Lost Lands Mega-Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Grimmy

Think qlipoth creatures.

I'm reallizing there's a lot of stuff that should have gone in the first post --- so much so that I may have to reopen a fresh recruitment page sometime before June.

But for now I will keep dropping things here as they occur to me. Maybe someone will come across it and something will click.

I basically have the Ninja stated, but I can't seem to find your post on starting gold so I can equip him.

Not your fault, I never posted starting gold, I just said "You start very poor."

The other players started at level 2 with 150 GP.

If this ends up being a fresh new group that will be the same.

If we end up with an opening in the other group after we shuffle some things around in July, you would start a bit higher, probably 3rd level with 900 GP. (Then the party would probably toss you some gear from their stash.)

I'm excited to see him, I'm a major drow geek. I want to see this elven commando guy too. And the staff magus.

Stuff that probably should have been in first post, Part 1:

1. First off, I don't know if there is anyone else out there like me, but I am a gamer who is hooked on the crunch of pathfinder and loves the mechanics, but I am nostalgic for the feel and vibe and grit of old-school AD&D.

If anyone out there is the same way, that is more important to me then having the exact right classes I asked for and stuff, so if you had your heart set on a certain concept and I'm not allowing it, but you otherwise feel really enthusiastic about an old-school, player driven sandbox campaign, please make yourself known.

2. I chose not to mention it because I wanted to emphasize finding people based on play-style and post-availability rather than name-brand recognition, but it probably needs to be said: Rappan Athuk is in this campaign. The mother of all mega-dungeons.

I don't advertise the thread titles as Rappan Athuk, because I am running it as I believe it was intended to be run, as a site-based adventure location within a larger setting. It won't be as simple as clearing level after level of a mega-dungeon, there is a world out there living and breathing. A wilderness to explore, a detailed city.

A story will grow organically through play, and you will have specific reasons to enter the mega-dungeon, in multiple forays. This is how a mega-dungeon works best. I have not seen Rappan Athuk run this way in PbP before.

Not your fault, I never posted starting gold, I just said "You start very poor."

The other players started at level 2 with 150 GP.

If this ends up being a fresh new group that will be the same.

If we end up with an opening in the other group after we shuffle some things around in July, you would start a bit higher, probably 3rd level with 900 GP. (Then the party would probably toss you some gear from their stash.)

Well being this poor shouldn't make buying to difficult so I should be able to post his stat block later today.

If 3rd level becomes an option I'll just have to do a little editing, but I should be able to post it later that day or maybe the next.

Sorry about my delay with thexstaff magus, life is being intrusive, it will be up soon.

Oh no, there's no rush at all guys, seriously. Nothing will happen until July.

(Unless someone quits or dies I guess).

Just mentioning that the characters sound cool, not goading you to stat them up in a hurry.

Hey there guys! Jeb here from Valley of the Shrines. I know Grimmy is saying this is just a preliminary interest check, but I'm kind of excited for your ideas. Particularly the staff magus. I know everyone likes playing a scimitar-wielding, dervish-dancing, spellstrike-making magus; but the first archtype that jumped at me when I discovered the class was staff master. I think people really underestimate the potential in that class. Plus, a mage using a staff is sooooo iconic that a mage who whoops ass with said staff is such a cool idea! I'm even looking forward to seeing that build (and comparing it to one I made a while back).

Yeah, I know right? And I'm guessing from his name he uses frostbite or whatever it's called instead of shocking grasp so that's fresh for a change.

Yep, its cool. (Dodge attacks)
character should be up in under an hour.

I see the character as a campaign recorder, as I don't mind writing. I'm going to give a background. If you want bits changed, Grimmy, just yell.

HP roll

2d8 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5

(sigh)
Using standard HP conventions that's

8 (max first level) + 5 (at least half plus one) + 5 (as prior) + 3 (CON) fir a total of 21

If you use a different HP determination let me know please

Chillblame here.
Here is my character Karl Chillstrike, a Staff Magus with a penchant for cold spells.
The character crunch is on the profile, but here is his background.

Future build idea is to get weapon spec at fifth, and improved trip, tripping staff and greater trip.

We do max HP at 1st level and roll from then on, re-roll 1's.

I haven't looked at the crunch yet but it's already feeling like a shoe-in to me Chillblame. Pretty sure I can fit you in somewhere come July, especially if you're committed to the campaign journalling, and you're up for a serious challenge.

Questions.

1.Are you comfortable in non-linear adventures that require self-determination? This is not really anything like an AP, the story isn't written yet. At some points you have to decide what interests you and what you want to pursue. This can lead to option paralysis for some players who aren't used to a sandbox. I have a few players who really engage with the environment and drive the story forward, but I need a couple more to really drive things.

2.Do you have a problem with things like tracking ammunition and rations and using the encumbrance rules? I realize many people are hand-waving these things because they find them dull, but I really love the resource management/attrition/survival aspect of the game. It was close to the heart of the game the way I was playing it growing up. How much treasure can I get out of this dungeon and still be able to survive the trip back to town? That sort of thing. It's not for everyone, but it's too important to me to let go.

3.Do you have a problem with not being guaranteed any kind of WBL figures? I can't call the campaign low-magic exactly. You can find things that are way over WBL but they tend to be more flavorful items that people usually neglect in favor of the "big six". If you like to plan your build around specific items you may be frustrated. Crafting and shopping are limited compared to a standard modern pathfinder game.

4.Where do you see this character being most interested in going at low-mid levels

-Wilderness Exploration
-Dungeon Crawl
-Cleansing Defiled Holy Sites

?

and at mid-high levels

-Mega-Dungeon
-Underdark
-Excavating Ruined Ancient City

?

also how interested are you in urban intrigue throughout career?

Karl - question 5

is he cute? and does he have any connection to the Academy magika in Reme?

That's actually a good question.

Questions.

1.Are you comfortable in non-linear adventures that require self-determination? This is not really anything like an AP, the story isn't written yet. At some points you have to decide what interests you and what you want to pursue. This can lead to option paralysis for some players who aren't used to a sandbox. I have a few players who really engage with the environment and drive the story forward, but I need a couple more to really drive things.

Yes, I have played in several like that. A political/factions briefing would be handy. I enjoy this game type though.

2.Do you have a problem with things like tracking ammunition and rations and using the encumbrance rules? I realize many people are hand-waving these things because they find them dull, but I really love the resource management/attrition/survival aspect of the game. It was close to the heart of the game the way I was playing it growing up. How much treasure can I get out of this dungeon and still be able to survive the trip back to town? That sort of thing. It's not for everyone, but it's too important to me to let go.

I have no problem tracking rations and ammo, or encumbrance.

3.Do you have a problem with not being guaranteed any kind of WBL figures? I can't call the campaign low-magic exactly. You can find things that are way over WBL but they tend to be more flavorful items that people usually neglect in favor of the "big six". If you like to plan your build around specific items you may be frustrated. Crafting and shopping are limited compared to a standard modern pathfinder game.

What are your views on crafting disposable items, like potions or scrolls. Also I have taken craft(carpentry) so I could make myself quarter staffs if I needed (non magical of course). In truth while certain items would be good, the character is OK in a low magic setting. One thought though. One of the Staff Magus's abilities involves using magical staves. Do these turn up?

But in the main, it doesn't bother me.

4.Where do you see this character being most interested in going at low-mid levels

-Wilderness Exploration
-Dungeon Crawl
-Cleansing Defiled Holy Sites

?

and at mid-high levels

-Mega-Dungeon
-Underdark
-Excavating Ruined Ancient City

?

also how interested are you in urban intrigue throughout career?

For low to mid levels, wilderness and dungeon crawls. I see Karl as not really religious, but having said that we will support his allies if they want to do this.

Mid to high levels
All of the above, Er but the third one. That sounds interesting. Of course the mega dungeon sounds very good.

As to Urban intrigue
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.......
(as you can tell I like that one. And it's rare even in table top games in my experience)

Karl - question 5

is he cute? and does he have any connection to the Academy magika in Reme?

That's actually a good question.

Um...

Well, Karl is quite good looking, but with his charisma, he tends to stumble on his words a bit. Maybe a bit shy when outside his expertise.

As to the second part, I would say his original master (Maximus the Munificent) would have had ties to the the academy, As would my latest master (it could be how they knew each other).
I am not certain at this point if Karl does though. Let me think on it. I take it there in information on the academy in the wiki? Or could you give me a run down.

Yeah I meant the second question about the magic academy. Lol.

Janna has a magic academy in Reme, which is a city within a regional superpower, the Grand Duchy of Waymarch. This area has a feudal system, so we're talking about baronies and Manor Houses and Fiefdoms.

It's sort of just off the map where all my material has prepped so right now it's just good for backstories, but the material detailing it is being kickstarted and will probably be out in a little over a year.

In the area where the adventuring is going down, the major city is Bard's Gate, and this one is detailed down to every little shop. It has more of a frontier feel. There defensive forces are supplemented by Waymarch, Reme is a trade partner, but they don't tithe any royalty or noble. It's a free city of trades and crafts guilds. The idea of independent merchants becoming powerful and influential in their own right is new in the world, and Bard's Gate is where they are thriving.

It's very liberal, but it's religious tolerance has made it a slight hotbed for evil cults.

Or you could be from somewhere smaller, but it sounded like you were from a city.

Crafting consumables works like normal.

There will be ways to get specific things crafted or even to learn the other crafting feats yourself, but you have to actually make the right connections with certain NPC's, it's not just "City of Size X has all items up to Value Y, cross off the gold, pick whatever you want from ultimate equipment."

Being from bards gate sounds perfect. My parents could be merchants there (they probably don't like me right now).

Hello, I ran across your thread and was intrigued. I will admit, I don't seem to have as much passion for old school games as you because I am a young "whippersnapper" (age 20) who wasn't alive then. Yet I have played a variety of games that touched or were nostalgic of the previous generation. I also have searched for player driven games, eventually landing on pathfinder. Yours seem to very open, an aspect I appreciate and would like to partake in. I also am play a very, "go get them" personality in my characters, and I think that would lend itself well to this campaign.

You posed some questions to us earlier in the thread.

*What is your posting availability like? What do you like in terms of pace for PbP?
At least three times a day. Yet I to also don't like talking to myself.

*How familiar are you with the setting? Have you run or played in Necromancer/FGG modules before?
No, while I am not new to pathfinder, I couldn't be called a veteran

*How many PbP do you currently participate in? Player or GM?
I am not currently in a Pbp as my first one died and left a bad taste in mouth. This one seems worth the risk.

*What does "Old School" mean to you?
Brutality, tactics, yet a unique form of contentment.

*Would you have still been interested in this campaign if it was CRB only? Why or why not?
I would still be excited for it, as the core of the game is what draws me But I enjoy fighting various enemies, so I'm not opposed to additions.

You also went on describing the type of person you wanted in the game. Someone who basically stopped and smelled the roses, really immersed themselves in the game. To be honest I do this too much in other games that don't cater that, so I lose some of the joy playing. The only thing I would have trouble with is creating a well crafted journal. I do too much of that for school to put 100 percent into anything else. XD

Enough of that, lets get down to the basics. The character I would want to play would be a female sorcerer with a twin brother. Their father cast them out from home saying this. "Both of you can become great people. Leshanda, your fierce personality and natural gifts could make you a great warrior. Nex, your intellect could bring great wealth to the family's merchant business. Both of you must leave from here, and support each other. In 10 years I will decide who was the most successful, and make them my heir." With determined nods, the pair left the safety of their home. Basically a sorcerer with a twin brother who's trying to start a company.

Let me know if you have questions.

20 years old is most definitely not a problem.

I am 34. I came back to RPG's after a very long hiatus in order to spend time with my little brother who is 18 years younger than me. So my first pathfinder group were 13-15 year olds. They were very good at first, and got to level 12 in my homebrew game which is similar to this Necromancer/Frog God setting, because I hadn't played since AD&D, so my game was pretty tough. They were really into their characters and wanted them to survive, so they played smart.

After a year and a half or so, they discovered the message boards and started reading optmization guides and everything, so they got really into the character building side of the game and wanted to try out a lot of builds. This caused our long-running campaign to crap out. We decided to let one of them try DM'ing, so he ran Rise of the Runelords for them.

At that point I realized this wasn't just something I wanted to do to spend time with my little brother, I was hooked on the hobby. So I found an adult gaming group and joined as a player, another Rise of the Runelord's game. I also tried PFS. I didn't enjoy any of it at all. My brother and his friends didn't enjoy their Runelord's game at all either.

At this point, I had been reading Slumbering Tsar Saga, so I tried running that for them, but it was too hard. They threw all their best munchkin builds at Tsar but it TPK'd them over and over.

Then a funny thing happened. They decided that AD&D was cool and retro and asked me to run that. Amazingly I said no. As happy as I was that they were interested in old-school, I was hooked on the crunch and mechanics of pathfinder. What I really wanted to do was get an old-school feel with the new school rules.

So they went off without me again and bought old used copies of AD&D with the covers falling off. They played it for a while, maybe 6 months or so. Then one day they saw my huge Rappan Athuk book sitting on the shelf and couldn't resist. "I thought Necromancer/Frog God stuff was too hard for you guys?" I said. But they wanted to try.

Guess what? They kicked ass! 6 months of training in AD&D had whipped them into shape. They were playing like they did when they were 13-15 again. They are 16-18 now and still do much better in my games then the adults that I run for.

You know what else? Bill Webb, the guy who wrote Rappan Athuk, runs games for his kids, and his daughter who is like 13 I think runs games at conventions and she is supposedly even more deadly than Bill.

Check out this quote from Bill Webb's Book of Dirty Tricks:

Anyone who has met my children knows that even at 11 years old, they are formidable players. Heck, Dennis Sustare sat out a game at a convention because my daughter was not playing and it worried him that the other (adult) players would get him killed.

Now I know at 20 years old you are not a kid, you are an adult, but what I'm saying is, age has nothing to do with player skill, or even play-style necessarily.

I for one will be happy to have someone who's even younger than myself around :P At 24 I still feel rather young in the company of all these gaming veterans! But it's an extremely inviting group, you'll feel right at home in no time!

Toughest game I ever played in was tomb of horrors. I played through it with a party of eight (I played a fighter/thief elf). Awesome game. We tpk'd in the last encounter, demi liches are rough.
I would covert it to pathfinder, but now a days I not certain people like killer dungeons. I could be wrong of course.

You posed some questions to us earlier in the thread.

*What is your posting availability like? What do you like in terms of pace for PbP?
At least three times a day. Yet I to also don't like talking to myself.

Yeah someone else mentioned that earlier and I thought it was a good point. It would be absurd to have a posting requirement that demanded players post just to get there daily post in, if there was nothing they wanted to say or do. That would be silly :)

What I try to do is always leave something in the thread that you can interact with. So if you visit the thread and no one else is feeling chatty there might still be something from me in the form of a skill check or something like that.

Like anyone else, I have times when life keeps me from posting, but I have a job that generally allows me to post from work most days.

I don't think I will ever set a hard posting limit, what I am interested in is finding people with a high posting availability and enthusiasm about participating actively. If I talk about posting rate in terms of posts per day or posts per week it's only for the sake of clarity because different people may have different ideas about what is slow and what is fast.

Right now I have a mix of players across three groups who have a mix from medium to high posting availability. I am looking at juggling them a bit some time in July so that those who want to relax the pace a little can be grouped together and those who want to push forward won't be held back. Based on the feedback I'm getting, and the statistics I see in the characters tabs about post-counts, I think I have something like ten players who will want the slow pace, so I will try to get them all together. That will leave we with two fast groups who have a couple vacancies. So I am only recruiting for new players with high posting availability who want to play a pretty fast game.

You mentioned three posts a day, that sounds great. I would say even the ability to check the thread 3 times a day is enough. We have flurries of activity when something exciting is happening or people happen to be online at the same time, but in between those flurries there are stretches where one post a day is enough if you can make that post stick.

By making a post stick what I mean is, make sure you are caught up on reading the other posts first and post something that makes sense and isn't incomplete. One post a day is not enough if you are posting "I check for traps", and I post "Ok roll perception." and 24 hours later you post with your dice roll. Then "You find a trap." 24 hours later, "I want to disarm the trap." "Ok roll disable device." 24 hours later, you post with the roll. And so on. But if you post thoughtfully, and check back to see if your post needed any clarification, this problem doesn't happen.

I for one will be happy to have someone who's even younger than myself around :P At 24 I still feel rather young in the company of all these gaming veterans! But it's an extremely inviting group, you'll feel right at home in no time!

yes we are very inviting if everyone would just stop picking on me....:)

(see GM...emoticon!)

Would you allow me to play a non-orc witch doctor?

That's an odd class choice.

Gonna multiclass into Invuln Rager. His main deal is that every level, he performs a ritual and solders and/or nails metal plates into his skin .

That's interesting, and sounds effective.

Will probs be NE or CN.

At my table games I allow evil PC's but I have to know the person. I would be seriously nervous about taking an evil PC in PbP.

I've seen LE work well in this campaign, since the big bad is Orcus who is CE (team demon).

Even CN can be tricky here, because Orcus and his lieutenants know they don't have to shift a CN character too far to own them in the abyss. I think out of 18 players I have 1 CN. That player will have to be careful in some situations and flat-out avoid some others. For example there is huge evil city where any time you sleep within its walls your alignment shifts closer to CE, and when you reach CE Orcus owns you. If that happened I can think of some cool ways to handle it instead of just "hand over your character sheet, you're an NPC now.", but I would have to really know that player.

No witch doctor for this campaign Tsiron Ragmar, but you seem to put a lot of thought into your characters. They seem unique and vivid.

*How familiar are you with the setting? Have you run or played in Necromancer/FGG modules before?
No, while I am not new to pathfinder, I couldn't be called a veteran

I ask this one for a couple reasons.

1.) I don't really want any players who have run or played in or read much of the material I'm offering, because meta-game or not, it takes some of the fun out of it.

I have a couple players who have read some of it, but they are working with me via PM to seed some plot devices to drive the story and stuff. Once that serves it's purpose, we're pretty much keeping them away from areas they know spoilers for.

At the same time though, it is a plus if you have some awareness of what an achievement it would be to survive a dungeon like Rappan Athuk.

I want players with a strong drive to succeed, and if that can come from something like being invested in the character that's perfect, but I want everyone to understand the reputation this publisher has and be up for the challenge.

Here's a copy/paste from a PM last night that I think is relevant:

Here's the thing, I hope this makes sense. I am a huge fan of 3PP. All I have ever run is 3PP and Homebrew. But here's the thing.

At the bottom level of Rappan Athuk is Orcus. As of now, to my knowledge, there are two groups that report they have defeated him. When people probed them for details on the Necromancer Forums, it was revealed that they both used some combination of high point buy, 3.5 splat books, questionable 3PP stuff, munchkiney exploits, weird house rules and powerful stuff like gestalt classing.

So as far as the Necromancer community is concerned, now one has ever made a credible claim that they beat Orcus in a RAW game. Do you see where I'm going with this?

No matter how big a fan I am of a 3PP and even if they are known to be super balanced, even if the guy who wrote the feat works for Paizo... I just want you guys to have a shot at being the first to be able to say you beat Orcus and you did it RAW.

That player had asked me about third party feats, but the same goes for things that I consider power creep in PF. That's why you don't see summoners in my game for example.

Well I never thought I would be making any official decisions this early, but I feel confident saying that Chillblame has a seat reserved for Karl Chillblame.

Karl do you think we should do any more work to weave your merchant family into the fabric of Bard's Gate to set the stage for future intrigue?

How much do you want to invent yourself versus using what's already in the book for NPC's?

Having family as a potential foil/ally would be interesting either way (especially if you could do both).

Weave away, and if you want me to do any of the writing for it, just ask. I am assuming merchant families are a big part of the intrigue in the city, so that's good.

What do you mean by invent myself. I don't have access to any source books. I happy for any suggestions.

Glad to see your PM. I'm very interested in tossing out some ideas for a future campaign. I have been running 2 PbP campaigns, but one stopped a few weeks ago. Just wasn't able to keep things moving with several players having real life commitments come up close together. Was glad to see it survive for over a year. Anyhow, on to details here.

*What is your posting availability like? What do you like in terms of pace for PbP?
- Once per day during the week is very doable for me. I can post more often, but weekends can be tough. Usually at least 1 / weekend.

*How familiar are you with the setting? Have you run or played in Necromancer/FGG modules before?
- I've read through and prepped the first 'volume' of The Slumbering Tsar Saga as background / plot line for one of my campaigns.

*How many PbP do you currently participate in? Player or GM?
- I currently run one PbP as GM

*What does "Old School" mean to you?
- Dwarves and lots of underground adventures. I didn't play DnD of any kind until 4th ed and then Pathfinder just in the last four or so years. I grew up on Games Workshops 'HeroQuest,' which Milton Bradly published. That simplified dungeon is really what I think of when I think old school. After HeroQuest I discovered Shadowrun, which was my RPG of choice.

*Would you have still been interested in this campaign if it was CRB only? Why or why not?
- I would have still been interested. Mainly because it would give me an excuse to play a classic dwarf fighter type.

Good to see you Lareg!

It is not so much a future campaign as an ongoing campaign with openings in July.

Your answers above look solid and both character ideas appeal to me and fit the vibe nicely. It's going to be a long and drawn out recruitment, so keep making your interest and presence known.

Ask questions, check out the wiki, look at some of the ongoing gameplay thread to see if my DM style is a fit for you.

I'm trying to fill these last spots with people who will be really excited to be in the game and engage with it deeply.

BTW I am looking for the following:

*Campaign Chroniclers (IC or OOC campaign journals, could be anything from cinematic creative writing with play by play descriptions of batles to simple notes and lists of names and places. Any kind of record keeping.)

*Mappers/Explorers (Could be someone who wants to keep their own maps or just someone who wants to really engage with the provided maps, plotting courses for exploration, making note of place names and distances. Basically someone who will keep the party from going off in the wrong direction and wasting time, or stumbling into dangerous areas.)

*Intelligence/Information Gatherers (This means more then someone with high charisma or skill ranks in social skills. This means someone interested in finding out what there is to be known about people and places by actively engaging with the environment in order to help the group set and achieve goals and avoid hazards.)

All of the above would involve interacting with content on the Obsidian Portal page, where info remains accessible and visible to all instead of buried in threads and profiles and forgotten.

I know some people post from work and may have sites other than Paizo blocked. It's nice not having to go offsite for gameplay. I know I dropped out of one PbP when they required me to join a facebook group page.

I don't need everyone actively participating in the wiki/obsidian portal at all times, but I need at least a couple players per team contributing to it for the health of the campaign. It has an interface that is far more supportive of a sandbox game where things may only become relevant months after they were learned.

If the players don't have a place they can go to review what they know and where they are, they are highly unlikely to make important mental connections, which will leave me in the position of prodding them with hints and reminders or letting them miss huge opportunities or embark on massive time wasting wild-goose chases.

In fairness, the wiki page is in it's early stages and needs a lot more content added on my end, but the more energy I get from the players the more I can give back.

I don't need every player to dive really deep into this campaign, it's absolutely fine if I have some along who just wait for their turn and roll dice, but I'm a little short on players who really carry the action forward.

For my last few spots I am taking my time in recruiting and holding out for those with strong IC and/or OOC motivations, who aren't looking for just another game.

I think I may have mentioned above, I'm happy to be a campaign chronicler, in game and out.

My play-style is to slow down the party from charging in and gather intelligence about our next objective. I wouldn't have a problem writing everything down and updating the wiki, but I'm not the best creative writer. I may have someone else assist me if that ever comes up.

Having family as a potential foil/ally would be interesting either way (especially if you could do both).

Weave away, and if you want me to do any of the writing for it, just ask. I am assuming merchant families are a big part of the intrigue in the city, so that's good.

What do you mean by invent myself. I don't have access to any source books. I happy for any suggestions.

I suggest we collaborate. Via PM or the Obsidian Portal (my preference).

I have the sourcebooks. What I mean is, should we really more on what is already printed, or would you like to pull things from your own imagination and run them past me to check that they fit the tone of the setting?

For example, Edward Sobel created a Magic Academy in Reme for the background of his character Janna the Storm Maiden, and a PC in another group later decided to use it as his alma mater. It turned out that his parents were alumni and generous donators to the academy, so they couldn't kick him out for his antics and instead sent him on an "important quest" just to get rid of him.

Black Dow's character Vhillish Quarrelwick and Otm-Shank's character Damien Winters are veterans of the 33rd Brigade of the Waymarch Infantry, and Vhillish often talks about their past exploits and achievements.

Those are backstory elements created whole-cloth from the imagination of the players, and they serve to flesh out an area for which I have no setting canon, located slightly off the map where our adventuring takes place.

Bard's Gate on the other hand is very thoroughly detailed, to the point that you could say, "my dad's rival was a silk merchant", and I could say "ok how about Endicott Whitecroft, his fortified Manor House is 15 miles outside the city walls and he has contacts in Freegate". Then you could roll knowledge local to see if Karl is aware that Whitecroft's father made his fortune in human trafficking supplying cultists with captive tribesmen for use in human sacrifices.

But there is still room in Bard's Gate to add your own content, as you have with Maximar the Munificent and Ragnar Flametouched, it is just a little more restrictive because I have a very specific vision for the tone of that city so it has to fit.

I.E no firearms, no steampunk, no clockwork, no magictech. Those are just random examples. But you couldn't say for example, "my fathers rival was a merchant who was secretly the head of a thieves guild called the black pandas" because there is no such thieve's guild.

Hope you understand what I meant better now.

BTW no pressure here. What you have for backstory already more than I require. I'm simply giving you an opportunity to weave your character into the fabric of the setting some more to facilitate the urban intrigue aspects of play your expressed an interest in.

It's optional. Just letting you know the option is there.

I think I may have mentioned above, I'm happy to be a campaign chronicler, in game and out.

I know, I didn't forget, looking forward to it.

These aren't things I'm striking from the board as soon as I find someone for the job, they are more like general qualities I'm looking for.

There's some overlap between them, and they can take different forms.

For example I need at least one player journalling per group, but multiples is a plus.

Additional journals might be very simple. A warrior listing the notches on his belt of monsters he's killed, or a halfling describing all his meals. Anything that makes the setting come alive and gives the party a chance of noticing some small important detail. My hints can be very subtle and tricky. I will not be leading anyone by the nose. You will need your wits to succeed.

I know I said a couple days ago that I would post my ninjas stat block later that day, but I ran into a few road blocks along the way, I guess having a weak ninja might not have been the best idea, not to mention actually doing work at work. I have worked out the problem and will post the spoiler within the next hour or so.

Oh ok. Iron killer and TiredDude, I thought I had scared you away with my walls of text ;)