*How familiar are you with the setting? Have you run or played in Necromancer/FGG modules before?

*How many PbP do you currently participate in? Player or GM?

*What does "Old School" mean to you?

*Would you have still been interested in this campaign if it was CRB only? Why or why not?

For the most part there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. "I can only post once a week" is a wrong answer but that's the only one I can think of right now :p

Iron Killer wrote:

How would you feel about a Drow Ninja?

This sounds cool to me, but two things:

1. I have to figure out how to make it fair for the rogues in the other groups, because they didn't have ninja as an option. They did get two traits though, so that might be enough.

2. You would have to re-skin, re-flavor the ninja slightly since there is no eastern/asian locale in this campaign setting.

I'm sure I can some up with something in the fluff to tie it all in.

*What is your posting availability like? What do you like in terms of pace for PbP?

I can post at least once a day and that is usually the pace I would like for PbP games.

*How familiar are you with the setting? Have you run or played in Necromancer/FGG modules before?

I'm not at all familiar with the setting, but I'm a quick learn. I have not played any Necromancer/FGG modules, but it does sound fun.

*How many PbP do you currently participate in? Player or GM?

Currently I am participating in 5 PbPs, some of which are moving much slower then I would like. I have never GMed only ever been a player.

*What does "Old School" mean to you?

Old School to me just makes me think of sitting around someones dinning room table playing D&D, but that just how I got hooked on RP.

*Would you have still been interested in this campaign if it was CRB only? Why or why not?

I feel like a real noob for saying this but I'm not sure what CRB is?

CRB=Core Rule Book

When I started playing PbP I was joining games that were Core Rule Book only. There were a small group of us that felt using only core rule book instead of the whole dang PRD was a good way to get a more classic DnD feel that we wanted.

Now that I run my own games, I open up a lot of stuff from other books because I like the ability to customize more, so every fighter for example is not the same as every other fighter mechanically.

But I still like the classic old-school vibe and I'm looking for other people that are interested in a more gritty game.

DM Grimmy wrote:

Iron Killer wrote:

How would you feel about a Drow Ninja?

This sounds cool to me, but two things:

1. I have to figure out how to make it fair for the rogues in the other groups, because they didn't have ninja as an option. They did get two traits though, so that might be enough.

2. You would have to re-skin, re-flavor the ninja slightly since there is no eastern/asian locale in this campaign setting.

I'm sure I can some up with something in the fluff to tie it all in.

OK and you think it is fair the rogue players got two traits and you don't? I think it is fair. Ninja is better then rogue and drow is a nice race.

Iron Killer wrote:

DM Grimmy wrote:

Iron Killer wrote:

How would you feel about a Drow Ninja?

This sounds cool to me, but two things:

1. I have to figure out how to make it fair for the rogues in the other groups, because they didn't have ninja as an option. They did get two traits though, so that might be enough.

2. You would have to re-skin, re-flavor the ninja slightly since there is no eastern/asian locale in this campaign setting.

I'm sure I can some up with something in the fluff to tie it all in.

OK and you think it is fair the rogue players got two traits and you don't? I think it is fair. Ninja is better then rogue and drow is a nice race.

That's fine with me, it just means that there will be less work I have to do get started.

CRB=Core Rule Book

When I started playing PbP I was joining games that were Core Rule Book only. There were a small group of us that felt using only core rule book instead of the whole dang PRD was a good way to get a more classic DnD feel that we wanted.

Now that I run my own games, I open up a lot of stuff from other books because I like the ability to customize more, so every fighter for example is not the same as every other fighter mechanically.

But I still like the classic old-school vibe and I'm looking for other people that are interested in a more gritty game.

I'm not the biggest fan of going straight core, but if that's what the GM wants I will accommodate because in the end it's the GM's game, or at least that's how I feel.

Here's the Survey I had people do for the last reI'm Onement:

*What is your posting availability like? What do you like in terms of pace for PbP?

*How familiar are you with the setting? Have you run or played in Necromancer/FGG modules before?

*How many PbP do you currently participate in? Player or GM?

*What does "Old School" mean to you?

*Would you have still been interested in this campaign if it was CRB only? Why or why not?

For the most part there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. "I can only post once a week" is a wrong answer but that's the only one I can think of right now :p

1/ at least once a day. I don't mind 2 or more tines though.

2/ I do not recall ever playing or reading the setting, though I have heard about them.

3/ I have been in 10 plus games, as a player. 4 of those are active at the moment. I have not dm'd any pbp, but I have dm'd many table top games.

4/ Old school. (sigh). I have been roleplaying since 1981, and I have played every edition of d&d printed, except 4th which I never liked and d&d next which I don't even know is out. This doesn't even cover all the other rpg systems I've played. I was there when old school was new.

sorry that came out a bit preachee.

Old school to me is when the game is more free form, the rules are a guide and a scafold, not a strait jacket. And it's fun.

5/ if the game was just crb, thats ok. I do like the other stuff though but I'm not fanatical about it.

Excellent, thanks guys that helps me get a feel for who is out there.

Something that has to be said about this campaign....

It gives you a lot of freedom, so it requires players who want to actively engage with it or there's a danger of things stalling out at major decision points.

It's nothing like a linear AP with blinking yellow lights saying "go here next".

I don't need every single player to be a plot driving force, but I need a few to cover different areas.

Things I'm looking for right now:

Someone who really likes keeping campaign journals.

Someone who really likes mapping and exploration.

Someone who really likes gathering intelligence and information.

Well I know I said it was early but I'd be keen to see this staff magus and this drow ninja if you guys feel like rolling them up (just remember there's a long way to go before I announce who gets in, and only a few spots.)

Well, I like all of the above.

I'm really stuck on a grim elven commando alchemist type, since you stole Dervish Dance.

I can generally post about 3/day, though I don't talk to myself. I wait for other people to post.

I don't know anything about the setting, nor do I have the funds currently to get the campaign book.

I am new to PbP, and I'm in A Tale of Two Worlds currently.

Old school. I started roleplaying 2 years ago, and yet I can honestly say my favorite system is 2e. Old school means ridiculously impossible enemies. It means crying. It means horned devils at level five. It means free form. It means role-playing, rather than roll-playing. And most of all? It means to me Keep on the Borderlands and the Randal Morn AP.

I would still be interested if it was CRB only. The rest of the Core stuff is cool, don't get me wrong, but I was still entranced by Pathfinder when I only had the CRB and Bestiary.

Dotting.

\

Old school. I started roleplaying 2 years ago, and yet I can honestly say my favorite system is 2e. Old school means ridiculously impossible enemies. It means crying. It means horned devils at level five. It means free form. It means role-playing, rather than roll-playing. And most of all? It means to me Keep on the Borderlands and the Randal Morn AP.

That is some cool stuff to hear from a guy plying only two years!

1)I try and post at least once a day and the pace of the PbP should move somewhat slowly so it doesn’t die.
2)Never heard of this setting before.
3)I am a player in one right now. I only discovered this board about two weeks ago but I have over a year's worth of RP experience.
4)”Old School” means it maybe more lethal but it is more satisfying to overcome impossible odds.
5)I’d still be interested because even without all the options, players should still be able to have fun with whatever is given to them.
Also, I'd be willing to be the party's record keeper. I think I'm going to go with a classic concept: The not so intelligent human barbarian.

Cool guys. I ask what old school means to you because I haven't been around long enough to be a card carrying grognard. I'm 34. Played 1e first, as a player, and started DM'ing with the BECMI sets. I went straight from 2e to PF though, after a loooong hiatus, and while I wouldn't go back to the older rules there is a certain vibe I really miss so I try to recapture it.

About pace, RL can keep me from posting everyday at times like anyone else, but in general I can post a few times from work, and in my free time I like to no-life this game pretty hard.

I don't like to put it in terms of an explicit posting requirement since RL obviously must come first, but in my games it's pretty typical to see people posting at least once a day with flurries of posting happening when people happen to be online at the same time.

I'm not looking for a hard commitment to a particular posting schedule so much as I'm looking for people who think it sounds like fun for the PbP to accelerate into an experience almost like being at the table together, when it is in the cards.

@Grimmy: You sound close enough to be a grognard. Heck maybe I'm not at 39, I started with Moldvay's Basic. If I am, I'll try to scare you up a card.

2e does not exist. ;)

I can post numerous times a day.

Interested in a martial chain fighter of some kind, though Combat Maneuvers seem to be difficult to make work, kusarigamas seem to defy rules definition and the spiked chain damage is fairly suckful...

As for the Campaign, I don't know much about it. If it is Lost Lands then it is FGG, who purport to be oldskool. Sounds good to me, and I like vying with other adventurers.

It's no bother to stat up the staff magus I have in mind. I'll do it soonish. I won't do a detailed bio as I don't know the campaign background yet.

If I stat up my Drow Ninja it will only be on paper as of now so I can quickly post him later, I've got to many unused characters in my alias as it is.

I would really like to become part of a sandbox campaign. I've got a couple of characters that come with their own agendas that I'd like to play.

What are your restrictions involving alignment and how nicely do we need to play with others? I would really like to play this character as a Cthulhu cultist trying to bring the elder gods back to the world. This character can get along with other party members but is openly aberrant. Her goals are to convert shrines/temples to the elder gods (i.e. take over evil temples and rededicate them - not kill good gods) and/or get followers (cultists).

Please let me know if you are open to this type of character. She is currently an oracle, but could be a sorcerer, wizard, cleric or summoner just as easily.

That's fine with me, it just means that there will be less work I have to do get started.

I hear you, I hate picking traits. I usually like having options but traits just never sat right with me somehow.

Well, I like all of the above.

I'm really stuck on a grim elven commando alchemist type, since you stole Dervish Dance.

I can generally post about 3/day, though I don't talk to myself. I wait for other people to post.

I don't know anything about the setting, nor do I have the funds currently to get the campaign book.

Can you tell me a little more about this character? Alchemist has not been on the table so far but in the back of my mind I am always thinking that the right one could fit.

It's a class that can easily produce characters that are too steampunky or too super-heroey for this campaign and this setting.

But if you could pull it off more gritty pulp fantasy that's another story.

Don't worry about funds to buy the campaign book, they won't be printing it for at least another year, probably two :D

I'm building a wiki page on Obsidian Portal with all the info you'll need.

It's in the early stages but the link is up above at the top.

Also, check the campaign info tab I'll be updating that with more info. Right now just the pantheon, and the profile of one of the major cities.

1)I try and post at least once a day and the pace of the PbP should move somewhat slowly so it doesn’t die.

I would like to hear more about this. I am relatively new to PbP and I've heard this warning a couple of times. Do you guys really think a PbP game can die because it goes too fast? The first ones I tried as a player died because they went slow.

My games I run are pretty fast, but someone told me "PbP is a marathon, not a sprint."

Still, with a place like Rappan Athuk lying there waiting in this campaign, wouldn't you want to level up fast and head for the top of mount everest?

As for the Campaign, I don't know much about it. If it is Lost Lands then it is FGG, who purport to be oldskool. Sounds good to me, and I like vying with other adventurers.

It is FGG. That is all I have been running for the past year or two. I even put my homebrew setting on hold for the time being.

It's no bother to stat up the staff magus I have in mind. I'll do it soonish. I won't do a detailed bio as I don't know the campaign background yet.

Keep an eye on the obsidian portal page for campaign background. Email me if you want an invite to join the page.

gmail is mooredm80

And ask questions if you have any, I just don't know where to start :D

If I stat up my Drow Ninja it will only be on paper as of now so I can quickly post him later, I've got to many unused characters in my alias as it is.

ok, if you do stat him up maybe paste a stat block in a spoiler or something so I can check him out? Sounds pretty cool.

I would really like to become part of a sandbox campaign. I've got a couple of characters that come with their own agendas that I'd like to play.

What are your restrictions involving alignment and how nicely do we need to play with others? I would really like to play this character as a Cthulhu cultist trying to bring the elder gods back to the world. This character can get along with other party members but is openly aberrant. Her goals are to convert shrines/temples to the elder gods (i.e. take over evil temples and rededicate them - not kill good gods) and/or get followers (cultists).

Please let me know if you are open to this type of character. She is currently an oracle, but could be a sorcerer, wizard, cleric or summoner just as easily.

It means a lot that you express interest in playing a sandbox but this particular character would be really tricky to fit into this game. The setting has no cthulhu mythos stuff in it's cosmology and I'm a little embarrassed to say I don't know much about the mythos myself. I'm a big fan of Clark Ashton Smith and I know he and Lovecraft had a mutual respect and a creative relationship.

As for alignment, I have allowed evil alignments at home with players I trust to pull it off in a non-disruptive way but I'm way more hesitant in PbP with strangers.

If I did get to know someone good enough to allow an evil alignment for this game, I think it would have to be Lawful Evil to give the character a strong enough reason to work with the party to oppose Orcus.

Oh hell, I somehow messed up that line. It was supposed to be so it shouldn't move too slowly. Sorry for the confusion

Oh ok, haha. Some people actually do think that though :/

Well, I have two characters that I really like:

A tiefling Bladebound Kensai who is in love with his sword (and vice versa). The sword, of course, can project a Major Image of an elven woman.

Or the commando type mentioned above. Mainly, he'd be wearing leather armor, would have an eyepatch and crew cut, has a massive sword and some bomb containers slung across a bandoleer.

The alchemist seems really cool. The way you envision him, would it work work in a setting like this? I picture this setting a lot earlier in time period then golarion in terms of society and development. It's more dark ages or early middle-ages then late medieval or age of sail.

I may be using the wrong terms, I'm not a history buff. Put it like this, I don't have any steam-punk or magitech or firearms going on. There isn't even a very complex feudal system. There is one Grand Duchy with Baronies within it, but that's as many tiers as there are to the feudal system. There aren't really any lesser nobles beneath Baron's, everyone else is pretty much a serf. And a Barony is small, pretty much just one Manor house with outlying villages. That's just the Grand Duchy, they are like the pinnacle of modern civilization, but the areas where the adventuring occurs are waaayyyyy less developed then that.

The age when merchants can become powerful and influential in their own right is very new, previously you were either royalty or you weren't. It was just small Kingdoms.

Now there are a few independent cities that are self-governing and don't swear any allegiance to some King or pay fealty, but it's very frontier and very "points of light".

Even the major roads between cities are impossibly dangerous to travel unless you join a well guarded merchant caravan (or you are someone important with some kind of elite escort.) A low-level party would take their life in their hands just by attempting to travel by themselves from one city to the next one about 150 miles away.

It means a lot that you express interest in playing a sandbox but this particular character would be really tricky to fit into this game. The setting has no cthulhu mythos stuff in it's cosmology and I'm a little embarrassed to say I don't know much about the mythos myself. I'm a big fan of Clark Ashton Smith and I know he and Lovecraft had a mutual respect and a creative relationship.

I understand. Let me know if you see a way to integrate her. She's not looking to bring back the Cthulhu mythos per se, simply the crazy scary formless beings of the outer planes. Golarion has them, but am not familiar with the world you are running.