Shadows of the Sand (Inactive)

Game Master caster4life

A band of hardened raiders winds carefully through the dunes, their scouts squint against the sun as they look for signs of movement on the sand. Weathered by sun and years, the hard face of their leader stares forward in stony silence. He’s taken an enormous risk leading his men into Qadiran lands but the riches waiting to be reaped are too immense to ignore. Surely a force large enough to strike at them would move through the desert too slowly.

A quiet rush of falling sand alerts him to the gravity of his mistake. Figures in dark robes materialize out of the dune around them. He and his men fight bravely, thinking to overwhelm their mysterious opponents with superior numbers. But the dark figures cut through his forces with ease, moving fluidly and suddenly such that each raider finds himself cut off, surrounded, and dispatched. The captain fights boldly with a camel at his back but quickly succumbs to the cold efficiency of the Shadows of Qadira. The last thing he sees is a bronze-hilted dagger flashing towards him.

Meanwhile, in a cool cave beneath the desert many miles away, you receive the dark robes of a Shadow and a dagger with an undecorated wooden hilt. Perhaps one day you will earn iron or even copper on this hilt. Perhaps all of your training since you were selected from the ranks of the enlisted will bear fruit and you will be promoted within the Shadows. But first you must prove yourself. Tomorrow night is your Passage: your first mission as a Shadow of Qadira. You and your cadre must eliminate a troublesome smuggling ring in Lopul to prove that you are worthy of the dagger.

See campaign info for further details.

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Interesting. An Ifrit or Sylph Swashbuckler could be fun here.

interesting, thinking a ninja of some kind

Very interesting idea. Who wants me in their team?

Sounds interesting.

Since you mentioned 3PP can be asked about, how would you feel towards racial classes?

There is a nerfed down spirit/ghost class, any powers are bought with feats. Caps at 3. Obviously, it is prone to every undead's weakness. Perma-death when reaching 0 HP.

Starts out in ectoplasmic form, not incorporeal.
I can link you the pics about it, if you want.

Interesting idea. Go ahead and share the link. The main problem that comes to mind is flavor. RP would be very strange and the character would have difficulty making sense as a recruit in the Qadiran military. If it's balanced and you can show a flavor that will work, I won't object.

It was reviewed by Endzeitgeist, who commented the weaknesses balanced out the strengths. But that's his opinion, not yours. :)

Plus, do military forces not eagerly use uncommon methods/resources?

That joke aside, i was thinking along the lines of what was described in the material.
Transitioning into the material plane through the dreams of a spiritually attuned person, working for the military. Thus, he/she would be 'raised' -sort to speak- into the military, as perhaps their first supernatural recruit.

Disguise to pose off as one of the living, identity only known to a select few of the military.

I don't have a problem with the balance, at first glance. I also agree that the military would be interested in an asset like that. I'm just having trouble seeing the roleplay and day-to-day work out well. You'd have to pass very difficult disguise checks just to walk down the street. Also harder to make the fundamental interactions between comrades-in-arms work well. You can make such a character if you want. My point is just to warn you that a team containing this character will have a harder time getting accepted unless it was very well done.

Would Spheres of Power/Might by Drop Dead Studios be on the table?

Team Gnoll, Sound off!

Blergh, sorry. Confused Katapesh and Quadira.

I'm thinking of a cavalier (horse lord archetype) anyone interested in an Arabian knights themed group? (yes, spelled it as such intentionally, I meant it as a funny for a group based on mounts/mounted shenanigans. Like a Calvary division)

An Arabian Knights group sounds awesome, although possibly somewhat limiting for our GM.

I don't have a problem with the balance, at first glance. I also agree that the military would be interested in an asset like that. I'm just having trouble seeing the roleplay and day-to-day work out well. You'd have to pass very difficult disguise checks just to walk down the street. Also harder to make the fundamental interactions between comrades-in-arms work well. You can make such a character if you want. My point is just to warn you that a team containing this character will have a harder time getting accepted unless it was very well done.

I've been eyeing the Occult classes as well, this would play into a Spiritualist type that accidentally managed to do something that kept a spirit on this plane.

Would the time thief be available to play? I've always wanted to see one in action.

Settled on doing an Ifrit Ninja, in search of a team

You'd have to pass very difficult disguise checks just to walk down the street.

Robes or dresses could hide the lack of legs.

I'll echo the question on the viability of mounted characters for this.

I'd love to make a character that has a genie-touched horse as it's animal companion. They are from the Qadira, Jewel of the East book. As for classes, I'm thinking either Mounted Fury Vigilante or a Keleshite Prophet Nature Oracle. The former is more reliant on mounted combat than the latter but the latter is restricted to being human as the bonus feat at 1 is needed to get the mount.

1. @Aipaca Spheres of power/might will not be allowed. It looks like far too much book-keeping to have alternative magic and alternative martial systems going at the same time and still be eyeing balance.

2. @Aipaca and Rorek55: An Arabian Knights group could be very cool but needs to be able to handle the variety of missions the group will face. A build that is too mount-focused might have a lot of problems in covert ops, for example.

3. @Me'mori: Good job thinking of ways to make the team background work together. That kind of thinking will go a long way towards a coherent team submission.

4. @DystopianDream: I am tentatively ok with the time thief. I have to reserve the right to change my ruling if I find significant new information. At the moment, it looks like an awesome utility option that could fit the theme quite well.

5. @Chyrone: Probably DC 30 disguise check for random people on the street to fail to notice you are made of ectoplasm. I honestly think that's a low estimate because every commoner who walks past you gets a roll with bonuses to notice you are nothing like what you are dressed as but I'm trying to keep it possibly achievable.

6. @Cuan: Just remember not to be too mount-focused. Versatile builds and a versatile party are key.

7. @All: Remember that you are Qadiran recruits (elite recruits to be specific) first and foremost. If your build has trouble fitting this feel, there may be problems.

Yikes, haha, that's steep.

Does it take long before the special agents get to the city in busy crowds, or are levels gained prior to that?

Are you open to a witch with both the Astifah and Feytouched Hexer archetypes? I'm going for a Qadiran seductress and thought this combination would fit well.

Yikes, haha, that's steep.

Does it take long before the special agents get to the city in busy crowds, or are levels gained prior to that?

Yes it is steep. I'm making a low estimate based on the bonuses/penalties listed under disguise and the fact that any commoner who saw through your disguise would be shocked (i.e. the crowd takes 20 to recognize you).

The first mission is in Lopul... Sorry, I'm not trying to make this hard on your character concept.

@GM, would a medium mount be more viable? OR is the mount issue mostly for just "covert ops" things? In that case a mount with stealth could work maybe?

What are the %s we are looking at? like, what % of the game would mounts be good, what % would they be possible, and what % are you just going to null them out?

** spoiler omitted **

@GM, would a medium mount be more viable? OR is the mount issue mostly for just "covert ops" things? In that case a mount with stealth could work maybe?

What are the %s we are looking at? like, what % of the game would mounts be good, what % would they be possible, and what % are you just going to null them out?

Yes a medium mount capable of stealth would be the most viable option there. It would be especially helpful if your mount were capable of climbing and swimming. These missions will be occurring on rooftops, down sewers, on skywalks, etc. I would say a horse-like mount with mediocre stealth would be useful in 20% of missions, a liability in 60%, and neutral in 20%.

Would stealth be of use in Lopul?

If earlier on face 2 face is risky, could hiding be of use instead?
Any means to pump disguise are easier to get at some higher levels, i'd think?

Not trying to be difficult either, just exploring any potential options.

Ah, I had thought a larger portion of the things would be delt with in the open desert, I may still keep a mounted idea, but I'd ask if I could select from a wider range of mounts as a cavalier if I do so? Such as if I took the beast rider archetype? or would you allow the Drake Rider archetype?

Would stealth be of use in Lopul?

If earlier on face 2 face is risky, could hiding be of use instead?
Any means to pump disguise are easier to get at some higher levels, i'd think?

Not trying to be difficult either, just exploring any potential options.

I have no problem with these questions. Exploring options is totally fine. Yes stealth is probably your most viable option at low levels. You might have to spend a fair amount of your time holed up somewhere waiting for your teammates to get things ready then stealth your way to the mission site. Might be frustrating to play at low levels or it might make for cool roleplay.

<== Loves the latter. :)

Stealthy recon can be fun too.

Let me clarify my question from earlier. Would you allow me to take the horse-lord archetype (because it has a lot fo desert/arabian flavor) and still select something other than a pony/horse (as it says at GM discretion) Like, say, a scorpion or something along those lines that would fit thematically? :3

Let me clarify my question from earlier. Would you allow me to take the horse-lord archetype (because it has a lot fo desert/arabian flavor) and still select something other than a pony/horse (as it says at GM discretion) Like, say, a scorpion or something along those lines that would fit thematically? :3

Yes I'm fine with that. There will be plenty to keep this campaign challenging so I'll allow a little wiggle room when it's cool and reasonable.

cool, then I think my concept could work still....
*imagines a large sized scorpion scuttling quietly along the rooftops..* lol

*saw dune drifter, notice it used guns, feelssadman*

This said, I may look into the kinectist. If the mount idea is a bust.

are ifrits allowed as playable races?

General announcements I didn't put in the original post and will now add to campaign info:

1. Some enemies will also enjoy the advantages of the variant rules we are using.

2. This is a high-difficulty campaign where clever building and play will be both rewarded and vital for mission success and survival.

3. This campaign is intended to run to approximately level 5. If things are running well, the campaign will be extended to level 10.

Yes ifrits are fine.

Would stealth be of use in Lopul?

If earlier on face 2 face is risky, could hiding be of use instead?
Any means to pump disguise are easier to get at some higher levels, i'd think?

Not trying to be difficult either, just exploring any potential options.

As long as the ghost idea is still in play, I'm willing to work with a Spiritualist or Medium idea to see if I can facilitate anything.

That would be very interesting.

Could work. I look forward to everyone's submissions. Out of curiosity, Chyrone, what party role do you see yourself filling?

Checking again--are you open to a witch with both the Astifah and Feytouched Hexer archetypes? I'm going for a Qadiran seductress and thought this combination would fit well. Of course, I may adjust to accommodate fellow team members.

Hey Tazo. Good to hear from you. Yep that combination is fine. I don't see any problems with combining those archetypes since they don't modify overlapping features.

I see her filling scouting and eavesdropping early on. Stealth and perception are a racial specialty.

She could pull all-nighters for keeping watches....since she doesn't need sleep.

The role might well be strengthened when she starts taking class levels.
She could even carry any ranged allies through the air at later stages, death from above. In more than one way...

Could be pretty cool. It will be interesting to see teams come together. You guys might want to call out team names to organize under since it looks like we have at least two different teams forming already.

Still looking for a team

Well, with a Ninja, a Ghost, a Medium, that would make a decent "Light" team, though there's still a "sneaky heavy" spot missing, perhaps?
- presuming that we want to be a team, that is.

I like the Occult idea, so I want to stick with the Ghost.

Hey there. Deathless ghost reporting.

I'll be working on further creation details in the following days.

GM, is Qadiran considered an automatic language?

GM, a question: I’d like to play an Inspired Blade, but it’s locked into using a rapier. Since the scimitar is functionally the same as a rapier (1d6, 18-20x2) but much more flavorfully Qadira weapon, could I swap those out and use the archetype with a scimitar?

Well, with a Ninja, a Ghost, a Medium, that would make a decent "Light" team, though there's still a "sneaky heavy" spot missing, perhaps?

- presuming that we want to be a team, that is.

I like the Occult idea, so I want to stick with the Ghost.

I agree with that.

Ok, so I'm going to scratch the mounted concept due to the GMs recent explanations on it.

I'm going to be making an ifrit Sorcerer. Anyone want to form a group and create a backstory as to how our band of misfits got to the point we are at?

also, are traits from other APs usable? or just the generic traits?

Ok, so I'm going to scratch the mounted concept due to the GMs recent explanations on it.

I'm going to be making an ifrit Sorcerer. Anyone want to form a group and create a backstory as to how our band of misfits got to the point we are at?

also, are traits from other APs usable? or just the generic traits?

If the GM’s ok with my thoughts on the Inspired Blade above, I was thinking of a Sylph Swashbuckler. Tazo and I have talked about working together, and I think he was going to go with an Oread. Throw in an Ifrit and we’re well on our way to a full team of planetouched. Maybe that’s a bit too silly of a theme for y’all, but I kinda like the idea. Probably too much Power Rangers as a child, but a color/element-coded team of heroes just makes sense in my head.

@Ouachitonian: Honestly, I Like the idea of a team of the 4 "elements" haha. So I am down for that shiz. That said, I will be focusing on blasting, with a few utility spells later on. (FIRE! HAHA!) obv going down the efreet bloodline and making use of the sexy fire affinity for Ifrits.

What were the two of you thinking for backstory? PM me if you want.

Hey, you've got all 4 elements... but you still need Heart! :P Someone could add an Aasimar or Tiefling for it (to stay in line with the planetouched thing). Or you could take it as being like Magic:TG's mana colours, as well.

Edit: Shish, you still need an Undine. Want me to have a try at something?